How’s that Tomato Grafting Project Going?

...6otA What could possibly go wrong? Let’s just say that at Root Simple Labs mistakes were made. The root stock grew a lot faster than the heirloom tomatoes I chose. When you graft you want similarly sized stems. It would have been good to stagger the days I started my seeds rather than planting them all at one time. The healing chamber needs to be a carefully controlled environment. I improvised a greenhouse by putting my seedlings in plastic bags....

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Using a Whirley-Pop to Roast Coffee

...reader suggested. I could also have just ended up with a bad popper. Apologies to anyone who rushed out to get an air popper. Maybe it will work better than mine did. At least with our high tech blog I can correct mistakes. It would be harder if Root Simple was a mimeographed newsletter–the Whirley-Pop of information delivery methods. But we’ll see what format the blog is in after this week’s Mayan apocalypse . . ....

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More boneheaded plant representations from Hollywood

...a pair of Crocs and call them Jimmy Choos? No, no and non. We’d never make mistakes like that justify them as being unimportant because they were just small details in a silly movie or TV show. Details matter a lot when the objects have cultural significance, as designer shoes and footballs do. This is why it is fine to be stupid about plants, because nobody cares about plants, and we have lost every last vestige of plant literacy. I don’t think t...

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Rain- The Best Gift of All

...But these are home made rain barrels and I have lived and learned from my mistakes. But I do get to harvest a decent amount of water and it feels very satisfying to see that barrel full after only a light rain. So due to the mosquito issue, I use my harvested rain water as soon as possible. Once the soil has dried out, usually just a couple of days later, I attach a hose to the barrel and let it drain. I will set it in the garden and move it arou...

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How to Size a Breakfast Nook Table

...of. This conclusion comes from 20 years of horrific breakfast nook sizing mistakes. Our first table was the same length of the bench. It was difficult to get in and out of and caused considerable complaints. Version 2.0 of the table was considerably shorter. So short, in fact, as to be useless. A lightbulb went off in my head when I discovered this table in the 1925 Pacific Ready-Cut home catalog. Not only did it seem just the right proportion bu...

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