Search Results for: label/homegrown evolution amazon store/2010/06/the-urban-homestead

968 results

Build a Solar Dehydrator

Avatar photo
Appropriate Technology, Preparedness, Solar
22 Comments
...moving without the use of electric fans such as you’d find in your typical store bought electric dehydrator. Our solar dehydrator is constructed out of plywood and consists of a heat collector containing a black metal screen housed in a box with a clear plastic top. This screen heats up on a sunny day and feeds hot air into a wooden box above it. Vents at the bottom and the top of the contraption create an upward airflow through natural convection...

Read…

Using Greywater from your Washing Machine

Avatar photo
Water and Power, Water Conservation
9 Comments
...together ourselves with a couple of common pvc fittings from the hardware store and omitted the overflow pipe, since our washing machine load will never exceed 55 gallons. The basic idea behind the Aquabarrel design is to turn the barrel upside down and use the preexisting threaded bung holes to connect up a garden hose. It took just a few minutes to complete, and our washing machine surge tank was ready to use. We highly recommend the Aquabarrel...

Read…

Without Merit: poison in your compost

Avatar photo
Composting, Gardening, Thoughtstylings, Vegetable Gardening
7 Comments
...bicide Creates Killer Compost” and “Contaminated Compost: Coming Soon to a Store Near You.” Here’s a technical discussion of aminopyralid for those familiar with biochemistry. From Ohio State University, a fact sheet on the equally bad clopyralid and some charts showing the persistence of other herbicides. Lastly, beware of the recommendations of agencies tasked with the eradication of invasive weeds. The California Invasive Plant Council, in a 20...

Read…

Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter Recipe

Avatar photo
Bread, Food
6 Comments
...ch more quickly. If you can’t keep up with the feeding you can temporarily store the starter in the refrigerator, but for no more than two weeks with whole wheat starter. White starter will last in the fridge for longer. If this turns your crank, you can sit around your compound watching your sourdough starter bubble while geeking out on Cornell Professor Steven Laurence Kaplan’s book Good Bread is Back, which details the revival of sourdough brea...

Read…

Water Conservation

Avatar photo
Water Conservation
...igate your landscaping using either a surge tank, or directly. Adventurous homesteaders, willing to put in the extra labor, may wish to consider a James Washer, an electricity free hand washer, commonly found in off-grid households, where you put some hot water in and agitate the clothes for a few minutes with a lever on the side. A hand wringer is used to dry the clothes before hanging them on a clothesline. A simple drain line can be hooked up t...

Read…