As more and more people come to terms with the negative consequences of industrial food production, many are turning to backyard gardens and localizing their diets. Along with these changes, there has been growing interest in backyard chicken coops for their gifts of eggs and meat. In addition, chickens provide pest patrol, process compost for the garden, and provide a touch of our agrarian past......read more
We all want our children to be enthusiastic about local, sustainable food, but there are moments when they can get a little too, er, focused on it. For Pete Wells, author of the always great (and too infrequent, in our opinion) Cooking With Dexter column in NYT Mag, that happened when his six year-old started demanding backyard chickens and rooftop beehives. After hiding his copy of "My......read more
Getting your first backyard chicken is a big step, one of life's key milestones rivaled only by losing your virginity and getting your first car. So you better go in prepared. With spring around the corner, fuzzy chicks are showing up at pet and feed stores, waiting for someone to take them to their new backyard homes. With amazing names like Black Austrolorps and Buff Orpingtons, how do you know......read more
If you're interested in having a fresh, daily supply of eggs for your family but you don't have the time and/or know-how to build your own chicken coop, the Alexandria Chicken Coop & Run from Williams-Sonoma is the perfect solution. Handcrafted in the USA from certified-sustainable wood, the Alexandria coop provides room for up to six hens and will keep your flock safe and dry......read more
Since backyard chickens have the good grace to provide fresh, sustainable eggs for your table, they deserve a well-designed home like the Moop, "the modern coop for design-minded chickens." Designed by green-focused architecture firm Nottoscale, the Moop includes four cantilevered nesting boxes, hinged side-panel walls for easy access, a redwood screen for ventilation, a removable......read more
Chris Cohen's solo debut Overgrown Path was one of the highlights of 2012, full of bucolic, lopsided pop songs he recorded by himself in a cabin in Vermont. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Cohen previously played with a number of high profile indie acts (Deerhoof, Haunted Grafitti, Cass McCombs) before moving east to write and record the album. In the breezy, melancholy "Optimist High,"......read more
No childhood is complete without a simple, makeshift tree swing in the yard. Hickoree's Hard Goods, purveyor of all things old-school Americana, comes through once again with with the classic outdoor toy. Handmade in Minnesota from local reclaimed elm, the backyard favorite comes sanded, finished and ready to be ridden. Includes 20 feet of natural fiber rope. Made in USA....read more
In New York City, hidden among the cement and concrete, there lie pockets of plantlife, carefully nurtured by denizens of the city. In the SHFT series Gardens NYC, we give some shine to these gardens and the people who grow them. In this episode, we pay a visit to landscape designer Jamie Hardy's backyard oasis in Williamsburg, where peas, peonies, and tomatoes thrive in the Brooklyn air. ...read more
The locavore/organic food movement is alive and well in Austin, TX, and Johnson's Backyard Garden is right in the middle of it. Located in East Austin, the Johnson garden has been producing organic veggies since 2004. Today, the city farm stays active supplying local eateries, selling at local farmers' markets, and packing CSA boxes for hungry locals with an interest in fresh, local, organic......read more
Um, can you say "naptime"? This airy prefab garden shed from Finnish designers Ville Hara and Linda Bergroth of Hel Yes! studio blows away any preconceived notions of what a shed looks like. The combined greenhouse and shed kit, a modular design manufactured by Kekkila Garden, has been customized by Bergroth as her own lakefront summer retreat,......read more