An Echo Park Weed Salad

There’s nothing like a little urban blight to produce an excellent salad. While not impoverished (not unless you consider dilapidated $600,000 bungalows a sign of destitution), our neighborhood ain’t exactly Beverly Hills, meaning that in terms of landscaping it’s a little rough around the edges. And the edges–parkways, cracks in the asphalt, neglected plantings were, on this warm February day, overflowing with weeds. Edible weeds. We explored th...

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Something for Nothing – Wild Mustard Greens

Sometimes there is such a thing as a free lunch, which was the case for us yesterday after discovering a large stand of white mustard (Sinapis alba) growing at the end of a nearby dead end street. Mustard grows all over the neighborhood, but rarely in a place out of dog pee range like this little patch. Classified by the USDA as a noxious weed, the leaves have a pleasant and pungent flavor and can be eaten raw or cooked. From the Plants for a Fut...

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Hen Pecked in Missoula

...Apologies, for the poultry fixation this past month, but we had to link to this story. It seems Missoula Montana is currently in the midst of a urban chicken controversy. New West Network’s Anne Medley and Jonathan Stumpf profile the dust-up in this video....

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Saturday Linkages: Solar Projects, John Cage and Cat Litter

...child’s Draisienne – the Frosta bicycle – IKEA Hackers http://po.st/6gp9HM Urban date foraging: http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=13259 … No Men Allowed! Women Build Own Backyard Sheds http://lloydkahn-ongoing.blogspot.com/2014/04/no-men-allowed-women-build-own-backyard.html#.U0N9ikb3-YY.twitter … Semi-Underground House in Austin, Texas http://lloydkahn-ongoing.blogspot.com/2014/04/semi-underground-house-in-austin-texas.html#....

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Row Cover as an Insect Barrier

...eds carries Agribon row cover in lengths as short as 50 feet–plenty for an urban or suburban garden. I’ve used both PVC pipe and chain link fence tension wire as support. I secure the row cover down with pieces of rebar and bricks to keep out skunks. What cabbage worms become. It’s not a plug and play solution, however. If it gets hot I have to remember to pull the row cover off. And the added humidity can cause outbreaks of aphids. But overall, i...

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