A hundred years ago Europe was in the middle of one of the ugliest, bloodiest wars the world had seen. Battlefield technology had advanced; battlefield medicine had not. Trench warfare saw millions of men killed for territory gains you could measure with a yardstick. This was World War I, definitively called The Great War by people who didn’t…
Uncategorized
Homestead Kitchen Projects – A Happy Jumble of DIY
I haven’t been posting much lately. I have all kinds of things I want to share with you, but with summer in full swing I’m prioritizing kid-time and project-doing. Speaking of projects…as I was walking around my kitchen a few days ago, I had to laugh. It was such a perfect snapshot of the total…
Updates From The Homestead
I feel like the last several weeks have just been a wild ride of revelation and ducklings and craziness. I want to invite you over to have a big piping mug of coffee or an herbal cocktail, and I want to just talk, because everything is happening faster than I can reasonably chronicle it on…
Get Your Garden Organized This Year: 2015 Garden Planner Available Now
Maximizing my harvest of homegrown veg is this awesome ever-changing puzzle. For over a decade, I’ve been assembling and reassembling the pieces, trying to find the key to being the best gardener I can while getting the most from every square foot of my garden. There are two things I’m sure of. The first is…
The Best Books For Every Gardener
As a gardener and big ol’ book-lovin’ nerd, I get asked for book recommendations all the time. Here’re all my favorite and most recommended edible gardening books all in one spot. I own, read, love and consistently refer back to all these books. The links on this page are affiliate links. If you shop through these…
Tomato Canning Quick Reference Guide
When I was canning up tomatoes this past weekend, and I was sick, so I kept double checking things and kinda getting hazy about what the hell I was doing. Moral of the story: do not attempt to can 100 pounds of tomatoes while sick. But as I was shuffling back and forth to my…
Can You Seal A Pond With Clay Kitty Litter? Part 2
So we’ve proved you can use clumping cat litter to seal a pond because clumping cat litter is made of bentonite clay. Now, how do you actually do it? In my first post on this, many people pointed out that actual sodium bentonite clay was available at farm supply type stores. I struck out finding…
Throwing A Children’s Book Themed Baby Shower
Our best-est couple friends, Colin and Jo, are about to have their first baby. Yay! Last month, I co-hosted a baby shower for them. Here we all are. Everyone looks happy except Oliver, who resents being forced to stay still for eight seconds. My amazing co-hosts, Roxanne, Sarah and I agreed that a children’s book…
Recipe Videos From The Northwest Flower and Garden Show
As you guys might recall, in February I spoke at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. The show launched their new DIY Stage this year, and I was both thrilled and terrified to be the first person in the 25-year history of the show to do a cooking demo. Newly-launched gardening website Garden TV showed…
How To Right-Size Your Lawn: In Defense Of (A Little) Turf
Something amazing has happened. I no longer loathe my lawn. For nearly ten years, I have hated my lawn, and muttered curses at the landscaper who insisted that, “with small kids, grass really is the easiest thing to maintain,” before hydroseeding everything in sight. Lies, damn lies. I am no shirker. In fact, I like physical work….
My Big Fat Hippie Pantry: A Full Larder For Fall
A friend of mine who’s known me for eight years or so was over a few days ago. She was checking out my pantry and said, “When we met, you had a total Costco pantry. And now it’s a total hippie pantry.” Excuse me while my heart swells with a little self-indulgent pride over my…
Seven Great Things You Missed On Facebook: Peanut Sauce, Peaches and More
It’s been a busy week over on the Northwest Edible Facebook Page. We blew through the 5,000s in no time and are currently sitting at over 6,000 smart, bad-ass and very attractive community members. Thank you guys! Homebrew Husband captured the exact moment of the 6,000th like on his phone. Not that we are total…