Plant Vegetables!

March 16, 2020

...s has me thinking that I need to walk back on one of my worst blog posts, “Homesteading Heresy: On Giving Up Vegetable Gardening,” in which I announced that I was no longer planting vegetables. While we have plenty of avocados and eggs it would be nice to have some greens other than volunteer nasturtium and nettles. I had two seasons of failed vegetable gardening but that should have prompted a redoubled effort rather than the defeatism that I off...

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Hens in the Orchard for Pest Control

Mr. Homegrown

July 25, 2013

Animals, Chickens, Fruit Trees, Gardening, Pests

3 Comments

...ke gin and tonic. The hens take care of pests, clean up rotten fruit, add nitrogen to the soil and the canopy of the orchard protects the hens from hawks and heat. Plus you get eggs and meat. Permaculture in action. The 1920s era photo you see above comes from one of Terry’s posts, Chickens in Orchards....

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The Jerusalem Cookbook

Mrs. Homegrown

February 17, 2015

Food, Reviews

7 Comments

...meatless offerings so far. Though there are a lot of veg recipes which use eggs, yogurt and cheese, there are also good vegan-friendly offerings. To give you a feel for the book, these are the recipes we’ve enjoyed so far. All are excellent: Swiss chard fritters (with feta and nutmeg) Roasted cauliflower and hazelnut salad Roasted butternut squash and red onion with tahini and za’atar Acharuli khachapuri (pastry boats filled with soft cheese, topp...

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Hornworm meets alien!

Mr. Homegrown

April 9, 2013

Gardening, Pests

4 Comments

...n fall prey–Alien-style–to a species of parasitic wasp (Cotesia congregata). Not only do these parasitic wasps devour their host but in order to overcome the caterpillar’s defenses, mama wasp injects a virus before laying her eggs. How do you create habitat for Cotesia congregata? Adults feed on nectar producing plants and, of course, you need to make sure you keep a few hornworms on hand! Thanks to Jeff Spurrier for posting this video in Facebook...

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Bird Netting as a Cabbage Leaf Caterpillar Barrier

Mr. Homegrown

November 15, 2012

Gardening, Pests, Vegetable Gardening

19 Comments

...leaves of plants well away from the netting so that butterflies can’t lay eggs through it. The best way to do this is by planting arches of wire or tubing over your garden bed, and stretching the cover material over those arches– like a covered wagon. Netting has advantages over row cover: you can see and water through it and it’s more readily available. I’m curious what you, our dear readers, think of the idea? Mrs. Homegrown chimes in: I’ll add...

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