Failed Experiment: Bermuda Buttercup or Sour Grass (Oxalis pes-caprae) as Dye

January 31, 2013

...d that I’d just start over and do it right from the start. I gathered more plants, chopped, and increased my ratio of plants to water to make the solution stronger. Then I heated the water to 180 F, simmered, drained, set aside the plant matter and returned the theoretical dye to the pot. (NB: when straining plant matter, put it through a super fine strainer, like cloth, to capture any and all solids. I had some tiny flecks of plant matter adherin...

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Saturday Linkages: Bitters, Dogs and Native Plants

Mr. Homegrown

December 7, 2013

Saturday Linkages

...13/12/04/how-to-eat-more-plant-based-meals-handout-now-available/ …. Eagle Rock backyard yields fresh fruit and food for the hungry http://www.theeastsiderla.com/2013/12/eagle-rock-backyard-yields-fresh-fruit-and-food-for-the-hungry/ … Native plants: restoring an idea–http://www.patternliteracy.com/116-native-plants-restoring-to-an-idea … In the U.S., recycling is often pigeonholed as… – Unconsumption http://disq.us/8gf2so For these links and more...

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Our new front yard: history

Mrs. Homegrown

November 11, 2015

Back to the Garden, front yard series, Garden Design, Gardening

19 Comments

...ng guides and determined that we should plant the slope with Mediterranean plants. Through this process we began to learn the common names of plants, as as well as their exotic, hard to pronounce scientific names, and we began to pick up on basic vocabulary: terms like root ball and perennial and massing. We planted tough, shrubby plants like lavender and Mexican sage and lantana. We planted these around a couple of young prickly pear cactus (Ficu...

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Checking in on Kelly’s projects

Mrs. Homegrown

September 12, 2014

Miscellaneous

15 Comments

...his very ambitious project has gone on hold until the crisis arises again. Making a mattress is intimidating, just because of the sheer cost and scale of the materials needed, and as far as I can tell, there’s no one out there to help you do it. If I ever do make a mattress, it will be like summiting the Everest of homesteading. On the other hand, if I ever learn how, I think I could make a mint teaching other desperate people how to do it themsel...

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Making It Available in Overdrive App

Mr. Homegrown

December 22, 2016

Publications

3 Comments

...ecreational library visit, my favorite librarian informed me that our book Making It is available for download in the Overdrive app. Ego boosted! Many public libraries, in addition to books, now have a long list of digital gewgaws, apps and resources. One of those apps is Overdrive, which allows you to download eBooks, videos and audio books to your digital devices for free. Over 30,000 libraries worldwide use Overdrive to distribute materials. To...

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