Author and Urban Farmer Novella Carpenter Rocks Los Angeles

July 24, 2009

...ttle rough around the edges, we were inspired by this photo of her squated garden that she showed during her lecture. We could have listened for hours to her stories of dumpster diving for pig feed, gardening in a neighborhood where “crack zombies” and prostitutes come out at night and how the local Yemeni liquor store owner came over to show her how to slaughter her mean goat. If you have a chance to hear her speak, make sure to go! We’ve read ex...

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Washing Machine Greywater Resources

Mr. Homegrown

May 26, 2009

Water and Power, Water Conservation

5 Comments

...a pantyhose filter as seen above to catch lint that can clog the tank and garden hose. It’s just some threaded ABS waste pipe fittings screwed together with used pantyhose. A liquid fertilizer of the type that you could add to your greywater surge tank during a wash cycle to fertilize your garden. You could also get a fish emulsion or sea kelp based liquid fertilizer from your local nursery. Oaktown’s Greywater Guerrillas, another source for insp...

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Make Mag

Mr. Homegrown

June 5, 2009

Events

2 Comments

...n, and recreation. In MAKE Volume 18 you’ll learn how to make an automatic garden, heat your water with the sun, monitor and share your home energy usage, and more.” Here’s just a few of the many exciting projects: Chicago comrade Nancy Klehm tells you how to compost human waste. Homegrown Evolution has an article on how to install a drip irrigation system in your vegetable garden. Eric Muhs tells you how to collect rainwater to use for flushing y...

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Spreadin’ Seed

Mr. Homegrown

February 2, 2009

Seeds

4 Comments

...’s elderly neighbor, who spends each summer in his native Greece, loves to garden and grows, among many other things, at least four different kinds of arugula, which he calls, “the Greek Viagra”. He gave us seeds for two different arugulas, some basil from the northern mountains of Greece and countless other untranslatable plants, and packed them up for us in blue medicine bottles. We’ve grown his vegetables before and, while we can’t vouch for th...

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Compost Outlaws

Mr. Homegrown

December 29, 2008

Composting, Thoughtstylings

15 Comments

...hm does in Chicago, taking the waste from 6,000 daily meals at the Pacific Garden Mission and, with a large worm composting operation, turning that waste into prized worm compost which is sold at a farmer’s market. The operation is staffed with homeless clients from the Mission. Waste is reduced, gardeners get compost, homeless people get work and everyone benefits. Now let’s change these silly composting laws and get to work . . . [Editors note–T...

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