Black Widow or False Black Widow?

...a teeny bit nervous. They hang out on the underside of the lid of the worm bin for the most part, though I’ve seen them on the surface of the worm compost once or twice. Obviously my concern is that I will touch one when opening or closing the bin, or while burying my kitchen waste. Believing these spiders to be black widows, my options have been either to be very attentive while around the worm bin–or to roll out the vacuum. So far I’ve opted for...

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Our Keyhole Vegetable Bed: What Worked and What Didn’t Work

...bed high enough–more height may have helped prevent skunk incursions. The compost bin in the center of the bed should have been sturdier. Skunks got into it eventually. The cheap bagged soil I bought had a lot of wood chips in it. Brassicas did fine but other veggies did not appreciate the high carbon content of the bagged soil. It would have been better to make my own soil with high quality compost, but I was in a hurry. Clover in the keyhole be...

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Talk and Vermicomposting Workshop With Nance Klehm Sunday March 8th!

...nts as well as garden plants.You don’t need a strong back or much space to compost with a worm bin. Worm-shop participants will go home with a functioning bin complete with worms! The general lecture is free and open to all, and no reservations are required for the talk alone, but the worm-shop materials fee: $30 (Financial aid is available) and you must reserve your space by emailing [email protected]. Registration is mandatory so that w...

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I Made a Bee Vacuum

...nds Andrew and Stephen, removed some bees from a backyard rotating compost bin (a common place bees like to settle in, by the way). We had to Sawzall the bin apart, unfortunately, and by the time we started removing the comb, most of the bees had settled into a hard to access corner of the bin. With the bee vac, we were able to quickly vacuum up those bees and get them into their new home. Bee vac on top–box with relocated comb on bottom. Image: A...

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

...esentation 2. landscape reading exercise in neighborhood ~potluck lunch 3. compost bin and soil tour of root simple front and back gardens 4. three soil installations – TBA What you will learn: – 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...

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