Search Results for: label/least favorite plant/page/2/2011/04/making-it

657 results

Asian Citrus Psyllid Eradication Program Causes Outbreak of Citrus Leafminer

Mr. Homegrown
Pests
2 Comments
Florida citrus farmers have been blanketing their orchards with pesticides in an attempt to eliminate the Asian Citrus Psyllid, an insect that caries a fatal citrus disease. But the campaign has had unintended consequences, namely the eradication of the natural predators of another citrus pest, the leafminer. According to the USDA Agricultural Research Service, “The leafminer moth, Phyllocnistis citrella, forms channels as it feeds inside...

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One Craptacular Week

Mr. Homegrown
Events
18 Comments
It’s been one hell of a week. First we find out, via a soil test, that our backyard may have high levels of lead and zinc. We’ll write a lot more about this once I confirm the results–I’ve sent in another sample to a different lab. And my doctor has agreed to give me a blood test. Whatever the results, I want to help get out the word about this serious issue–ironically, next week is National Lead Poisoning Preve...

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Mellow Yellow: How to Make Dandelion Wine

Nancy Klehm
Fermentation, Food, Foraging, Recipes
32 Comments
Today on Root Simple we welcome another guest post from our Midwest correspondent Nancy Klehm: In the past week, we Midwesterners have experienced three hard frosts – killing back the growth, that emerged too early of my grapes and hardy kiwis and zapping peach blossoms. We will see if there is any fruit onset and if my vines recover. Meanwhile, it is dandelion wine time! I first tasted dandelion wine when I bought a bottle of it at a folksy gi...

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Sources for Interesting Perennial Crops

Mr. Homegrown
Fruit Trees, Gardening, Permaculture
17 Comments
...Rare Fruit Growers Member Nurseries and fruit sources CRFG members are always on the hunt for interesting varieties of fruits. Note that this list of nurseries covers the entire US, not just California. Permaculture Activist plant sources The website is somewhat of a graphic design nightmare, but if you’re looking for unusual edible perennials, this would be the place to start. Hop Roots – where to get them…  Hoptacular! A...

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Genetically Engineered Crops Increase Use of Pesticides

Mr. Homegrown
Thoughtstylings
6 Comments
...osate-resistant weeds in herbicide-resistant weed management systems has brought about substantial increases in the number and volume of herbicides applied. If new genetically engineered forms of corn and soybeans tolerant of 2,4- D are approved, the volume of 2,4-D sprayed could drive herbicide usage upward by another approximate 50%. The magnitude of increases in herbicide use on herbicide-resistant hectares has dwarfed the reduction in insecti...

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More Cargo Bike Porn

Mr. Homegrown
Bikes
4 Comments
In honor of bike to work week another round of cargo bikes, this time with photos courtesy of comrade Colin Bogart, former board president of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. These bikes were part of this February’s North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Portland. Get our your wallet, because these wheels are spendy. Here’s a very heavy looking bike for carrying your apples around with. It’s by Black Sheep Bikes of Fo...

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Self Irrigating Pot Patent from 1917

Mr. Homegrown
Self Watering Containers
4 Comments
I’ve often blogged about the convenience of self irrigating pots (SIPs), containers that have a built-in reservoir of water at the bottom. They work well for growing vegetables on patios and rooftops. You can make your own or purchase one from several manufacturers. I had thought that Blake Whisenant, a Florida tomato grower and Earthbox company founder, had invented the SIP in the 1990s, but it turns out that the idea came much earlier....

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Plantago coronopus, a.k.a. Buckhorn Plantain, a.k.a. Erba Stella

Mr. Homegrown
Gardening, Vegetable Gardening
2 Comments
Cruise down the produce isle of a supermarket in the United States and you’ll only find highly domesticated foods. Thumb through the pages of the Silver Spoon (the Joy of Cooking of Italian Cuisine) and you’ll discover entire chapters devoted to the use of wild or semi-wild plants. This summer I grew one of these semi-cultivated Italian vegetables, Buckhorn plantain (Plantago coronopus) also known as Erba Stella and Barba di frat...

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Why I Grow Vegetables From Seed

Mr. Homegrown
Gardening, Seeds
23 Comments
...seed. All of the seedlings at the nursery were uninteresting varieties and root-bound–way too big for their pots. And someone tell me what’s up with the trend I’ve noticed recently of selling mature tomato plants in small pots? I suppose novice gardeners probably think they’re getting a better value with a large plant, so the nursery has an incentive to sell root-bound stock. In fact, every last vegetable seedling at th...

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What We’re Going To Do About That Lead

Mr. Homegrown
Gardening, Lead
17 Comments
White sage, yarrow, rosemary and aloe vera–the kind of plants we’ll be planting more of. Let’s assume that we have a lead problem in our backyard. That’s a big assumption at this point because we now have two very conflicting test results. But, for the sake of an argument, let’s say the first alarming test is true, what are we going to do about it? These are the options: Radical remediation: Remove all t...

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