133 Trees of Power with Akiva Silver

....” He is also the author of Trees of Power: Ten Essential Arboreal Allies (Amazon, library) just published by Chelsea Green. In our conversation we discuss how trees could replace a lot of the staple crops in our diet. During the podcast we also rap about: J. Russel Smith Tree Crops (Free download on Archive.org) Kat Anderson Tending the Wild Mulch, soil and water Processing acorns Exotics vs. natives – should we learn to love the invasives? Tree...

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Let’s Get Biointensive

...rden (we have two growing seasons here in Southern California), we had a freak October heatwave, causing a panicked run to the nursery to buy some shade cloth. This was followed by one of Mr. Homegrown’s notorious gardening meltdowns, dreaded by the very patient Mrs. Homegrown. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that I got that shade cloth up in time....

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How to save tomato seed

...are bone dry, transfer to envelopes or glass jars for storage. Be sure to label! *I just lost a batch to germination. I blame the heat. It didn’t seem like they’d be fermenting that long, but after I drained my seeds I saw the tiny little white nubbins poking out of the seeds. Now I have to begin again. This is one reason why you should not wait ’til your last tomato to think about saving seeds. Also, this is a reminder to keep a close eye on you...

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Plum Lemon Tomato Power’s Heirloom Tomato

...confirmed cases of food-borne illnesses in domestic tomatoes. Again, urban homesteading revolutionaries, GROW YOUR OWN! We found that label and it’s a tomato called “Power’s Heirloom”. Here’s how the Seed Saver’s exchange catalog copy describes it, “First offered in the 1990 SSE Yearbook by Bruce McAllister from Freedom, Indiana. His seed originated in Scott County in southwest Virginia over 100 years ago. Heavy yields of 3-5 oz. yellow paste toma...

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Making New Drawers . . . Plus Rants . . . Plus Roland Barthes

...the cabinet into a more rectilinear geometry. This was somewhat of an “off-label” type operation but it worked despite Blum’s admonition that their product is not for retrofitting wonky old cabinets. Next step was to head down to Bohnhoff, my favorite lumberyard to get some hard maple for the drawers. At this point I’m going to plug two things. First, woodworking as a hobby has been eminently practical and I’m thankful that I put in the time to le...

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