Eight Things to Consider When Saving Vegetable Seeds

The directions for seed saving in our last book, Making It, almost got cut. Perhaps we should have just changed those directions to “Why it’s OK to buy seeds.” The fact is that it’s not easy to save the seeds of many vegetables thanks to the hard work of our bee friends. That being said, Shannon Carmody of Seed Saver’s Exchange gave a lecture at this year’s Heirloom Exposition with some tips for ambitious gardeners who want to take up seed saving...

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An update on Phoebe

...cat, Phoebe, is doing. Because we know so many people care–and at risk of making this a maudlin sick pet blog–we wanted to let you know she’s in the hospital tonight (Monday night) and will probably be there most of tomorrow. She started having trouble breathing today, and needs to spend some time in a box full of oxygen, while her genius veterinarian, Dr. Zimmerman, does some tests and re-jiggers her treatment program. Phoebe is in heart failure...

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Ten Uses for Palm Fronds

...I’m excited about this idea. Here’s how to do it. 9. Use as a symbol of victory. Palm fronds have symbolic meanings across numerous cultures. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu4I8bDQsS0 10. Rob a liquor store. I’m not making this up. Via Bob in Oz. One runner-up idea: hugelkultur. I’m skeptical. What did I leave out? Basket weavers do you have any tips? Please tell me I don’t need to scale the tree to get a green palm frond....

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Can Whole Wheat Solve the Wheat Allergy Problem?

...his classes for amateur bakers, is showing how tasty baked goods can be that are made from real whole wheat flour. But it’s tricky. High extraction whole wheat flours are a lot less uniform than white flours. And they suck up a lot of water when you use them for making bread. As the co-founder of the Los Angeles Bread Bakers I get the gluten sensitivity question a lot which is why I’m interested in hearing from readers. Do you have a wheat or glut...

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