Soil Positive or just Soil Curious? Join Nancy Klehm For a Workshop on Soils

...arn: – basic soil structure and biology – qualitative methods of assessing soil health – how to sample soil for a lab – landscape reading skills – backyard-scale bioremediation strategies including compost, mulch and working with fungi Participants should: Bring food to share at the potluck and their own water bottle Wear work clothes and bring a pair of gloves, a notebook and a pen Registration Information Register via Paypal using “Register” but...

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Grow the Soil

...et Mulch A concept from the permacultural toolbox, sheet mulching involves making a soil boosting lasagna consisting of a layer of compost or manure, newspaper to hold in moisture, and a thick application of mulch consisting of hay, stable bedding, or other bulk materials. Full instructions here via Agroforestry.net. See Toby Hemenway’s introductory permaculture guide Gaia’s Garden for a similar sheet mulching technique. 2. Cover Crop An alternate...

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The Homegrown Mailbox: How and Where Do I Get My Soil Tested?

...aboratories 365 Coral Circle El Segundo, CA 90245 (310) 615-0116 www.bettersoils.com Test results very scientific No recommendations Soil and Plant Laboratory, Inc. 1594 N. Main Street Orange, CA (714) 282-8777 FGL Environmental 853 Corporation Street Santa Paula, CA (805) 525-3824 USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service 44811 N. Date Avenue Lancaster, CA 93534-3136 (661) 945-2604 Here’s a dirt cheap (pun intended) test for soil ph that you ca...

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The Urban Homestead

...and your local indie bookstore This celebrated, essential handbook for the urban homesteading movement shows how to grow and preserve your own food, clean your house without toxins, raise chickens, gain energy independence, and more. Step-by-step projects, tips, and anecdotes will help get you started homesteading immediately. The Urban Homestead is also a guidebook to the larger movement and will point you to the best books and internet resources...

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What is green water?

...and hold rain water rather than ejecting it straight to the street. We leave the leaves. We keep our clippings and fallen leaves on our land, and let them return to the soil. Mulch is is vital to living soil, while bare soil is dead soil. We make our yards lush. Soil life occurs around the root zones of plants, so more plants means better soil. We plant trees, which the founder of TreePeople, Andy Lipkis, calls “living cisterns.”...

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