Saturday Linkages: Of Granola and Turlets

...tu.be/-uDbjZ9roEQ  A just plain cool garden design blog: http://jeffreygardens.blogspot.com Do Everything Wrong And Still Bake Good Bread http://huff.to/UHEpMm  Bad News Department Citrus industry using insecticide deadly to bees: sulfoxaflor has surfaced again http://shar.es/YTAP7  CISPA is back: worst Internet law since SOPA needs you to fight it! – Boing Boing http://boingboing.net/2013/02/18/cispa-is-back-worst-internet.html … The Extr...

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Resources

...ade by Hand Farm City The Natural Kitchen Country Wisdom and Know-How Wendell Berry’s essays John Seymore’s many books Jack Spirko’s Survival Podcast Beekeeping Backwards Beekeepers Kirk’s Urban Bees Principles of Backwards Beekeeping Backyard Ecosystem Idiot’s Guide to Beekeeping Biking Urban Velo Streetsblog LA Mikey Wally Westside BIKEside! Bike Snob NYC Bike Tech Info No whip Illuminate LA Bicycle Kit...

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Altadena Heritage of Abundance

Our backyard last week (some ugly stuff framed out of the picture!) We’ll be doing a talk tomorrow morning as part of a sustainability series in Altadena, CA. We’re going to talk about self irrigating planters, chickens, bees and vegetable gardening. Here’s the 411: Saturday, May 30 from 9 to 11 a.m at the Altadena Community Center First in a series of events, workshops, and home tours on sustainable living. Reserve your plac...

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This Is Why Mint Is Invasive

...resh mint mixed with basil in a nut pesto; fresh mint sprinkled over yogurt drinks, mint infused honey for colds; dried mint in the bath; mint simple syrup; mojitos; and I’m sure there are more…and the tiny native bees like it a lot. Should you plant spearmint or peppermint? Both are good. Peppermint is stronger, but I consider them interchangeable. (If you’re trying to figure out which you’ve got in your yard, spearmint h...

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On the Many Frustrations of Gardening: Pierce’s Disease

...actical for the home gardener and we’re organic around the Homegrown compound anyways. In fact, one of the pesticides used to control shapshooters is Imidacloprid, implicated by many in the recent disappearance of honey bees. Pierce disease resistant Vitus californica attacking our house. The only hope for long term control, as Turney sees it, is by breeding hybrid grape varieties resistant to Pierce’s. Turney strongly advised again...

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A Hotel for Insects

To celebrate 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity, British Land and the City of London sponsored a design competition for a “Hotel for Insects.” Arup Associates won with the design above. The rules stipulated that the hotel had to accommodate stag beetles, solitary bees, butterflies, moths, spiders, lacewings and ladybugs. Read the full article here Thanks to Leonardo of the Backwards Beekeepers for the tip. See some other...

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Rooftop Garden Classes

...or to sign up for the classes click here. The classes are part of a quarterly pop-up marketplace. Even if you don’t want to take the classes, this is an opportunity to come and check out the garden. I love watching the bees pollinate the flowers and then looking out at the view of Downtown Los Angeles and the industrial sprawl down below. It is delightfully incongruous....

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About Us

...umer World (2011).  They live in the heart of Los Angeles, in a little bungalow set on a 1/12 acre lot where almost all of their land is devoted to growing edible or otherwise useful plants and trees. Their obsessions include bees, bikes, beer, chickens, healthy cities, healing herbs, simple living and good food. In short, everything DIY! We occassionally invite our friends to guest post for us. You may find writing here from Lora Hall (aka Homeg...

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Spigarello: Nature’s way of saying that broccoli is so over

...ly, each seedling will grow into a big, sturdy plant. I think of them as broccoli trees. You harvest the leaves as you need them, leaving the plant intact to generate more leaves. Eventually it produces tiny white flowers the bees love. We’ve never had any luck growing regular broccoli–I really resent fighting off aphids and cabbage worms for months, all for the privilege of harvesting one lousy head somewhere down the line. For that...

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Urban Farm Magazine

...ed a little light on the things we can all do to change our lifestyles, in ways we think are monumental as a whole, yet at the same time, barely noticeable on their own.” The first issue has practical articles on goats, bees and chickens as well as how to get rid of your lawn. There’s also a nice article by John Jeavons, who developed the Grow Biointensive method, and wrote the seminal book How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits . Che...

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