056 Winnetka Farms Part 1

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Gardening, Podcasts, Squash Baby, Vegetable Gardening
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Photo: Lexicon of Sustainability.

Photo: Lexicon of Sustainability.

Our guest this week is Craig Ruggless who, along with his husband Gary Jackemuk, runs Winnetka Farms in Los Angeles’ San Fernando valley. Craig and Gary grow heirloom Italian vegetables, breed standard double-laced Barnevelder chickens, bake bread, preserve food and much more. In the first part of our conversation we’ll talk about Craig’s Italian heritage and heirloom Italian vegetables. In the second part, on next week’s podcast, we’ll discuss urban livestock. During part 1 Craig mentions:

If you’d like to stay in touch with Craig you can find him at The Kitchen at Winnetka Farms.

If you want to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to [email protected]. You can subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store and on Stitcher. The theme music is by Dr. Frankenstein. A downloadable version of this podcast is here.

Breaking Broodiness in Chickens

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Animals, Chickens
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This picture is what happens when I forget to take a picture of our broody hens.

This picture is what happens when I forget to take a picture of our broody hens.

This past week three of our four hens decided to all get broody at once. And since we have only one nesting box they all crammed into the box as tight as passengers in economy class in what passes for air travel these days. Since it’s August and hot and humid, I began to worry that they would overheat.

Then I remembered a trick passed along by a UC David avian veterinarian at a conference I recently attended. He suggested giving broody hens a cold (out of the tap) bath. I gave this a try, giving each broody hen a 30 second dip in a shallow tub of water (just enough to get their derrieres wet). It worked immediately and they spent the rest of the day scratching, eating, drinking and running around.

But by the next day they were back in the nesting box. I spoke to Dr. Google who informed me that it sometimes takes more than one bath for this trick to work. After another 30 second dip in a cold bath they have not returned to the nesting box.

If you live in a cold climate I’d suggest drying them off after the bath.

Have you tried the cold bath technique? Did it work for you?

On Homesteading Burnout and the Need to Focus

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Domesticus, Tidying up
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beerpots

At book tour appearances we often said that, while we do a lot of projects as research for our books, readers should not try to do everything. Our message has always been that this movement is not an “all of the above” proposition; you don’t have to raise chickens, brew beer, sew, keep bees, make pickles etc.; you can go with your strengths and make friends with people who do what you’re not good at.

But do I follow my own advice? Not so much. I’ve been thinking lately about trying to focus on the things I’m good at and go KonMari on the stuff I’ve accumulated to do the things I’m not so good at. This is hard for me. By nature I’m a generalist not a specialist. But two potent memento moris showed up in my mailbox this week: my first AARP card along with an ad for the Disneyland of cemeteries, Forest Lawn. In the years I have left I’ll need to focus a bit more.

So what are the activities I can jettison?

Beer Brewing
The brutal truth is that I’m just not that good at it. I ruined the last three batches due to sanitation problems. I’ve never made beer better or cheaper than I can buy. The equipment takes up valuable workshop space. And then there’s the temptation of having five gallons of beer sitting around. Once I conquer the plantar fasciitis I’ll need to squeeze back into an unforgiving and unflattering fencing uniform. If I worked at it I could probably make some decent beer. But, again, I just don’t need that much beer sitting around the house. And to take the hobby to the next level I’d really need to start using kegs and that would mean more equipment.

Ham Radio
I’ve put this activity on hold. I probably should spend some time acquainting myself with my 2 meter handheld and checking in with some of the local nets so that I can use the radio in an emergency. But I don’t need to go any deeper than that right now. Maybe someday when I’m a little older and have activated my AARP card.

That I could only come up with two activities shows how much of a serial generalist I am. Not that there is anything wrong with being a generalist. In fact, the world might be better off if we were all a little less specialized. But there’s still a need to edit the list periodically.

How about you? Do you have some interests you have already or are thinking of ditching? Of your homesteady interests, which have been the most rewarding?

Saturday Tweets: Oatmeal, Bikes and a Pickle Maker

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Saturday Linkages
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