Self-Irrigating Gutter Update

...ll just posted in the video above. This improvement on the design replaces the lower gutter with a 4-inch drain pipe. The drain pipe is easier to keep water-tight. And instead of using a gutter filled with soil I might use a series of pots (an idea that’s also in the video)–gutters are too shallow for most plants. Despite the problems, I would call the project a success. In fact, I may expand my gutter system out onto the rest of the garage roo....

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Bread Class and Lunch at Jennie Cooks Catering

...cuits Black and Blueberry Jam Strawberry Balsamic Jam For Lunch: Sparkling White Sangria Cashew Cream Savory Sourdough Bread Pudding Classic Gazpacho (from Jennie’s upcoming cookbook!) Wilted Spinach Salad Strawberry Shortcake This class is the first of a 3-part series! The regular price is $85 for a single class or $200 for all three. Price includes all ingredients, supplies, recipes, instructions, the take-home finished product you will make you...

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How to Make a Bee Skep

...build your own. Looks like a fun project. How skeps are used The following series of videos show how skeps are used. Part 6 documents the steps leading up to the honey harvest. It’s a labor intensive process. To get at the honeycomb, skeps are “bounced” over an empty skep to remove the bees. These bees are then combined with weaker hives and overwintered. It’s easy to see, from the hard work and level of skill required, why the modern and much eas...

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Erik’s 2012 New Year’s Resolutions in Review

...d plan out the garden but nature had her own plans including a destructive series of skunk attacks. I’ve switched to a hands-off approach to veggie gardening inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka. Start a podcast (decided to make it a video podcast). You can subscribe in the iTunes store here (it’s freeeeee!). Clean up the graphic design on the blog and organize information better: Thank you to our book designer Roman Jaster for doing this for us! Return t...

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Building a Makeshift Treadmill Desk

In what I hope will be a regular feature, here’s the first in a series of interviews of other homesteaders about interesting low tech home tech projects they’ve taken on. In this interview we talk to writer and homesteader Charlotte McGuinn Freeman about her DIY treadmill desk–a project I’m considering at the Root Simple compound. Charlotte blogs at LivingSmall.com and lives in Livingston, Montana. Why did you build a treadmill desk? Because as I...

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