Author and Urban Farmer Novella Carpenter Rocks Los Angeles

Yesterday, Homegrown Evolution had the great privilege of meeting urban farmer and author Novella Carpenter who was in Los Angeles to deliver a lecture and sign her new book Farm City. She’s a phenomenal speaker, both hilarious and inspiring. What we like most about Carpenter is her honesty in describing the ups and downs of raising pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys, rabbits and more on squatted land next to her apartment in Oakland. As she put it,...

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Chicago’s Urban Bees

...idn’t get a chance to visit it on my trip to Chicago, but hope to the next time I’m there. In other Chicago bee news, the Green Roof Growers just got a hive. Urban rooftops and abandoned industrial sites make a lot of sense for beekeeping, as many agricultural areas are contaminated with pesticides. Keeping bees in cities might be an important strategy towards bringing back healthy hives. So best of luck to the GRGers and their new hive! And make...

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Making It Available in Overdrive App

...ecreational library visit, my favorite librarian informed me that our book Making It is available for download in the Overdrive app. Ego boosted! Many public libraries, in addition to books, now have a long list of digital gewgaws, apps and resources. One of those apps is Overdrive, which allows you to download eBooks, videos and audio books to your digital devices for free. Over 30,000 libraries worldwide use Overdrive to distribute materials. To...

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Making Tofu From Scratch at the Institute of Domestic Technology

...e soy milk separated the curds were ladled into the forms. In just a short time we had blocks of delicious tofu. One of the students brought some dehydrated crackers to class. He makes them with discarded fruit pulp that he gets at a local juice bar. He dehydrates the pulp with some soaked sunflower seeds. The result is delicious. It’s a clever idea. Back to the tofu. I’m going to try making my own this summer. At the very least I can make my own...

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Butter Making Demo at the Natural History Museum

...from Junk (7-9pm) BUTTER MAKING with authors, Erik Knutzen & Kelly Coyne (*timed-ticket required) POTTING SUCCULENTS (*timed-ticket required) SPRAY PAINT MURAL with Self Help Graphics & Art BOTANICAL TOURS with NHM Garden Staff SMOKE FLY SAMPLING with NHM Citizen Scientists ENCHANTING TOY THEATER PERFORMANCES by NHM Performing Arts Staff LIVE ANIMAL PRESENTATIONS ART INSTALLATION, “Edge of Color” by Sarah Rara of Lucky Dragons LADWP Save the Drop...

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