Cheap and Natural Handsoap–and a rant

February 22, 2012

Body Care, Domesticus, How-to, Thoughtstylings

...dispenser with whatever soap you like. The tagline for this product is, “Never touch a germy soap pump again!” I love the double-speak of Healthy Touch/No-Touch. Is the underlying logic that no touch is healthy? Time to evacuate to our plastic bubbles! Three cranky thoughts on this product: 1) First, the obvious. When you touch a soap dispenser, you are about to wash your hands. When you wash you hands, you kill all the germs. It...

Vegetable Gardening With Dogs

Mr. Homegrown

August 23, 2008

Gardening, Tomatoes, Vegetable Gardening

9 Comments

We love all dogs and live with an elderly Doberman Pincher. But gardening with dogs can definitely have its challenges, especially when your trusted companion has a taste for heirloom tomatoes. On the right, the aftermath of one of our dog’s nightly tomato raids, this time targeting our healthiest and most productive vine, a variety called Giant Syrian. The dog has managed to claim all but a few of the tomatoes off this vine, knocking off...

Advances in Gardening Series: The Perennial Herb Bed, Patience and Plant Spacing and Breaking Your Own Rules

Mrs. Homegrown

January 24, 2011

Garden Design, Gardening, Herbs

4 Comments

...pe TV shows. Two things are questionable about this scenario. First, it makes both financial and horticultural sense to plant young, small plants. Small plants are cheaper, they catch up with the gallon-sized perennials in no time at all, and will probably be healthier in the long run. The second is a question of spacing. Perennial plants used in landscaping tend to be bushy things, plants which will need some room when they grow up. Too often th...

Make a Brigid’s Cross

Mrs. Homegrown

February 3, 2012

Design, Domesticus, How-to

6 Comments

...hey were doing…) But what the hay. St. Brigid’s day is February 1st, and the cross-quarter holiday of Imbolc, which marks the coming of spring, is celebrated around the 2nd. I think this weekend would be excellent time to make a few Brigid’s crosses for fun and luck. A proper reed cross They’re super-easy to make. Just go the Fish Eaters site for very clear weaving directions. Traditionally they are made out of re...