A New and Improved Self Irrigating Pot System

October 19, 2012

...on the self irrigating pot (SIP) idea from Larry Hall of Minnesota. Rather than the two bucket system we’ve blogged about in the past (see a roundup of our SIP resources here), Hall uses one long rain gutter to supply water. He’s even got a clever double rain gutter system for growing strawberries that I’m tempted to try on our back patio. I spotted this video on Inside Urban Green always a good source for SIP related news....

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What is a Swarm of Bees and What Should I Do About It?

Mr. Homegrown

February 13, 2017

Animals, Bees

8 Comments

...y’ll take any dark enclosure with a small, easily defensible, entrance. In urban areas, in addition to tree cavities, they might choose the walls of buildings, utility boxes, compost bins and even the inner workings of hot tubs. But before a swarm can find permanent digs, they need a place for the swarm to hang out while the swarm’s scouts go off in search of the perfect home. Where a swarm lands When shopping for permanent real estate most swarms...

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Saturday Tweets: Cast Iron, Astroturf and Testing Your Microclimates

Mr. Homegrown

November 15, 2014

Saturday Linkages

.../t.co/qj0S6jL5Z2 — Root Simple (@rootsimple) November 10, 2014 Silver Lake urban farmers get into turf war over artificial grass http://t.co/7Ce8xODsTK via @TheEastsiderLA — Root Simple (@rootsimple) November 14, 2014 From Farm to Patient Tray: Retrofitting the supply chain to meet hospitals’ demand for local food https://t.co/aPU7iE7ewJ — Rachel Surls (@RachelSurls) October 24, 2014 Drought: Beverly Hills is big water user; East L.A. is the lowes...

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Councilmen Want to Astroturf Los Angeles and Turn it Into a Big Minigolf Course

Mr. Homegrown

November 3, 2014

Gardening, Water and Power

7 Comments

...ings and get all the details wrong. Offering homeowners rebates to replace water hungry lawns is a good idea. Letting them use those rebates to put artificial turf in the parkway (see council motion 14-1197–introduced by councilpersons Blumenfield and O’Farrell) is not ecologically responsible. I disagree with a recent editorial in the Los Angeles Times, about giving rebates for artificial turf. It’s time for all of us in this dry Mediterranean cl...

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Apartment Parking Lot Gardening in East Hollywood

Mr. Homegrown

July 31, 2014

Gardening

8 Comments

...he 1 x 6, though, and fill the soil about an inch below the boards so when watering the water doesn’t spill over the sides as is the case with my 1 x 6 boards. One of the advantages of having my garden space in the parking lot is that when I leave in the morning I can spend a few moments watering and pruning and picking some delicious tomatoes for lunch and when I come home at night I can repeat the same process . This routine has turned out to be...

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