Search Results for: label/gardening

221 results

EDC Part I: Multi-tool and Knife

Mr. Homegrown
Preparedness
15 Comments
...screw, scissors and a fork like thingy. It’s been discontinued, though Leatherman still makes similar tools (though without the odd fork–how to skewer that olive?). And, of course, there’s Leatherman’s gardening, hunting, bicycling and even military and law enforcement multi-tools. Leatherman is the Budweiser of multi-tools. There’s a whole array of other companies that make higher quality products but, alas, we don...

Continue reading…

Peat-free Planting Mix Recipe With Coconut Coir

Mrs. Homegrown
Gardening, How-to, Soil, Vegetable Gardening
21 Comments
...compost from the nursery is not good enough. This is a hard area to generalize about because compost varies wildly in both quality and consistency, but you’d want to use lovely, lively, springy, sweet smelling compost. Gardening guru John Jeavons starts his seeds in mix which is 1 part compost and 1 part garden soil–soil dug from the same beds the seedlings will be going into. This way the seedlings are already accustomed to the loca...

Continue reading…

Book Review: The New Sunset Western Garden Book

Mr. Homegrown
Reviews
6 Comments
The Sunset Western Garden Book was one of the first gardening books we picked up when we bought our house back in 1998. A new version is out this month, now dubbed The New Sunset Western Garden Book, and it’s a significant improvement over our old copy. Lavish photos have replaced the drawings of my 1998 copy. The new edition has significantly more coverage of edibles, including a vegetable planting schedule as well as nice photographs of...

Continue reading…

Saturday Linkages: Hiding Spots, Bedbugs and Rodents of Unusual Size

Mr. Homegrown
Saturday Linkages
2 Comments
...objects/ … 130 Square Foot Micro Apartment in Paris | Inthralld http://inthralld.com/2013/04/130-square-foot-micro-apartment-in-paris/ … Bedbugs! How a Leafy Folk Remedy Stopped Bedbugs in Their Tracks http://nyti.ms/12H9HDI Gardening All About Gabions : Cheap Retaining and Other Garden Features http://shar.es/JHCQS  New killer compost problem–Imprelis: http://ow.ly/1UWcBj How to protect plants from frost: http://ow.ly/1UMWLG Farmers tack...

Continue reading…

Compost Rebuttal

Mr. Homegrown
Composting, Gardening
35 Comments
...aste. Indeed, such a small pile does not have the mass to heat up enough to burn off nasties or to decompose very quickly, but it suited my needs at the time. Homemade compost is a wonderous thing. It’s vital to organic gardening, and moreover it’s really satisfying to take the waste products from your kitchen and garden and make them into something which will build your soil. You get to keep all that wealth close at hand. However, if...

Continue reading…

Saturday Linkages: The Calm After the Storm

Mr. Homegrown
Saturday Linkages
2 Comments
...tem in … http://www. builditsolarblog.com/2012/10/large- diy-solar-space-and-water-heating.html?spref=tw  … Primitive Skills Roland Trevino of Altadena Makes and Uses the Ancient Atlatl: http:// dirttime.com/?p=2741  Gardening What to do with storm damaged trees: http://www. treesaregood.org/pressrelease/p ress/firstaid.aspx  … Check out The vegetable garden by M.M. Vilmorin-Andrieux, of Paris on Google Play! Old book recommended by Joh...

Continue reading…

Introducing Nancy Klehm With Tips on Growing Jerusalem Artichokes

Nancy Klehm
Gardening, Permaculture, Vegetable Gardening
10 Comments
Photo by Ann Summa We’re very proud to welcome to the blog our good friend Nancy Klehm. Nancy is a radical ecologist, designer, urban forager, grower and teacher. Most importantly, unlike Kelly and I here in Los Angeles, she lives in a place subject that odd meteorological condition called “winter”, namely Chicago. We asked her to write posts for us for on gardening in a four-season climate and to add her expertise to...

Continue reading…

Homesteading Disasters: The Skunk Menace

Mr. Homegrown
Mistakes
RLeave a comment
...ueeze through any gaps. And each year I wake up the morning after planting to a kind of vegetable garden apocalypse–dozens of V shaped holes, overturned seedlings and scattered seeds. And each year I swear off vegetable gardening entirely. Actual photo of absent-minded conquistadors. So what’s the science behind this? Why do skunks dig? Skunks dig for doubloons dropped by absent-minded conquistadors many generations ago here...

Continue reading…

Vote Yes on 37!

Mr. Homegrown
Thoughtstylings
7 Comments
I don’t normally discuss politics on this blog. I feel that the topics we discuss under the banner of homesteading–such as gardening, alternative energy, alternative transpiration, home ec, health and fitness–unite people across the political spectrum. Overall, I’d rather focus on what we can do and what we have in common rather than the constant diet of strife and discontent served up by mainstream media. That being sai...

Continue reading…