A Better Garage Organizational System

...to hang them. You could also make a small version of this system for an apartment and attach the plywood to the wall with a French cleat. While what I put together was a storage wall for a wood shop, you could easily adapt this idea to any other craft. I could see a sewing or crafting room organized the same way. It does help to know which tools you need and to place the most frequently used ones close at hand. In my case that meant the measuring...

Read…

Saturday Tweets: Beet Raisins, Seed Libraries and a Pepperoni Disaster

...This project inspires me and returns the energy I put into it in spades. Earth scientists (and others), please consider joining us! — Peter Kalmus (@ClimateHuman) April 6, 2018 Why So Many Public Libraries Are Now Giving Out Seeds @atlasobscura https://t.co/YpPQZo4K4h — Rachel Surls (@RachelSurls) April 6, 2018 Eric Garcetti can’t be a ‘climate mayor’ while he’s making more room for cars https://t.co/sg9Uf83izf — BikeLA (@Bike_LA) April 6, 2018 "...

Read…

Luddite’s Moonshot: Dealing With Leafy Green Pests

...this year because it is so demoralizing.” Then he linked to the Wikipedia article for the banana slug. While we have no banana slugs down here in the southern reaches of California we have plenty of other brassica and leafy green pests, principally the cabbage leaf worm. I’ve come to much the same conclusion as Kyle and grow only arugula and lettuce during our cool winter season. I leave the kale cultivation to the professionals. There’s nothing...

Read…

How much time do you spend cycling in the city?

...tize walking and cycling over driving. This involves slowing down traffic, making parking expensive and difficult, installing bike and bus only lanes and heavily penalizing anyone who texts and drives. Unfortunately, these are unpalatable and career ending policies for our council members and mayor. But we can’t give up hope. I was a small part of the push, ten years ago, to make things better for cycling in Los Angeles. I feel like contributing t...

Read…

A Question About Freezing and Canning Home Grown Vegetables

...s sort of preservation. Frozen berries, for example, are fantastic for jam making. If I need to make some peach jam out of season, I head straight to the frozen fruit section of the grocery store. Your caller was asking about vegetables, of course, and there would be some nuances. First, they will want to be sure to freeze the vegetables properly, such as blanching certain veggies to set color and stop enzymatic reactions. Following the guidelines...

Read…