This has nothing to do with sustainability…or being homegrown….or homesteading…but it is something we love….BASKETBALL! You just have to see this shot for yourself……

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I found this entertaining and informative video, “Store Wars”, over at Mother Earth Soup via Path to Freedom. With characters Cuke Skywalker, Obi Wan Canolli, Darth Tater, and Chew Broccoli, the Free Range Studios video is a humorous look at organic vs. chemical grown foods.  I hope you will enjoy “May the Farm be With You” as much as I did.

Be sure to check out Mother Earth Soup and Free Range Studios.

I have always wanted to purchase a compost tumbler, but felt that they were a costly, frivolous purchase. Not being very mechanically minded, I could never figure out how to build my own either, but after visiting How-to Homestead I think this would be an easy enough project that I might be able to complete myself. Finding a large food grade barrel may be an issue, but I already have the remaining supplies.

Well, I finally did it…I purchased Backyard Self-Sufficiency by Jackie French.

From the back cover…

“Self-sufficient gardens are beautiful: a ramble of productivity, a profusion of smells and colour.  We’ve forgotten how beautiful edible plants can be: fat, red apples and trendrils of grapes; bountiful red-flowering perennial beans, and soft, feathery fennel; the wide, bright blooms of passionfruit, and the scent of orange blossom on a summer night.  It’s like a Garden of Eden in your own backyard!”

Though she lives in Australia and her garden advice is based on Australian seasons and soil, Jackie French offers many ideas and suggestions that will be useful in moving forward with the development of our own self-sufficiency here in small town America.

You may recognize Jackie as the author of Diary of a Wombat, a delightful children’s book with whimsical illustrations. Diary of a Wombat is an ALA Notable Children’s Book, Younger Reader Awards Winner. When I was teaching fulltime, I used Diary of a Wombatin lesson plans and Writer’s Workshop. It is a great book for classroom filled with diverse learners and is mentioned in other educational/teacher resource books.
Mostly thought, Diary of a Wombatis just fun to read whether by an adult or child.

Very interesting idea for “free” lighting. The narration is in Portuguese (i think), but there is closed captioning. This might work in the storage building in my backyard.

I first found this YouTube video over at Homegrown Evolution and was excited to share it with you.