A Day of the Dead Altar

October 30, 2015

...good to have them at the table. I have a small silver pitcher holding rain water. It is traditional to have refreshment for visiting spirits. It also represents the element of water. And along the lines of refreshments, I also have a bottle of good Scotch up there, of which most of my ancestors would highly approve. It also brings a bit of the Celtic into the mix. A small felt Doberman, a toy portrait of our late, much beloved dog, Spike. Ofrendas...

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Growing Pink Oyster Mushrooms

Mr. Homegrown

June 2, 2022

Gardening, Mushrooms

4 Comments

...d, you use it to inoculate bags of straw that have been pasteurized in hot water. I think we ended up with something like 16 small bags of straw divided between our group. Keep the bags inoculated in step 3 in a humid environment with some indirect light and wait for them to fruit. This all sounds a lot harder than it actually was. Oyster mushrooms have a reputation for easily out-competing molds that can tank other mushrooms. The culture we used...

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Anagallis monellii : A New Favorite

Mrs. Homegrown

April 14, 2014

Gardening

10 Comments

...uited to the California climate, and it follows that it does not need much water. It is perennial in zones 9 to 11 (that’s us), but can be grown as an annual elsewhere. If you see Anagallis monellii without blooms, it is not much to look at. It’s a rangy, low-slung plant with uninteresting foliage. What it excels at is blooming. I believe it comes in a few colors, but “Blue Pimpernel” makes 1″ flowers in a rich gentian blue with magenta eyes, and...

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Preparing For El Niño Storms

Mr. Homegrown

January 5, 2016

Preparedness

16 Comments

...pletely clogged with loose asphalt roofing material. Channeled some of the water from our gutters to the backyard garden. Since our house is on the hill I have to send the rest of the water down to the street, unfortunately. Made sure to have working flashlights with fully charged batteries. Our electricity has gotten increasingly unreliable over recent years. Charged the 2 meter ham radio (it’s also a scanner). Got a supply of dry goods that can...

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Olive Curing Update

Mr. Homegrown

May 4, 2020

Fruit Trees, Gardening

5 Comments

...you make a brine solution with pickling salt (one pound salt per gallon of water) and vinegar (5% acetic acid–1 1/2 cups per gallon). To this I added some garlic and hot pepper flakes. I went light on the seasoning which, I think, was a good idea. Following the suggestion on the Hunter Angler Gardener Cook blog I changed out the brine when the water darkened—about once a month. What the olives looked like at the beginning of the curing process. Th...

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