Homebrew of fermentation: preparing food for your microbiome by Kirsten Dirksen on May 5, 2014 Intrigued by her grandmother’s traditional pickles and sauerkraut, Jennifer Harris first started fermenting foods ten years ago. A couple of …
Future soda? micro-fermented, probiotic, water kefir brew by Kirsten Dirksen on December 9, 2013 It’s a 3000-year-old soda that is popular again. Water kefir is a natural ferment that was likely first discovered by …
Seed saving for a better tomato (organic DIY) by Kirsten Dirksen on March 31, 2011 The easiest way to plant your vegetables is to buy a packet of seeds, but most often those seeds are hybrids …
Edible yard: organic veggies & foraging for palatable weeds by Kirsten Dirksen on March 16, 2011 You may not have enough land to urban homestead (“a household that produces a significant part of the food, including …
Scion exchange: how to graft a backyard of fruit by Kirsten Dirksen on December 27, 2010 If it hadn’t been for introduction of grafting, we wouldn’t have domesticated apples or cherries and since these heterosexual fruit …
1st rule of gardening: build up the soil by Kirsten Dirksen on December 13, 2010 Every year Jacqueline Kennedy starts her garden by throwing local horse manure under her veggie patch. Her soil is now …
Heirlooms, hybrids, non-GMO corn & breast of Venus tomatoes by Kirsten Dirksen on December 1, 2010 Heirloom vegetables are big at farmer’s markets, popular among backyard gardeners and now they can even be found in supermarkets, …
Free range broody chickens: the biological clock of a hen by Kirsten Dirksen on November 5, 2010 Jacqueline Kennedy of Geyserville (Sonoma County, California) raises free range chickens, but even all the wild grub they can eat …
Magic of urban beekeeping: a backyard San Francisco hive by Kirsten Dirksen on October 27, 2010 In contrast to the rural bee populations decimated by colony collapse disorder, bees are thriving in cities worldwide. The more …
Dish soap as pesticide (with a little help from good bugs) by Kirsten Dirksen on July 1, 2010 If you’re going to grow your own organic produce, you need to arm yourself with other tools to fight the …
