Grow the Soil

...he right is the victim of depleted soil. There’s some irony here. With our book release and press folks coming around to see things we’ve been doing too much planting and not paying enough attention to soil quality. Here’s two options we should have taken to help out that sickly eggplant in the raised bed (other than the expensive route of new potting soil): 1. Sheet Mulch A concept from the permacultural toolbox, sheet mulching involves making a...

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Dookie in the Tomatoes

...impossible for small family farmers to make a living. Read Joel Salatin’s book, “Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal” for more on how agricultural regulations are at the heart of our food safety problems. 3. Don’t wash produce until just before it is prepared. At it turns out, washing upsets the natural balance of harmful and beneficial bacteria present on fresh produce. Food microbiologist Keith Warriner has found that a beneficial bacteria calle...

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Greywater Guerrillas in LA this Weekend

...California, make sure to check out their informative website and their new book Dam Nation. We especially enjoy the GG’s project examples. Here’s the 411 on their LA appearances: Saturday July 19th: Hands-On Greywater Installation Workshop. Time: 11am-3pm Location: Silver Lake (You’ll get an email with directions once registered) Cost: $30-$40 sliding-scale To register: email Matt Moses Space is very limited so register early! Workshop will includ...

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Appropriate Technology

...propriate technology evolved out of political economist E. F. Schumacher’s book Small is Beautiful and is easier to show rather than describe. While not always low-tech, appropriate tech concepts feature elegantly simple (but not simplistic) design, efficient use of energy and are usually aimed at poor countries. What Homegrown Evolution would like to prove is that these technologies have a place in developed western countries as well. Here’s thre...

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