So this week’s installment will deal with something that I’ve written about before on this blog, and that Hoots and Hellmouth has been tiredlessly campaigning for years. And that’s the use of plastic water bottles. I know this may seem obvious to those of you who have your own metal water bottles, but as I [...]

This is my third week in India and I can say for sure that this experience is certainly putting a new spin on the whole “act local, think global” mantra. Before I came here I think that I put entirely too much emphasis on the local part, with more of an abstract nod to the [...]

Today I write to you from the beautiful state of Kerela in India. I’m staying on a homestead that is a fair trade coffee plantation. The area is controlled by the communist party and the workers are treated quite fairly. All of the coffee grown here and the tea in the plantation next door are [...]

Happy New Year my friends. As some of you know, I am writing this message from an internet cafe in New Delhi. I’ll be here until Feb 25th, enjoying a few months of reflection and travel, but also taking some time to see where sustainability stands on the other side of the globe.
This is an [...]

What’s going on in sustainability:
Hello friends. So last installment I left you all with a bit of a cliffhanger regarding some big announcement. Please don’t worry, Notes From the Urban Homestead will not be going anywhere. However, it’s setting will be. Starting January 3rd and ending February 25th, I will be [...]

What’s going on in sustainability:
Last night I had the pleasure of going to the Green 2015 Presentation at the Urban Sustainability Forum at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. The presentation laid out the Mayor’s and the Department of Parks and Rec’s plan to increase the green spaces of Philly by 500 acres in [...]

What’s going on in sustainability:
I’ve been hanging around a few farmer friends at a few thanksgiving celebrations, and even though many of them have been giving thanks for a great season and some great harvests, they sure are happy it’s all coming to an end and are looking forward to a winter of lighting the [...]

What’s in the ground:
So as some of you may have noticed, this blog is being posted every two weeks as the season slows down. It’s funny, because I find it easier to write when I’m out in the garden everyday, and I actually feel like I have less time now. But that’s this trick of [...]

What’s in the ground:
Last week I sowed my cover crops of clover and rye grass. Sowing cover crop is important for both the small scale and large scale farmer. I’ve had gardeners come ask me when we were getting more soil delivered for the garden beds, and I have to break it to them that [...]

What’s in the ground:
So my garlic is back in the ground. It wasn’t as exciting as our garlic planting party last year, but it was a nice afternoon of digging in the dirt, imaging what my garden will look like next year and hoping the garlic finds a good home next to some great plants. [...]