Dry Climate Vegetables

April 17, 2014

Gardening, rainwater harvesting, Vegetable Gardening, Water and Power

...the seeds we buy for our vegetable gardens are adapted to require lots of water. One solution is to find veggies that have reseeded accidentally without supplemental irrigation. Here’s a short list of reseeding rogue veggies from our garden that have thrived with just the small burst of rain we got last month. New Zealand Spinach The one I’m most excited about is New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides). It’s reappeared for at lest three y...

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From the Archives: That Time Kelly Accidentally Ate Hemlock

Mr. Homegrown

July 18, 2016

Food, Foraging

5 Comments

...of seeds.” The rest of the class made noises of dismay. Someone offered me water. It was really embarrassing. As you might guess, Kelly survived. And thank you random number generator for the Jungian synchronicity: our last podcast is an interview with Pascal. As Kelly notes in her blog post, Hemlock is in the Apiaceae (carrot family). Novice foragers would be wise to avoid this family entirely. That said, Pascal tells a story of running into a gr...

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Quick Relief for Poison Oak

Mrs. Homegrown

April 4, 2014

Domesticus, Herbal Medicine, How-to

34 Comments

...til I found one I liked from good ol’ Dr. Weil. He recommended running hot water over the rash, as hot as you can stand it. I don’t remember that he said how long you should do this, but I decided to do it as long as I could stand it, which in my case was probably a minute or so. He said the heat will cause the itching to flare temporarily, but then suppress the itching for hours, and speed healing as well. Results? It worked like a charm for me....

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The Homegrown Revolution Broadleaf Plantain Pizza

Mr. Homegrown

February 23, 2007

Food, Foraging

1 Comment

...r home kitchens from the VPN’s regulations, for the dough: 1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115º) 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast Mix water and yeast and proof for 7 minutes. Mix flour and salt in a heavy-duty stand mixer. Add the yeast mixture to the flour and mix on low for 30 minutes. Shape dough into a round and let proof in a covered and oiled bowl for 4 hours in a warm place (we use the top of the st...

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Something for Nothing – Wild Mustard Greens

Mr. Homegrown

March 8, 2008

Food, Foraging

...hite mustard’ of commerce . . . The pungency of mustard develops when cold water is added to the ground-up seed – an enzyme (myrosin) acts on a glycoside (sinigrin) to produce a sulphur compound. The reaction takes 10 – 15 minutes. Mixing with hot water or vinegar, or adding salt, inhibits the enzyme and produces a mild bitter mustard.” And speaking of urban foraging, we’ve been inspired by our visitor from Chicago, Nancy Klehm. Hear an interview...

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