Homegrown Evolution bloggers on local TV news
Erik Knutsen, co-author of The Urban Homestead, was interviewed on Los Angeles' KABC news about his and his wife Kelly Coyne's urban vegetable garden.
The Urban Homestead on KABCHigh prices at the pump and the produce aisle have Southern Californians looking for new ways to save money on their grocery bills.
"So it's possible to construct a whole meal out of your backyard," said Erik Knutzen. Erik Knutzen is using his green thumb to save lots of green on his grocery bill. "A typical meal for us might be some eggs, some Napolitos, some greens on the side," said Knutzen.
Knutzen doesn't live on a farm. He and his wife live in an Echo Park bungalow, two blocks off busy Sunset Boulevard.
"Once you grow your own, you'll never want to buy it ever again," said Knutzen.
Previously on Boing Boing:
• The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City
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There's also the Urban Homestead in SoCal doing similar stuff. And beware, it seems to be spreading!!!
Didn't Sarajevo get through the siege by growing vegetables on their balconies?
What are "Napolitos"? Does the author mean "nopalitos"?
I think "Napolitos" come from cacti grown in southern Italy.
Mr. Knutsen is holding on to and standing in front of the most amazingly wonderful tool for urban gardening, the self watering container! Depending on the weather they only have to be watered once every few days and can grow a lot in a small space. I can get hundreds of delicious cherry tomatoes, many meals worth of string beans, fresh herbs and more from just a few 18gal container.
Some pictures from my garden early last summer:
http://tinyurl.com/47pdlm [flickr.com]
You can build them for around $20 (cheaper if you build a few) out of a RubberMaid container, some PVC pipe and zip ties in a few hours and they make container gardening much easier.
Looks like he's lucky enough to have plenty of room at his place.
Hey Mark, maybe you can get O'Reilly to start GROW magazine.
Seriously.
"Once you grow your own, you'll never want to buy it ever again," said Knutzen.
heh heh heh.
yes, the marijuana liberation movement should link arms with the food security movement. And the home brewers and vintners too!
Didn't Titor predict this?
I did a backyard garden once, about 9 years ago. I grew heirloom tomatoes (only because everyone claimed tomatoes didn't grow right in our area of the Valley), basil, bell peppers, green onions, potatoes and cayenne peppers. I gave away my bumper crop of tomatoes as they ripened since I HATE them. The excess peppers and basil I dried for future use. It was fun and the produce fabulously delicious, but...well, I was having to spend too much time that I didn't have, taking care of my plot. I have even less time now, so I doubt I'll be saving any money in the future in this particular manner.
get your block organized. Each develop a specialty.
Spud man, tomato-man, weed-guy, herb-woman,
"maybe you can get O'Reilly to start GROW magazine."
Great idea, Stefan. Actually, I've already asked Kelly and Erik to write some pieces for Make. I could totally see a GROW magazine growing from the pages of MAKE.
Maybe try it out as a special issue, with how-to articles about DIY garden technology. Build your own self-cleaning PVC henhouse with an egg extraction unit made from an old Dyson vacuum!
I could totally see a GROW magazine growing from the pages of MAKE.
I second that as a great idea.
can LOVE magazine be far behind?
#16: As long as you can work in microcontrollers, knit robots, and PVC pipe . . .
He's looking at me like he wants to eat me!
My mother plant vegetables on my yard too. And yes, it saves money a lot!
The BBC had a piece on TV today about how thieves are targeting allotments due to the cost of food and the credit crunch: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7474346.stm