Our new front yard, part 5: Constructing a meadow community

December 2, 2015

Back to the Garden, front yard series, Garden Design, Gardening

One of the many tracing paper overlays that I used to think through the placement of the plants Okay, I’m back to the series which never ends after a break for flipper fence building, Thanksgiving and a few days nursing a cold. “Constructing a meadow community” translating from Planting in a Post-Wild World, means choosing a bunch of shortish plants which work well together, with an emphasis on grasses. (Well, maybe a little more than that.) I’ll...

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The Rag and Bone Man

Mr. Homegrown

June 13, 2007

Thoughtstylings

2 Comments

...just fine. 2. Mulch–a layer of cotton will make a good first layer. We’ve used newspaper in the past with organic material on top, but in our dry climate here in LA the newspaper can actually prevent water from getting to the soil when it rains. We’re guessing that cotton might work better. 3. Household cleaning–this is obvious, but we do go through quite a few rags with our too few household cleanings, not to mention keeping the bicycle chains c...

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How to Roast Coffee in a Whirley Pop Popcorn Maker

Mr. Homegrown

July 8, 2016

Food

5 Comments

...op popcorn poppers and just a plain skillet. Each method has pluses and minuses. I’ve tried hot air popcorn poppers and stove-top popcorn poppers (such as the Whirley-Pop pictured at the top of this post). Between the air popper and the stove-top popper, I prefer the stove-top popper because you have more control over the roast and the device itself is inexpensive and suited to this use. The air poppers, on the other hand, tend burn out quickly wh...

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How’s that Tomato Grafting Project Going?

Mr. Homegrown

July 21, 2016

Gardening, Vegetable Gardening

4 Comments

...e the graft and secure it with a grafting clip. For the grafting process I used the directions in the following video from Cornell University: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08YfqCpL3po&index=66&list=FLsdjOQI8p-2mTRfVkMO6otA The next step is to put the grafted seedlings into a “healing chamber” consisting of a dark, warm and humid environment that gives the plant a chance to heal and the graft to take. You then slowly introduce light over a perio...

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In Praise of Turkish Towels

Mrs. Homegrown

August 16, 2016

Domesticus

12 Comments

...your body. After a few disconcerting mornings spent missing terry, I grew used to them, and then fell in love. I love them because: The are not as bulky as terry, so wrap and tie around the body more more easily They roll up into neat little bundles and take up very little space in my bathroom cupboard They dry more quickly than terry towels They don’t hog the washer They’re not heavy when wet They dry quickly on the line and feel soft afterward...

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