Mahonia gracilis – Mexican Barberry

November 7, 2007

...t it should be called Berberis gracilis. Some sources place it on a deep shade list, while others say it needs dappled sun. We’ll throw it open to all the Homegrown Revolutionaries out there. Do any of you have experience with this plant?...

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The Brooklyn Bee

Mr. Homegrown

February 28, 2007

Animals, Bees

4 Comments

...s his bees also collect pollen from cut flowers at outdoor florist stands. Homegrown Revolution wishes that we could end this story musing about a bright future for urban beekeeping, a future in which each neighborhood has a beekeeper to pollinate the many fruit trees that should grow on our city’s streets, but sadly bee news these days is on the depressing side. If the Albert Einstein quote is correct we’re in trouble since bees have been disappe...

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Weed Eating Italian Style

Mr. Homegrown

February 26, 2007

Food, Foraging

1 Comment

...w Western cultures that still actively forage. Spring approaches and with it a free salad bar and produce section just waiting to be picked. Homegrown Revolution declares 2007 the year of the weed!...

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That ain’t a bowl full of larvae, it’s crosne!

Mr. Homegrown

January 21, 2010

Gardening, Self Watering Containers, Vegetable Gardening

22 Comments

Mrs. Homegrown, justifiably, gives me a hard time for growing strange things around the homestead. This week I just completed the world’s smallest harvest of a root vegetable popularly known as crosne (Stachys affinis). Crosne, also known as Chinese artichoke, chorogi, knotroot and artichoke betony is a member of the mint family that produces a tiny edible tuber. While looking like any other mint plant, the leaves have no smell. The tubers look a...

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Meet My Chickens: the continuing story of Chickenzilla

Homegrown Neighbor

May 17, 2009

Animals, Chickens

9 Comments

Homegrown Neighbor here. My chicken Whitey, a.k.a. Chickenzilla, has been laying some wonderful eggs lately. Of course, she is a meat chicken, not a layer. I think of her as a “rescue” chicken. Most meat chickens are harvested between just 7 and 10 weeks of age. At over a year old now, Chickenzilla is likely one of the oldest broiler hens alive. But she is a surprisingly good layer, with a big, bad-ass personality to match her immense body. When...

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