LA ecovillage: self-reliance in a car-free urban homestead

June 20, 2014

Bikes, Gardening, Thoughtstylings, Transportation

...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdQGozSavz8 Johnny, who shot that nice video of us for faircompanies.com just made another video about our friends at the LA ecovillage. It’s well worth a view. Some of the most amazing folks in Los Angeles live there. And I like that fact that’s it’s an ecovillage smack dab in the middle of my beloved hometown. Make sure to also check out Johnny’s blog Granola Shotgun....

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Is the Detroit Urban Farm Revolution Over?

Mr. Homegrown

October 24, 2014

Thoughtstylings

11 Comments

...David and Sky Brown’s house. It appears that a young couple, David and Sky Brown, who bought a $2,000 house in Detroit last May ran afoul of an Animal Control officer on Wednesday. The couple’s goats and chickens were seized over the tearful pleas of their owners. There’s more on the story here. The Browns have asked for help on their blog. If any Detroit area readers know more about this story please leave a comment. Update: there’s a petition....

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032 Grist and Toll, an Urban Flour Mill

Mr. Homegrown

January 7, 2015

Bread, Fermentation, Food, Podcasts

4 Comments

In episode 32 of the Root Simple Podcast I talk with Nan Kohler, owner and miller at Grist & Toll, a mill in Pasadena, California–and the first mill to operate in the L.A. area in the last one hundred years. We discuss varieties of wheat, the health benefits of whole grains, how to work with them and why flavor is important. Kelly is not on this episode but will return to the podcast next week. Links Ruth Reichl visits baker Richard Bertinet in E...

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Is the Urban Homesteading Trend Over?

Mr. Homegrown

December 14, 2015

Thoughtstylings

26 Comments

“Bread Recipe” searches In a segment on KCRW’s Good Food, host Evan Kleiman interviewed Celia Sack, the owner of Omnivore Books on Food in San Francisco. Sack noted a trend this year: fewer books on baking, bread and beer, which she linked to a rising economy. As she put it, people don’t have to make their own jam anymore, they can just buy it at the store. She is correct that interest in DIY homesteading books wane during good economic times. Bu...

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Our new front yard, part 3: design

Mrs. Homegrown

November 17, 2015

Back to the Garden, front yard series, Garden Design, Gardening

3 Comments

...got some books out of the library and began reading. I also used Internet resources, particularly the Theodore Payne wiki, for looking up native plant specs. I realized that in the past, I had always thought of native plants (all plants, really) as specimens. I’d say to myself, “I really want a white sage.” And then I’d get one and find somewhere to plant it. I never thought about the whole yard as a system. This process is very different. I had...

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