Straw Bale Garden Part II: Watering the Bales

April 25, 2013

...our hand into the bales to see if they are still warm. If they have cooled to less than your body heat, you may safely begin planting after all danger of frost has passed. To make sure I keep the bales wet I’ve also installed soaker lines on a timer. My straw bale garden is more water intensive than I would like, but I try not to let perfection be the enemy of the good. In the end the compost I make will help conserve water in the garden–at least...

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Rainfall Harvesting Math

Mr. Homegrown

January 3, 2007

rainwater harvesting

....8. Both tar and gravel and asphalt shingle roofs retain a fair amount of water after a rain, but they will still work fine for rainwater collection. Data on both yearly and monthly average rainfall can be found on the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration website. For our house here in Los Angeles, we have a collection area of 992 square feet, a pitched asphalt shingle roof and an average of 15.06 inches of rain a year. So the av...

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Instant Soup Stock=Happy Flavor Bomb

Mrs. Homegrown

May 13, 2016

Food

12 Comments

...ish them. It starts off all soups and stews. It can be soup in itself–just add some to some hot water and toss in whatever you’ve got in the fridge to make a quick soup. Basically, if the recipe is savory and calls for water at some point, the water gets supercharged with flavor. The best thing is that one batch of this will last you for months. So just a bit of effort up front yields long-lasting rewards. Please give it a try!...

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How to kill your palm tree

Mrs. Homegrown

November 14, 2016

Gardening, Trees

...rees grow in the desert, yes, but they are oasis plants. They grow by open water, or above underground water. They are tough, but tough is not the same as invincible, and they don’t show stress as clearly as other trees do, so you may not know that it is thirsty until it is too late. If it gets no water, one day your palm may just droop over, like a spent flower, and that is that. As the drought in Southern California continues, I’m beginning to w...

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A Simple and Life Changing Bagel Recipe

Mr. Homegrown

January 27, 2021

Fermentation, Food

14 Comments

...tove to boil. Add enough malt syrup or molasses to make a dark tea colored water (around a 1/4 cup). Once the water is boiling place two or three bagels in the pot and boil for 45 seconds. Flip halfway through boiling. If you’re adding seeds let the boiled bagels cool on a rack for a few minutes and dredge them through a plate with your sesame, poppy or other seeds. 6. Placed the boiled bagels on a baking sheet and bake for around 15 minutes at 50...

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