056 Winnetka Farms Part 1

...lian vegetables. In the second part, on next week’s podcast, we’ll discuss urban livestock. During part 1 Craig mentions: Spigarello as the new kale Radicchio di Castelfranco Red Pear Tomato Striato di Napoli zucchini Lunga di Napoli squash Making pumpkin syrup Candied fruits Cardoons If you’d like to stay in touch with Craig you can find him at The Kitchen at Winnetka Farms. If you want to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call...

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In Praise of Disorder

...club presents just the right level of civic inattention to allow the urban homesteader to get away with many of the illegal projects profiled in this blog: greywater, backyard poultry, and front yard vegetable gardening, to mention just a few. Ideally you have a balance between order and disorder–neither gunfire nor the prying eyes of city inspectors. Where I’m staying in Houston, with its flocks of loose chickens, packs of feral dogs, and broken...

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I Made a Bee Vacuum

...tially dangerous if the bees are in a cranky mood. For years I’ve resisted making a bee vacuum with the idea that it’s a crutch, somehow an excuse for bad technique. You can use a smoker to herd bees off the comb and, if you’re careful, once the queen is in the bee box the workers will follow. But if a tool makes things go more smoothly, why not give it a try? There are a lot of different bee vacs that you can make or buy. I built mine using instr...

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Grab and Go

...f the contents of our first aid kit in a subsequent post. 6. Fire Our fire making kit includes waterproof matches and kindling material made with dryer lint and candle wax 7. Repair kit and tools We wear a Leatherman multi-tool at all times on our belt. 8. Nutrition Our grab and go bags contain an array of Cliff bars and other items with a long shelf life. 9. Hydration We have both extra water and a ceramic water filter. 10. Emergency shelter We h...

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Saturday Linkages: DIY Coffee Roasting and That Crazy Rhubarb Lady

...kateboard-can-go-down-stairs.html … Life in the city Urban Healers: http://urbanhealers.tumblr.com Clotheslines vs. HOAs: “Right to Dry” States http://bit.ly/13nMrPL The Ten Most Ambitious Failed Utopian Mass Transit Systems http://jalopnik.com/the-ten-most-ambitious-failed-utopian-mass-transit-syst-1135019271 … Making a Case to Phase Out “Beg Buttons” in Santa Monica’s Pedestrian Action Plan http://disq.us/8elfzy Meet Streetmix, the Website Where...

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