Well howdy! We’re in the New York Times

We’re pleased and flattered to be in the Times today, spouting off at the mouth and waving our freak flag (or freak thrysus) high. Michael Tortarello interviewed us, and he’s a helluva a writer. You could spend your time in worse ways seeking out his other articles, like this one on hybrid seeds, which is one of Erik’s favorites. And kudos to Laure Joliet for taking such beautiful pictures.

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31 Comments

  1. Many people don’t know that vegan food can be luscious and delectable so it’s unfortunate that it is mentioned in the context of gloomy vegans eating lentils. The quote perpetuates a negative misperception to a large audience and minimizes the many benefits that eating more vegan dishes provide. The negative wording around veganism is also strange since the next paragraph describes a tasty meal that is vegan.

  2. Very nice article indeed. Congratulations on the exposure in the NYT, you do terrific things and the public deserves to hear about it.

  3. The NYT sent me here and I’d like to thank you for your irreverence and the company in beautiful and useless graduate degree keepers (I’m Polish Literature). Like your wandering kitten we have taken on blue heeler dumped in the country by college students and now we can only have dead free range chickens..I’ve been wanting to build a chicken run maze that tests the intelligence level of chickens anyway. I will go check out the book. (by the way…very inspirational mosaic..and Heraclitus and a thrysus all on one blog..I love it!)

  4. We just started taking the NY Times and I was thrilled to see the article about you and your book this morning!

  5. “Why didn’t the movement stick?”

    Kirk Anderson of the Backward Beekeepers gave the best explanation I’ve ever heard. He said, “We would talk about planting carrots and tending hives and then we would get stoned and nothing would happen.”

    BTW – it’s not all hype. I’ve been so inspired by your first book, I’ve got a small farm on my .14 acre home in Burbank and am getting my first flock of chickens this winter!

  6. @Tonqari: I knew there’d be blowback over that. I certainly did not mean to disparage veganism. I meant only to describe a certain sort of mindset, which is best exemplified by social occasions where people sit around community rooms eating ill prepared lentils and talking about the end of the world. I don’t know why I even mentioned the word vegan while I described the phenomenon to the reporter–I should not have.

  7. @Faith: Great Kirk quote. Of course most of what Kirk says is highly quotable. 🙂

    And thanks–we’re glad if we’ve helped you. Good on you with your Burbank farm–Burbank definitely needs more farms! Good luck with those chicks!

  8. Great article in the Times and I look forward to buying your book….one thing though…this part in the Times article:

    “The dishwasher runs three times a day. Mr. Knutzen has been in a baking frenzy while he masters a no-knead sourdough loaf”

    I kinda had hand-washing with grey water in mind when I think of dishwashing at the urban homestead.

  9. Oh, I meant to add that because of my little farm-let, and all of the extra produce that gets jarred up and dried around here, we’re hosting our first San Fernando Valley Food Swap this weekend so that we can help sustain other households in the SFV. http://www.facebook.com/SFVFoodSwap

  10. Brought me here, and a few other family members.
    Thanks! And I’m pleased, too.

  11. Glad to the NYT reporting on your lifestyle! I have to ask, how are the flannel sanitary napkins working out? Might I suggest a reusable, silicone menstrual cup? I love my Lunette and since it is reusable I consider it low-impact and highly sustainable. At least for the next few years…
    Keep up the good work!

  12. @Anon: I like the flannel pads very much–I’ve used them on and off for years. While I’m all behind the cups, I can’t seem to get the hang of them myself. I think I’m fundamentally more of an external type of gal, but certainly the reusable cups are a fantastic tampon alternative. There was a long discussion about this very topic on this blog somewhere a year or so ago.

  13. I found the article a couple days ago, but just noticed the slide show. I love the pic showing you two in the breakfast nook, with the kitty peeping out over Mr. homegrown’s shoulder. THe caption says you both are cutting up chamomile, but may I say, Mr. Homegrown, you seem to be a sittin’, with your arms folded, watching Mrs. Homegrown do the work!

    glad you guys are getting such good exposure.

  14. @Trish: You know, I don’t think the slide show option was up last night.

    Erik was indeed slacking, but I’m happy to stuff herbs in jars as long as he keeps routing out the toilet.

  15. Wow that is a really well written article. It makes the point that this is a better way to live rather than a fringy politics laden movement. I find it interesting that Kelly used to work at the Museum of Jurassic Technology. It kind of points to the convergence of steampunk and homesteading that inspires my own blog-life-project

  16. What do you do with the toilet waste? I didn’t think having one of those in the city was allowed. Also, are you independently wealthy? How did you manage to give up your day jobs?

  17. Hi Kelly,
    Nice to see you dishing on poor old UCSD. At least we drove you to home-made tomatoes! Glad to catch up on your latest doings. I live in New Zealand nowadays, by the way. Come by some time.

    geoff

  18. @Geoffrey Batchen: Batchen!!! Good to hear from you. New Zealand, huh? Beautiful country–and wonderfully far, far away from La Jolla. Growing tomatoes doesn’t, unfortunately, accumulate travel miles, but I sure wish I could take you up on your offer. I’d love to bitch with you over a beer. If you visit LA, let us know.

  19. I saw your article in the New York Times today and it is very inspiring. I would like to have more of a lifestyle like yours and am working at it. I am happy to see more people are thinking along these lines. This year, I concentrated on growing more of my own food and have made a good start with the gardening. Also, I find it a joy to walk out into my garden each morning, and it lifts my spirits at the beginning of the day. I think being self-reliant the way you have chosen is a positive alternative to our materialistic, selfish society. I like your blog and plan to visit it often.

  20. congrats! Found your blog via the article (and I love Michael T’s writing as well!) I’m a fellow Angelean (well Santa monica) but am working my own magic with the lot next to my place, little by little. love your stuff!

  21. Great article. Also, as another Burbankian with .14 acre, I would be interested in hearing more about the food swap however I’m FBfree which is a drawback these days as so much info is only posted there.

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