Is Industrial Ag to Blame for the Swine Flu?

April 27, 2009

...ry farms. The exotic strains of E-coli and swine flu that have emerged in recent years could be the unintended consequence of concentrated animal feeding operations. Time to call the homeowners association and ask them if you can keep a few pigs in that suburban backyard....

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Shelter

Mr. Homegrown

June 26, 2009

Reviews

2 Comments

...something yourself even if you don’t know what the hell you are doing. Sometimes the most ramshackled comedies of architectural errors evolve into home. But Kahn’s encyclopedic work also celebrates craft, with many examples of builders who gathered their knowledge through many years of experience. I go through Shelter all the time for inspiration and was thrilled to find out that Kahn has a blog (and made a nice mention of us). Some recent posts i...

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The Great Greywater Debate- PVC or Polyethylene?

Homegrown Neighbor

July 14, 2009

Water and Power, Water Conservation

22 Comments

...e Homegrown Neighbor here. I’ve been wanting a greywater system for a long time. My old house does not exactly make access to the pipes easy, so I’m starting with just the washing machine. The neighbor, Mr. Homegrown, is anxious to try out a new design from Oasis. So we have been trying to get all the pieces and get it done- and here is where we get stuck. The system can either use polyethylene tubing or pvc. PVC is ubiquitous, cheap and toxic. Ju...

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Seed Review: Thompson & Morgan Golden Berry

Mr. Homegrown

September 5, 2007

Gardening

6 Comments

...t problems, but did start to look unhappy in the heat of the summer. We probably won’t grow it again, but will let the plant reseed itself. The chickens have spent some time pecking at the fallen fruit and seem to enjoy it about as much as we do, which is to say not all that much....

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Using Greywater from your Washing Machine

Mr. Homegrown

December 15, 2007

Water and Power, Water Conservation

9 Comments

...k also slows down the flow of water going out to the garden, allowing more time for it to percolate into the soil. In addition the tank lets the water cool a bit, should we run a load in hot water. Bottom of barrel showing fittings Top of the barrel where the hose from the washing machine comes in For the tank we picked up a used and cleaned 55 gallon plastic drum with two “bung holes”, and plumbed it based on a design from Aquabarrel.com. The fol...

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