Sourdough Pancake Recipe

November 16, 2012

...to use all that tangy delicious starter to make pancakes. For years we’ve used Nancy Silverton’s recipe. Basically, the starter fills in for the flour and milk used in standard pancake recipes. That’s all there is to it. The only downside to the new way we feed our starter is that I don’t make these delicious sourdough pancakes anymore. You could, of course, still make them by building up more starter the night before. But make sure that starter...

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Anne Hars’ Top Ramen Keyhole Vegetable Garden

Mr. Homegrown

February 15, 2013

Gardening, Permaculture, Vegetable Gardening

12 Comments

...I did when I was using wood,” says Hars referring to the straw wattle she used to edge the keyhole. Straw wattle is a (mostly) biodegradable material made out of rice straw and plastic netting. You can find it at irrigation supply stores and on order at Home Depot. It comes in 25 foot lengths. Soil for the bed came from the ground, from bagged soil that used to be in the wooden raised beds and from compost that Anne makes herself. “I’m going to p...

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Arduino Homesteading Projects

Mr. Homegrown

March 6, 2013

How-to

7 Comments

...ms for Arduinos–useful for non-programmers such as myself. In the class we used the $24 Leonardo model of the Arduino, which is commonly used for prototyping. Once you figure out what inputs and outputs you need for your project you can get a cheaper Arduino with fewer features for use in, let’s say, your automatic chicken coop door opener. I thought I’d compile a list of Arduino based project related to the “low-tech, home-tech” subjects covered...

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Picture Sundays: Doberman Chariots

Mr. Homegrown

March 31, 2013

Picture Sundays

6 Comments

...of transportation. Our late dog was a Doberman and I remembered a book we used to have about the breed that showed some unusual events that used to be held in South Africa in the 1970s: harness racing with Dobermans and kid jockeys! Remembering just how powerful and fast our Doberman was, I imagine these races were quite a thrill for the kids in those carts. Try this in the US and, no doubt, child protective services would shut down the fun in no...

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Our Keyhole Vegetable Bed: What Worked and What Didn’t Work

Mr. Homegrown

April 17, 2013

Gardening, Vegetable Gardening

10 Comments

...t back in October. Note the compost repository in the center of the bed. I used straw wattle (available where professional irrigation supplies are sold) to form the sides of the keyhole. A month later in November a few seedlings were popping up. I had to robustify the skunk barrier (made out of bird netting) after repeated skunk raids. What worked: The compost decomposed nicely and seemed to attract insect life. Stuff grew. What didn’t work: I did...

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