Moldy Grapes!

...th facing wall of our garden, and is threatening the neighbor’s house. The chickens like grape leaves, fortunately, so I have something to do with the prunings, but I wanted to do more. I’m a big fan of dolmas, so thought I’d try to pickle some grape leaves. Skimming the internet for recipes, I saw, as usual, many contradictions [Mr. Homegrown’s editorial note here–first mistake–internet recipes are notoriously unreliable. I know this because I’ve...

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2008 . . . a year of luxury

...d a lot from this book. It’s a must have for anyone thinking about getting chickens. Thanks to info in the book and our microscope, we’re looking forward to a year of DIY chicken fecal examinations and turning those parasite egg counts into a drinking game. We’ll inaugurate a new year of posts with an entertaining excerpt from The Chicken Health Handbook, “Spontaneous sex change is a phenomenon whereby an old hen develops the characteristics of a...

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Stop Shopping

...s new documentary, What Would Jesus Buy. We’ll keep to talk of compost and chickens and leave the film criticism to the folks at Cahiers du Cinema, but we’ll make an exception for What Would Jesus Buy. We enjoyed this movie immensely for its anarchic stick-it-to the-Man attitude, and Reverend Billy’s tireless efforts to exorcise the demons of Wal-Mart, Starbucks, and Disney. What Would Jesus Buy opens on November 21st in Los Angeles at the Sunset...

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Seed Review: Thompson & Morgan Golden Berry

...e plant itself grew easily with no pest problems, but did start to look unhappy in the heat of the summer. We probably won’t grow it again, but will let the plant reseed itself. The chickens have spent some time pecking at the fallen fruit and seem to enjoy it about as much as we do, which is to say not all that much....

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