Saturday Linkages: An Egg Shaped Houseboat, Bamboo Joints and the Origins of Umami

July 20, 2013

...-pad-studio-spud-group-stephen-turner/#.UehXNCf_u3g.twitter … The Pheonix Earthship….. http://frommoontomoon.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-pheonix-earthship.html … Scale Models of Bicycles http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/krisdedecker/lowtechmagazineenglish/~3/Zre1F8bEuz4/bicycle-scale-models.html … Food The Origins of Heritage Foods Revivals 1980-1985 http://garynabhan.com/i/archives/2137 Fermenting Mentor: Uri Laio of Brassica and Brine http://...

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Bee Fever in Los Angeles

Mr. Homegrown

June 14, 2013

Animals, Bees

8 Comments

...the radical “backwards” approach to beekeeping advocated by LA’s maverick urban beekeeper Kirk Anderson, Anderson learned from apiarist Charles Martin Simon, who invented the concept of “beekeeping backwards.” Simon’s approach was stupidly simple: Give the bees a clean box, put them in it and leave them alone. If they get sick? Don’t medicate them. Let them die. Then get some more bees. Amen. Selecting for strong bees is an approach that, in my o...

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Waking up on New Year’s Day with the world of long crowing roosters

Mr. Homegrown

January 1, 2009

Animals, Chickens

9 Comments

Now I’m not suggesting these guys for urban situations, but New Year’s Day seems an appropriate moment to survey the world of long crowing roosters. According to poultry expert Gail Damerow, writing in the current issue of Backyard Poultry Magazine, long crowers probably have their origins in Japan and have spread throughout the world through deliberate selection. Here’s a play list for your listening pleasure, consisting of a Turkish long crowin...

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Row Cover as an Insect Barrier

Mr. Homegrown

October 22, 2012

Vegetable Gardening

13 Comments

...eds carries Agribon row cover in lengths as short as 50 feet–plenty for an urban or suburban garden. I’ve used both PVC pipe and chain link fence tension wire as support. I secure the row cover down with pieces of rebar and bricks to keep out skunks. What cabbage worms become. It’s not a plug and play solution, however. If it gets hot I have to remember to pull the row cover off. And the added humidity can cause outbreaks of aphids. But overall, i...

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Texas Town Outlaws Common Sense

Mr. Homegrown

March 9, 2009

Animals, Chickens, Thoughtstylings

16 Comments

...eteran. My husband is a disabled veteran. My oldest son is in Iraq currently, for his second tour of duty. And this afternoon, as I shut the door, in tears, I wondered…This is what we served for?” To add to the indignities, Audet is not some tight quarters urban chicken enthusiast. She and her family live on 2 1/2 acres. Read more about her dilemma in her article City of Lancaster bans sustainable living…more or less. How will we know when our cou...

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