Gourmet Foraging and Advanced Acorn Processing

...g been interested in acorns, knowing that they were the staple food of the native people who lived here, and I’ve gathered and processed them before. However, once I have the acorn meal, I’ve never known exactly what to do with it. It’s highly nutritious, but I thought (wrongly!) that it was somewhat bland, and all I could do was incorporate acorn meal into baked goods. This weekend, however, I’ve had my eyes opened to the possibilities, thanks to...

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February 2019 Garden Update

...wrong place, too big or just plain ugly. Then plant trees that either feed native wildlife (such as oak) or provide fruit. Think carefully about their placement. Do all hardscaping first and build it out of durable materials. Those retaining walls that failed in the front yard are wood and only lasted 15 years. If you don’t know what your doing hire a professional. It think this would have actually saved money over the years due to hasty and poorl...

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Saturday Tweets: Passover/Holy Saturday Edition

...3EUON8Sk via @eff — Root Simple (@rootsimple) March 27, 2018 The Best Alternative For Every Facebook Feature https://t.co/4MRpqnZ1cn via @WIRED — Root Simple (@rootsimple) March 27, 2018 How to delete Facebook https://t.co/mKzU0RdoJj via @Verge — Root Simple (@rootsimple) March 27, 2018 Africa is littered with abandoned poorly-planned aid projects https://t.co/3S3MK8Ucam — Root Simple (@rootsimple) March 27, 2018 I ditched Facebook in 2013, and it...

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What is and is not a “Swarm” of Bees

...mellifera). There are also wasps, hornets, bumblebees and 4,000 species of native bees in the United States alone. These are often mistaken for honeybees, but their habits are very different. Collectively the evolutionary family tree that includes these insects are known as Hymenoptera. The 150,000 known Hymenoptera have a beneficial roll to play in the web of life. In addition to gathering pollen and nectar many Hymenoptera species, such as wasps...

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What Tree Should I Plant? Cal Poly’s SelecTree Has the Answer

...se called SelecTree that will help you find the right tree for your yard. Or, let’s say, you’re bored with hours spent adding movies to your Netlix queue that you never plan to watch (one of my vices). How about searching for oddball trees instead? What about a California native tree with favorable fire resistance, low root damage potential that produces edible fruit? The database came up with two options, the hollyleaf cherry (Prunus ilicifolia)...

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