Search Results for: label/lead/2010/06/the-urban-homestead

514 results

Cactus Thief Strikes Again

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Gardening, Thoughtstylings
19 Comments
...cactus thief with free flats of baby cacti. The latter strategy could even lead to the first ever Root Simple Upworthy style clickbait headline, “Thief Steals Cactus and the Thorny Response Will Have You in Tears.” Stoic philosopher Epictetus set me straight on what I should really do. He says, “Stop admiring your clothes and you are not angry at the man who steals them . . . our losses and our pains have to do only with the things we posses.” (Di...

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Mulch Volcanoes: Another Bad Gardening Idea

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Gardening
11 Comments
...It’s thought that the lack of air circulation at the base of the tree can lead to disease problems and you don’t want roots to grow up into the mulch so close to the trunk. When applying mulch you should keep it a few inches away from the base of a tree. Artist Herbert Bayer’s EarthMound, 1955. Image: GardenHistoryGirl. How strange gardening practices, such as mulch volcanoes, get started is really interesting to me. Mulch volcanoes remind me of...

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The Flow Hive: a Solution in Search of a Problem

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Animals, Bees
65 Comments
...a more practical level, it seems to me that the ease of the tapping could lead inexperienced beekeepers to over-tap the hive. Now, the inventors say this system is less stressful to the hive, because you don’t have to remove the frames for harvest, or even to check to see if the frames are ready for harvest. And this is true. It is a novel system, where the plastic comb is built so that frame splits open and lets the honey drain out secretly, as...

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An Easy and Healthy 100% Whole Rye Bread Recipe

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Bread, Food
32 Comments
...completing a step just put your dough in the refrigerator (which is kind of like hitting the pause button). Troubleshooting The longer the bread sits the more sour it will get (note that it could get too sour if you really extend the fermentation). Too short a fermentation will lead to an overly dense loaf. That said, you’ve got considerable flexibility. A few hours in either direction won’t make much of a difference. This is one loaf I’ve never...

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The Mystery of the Zero-Irrigation Squash

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Food, Gardening, Vegetable Gardening
20 Comments
...r types, though, so I don’t think the appeal is universal. However, it may lead to hints of how to grow squash crops here successfully with little water. 3) Cheating. I do wonder if Mr. Squash stretched his roots under the nearest raised bed (about 2 feet/.5 meter away) and siphoned off some of the water. Certainly if I’d planted a seedling that far from the bed, and told it “Okay, you’re on your own. Just get what you need from that bed over yond...

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