The Farmstead Egg Guide & Cookbook Winner is . . .

March 24, 2014

.... . . Cheryl Brodzinsky who also has a blog, Living Design, “a place dedicated to designing and all things living.” Congrats to Cheryl and many thanks to Terry Golson for her book, the The Farmstead Egg Guide & Cookbook. You can keep up with Terry at hencam.com....

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Planetwalker John Francis

Mrs. Homegrown

July 24, 2013

Thoughtstylings

6 Comments

...g out. The man is wise, and he speaks from his heart. Bonus: You can watch him talk at TED. And find out what’s in his backpack. And he’s got a book, Planetwalker: 22 Years of Walking. 17 Years of Silence....

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What is Killing the Bees?

Mr. Homegrown

August 5, 2013

Animals, Bees

29 Comments

...climates. Feed hives high fructose corn syrup. Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s new book Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder warns about what happens when we prop up and interfere with complex systems like beehives or the economy. When we don’t allow failure (such as trying to prevent mites with chemicals) we set ourselves up for bigger disasters down the road. It’s very convenient to be able to point the finger at the pesticides farmers use. But j...

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Karp’s Sweet Quince Update

Mr. Homegrown

August 22, 2013

Fruit Trees, Gardening

4 Comments

...e needs of our fruit trees. Towards that end I’m reading Michael Phillip’s book The Holistic Orchard. If you have an idea what the damage on my quince is caused by I’d appreciate a comment. David Karp thought it might be brown rot with some insect damage. If you live in the Los Angeles area, Weiser Family Farms should be selling a small amount of Karp’s Sweet Quince at local farmer’s markets. But you’ll have to beat away the artisinal jam producer...

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Top Ten Vegetable Gardening Mistakes

Mr. Homegrown

September 3, 2013

Gardening, Mistakes, Vegetable Gardening

39 Comments

...n to plant in our quirky Mediterranean climate (see this calendar and this book if you’re in SoCal). Seed package directions are useless here (what’s a frost date?). But, in fact, all climates have their quirks. Even two sides of the same town might have different planting dates. You have to find experienced gardeners and sources especially in places with either year round growing seasons or very short growing seasons. Ultimately, all gardening ad...

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