Picture Sundays: Root Simple Compound Caught On Google Street View

...that Google Street View, back in April, caught me in the act of contemplating cleaning the garage. You can tell from my posture that I’m in the intellectual rather than the physical stage of garage sorting. In the front yard the fruit trees have leafed out, clarkia is blooming in the sparse parkway, the nopal is loaded with immature fruit and the roses have yet to climb the entrance arbor. If only I had a Root Simple banner and and an alpaca to t...

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005 Amy and Vince of Tenth Acre Farm

...in a cold climate (something we know nothing about!). Amy mentions growing fruit trees and freezing fruit in one pound packages. Canning projects then take place in the winter when heating up the kitchen also heats the house. Vince talks about growing greens year round and references the books of Elliot Coleman. You can visit their blog at tenthacrefarm.com. Amy also does a newsletter (see the sidebar on their website). When you sign up for you’ll...

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Village Homes: A Model for Sustainable Suburbs

...cted to the sewer system, it runs to swales between the houses, to nourish fruit trees. The resulting space is a lush park full of edibles, from exotic jujubee trees to grapes to almonds. Residents can stroll around in the abundant shade and pick fruit at will. Only the almond crop is off limits–the almond crop is harvested every year and sold to support the the gardening services for the entire development. There are also community garden space a...

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Yucca!

...a quiver for your arrows, and it also produces edible flowers, seeds, and fruit. Some important distinctions here. First of all we are not talking about “yuca” which is another name for the cassava plant, a tropical shrub of the spurge family. There are also many species in the yucca family, which even includes the Joshua Tree. Also, don’t confuse yucca plants with agave plants, as the juice of the of the agave leaf is a skin irritant. Agaves ten...

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My Brand New Homebrew Soda Carbonator

...s, sparkling water and for big thrills, sparkling waters with add-ins like fruit juice, shrubs, a bit of homemade syrup, etc. I go through quite a lot of sparkling water on a weekly basis. Now, as a rule I try not to drink stuff out of plastic bottles. Mineral waters still come in glass, but club soda is pretty much always in plastic these days. I’ve had to relax the plastic rule just to have club soda to work with, because fruit juices and delica...

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