New Project: Making Bitters

...I’ll share the recipes I develop as I follow this path. In the meanwhile, making your own bitters is really easy. You may be able to throw a few experiments together just using things you find in your spice cabinet. Since these are flavoring, not medicine, you don’t have to be as careful with the quantities and timing as you must be when tincturing herbs for medicine. Yet at the same time, it’s a great introduction to that essential herbalist’s c...

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Saturday Tweets: #FlyingLess, VHS Making a Comeback and Alanis Morissette Impressions

...witter.com/a5B7J0aHX1 — Wrath Of Gnon (@wrathofgnon) March 19, 2018 VHS is making a comeback https://t.co/cankAKwcRR — Root Simple (@rootsimple) March 20, 2018 The auto industry has already established primacy over our cities. Now they want primacy over our bodies too? Enough. Tech solutions with dubious ethical implications don’t give us the future I want to live in. https://t.co/WbypKPrr0F — Eric Bruins (@ejfbruins) March 22, 2018 Love Dan Pears...

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Checking in on Kelly’s projects

...his very ambitious project has gone on hold until the crisis arises again. Making a mattress is intimidating, just because of the sheer cost and scale of the materials needed, and as far as I can tell, there’s no one out there to help you do it. If I ever do make a mattress, it will be like summiting the Everest of homesteading. On the other hand, if I ever learn how, I think I could make a mint teaching other desperate people how to do it themsel...

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Have We Reached Peak Kale? Franchi’s Cavolo Laciniato “Galega De Folhas Lisas”

I’ve heard murmurings of a kale backlash. Apparently, too many restaurants have kale salads and fancy city folks like us are losing sleep worrying what the next hip vegetable will be. I have a proposal. Let’s keep with the kale for awhile longer. I propose a Franchi kale “Galega De Folhas Lisas” as the new big thing. Translated, the variety name is something like “Galacian smooth leaf.” To add to the confusion I get the feeling that Italians don’...

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How To Stop Powdery Mildew

...fected leaves promptly and dispose of them Fungicides: apply horticultural oil, neem oil or jojoba oil if the temperature is under 90° F. Do not apply any of these oils if you have used sulfur. DIY Options For home remedies I turned to advice from Washington State University horticulturalist Linda Chalker-Scott. How about milk, widely touted as a powdery mildew treatment? According to Chalker-Scott the answer is yes it might work, but you may need...

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