Author Archives: beth

Wood Stoves – Heating with Local Fuel

Posted on October 16, 2011 by beth

There’s lots of buzz these days about ‘locavores’, and some people have begun to think about ‘food miles’.  But what about ‘heat miles’? Where does your heating fuel come from.  Our primary source of heat is natural gas, and while … Continue reading →

Posted in Woodheat | Tagged | 2 Comments

Building an Urban Chicken Coop

Posted on October 8, 2011 by beth

Earlier this year I posted some pictures of the coop build. I didn’t really include much information about the process. Now that life with chickens has settled out of its newness, it seemed time to go back and fill in … Continue reading →

Posted in Chickens | Tagged , | Leave a comment

First Homestead Egg

Posted on October 1, 2011 by beth

When we got our chickens back in the middle of May, they were about 2 weeks old. Much of what I’ve read said that they start to lay around 20 weeks.  Seems to be pretty close – I think they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in Chickens | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Criolla Sella Infused Oil

Posted on September 25, 2011 by beth

Here in San Diego, pepper plants are perennial and this Bolivian Criolla Sella plant has been growing for 2 years.  It continues to crank out the peppers. We have already dried and crushed enough peppers to last us a year … Continue reading →

Posted in Permaculture, Recipes | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Gravity fed drip irrigation – is it worth it?

Posted on September 21, 2011 by beth

“If you buy what you don’t need, you steal from yourself.”  -Swedish proverb I’m a frugal person of Swedish descent, so why did I feel compelled to spend the time and money buying and installing a drip system for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Permaculture, Rainwater | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment