Archive for the ‘Going Green’ Category
Breaking The Ice
By DILLON TABISH - There’s less than 10 square miles of glacial ice remaining in Glacier National Park, and it’s expected to disappear completely in under 20 years.... more
Is Black Locust the Ultimate Permaculture Tree?
By PAUL WHEATON - You can spot where the old homesteads are in Montana by the stands of black locust trees. They're famous in permaculture circles as nitrogen fixers.... more
Hand Washing Dishes Versus Dishwasher: Which Saves More Water?
By PAUL WHEATON - The misconception that washing dishes with a dishwasher saves water is an great example of how people succomb to greenwashing myths.... more
Horticulture of the United States of Pocahontas
By PAUL WHEATON - The foundations of sustainable horticulture seem to include permaculture, bio-dynamism, respectful harvest, and a symbiotic relationship with nature.... more
Humanure and Composting Toilets
By PAUL WHEATON - Recently, I visited Missoula’s wastewater treatment plant to learn about the reuse of treated wastewater as a source of irrigation and fertilization.... more
Compost-Based Bio-Energy Systems
By PAUL WHEATON - When done properly, composting creates a great deal of heat – heat that can be harnessed to heat water and create usable energy.... more
How to Keep Deer from Eating Your Stuff
By PAUL WHEATON - The creative ways people attempt to control deer seem endless, but they aren’t generally effective. There is ONE thing that really gets it done.... more
This Winter, Save Energy with Just a Tiny Bit of Knowledge
By PAUL WHEATON - The real solution to energy sustainability is to get information passed as far as possible. This, friends, is saving the world with a bit of knowledge.... more
Solar Food Dehydrators for the Fall Harvest
By PAUL WHEATON - The fall harvest is upon us. Apples, plums, kale, and tomatoes abound. In the quest for sustainability, solar-powered food dehydrators are on the rise.... more
Replacing Irrigation with Permaculture
By PAUL WHEATON - There are scads of ideas of what permaculture and irrigation are. For me, I see a good permaculture system as one that has eliminated irrigation.... more
The Many Benefits of the Amazing Sunchoke
By PAUL WHEATON - Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem Artichokes) are one of the best homesteader crops, especially for those wishing to be self-sustaining.... more
Paul Wheaton on Polyculture
By PAUL WHEATON - A polyculture is a mix of plants all trading their unique goodness with other plants. All plant-eating animals are designed to eat plants from a polyculture.... more
Tired of Tilling? Try Seed Balls
By PAUL WHEATON - Ever thought of lobbing seeds into your field? No tilling, just a good arm? Seed balls are used in no-tilling cultivation to get seeds established.... more
Eliminate the Cost of Chicken Feed
By PAUL WHEATON - I used to sell my chickens for nearly the same price I paid for feed. I found ways to not only eliminate feed costs, but provide higher-quality feed! ... more
Can Pigs Build Ponds?
By PAUL WHEATON - Don't even THINK of using a pond liner if you have pigs around. Paul Wheaton shows us a better way to seal a pond using pigs.... more
How NOT to raise chickens
By PAUL WHEATON - This comic artist is exceptionally brilliant at capturing very common and complicated issues that can arise for people who have never raised chickens before. I think the desire to steward chi... more
Coal Trains Cause Concern for Missoula Citizens
By MARK BOATMAN - As more coal trains run through Missoula from the Powder River Basin, some citizens are voicing concern over increased pollution and noise.... more
Frugal Living: Eat Tapas, Cut Your Grocery Bill
By ERIN TURNER - Serving tapas-style food, a traditional Spanish small-plates meal, is a delicious, easy way to cut your grocery budget significantly.... more
Frugal Living: Go Green and Grow Your Own Food
By ERIN TURNER - Growing your own food is making a huge comeback. Not only are homegrown fruits and veggies healthier, but you can save a ton of money, too.... more
Bob Wire Will Pass on Grass
By BOB WIRE - April 20 has a significance to enthusiasts of a certain pungent, smokeable herb, but in spite of the culinary creativity it inspires, I say nope to dope. ... more
Share the Bounty: Missoula Spring Seed Swap
By SILKE JAUCK - Come exchange spring plants and seeds at the second Missoula Plant & Seed Swap on May 11 at the Orchard Homes Country Life Club.... more
Reuse It, Missoula: A DIY Fabric-Covered Lampshade
By LISA HENSLEY - My niece is graduating to a room of her own, and OF COURSE I had to just butt in with decorating ideas. I made her a repurposed, DIY lampshade.... more
Greenwashing Light Bulbs
By PAUL WHEATON - The object propelling the greatest greenwashing scheme of all time is the CFL.... more
Keep those branches, twigs, rotten logs, and Christmas trees!
By PAUL WHEATON - Paul Wheaton shows us ways to recycle wood. These tips sure beat making a big pile and burning it!... more
Turn Holiday Window Decorations into Scrapbook Layouts
By LISA HENSLEY - I have to confess to a secret holiday decorating obsession: Window clings. But I hate to throw them away, so I started repurposing them on scrapbook pages.... more
How to Make Tin Can Lanterns
By LISA HENSLEY - I was having some friends over for a housewarming party last week, and wanted decorate with luminaries. I almost rushed out to buy luminary bags before I remembered that I could make tin can l... more
Seeley Lake Brew Fest and Tamarack Festival: A Weekend of Fun and Suds
By RYAN NEWHOUSE. This weekend kegs will be tapped and poured at the annual Seeley Lake Brew Fest and Tamarack Festival. The event kicks off on Friday October 7 at 7:00 p.m. with festivities throughout the week... more
Kate and John Bike for Food and Beer
By RYAN NEWHOUSE. John and Kate Suscovich launched a 24,000-mile journey by bike three and half months ago in New York. The goal was to raise awareness about living active lifestyles and making educated food ch... more
Missoula Makes Room for Draught Works Brewery
By RYAN NEWHOUSE. Inching ever more closely to an expected late-September opening, owners of Draught Works Brewery, Jeff Grant and Paul Marshall, are ready to quench Missoulians’ never-ending thirst for good ... more
2011 Maverick Brewfest Hits Caras Park on Friday
By RYAN NEWHOUSE. The 13th Annual Maverick Brewfest is kicking off at 4:00 p.m. on Friday September 9 at Caras Park. The event raises money for the Missoula Athletic Council, which has supported youth athletics... more
Green Your Kitchen with a Cast Iron Skillet
By PAUL WHEATON. Learn about the benefits of Cast Iron cookware and watch an egg fry and not stick!... more
Dilly Beans – Preserving the Summer Bounty
By KRISTEN LEE-CHARLSON. One of my favorite ways to enjoy the taste of summer long after the first snow flies, is by opening a jar of Dilly Beans, a recipe from a cult classic book on fermentation - Wild Fermen... more
Be a Winner – Brew at Home
By RYAN NEWHOUSE. Now that the Western Montana Fair has left town and the smoke from nearby forest fires has arrived, it’s time to stay inside and think about drinking – or to think about making a drink.... more
Killing Me Softly: The Art of Deconstruction
By LISA HENSLEY. I’m somewhat addicted to HGTV, especially the “Crashers” shows (Yard Crashers, House Crashers, etc.). It could be because I’m secretly wishing someone would offer to come to my house an... more
Maiden Missoula Review: Zootown Surfers
By LEAH LEWIS. This summer some of the rivers are a little too high and fast for me to be comfortable navigating the Alberton Gorge without some expert advice. So I turned to fellow Make It Missoula blogger a... more
Have Beer, Will Travel: Missoula-Based BeerTrips.com Creates Trips for Beer Lovers
By RYAN NEWHOUSE. Since 1998, Missoula-based Beertrips.com has launched hundreds of travelers into international beer scenes, taking them Abbey-hopping and Oktoberfest-ing so they can immerse themselves in the ... more
Mullein Heals the Earth
By PAUL WHEATON. Mullein is a biennial plant with fuzzy leaves. Often called "cowboy toilet paper," mullein will grow in the worst soils on earth -- improving the earth as it grows. More about this amazing pla... more
Cherry Hoppin’: Exploring Missoula’s Cherry-Inspired Cocktails and Drinks
By RYAN NEWHOUSE. August marks the beginning of the cherry harvest in the Flathead Valley, and it could be a very good one this year they say. Sweet, plump and delicious, Flathead cherries are an annual local f... more
Maiden Missoula Product Review: Jax Hats
By LEAH LEWIS. I know this may be a shocker, but the Maiden does, in fact, have a bad hair day every so often. Instead of fighting this minor inconvenience I have learned to embrace it, and sometimes even hope... more
Repurpose Grass Clippings as Mulch
By LISA HENSLEY. By this time of year, if you bag your grass cuttings, you’re probably starting to think fondly of those winter months when there’s no mowing to do. (Actually, you’re probably thinking tha... more
Montgomery Distillery Making Headway in Missoula
By RYAN NEWHOUSE. If all goes as planned, Montgomery Distillery will begin construction next month to turn the 1920s car dealership (formerly the Firestone tire building) on the corner of Pattee and Main into M... more
Repurposed Lighting
RE-USE IT. By LISA HENSLEY. I was working my first volunteer event for Home ReSource a couple of years ago when I stumbled across this fantastic light fixture. It’s really heavy, old glass, and by the time we... more
Cooking with Lavender from Local Growers Part II
By KRISTEN LEE-CHARLSON. Part II of The Heirloom Foodie's series on cooking with luscious lavender. If cooking with lavender seems like a stretch, try creating your own Herbes de Provence seasoning mix.... more
The Tiny House Movement
By PAUL WHEATON. People are saving money by downsizing their house. How far can you take it? Take a look at these Tiny house. One was built for $15!... more
The EdgeMaster: How to Sharpen a Serrated Knife Blade
By PAUL WHEATON. Watch the EdgeMaster sharpen a serrated knife blade in record time!... more
From Baby Blanket to Big Boy Pillow
RE-USE IT. By LISA HENSLEY. My mom makes these great blankies for kids: knit on one side, flannel on the other. They just get softer and snugglier the more you wash them. They don’t, however, last forever—e... more
Cooking with Beer at Missoula’s Good Food Store
By RYAN NEWHOUSE. The Good Food Store offered a cooking class last week that put two of my favorite things on the same plate – meat and beer. They prepared a spread fit for a king, with each dish prominently ... more
Cooking with Lavender from Local Growers
By KRISTEN LEE-CHARLSON. Last Saturday I chatted with Paula Scoggins of Paula's Gardens and Lori Parr, AKA Lavender Lori - both together known as the Lavender Queendome. Lori and Paula have joined forces to wor... more
How to REALLY Save on Your Summer Utility Bills
By PAUL WHEATON. Learn more than 20 great tips to save energy and save on summer utility bills too. Cooking, cooling, lighting tips and more -- all for REAL utility bill savings.... more
Bike Me Out to the Ballpark
By RYAN NEWHOUSE:This week marks the opening of the Missoula Osprey baseball season, and I’m here to tell you how to get some crazy good deals on seats. All it takes is a riding your bike and joining the Miss... more