Design: From Pool To Garden
Back in 2016 we got a call from a woman who had a swimming pool but wanted a vegetable garden. She had already taken steps to fill in her swimming pool, but needed help building the vegetable garden. A blank slate, a designer's delight. The homeowner's previous gardening experience was limited to a 3x6 raised bed on the side of the house. It was enough to fuel her desire for more space. Given the drought and the expense of keeping…
YouTube: Garden Plants for Pollinators
Spring is coming, and now is the time to plant (or start seeds for) flowers for pollinator-friendly gardens. This is the first video in our "Plants for Pollinators" series, a collaboration with Honeylove.org. In the coming weeks, you'll learn which wildflowers, trees, vegetables, bulbs, and herbs are best for bees and other pollinators. Stay tuned for a new video each week and plant something to help our pollinator population. Garden Plants for Pollinators For more information about growing plants for…
Review: Mockmill Stone Flour Mill
Homesteader nerd-alert: Los Angeles Bread Bakers held a Meetup at the King's Roost where Paul LeBeau of Wolfgang Mock was slated to be the guest speaker. He'd also raffle off 2 Mockmills in a free raffle, and a 3rd in an additional $5 raffle. What's a Mockmill? It's a stone grain mill that attaches to your Kitchenaid mixer (like any Kitchenaid attachment) to grind your own flour. Hold up! You mean it doesn't sit on the counter? -- No. You…
Weather: Farmer’s Almanac vs. Old Farmer’s Almanac
Have you ever wondered how The Farmer's Almanac calculates its weather predictions? It's always been a little fascination of mine. Is it astronomy? Astrology? Some secret divining rod that none of us know about? Today's post, which helps solve the mystery, was sent to me by the folks at Equipsupply. Read below to find out which of the two is more accurate: The Old Farmer's Almanac or The Farmer's Almanac. I do have to point out that under "How accurate…
Now More Than Ever – Garden
In light of recent hard-to-ignore political events, it feels necessary to weigh in, to not ignore what is transpiring across the country. I see many garden bloggers posting business-as-usual articles about growing flowers, and I'm conflicted. On one hand, we need to keep our heads above water, to avoid being enveloped by whichever side of the political news bubble we read, and to take a break once in awhile. On the other hand, staying silent doesn't serve the greater community.…
Recipe: Homemade Sourdough Crumpets
While you rarely hear the word "crumpet" in common parlance these days, they are as tasty as they were in the Middle Ages (or more so, I'll wager). Similar to English muffins, crumpets are thick pancakes cooked on a griddle. Since we started making sourdough bread, we need to refresh our sourdough starter every so often by "discarding" some of it before feeding. So we're always on the hunt for recipes to use up the discarded starter. Behold this simple…