Posted on 03/23/2008 11:36:40 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny
Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick
Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.
At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."
Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.
A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."
[snipped]
She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.
"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Water in that area could be cut-off by the enemy very quickly. Everyone there should store water.
I may never leave my plot once I get going with all these dreams and plans~!
[A poll to Freep]
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pj-dQ-ivCZlO0jFXNU0hISQ
Ypsi Chicken Survey & Petition
The City of Ypsilanti currently does not allow the keeping of chickens, goats, bees, or other “farm”-type animals. A minor change in the city ordinance involving agriculture is on City Council meeting agenda on February 17th, 2009. That meeting will include a public hearing (the first of two) on that ordinance change. While the proposed change does not (explicitly) allow for the keeping of these animals, it gives an opportunity for community feedback about urban agriculture and specifically the allowance of chickens. This brief survey aims to gather community input on potential ways the ordinance could be changed in the future, as well as identify potential supporters of urban agriculture. The cumulative results will be shared with City Council and in the community by Growing Hope.
Easy poll to answer....granny
That farm book had everything you could imagine... incubators, brooders, day old chicks, milking equipment, right up through field machinery.<<<
Yes, my 100 egg incubator came from there...
It was so easy to order from the catalogs and LOL, my friend Mary taught me to look and note the pages, wait a day, make out the order, wait a week and mail it or call it in.
Always amazed me how the order shrunk in a week, as reality set in.
I have on a cotton blouse right now, still good enough for going out in, must be 25 years old.
In Texas, with outhouses, there would be a catalog.
I felt lost when Sears stopped them.
You did lead an exciting life, but then travel can be good for a kid, if they actually live the life of the new area.
So much in this world that we are missing.
If you live in an old farm area, start putting ads up on that Craigs site or do a google search for it by name or type, you may find one, I did some searching for my brother and there were all kinds of tractor sites, sales sheets for old ones, etc.
Also check Yahoo groups, you may find a group there.
My idea of a tractor is at least a 2 row Farmall.
ping to the JimRob, Kristinn DC We are Free People and want to stay that way mission.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2180833/posts
ping to the JimRob, Kristinn DC We are Free People and want to stay that way mission.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2180833/posts
sorry for the double posting.
Boots
You are correct and our local water company knows how much the danger is.
I have been at meetings in the past, where the water board had a letter from the Arizona Health Department, warning them to protect the water and of the possible dangers, do be done by “drive by” terrorists and that was before 9-11.
Are you in the Kingman area?
Welcome to this thread, thanks for reading it and please do join in.
Laughing, as I doubt you planned on building the barns for tobacco, but the cart might be of interest.
There are many plans on the page and they have real details, I checked a couple of them.
Can you include the hot tub in the lean to greenhouse?
That would be wonderful, it would be heated by the sun and in the winter, the hot tub heat would help the plants.
ping to the JimRob, Kristinn DC We are Free People and want to stay that way mission.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2180833/posts
<<<
Thank you for the alert on the needed phone calls.
Ohh, you should know that now you have sent double posts, you are welcome to come and read our thread and join in.
[Yes, I am smiling at you.]
Cool. Count me in..........
Boots
[I think Bill would have banned me from checking this web site.
granny]
http://www.homegrownevolution.com/2009/02/bike-powered-washing-machine.html
[there is a video at above link]
A Bike Powered Washing Machine
Via Bike Blog NYC, the Mayapedal Washing Machine:
We dig the inclusion of a derailleur to make the washing experience shiftable (apologies to the fixed gear hipsters out there). Based in Guatemala, Mayapedal has welded up a bunch of clever “Bicimáquinas” or bike machines that you check out here.
Posted by Homegrown Evolution at 12:47 PM
Labels: bikes, greywater, washing machine
4 comments:
Melissa ~ Wife to 1, Mom to 5 said...
That is AWESOME! Now I want one!!
1:15 PM
ChristyACB said...
Okay, that is too cool and I definitely want to try one for myself!
4:56 PM
Ian said...
Really awesome!
8:35 PM
jhm said...
How is this supposed to work, exactly? It seems to me that the clothes will not agitate, but simply plaster themselves against the barrel wall.
The idea of pedal power is cool, however, and I suggest it be used in connection with something like http://www.Staber.com/
[Staber.com is a made in the U.S. washer of a different design and there is also a dryer....granny]
http://mayapedal.org/bicimaquinas_in.html
[Down the page, there is a photo of the one eyed mule, Grandpa Ira made for me to plow with, not the same but close enough to give an idea for yours.....lots of good ideas here....granny]
What are bicimáquinas?
Bicimáquinas (translates as “bicycle machines”) are pedal-powered machines that act as an intermediate technology to assist the family economy in obtaining a higher production capacity in agriculture and in small business. Each bicimáquina is produced individually in our shop with a combination of old bikes, concrete, wood, and metal. So far we have developed several original designs that have proven to be both functional and economical.
Models Prototypes
* Bicycle Mill/Corn Degrainer
* Bicycle Blender
* Bicycle Water Pump
* Microconcrete Vibrator (Roofing Tiles)
* Tricycles and Trailers
* Bicycle Coffee Depulper
* Bicycle Metal Sharpener
* Just Bikes!
* Bicycle Washing Machines
* Bicycle Electricity Generator
* Soil plow/till/hoe
* Bicycle Nut-Sheller
* Bicycle Wood Saw
Contact us with your ideas and suggestions!
Excellent choice on your part.
LOL, honest it is not all women talk, look at the post between our posts, it will give you something to think about.
http://www.homegrownevolution.com/
Make your own earth box:
http://www.seattleoil.com/Flyers/Earthbox.pdf
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Spreadin’ Seed
The past week was spent feverishly spreading genetic material around. No, we weren’t backstage with Metallica. We’re talking plants. Here’s a few ways we’ve been spinning the genetic biodiversity wheel in the past week:
Seed Swaps
Yesterday was International Seed Swap Day of Action, sponsored by Food not Lawns. We celebrated the day in Altadena with a bunch of local gardening enthusiasts and countless boxes of seeds. We got seeds for Armenian cucumbers, red ruffled pimento peppers, feverfew, echinacea and zucchini among others. In return we gave away okra, cosmos, and mystery seeds from my mom’s Greek neighbor. A seed swap makes a great excuse for a party and a great time was had by all.
The Neighbors
My mom’s elderly neighbor, who spends each summer in his native Greece, loves to garden and grows, among many other things, at least four different kinds of arugula, which he calls, “the Greek Viagra”. He gave us seeds for two different arugulas, some basil from the northern mountains of Greece and countless other untranslatable plants, and packed them up for us in blue medicine bottles. We’ve grown his vegetables before and, while we can’t vouch for the aphrodisiac qualities and don’t stoop to Viagra jokes, they taste really great.
Seed Savers Exchange
Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit member supported organization that maintains a seed bank of over 25,000 varieties of vegetables. You can order seeds from them at www.seedsavers.org.
Catalogs
We’ve been obsessed with the Italian seed company Franchi for almost ten years now. Meeting the west coast distributor Craig Ruggless at the seed swap and seeing his display racks of seeds was the horticultural geek equivalent of bumping into a rock star. Craig’s got a blog here and, in addition to distributing seeds at local nurseries, he can be found at the Sierra Madre farmer’s market on Wednesdays. Craig doesn’t have a mail order operation—for Franchi seeds by mail go to www.seedsofitaly.com. You can also become a Franchi fan on Facebook here.
Lastly, if you aren’t already, consider collecting as many seeds as possible from your garden to save and share. Here’s some seed saving directions for common vegetables.
Posted by Homegrown Evolution at 7:36 PM
Labels: seeds
2 comments:
Luigi said...
Sounds like a week very well spent! Do you know our list of seed sources? http://agro.biodiver.se/seed-exchanges/
12:12 AM
Comfortable Shoes Studio said...
My favorite seed company is Botanical Interest. Its a great company, small, family owned with an interest in spreading seeds of heirlooms. Almost every seed they sell is heirloom. they sell a lot of organic seeds as well. Back when I was in the floral business I had the great opportunity to met one of the owners and I can say that I drank the kool aid. I appreciate businesses that stand behind their product and have a tremendous set of core values.
At the end of the season the company does a buy back of their seeds and then ships those seeds to developing countries to help the local grow their own food or flowers to sell. Anyway. I love their company and think everyone should check them out.
2:24 AM
http://www.homegrownevolution.com/2009/02/spreadin-seed.html
[Lots of hidden links above.]
[There are local groups, see list]
International Seed Swap Day of Action
January 31, 2009 is International Seed Swap Day of Action. Host a seed swap in your neighborhood in solidarity with Food Not Lawns, the White House Organic Farm project, Eat the View, and other organizations urging Obama’s new Administration to support and encourage local food networks, permaculture, and sustainability, in this Nation and beyond.
[also at above link]
How To Organize a Community Seed Swap
How to Organize a Community Seed Swap
By Heather Coburn Flores
as printed in Back Home Magazine’s Ask an Expert column, March 2007
Video and petition for an Organic garden at the White House:
Henry Ford and TheWhoFarm
Nov 24 2008
With all the hype surrounding the auto industry bailouts, it seems that now would be as good a time as any to revisit Henry Ford on Self-Help, circa 1932.
According to a Time Magazine from that era, Mr. Ford “presented [his ideas] directly to the public by a series of three newspaper advertisements throughout the land. His company paid for them as ‘a contribution to public welfare.’ They summarized the fundamental economic philosophy of the man whose factories supply more industrial employment than those of any other individual.”
This particular ad included the following:
“The land! That is where our roots are. . . . No unemployment insurance can be compared to an alliance between a man and a plot of land.”
Were he alive today, it seems likely that Mr. Ford would have signed our petition to President-elect Obama.
Click here for a PDF of the entire advertisement.
http://www.thewhofarm.org/blog/
Edible landscapes for all: can you dig it? Yes, you can!
The future is going to be more fresh, juicy and delicious than a lot of us realize. That’s because edible landscapes are going to be more integrated into our yards, neighborhoods, towns, and cities in the future than they have in the recent past. So, rejoice: good, clean food is on the way!
To make this happen, though, we need more people asking for and digging these landscapes. Please join our campaign. Here are a few things you can do to help:
1) Identify a landscape near you that you think should be “edible-ized”. Chances are that you won’t have to look far. Start with your own yard, neighborhood, or child’s schoolyard. Then, why not ask your elected officials at the state and local level to lead by example. The Governors of Maine, North Carolina and New York are already eating from gardens planted at their official residences.
2) Sign our “White House Food Garden Petition” which we will deliver to the Obamas along with a diverse collection of heirloom seed packets.
3) Contact President Obama directly here. Tell him you’d like him to replant an organic garden on the White House lawn. There’s an opportunity to attach a photo to your request. You can grab one here.
Must be hundreds of links to reports and articles on solar cooking:
This page says Fun and Educational, I did not go to the link, but the one photo is interesting, a Pop Bottle greenhouse, and by golly they have a large plastic wall standing, the kids are building it.
granny
Greenhouse from pop bottles
www.reapscotland.org.uk/reports/greenhouse%20v1.pdf
This is a greenhouse built by kids with using 2 liter pop bottles.
The finished GH could be used for any number of solar heating and growing experiments. A great demonstration of how simple solar can be.
(from HomesteadingToday.com)
[many other ideas on page, very interesting....]
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Educational/educational.htm#PopGH
http://www.papayatreenursery.com/
Be Sure To See The Fruit Gallery Pictures
Of The Exotic Fruits That We Offer
The Papaya Tree Nursery was founded in 1985
by David And Tina Silber.
The Nursery is run today by their son Alex, who continues the
tradition of providing top quality fruit trees from all over the world
and expert advice. Some examples are tropical guavas, mangos,
cherimoyas, starfruit, and litchees.
Papaya Tree Nursery offers unique varieties specially suited to
Southern California climates.
Papaya Tree Nursery Proprietor
Alex Silber
Look for us at the
Green Scene
at the Fullerton Arboretum
on April 18th & 19th, 2009
[does not sell mailorder, so take a vacation and go shopping.
granny]
The more that I read on this page, the more I learn, interesting uses for all kinds of things. I did not dare click on the link to the older projects.
granny
http://www.homegrownevolution.com/
Make a Garden Work Table from a Pallet
Pallets are a ubiquitous building material, your free lumber yard in tough times. Homegrown Evolution patched together the garden work table above for use with seedlings and storing pots and watering cans. Hopefully the picture is all you need to put one together yourself.
Some tips for working with pallets:
1. We prefer projects that don’t involve disassembling the pallet. The nails in pallets aren’t meant to be removed. Trying to take one apart with a crowbar will, in most cases, result in a lot of split, useless wood. A Sawzall reciprocating saw would work better if you must take one apart. For the table above we simply cut the pallet in half with a circular saw and handsaw.
2. Use screws not nails and predrill all holes. Pallet wood is very brittle and splits easily.
For some other design ideas check out:
This nice coffee table. Note that you simply use the whole pallet.
And this cool idea: an art/architecture collective Municipal Workshop has a nice way of avoiding the problem of pulling pallets nails. They cut pallets apart and use all the small pieces of wood like tiles. Here’s some more info on their “Autotron Unit”, pictured above.
[A neat looking building is in the photo....granny]
[a comment]
Jenny said...
Hey, a friend sent me a link to this. Cool! We use pallets for a lot of things around here, but my favorite is the ceiling that my husband built in our strawbale house. You can see it at my blog www.ironwoodfarmproject.blogspot.com and click on the sidebar The House. There’s a photo of it now and if you scroll down there are some construction photos. Nice blog!
http://www.homegrownevolution.com/2009/01/make-garden-work-table-from-pallet.html
I do not know where to start, so many fantastic recipes for Artisan Breads:
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/
Five Minutes a Day for Fresh-Baked Bread
Discover this ridiculously easy — and cheap! — technique that revolutionizes home baking.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx
Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients
Basic truffle ingredients
* 8 ounces of semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (high quality, 62% cacao or higher)
* 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Optional base flavorings:
* Mint leaves (1 bunch, stems removed, chopped, about 1 cup)
* Cinnamon and cardamon (1 cinnamon stick, 2 cardamom pods)
* Amaretto (1-2 tablespoons)
* Almond extract (1 teaspoon)
Truffle coatings
* Cocoa powder
* Finely chopped walnuts
* Finely chopped almonds
Method
1 In a small, heavy saucepan bring the heavy whipping cream to a simmer (this may take a while, be sure to stir and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula every few minutes).
If you are using one of the other recommended flavorings, stir it in with the cream (and ignore vanilla in the next step). If adding mint or other solids, after the cream simmers, remove from heat and let seep for an hour. Then strain away solids, and return the cream to a simmer and proceed with recipe.
2 Place the chocolate in a separate bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate, add the vanilla, and allow to stand for a few minutes then stir until smooth. (This chocolate base is called ganache.)
3 Allow to cool, then place in the refrigerator for two hours. Remove and with a teaspoon roll out balls of the ganache. Roll in your hands quickly (as it will melt from the heat of your hands) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
4 Roll in cocoa powder or chopped nuts and serve, or place back in the refrigerator until needed.
Makes 30-40 chocolate truffles.
Simply Recipes http://simplyrecipes.com
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007403chocolate_truffles.php
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