So, I wanted a chicken. Just a chicken, you know, for eating and laying eggs and stuff. Well boy-o-boy, I never knew there could be so many from which to choose. Chickens are kind of like dogs. There’s a million kinds and you get different behaviors from all of them. Then again, you eat chicken. You do not eat Bobo, your oaf of a Great Dane. DO NOT EAT BOBO. If all of this seems overwhelming, the amazing people at Oh Lardy have a great guide to keeping chickens. Our favorite part of the post was the detailed image that serves as a cheat-sheet for what kind of eggs to expect from different breeds of chickens. Check out their...
Building for Free with Papercrete
posted by JDFair
You have WAY too many newspapers on your stoop. Junk mail accounts for as much as 50% of your garbage. Your printer is evil and spits out hundreds of misaligned pages. Even if, by the grace of all that is holy, none of these descriptions currently fit your life, the odds are that there is excess paper somewhere in your vicinity. Good news! You can build something out of it. Up-cycle. Recycle. Reuse. Whatever you want to call it, re-purposing old materials to make something amazing is something of an art form. Papercrete is the medium by which some of the most amazing reuse projects are completed (including much of the house to the left). A...
Crowly Folk School
posted by JDFair
Remember those things your grandfather just knew how to do? Almost like the knowledge came down from the heavens in the form of flannel-and-hat manna. And, just like the Hebrew people, you grew tired of the gift. Well, thankfully, all is not lost. Folk schools teach skills that are being...
Homemade Feta Cheese
posted by JDFair
Sometimes, you just need a little cheese. Most of the time, you don’t have the money for it (or at least I don’t). From the prolific blog Foodie With Family comes one of the most comprehensive recipes for making delicious, savory feta cheese. Here at Cultivated, we love the...
DIY Jar Comb Honey
posted by JDFair
Just to preface this, there is no one article to rule them all when it comes to beekeeping. There are, however, thousands of dedicated beekeepers who give their advice freely on sites like the BeeSource Forums. It’s a good thing, too. Bees are integral to the ecosystem. Without them,...