A Mystery Philippine Vegetable

...about reclaiming wasted space, staying in touch with nature, the value of homegrown food, dodging the authorities and knowing where your carrots come from. I harvested for the camera, an unimpressive string bean and two small cucumbers. On a whim, I suggested that we visit the parkway garden that inspired us to plant our own. Just two blocks away, this parkway garden is the handiwork of a retired couple from the Philippines. As luck would have it...

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Dome Building

...a quick roundup of domes for all the DIY visionaries out there. First off, Homegrown Revolution reader andrewed tipped us off to C.E. Henderson’s Conic Shelter™. Henderson has devised an attractive not-really-a-dome form that works with, rather than against the ubiquitous 4 x 8′ sheet of plywood. The Zome dome is a geometrical form that also works better with standard building materials. It’s most popular in rural France, but there are numerous ex...

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Chicken Goes to Hollywood

Homegrown Neighbor here. On Thursday Mr. Homegrown and I escorted my chicken, Peckerella, to her first public appearance. Peckerella was there to assist author Terry Golson, who has written a wonderful children’s book called Tillie Lays An Egg. The book has adorable pictures of her flock and features the adventurous Tillie, who likes to lay her eggs everywhere except her nesting box. Ms. Golson is currently in Los Angeles to share Tillie’s story...

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Post Petroleum Lecture – a reminder

...donation of $10 for the lecture. The Los Angeles Eco-Village is located at: 117 Bimini Place Los Angeles, CA 90004. For those of you who can’t make either lecture Homegrown Revolution always enjoys the peak oil harangues from the very cranky James Howard Kunstler....

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

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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