Least Favorite Plant: Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana)

June 2, 2009

Thumbing through a book of toxic and hallucinogenic plants, I finally manged to i.d. the neighbor’s shrub that looms over the staircase to our front door. The popular name given for this plant in the book was “suicide tree”, so named for its use in Sri Lanka, though I’ve found other plants with this same moniker. The scientific name is Thevetia peruviana, and it’s also known as “lucky nut” (can we change that to unlucky nut please?), Be Still Tre...

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December Homegrown Evolution Events

Mr. Homegrown

December 8, 2008

Events

2 Comments

...y December 11th at 7 p.m. our publishers Process Media and Feral House are putting on a Winter Solstice Celebration at La Luz de Jesus Gallery, 4633 Hollywood Blvd in Los Angeles. We hear rumours of bonfires (not our book we hope!), Druids, “mystics and madmen, mulberry and mead.” We’ll just be hanging out, enjoying the festivities. Come on down and see us and get discounts on Process and Feral House books. Details here....

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Home Baked Bread in Five Minutes

Mr. Homegrown

December 24, 2008

Bread, Food

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...t that it works quite well. Hertzberg and François have penned a bread cookbook, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, that takes this basic recipe and uses it as the base for variations such as pizza dough, sticky rolls, and whole-wheat bread. While not having as rich a flavor as our wild yeast recipe, Hertzberg and François’ method is an excellent solution for busy households. We look forward to seeing the book. For more on the five minute a day...

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2008 . . . a year of luxury

Mr. Homegrown

January 1, 2008

Animals, Chickens

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...w to poultry and, in just an hour of reading, have learned a lot from this book. It’s a must have for anyone thinking about getting chickens. Thanks to info in the book and our microscope, we’re looking forward to a year of DIY chicken fecal examinations and turning those parasite egg counts into a drinking game. We’ll inaugurate a new year of posts with an entertaining excerpt from The Chicken Health Handbook, “Spontaneous sex change is a phenome...

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Mandrake!

Mr. Homegrown

July 3, 2007

Fermentation, Food

2 Comments

...ber of the nightshade family and popularized lately in a certain series of books about a wizard school (Homegrown Revolution suffered through the first film based on these kid’s books on a transatlantic flight a few years ago, finally falling asleep during an endless video game inspired broom chase scene). Apparently wherever it appears in the world, mandrake (Atropa mandragora) has always inspired unusual beliefs. Buhner says, Though all indigeno...

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