Quince: the “Poster Child of Slowness”

October 28, 2009

...of slowness.” I tried to make some jelly with it and greatly underestimated how long it takes to cook. The jelly did not set, so I’ll have to try again. But the fruit did fill the entire house with a heavenly scent. Definitely a fruit worth slowing down for....

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Non-Toxic Cleaning for the Home

Mrs. Homegrown

May 20, 2019

Cleaning, Domesticus, Miscellaneous, Tidying up

11 Comments

...ctive. Other have used lines of baby powder or even lavender buds. If your fruit bowl went bad and now you are plagued by fruit flies, try squirting them midair with rubbing alcohol (your electronics spray will do just fine) If you have an outbreak of pantry moths, throw away all suspect food or freeze it for several days to kill moth eggs. Wipe down all of your cabinet shelves with vinegar, making sure to get it in the cracks between the walls an...

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How to save tomato seed

Mrs. Homegrown

September 19, 2013

Gardening, How-to, Miscellaneous, Tomatoes, Vegetable Gardening

14 Comments

...s. Double blossoms are prone to cross-pollination. You can save seeds from fruit that came from a single blossom Odd, but simple! You can basically save seed from almost any heirloom/open-pollinated variety you’re likely to be growing. You cannot save seed from hybridized plants. These are the type you are most likely to find in the nursery–plants bred for performance, not seed saving. This would include popular breeds like Early Girl and Better B...

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Moonshine

Mr. Homegrown

September 15, 2007

Fermentation, Food

...few years ago who recounted how their families used to ferment the excess fruit in the yard and take it to a licenced farmer to distill into the French version of moonshine, eau de vie. Here in the states it’s illegal to distill anything yourself but perfectly o.k., as a recent article in the Wall Street Journal points out, for agricultural corporation, Archer-Daniels-Midland to distill pure ethyl alcohol, sell it to corporate vodka producers as...

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What laundry detergent should I use for greywater applications?

Mrs. Homegrown

February 7, 2014

Water and Power, Water Conservation

35 Comments

...l because they are essentially salt-based (look for the word sodium on the label). They play well with aquatic life, bless them, and they’re a fantastic alternative to more toxic detergents if your laundry water is going to the sewer, but they aren’t good for soil microorganisms. Surely you’ve heard that salting the land is a bad idea? You don’t want to salt your garden. It’s worth adding that the drier your climate, the saltier the soil, because...

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