The Austrian Scythe is the New Weed Whacker

...ncomfortable to use. There’s also several different blades for weeding and harvesting and, like a bicycle, it’s crucial that your scythe fit your height. Scythe use is intellectual for me since years worth of mulching, a dry climate and a very small yard means that I don’t have any stands of weeds to knock down or wheat to harvest. But, if I had a large yard and grass to deal with, I’d dump the weed whacker in a heartbeat. For more info see Scythe...

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Breadbaking (Level 1) Class at the Ecology Center

...er to take your dough home, a digital scale (if you have one), and an apron (if you have one). By baking bread at home, you’re in charge of what goes into every loaf and can choose to incorporate local and organic ingredients. Other benefits of baking at home include using less energy (used in harvesting, processing, and shipping store-bought bread), using less plastic packaging, and spending less money. Become a baker and join us during this hear...

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Print and Internet Resources for Natural, No-Treatment Beekeeping

...k on the one on swarm captures as well as how to do crush and strain honey harvesting. HoneyLove has some great resources and a forum. Discussions on the organic beekeepers Yahoo group get heated, to put it mildly, but there’s good info. Gaia Bees is the website of Michael Thiele, who we blogged about last year. Books The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Beekeeping – not to be confused with the conventional approach in the Dummies book. The Practical Bee...

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Loquat season is here!

...rarely see a tree which looks as if it’s being harvested, or if it is, the harvesting does not make a dent in the bounty. After all, how many fresh loquats can you gobble down in a day? All of which is to say I feel no guilt about snagging loquats off of accessible trees as I walk around.* On-the-hoof snacking is one of the pleasures of walking at this time of year! Ripe loquats tend to be a little larger and fatter than the unripe ones, and the c...

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Los Angeles Bread Bakers Blog

...o with planting wheat. We got no crop last year due to either birds or not harvesting the wheat soon enough. We’re hoping for better luck this year. Thanks largely to Mark Stambler, California has a cottage food law and Paul is also posting videos of a presentation that took place this weekend on how to get a cottage food permit in Los Angeles. And if you’re in Southern California and interested in learning about bread baking and meeting other bre...

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