010 Erica Strauss of Northwest Edible Life

July 30, 2014

Animals, Chickens, Food, Food Preservation, Gardening, Podcasts

...Healthy Eater Meal planning for families Time management on the homestead Getting up early to get things done Irresponsible chicken keeping Livestock vs. pets Ducks vs. chickens Slugs and snails Lining a duck pond with clumping cat litter Duck housing Selecting and preserving avocados Erica’s book project You can also find Erica on Facebook. If you want to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to...

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What Does California’s Prop 64 Say About Home Marijuana Cultivation?

Mr. Homegrown

October 14, 2016

Gardening, Thoughtstylings

26 Comments

After our fist book, The Urban Homestead, came out we visited a big-box bookstore to see what category it ended up in. This was before bookstores created separate shelves for urban homesteading. Unsurprisingly, we found it in the gardening section. What did surprise me was the other books in the garden category. The overwhelming majority were about growing marijuana. There were lavish coffee table books of bud porn, detailed encyclopedias edited...

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Gardening Classes at Silver Lake Farms

Mr. Homegrown

February 25, 2008

Resources, Urban Farming

1 Comment

...Local gardening guru Tara Kolla, who we met in the course of writing our book the Urban Homestead, will be hosting a series of very reasonably priced classes at her beautiful urban farm in Silver Lake beginning in March. Topics include vermicomposting, organic gardening and more. Full information on the Silver Lake Farms website. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, we highly recommend taking a class or two, and sign up early as space is limited....

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Tippy Tap, Beta Version

Mrs. Homegrown

June 26, 2014

Domesticus, Water and Power, Water Conservation

9 Comments

...I gave the bottle a quick coat of paint because I couldn’t scrape off the label and couldn’t stand to wash my hands while that psychotic, chemical peddling teddy bear stared up at me. The mechanics of building a tippy tap are quite simple, but fairly situational, so you’ll have to improvise around the shape of the water bottle you choose, and decide on a hanging method which fits your needs. Some basics: You need support The bottle has to hang fr...

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Incandescent, Compact Fluorescent or LED?

Mr. Homegrown

July 31, 2013

Water and Power

24 Comments

...sealed, enclosed or recessed lighting fixtures. You also have to check the label and perhaps even call the manufacturer to figure out if a CFL will work in a horizontal, base-up or base-down fixture. CFLs perform poorly if turned on and off without at least 15 to 30 minutes to warm up. CFLs contain mercury and other toxins and must be disposed of responsibly. Stick to major brands. Avoid non-UL-listed cheap import bulbs. A trip to the light bulb a...

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