Lead in Backyard Eggs: Don’t Freak Out But Don’t Ignore the Issue

...elevated lead levels in our soil when we did a series of soil tests back in 2011. Thankfully our egg results came in at 1.02 ug, just under the average level in the study. You’d have to eat a lot of eggs as an adult to go beyond the Federal Drug Administration’s maximum recommended lead intake level, though you could bump up against it if a child ate more than three eggs a day. I’d suggest that if you live in an older urban location, next to a gas...

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Saturday Linkages: Water Shaming, Scotts and Robot Houses

Smarter urban water: how Denver turned to ridiculing waste http://gu.com/p/4va3t/tw Grid-It: Knoll your everyday carry http://boingboing.net/2014/08/20/grid-it-knoll-your-edc.html … In Our Garden: Four Surprising Fruits http://thehorticult.com/in-our-garden-four-surprising-fruits-that-are-now-in-full-swing/ … Sneak peak of a LIGHT-UP ROBOT-FACE Tree House http://relaxshacks.blogspot.com/2014/08/sneak-peak-of-light-up-robot-face-tree.html?spref=tw...

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Gourmet Foraging and Advanced Acorn Processing

...realized its a heck of a lot easier than growing, harvesting and threshing wheat. High value carbs don’t come out of nowhere–but they do grow on trees! Last steps Now you’re ready to cook with your acorn meal. It’s wet, so if you’re not going to use it immediately, I’d recommend drying it. You can spread it on cookie sheets and dry it in a very low oven, stirring frequently to get the wet stuff exposed to the air. Or if you have a dehydrator, you’...

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The Austrian Scythe is the New Weed Whacker

...it’s crucial that your scythe fit your height. Scythe use is intellectual for me since years worth of mulching, a dry climate and a very small yard means that I don’t have any stands of weeds to knock down or wheat to harvest. But, if I had a large yard and grass to deal with, I’d dump the weed whacker in a heartbeat. For more info see Scythe Supply’s Scythe faq Drawing from www.thescytheshop.co.uk....

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Why You Should Proof Bread in the Refrigerator

...sibility that sourdough cultures and long fermentation times may alleviate wheat allergies. There’s no solid proof of this but it makes intuitive sense to me. Loaves proofed in the fridge hold their shape better when baked. Proofing in the fridge slows down but does not entirely stop fermentation. With the breads I make I’ve found that between 12 and 24 hours in the fridge is about right. Longer and you risk over-fermentation and having dough stic...

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