Search Results for: label/soil

219 results

Lead Update

Mr. Homegrown
Gardening, Lead
8 Comments
This week I thought I’d do a series of posts about soil and heavy metals beginning with a few more details about the possible lead contamination situation in our backyard. Two weeks ago Darren Butler, who is teaching a vegetable gardening series at our house, led a class project where we took four samples from different locations in the backyard, mixed them together and sent them off to Wallace Laboratories, a local soil testing lab with...

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SoilWeb: An Online Soil Survey Resource

Mr. Homegrown
Miscellaneous
5 Comments
One of the highlights of the California Master Gardener Conference I just spoke at was a lecture by Toby O’Geen, Ph.D., Assistant Soil Resource Specialist at UC Extension. O’Geen mentioned an amazing online soil resource called SoilWeb, avaliable at http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/drupal/node/902. SoilWeb overlays detailed soil information on Google Maps and Google Earth. There’s even a SoilWeb iPhone app allowing you to use...

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What We’re Going To Do About That Lead

Mr. Homegrown
Gardening, Lead
17 Comments
...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 the soil in the yard and replace with new soil. Cover the contaminated soil so that it doesn’t give off dust, and so people can’t come in direct contact with it, e.g. lay sod, cover the yard with concrete or decking,...

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Looking for the Union Label

Mr. Homegrown
Domesticus
3 Comments
We’ve got a bad case of Ohrwurm, a German expression translated as “earworm” and used to describe a song stuck in your head. Our earworm came after a search for union made socks and underwear on the internets recalled a highly catchy ad jingle from the roller disco era, “Look for the Union Label” (youngsters can watch it on youtube here). We looked for the union label and we were surprised to find it via a company c...

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Saturday Linkages: Soil Liming, Vegans Partying, Cats and Couches

Mr. Homegrown
Saturday Linkages
2 Comments
Designer Seungji Mun’s cat couch. Please Stop Liming your Soil Based on the pH! | Garden Rant http:// gardenrant.com/2012/07/please -stop-liming-your-soil-based-on-the-ph.html  … Vegans party … at the butcher shop! http://www. latimes.com/features/food/ dailydish/la-dd-vegans-party-at-the-butcher-shop-20120801,0,7684645.story  … Small Homes in Working Class Neighborhoods http:// bit.ly/NMf0xX Purr-fect Playground: Human Sofa...

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Advances in Gardening Series: The Fan

Mrs. Homegrown
Garden Design, Gardening, Herbal Medicine, Herbs
6 Comments
...s today. The original herb garden was a rough quarter circle. We kept that footprint, but used spare bricks to divide the shape into 3 smaller wedges. The bricks give me a way to walk between the wedges without compacting the soil.  The Process: To prepare the ground… I first forked the original soil, because while it’s not bad soil, it was compacted. Poppies have deep taproots. Like carrots, they need loose soil, so I really worked...

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Upcoming Classes: Edible Gardening and Vermicomposting

Mr. Homegrown
Events
4 Comments
...ening elsewhere, or who haven’t been satisfied with their garden yields. Expected topics include seed starting, seasonality and what to do when, building raised beds, choosing containers, plant selection, transplanting, soil preparation, irrigation, wise water use, pest management (weeds, diseases, insects), beneficial insects, composting, harvesting, and seed saving. INTERMEDIATE ORGANIC GARDENING FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Hosted by Root Sim...

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Are Raised Beds a Good Idea?

Mr. Homegrown
Gardening, Vegetable Gardening
44 Comments
Raised bed fail. Our appalling parkway beds. Extra demerits for having used treated lumber! * Raised beds have some pluses and minuses. Lately I’ve been thinking about their drawbacks. Namely: Cost How fast they dry out in a hot climate. Now I can also think of a few reasons one might want to grow vegetables in a raised bed: You do a soil test (and you should do a soil test, especially if you live in an urban area) and the res...

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Nance Klehm at Farmlab Tomorrow

Mr. Homegrown
Composting, Events, Humanure
2 Comments
...season is one of decline and decomposition, activity below ground and general shadowiness. The fundamentals that guide us are: Everything comes into this world hungry. Everything wants to be digested. Everything flows towards soil. This salon will discuss various methods of transforming what is perceived as waste and turning it into soil or building/healing existing soil. Nance Klehm is a radical ecologist, designer, urban forager, grower and tea...

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Our Holiday Gift Suggestions

Mr. Homegrown
Reviews
4 Comments
That dreaded holiday seasons is just around the corner. With unemployment still high we hope that many of you have negotiated a family gift truce to limit tedious shopping. Or perhaps you’re making things to give away. But if you still need to get a little something for that special homesteader on your shopping list, we’ve got a few suggestions from our Homegrown Evolution Amazon Store. Even if you just click through the store and b...

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