July Linkages

...ks in the series, “Home Dairy” and “Beekeeping”, will be available in April 2011. Hopefully we’ll be having English on our new Homegrown Evolution Podcast that will debut when we can get our computer, seen above, to record audio. A few blog posts ago we answered a question about soil testing. Visiting journalist Michael Tortorello tipped us off to the University of Minnesota’s Soil Testing Laboratory that will test out of state samples for their r...

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020 Emily Green on the Mow and Blow Landscape Paradigm

...dependent. She blogs at Chance of Rain. Writing in the Los Angeles Times in 2011 Emily says, What would you do if a neighbor came to you and asked, “For 20 minutes every week, may I turn on your vacuum cleaner, smoke detector and garbage disposal and run them all at once?” Holding that thought, consider if the neighbor added, “Ah, may I also blow noxious dust your way for those same 20 minutes?” Imagine that not just one neighbor on the street ask...

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Washing Machine Greywater Resources

...sis Biocompatible detergent, the only laundry detergent we can find that’s appropriate for greywater use. It works great and, again, click through the link and we get a little support. A selection of three way diverter valves. Note the 1″ brass model for laundry systems. Use these diverters to shift between sending your greywater outside or back to the sewer. Great if you have to do a load of diapers. We don’t have one, but we’re both cheap and ki...

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Composting the Deceased/ My DIY Funeral Fantasies

...le. The body is covered with a 1 foot layer of mixed greens and browns–the makings of compost. Then over that goes a massive pile of carbonaceous material (“browns”: dry leaves, wood shavings, etc.). This layer is to be 10 to 12 feet deep. Huge! It’s role is to absorb putrefying gases. Let the pile sit for two years. Every month or so, go out and sniff around. If you smell anything, add more carbon. I’d be tempted to use a thicker layer of compost...

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The Return of the Monocle?

...nline monocle dealer based in San Francisco. But what about the monocle as appropriate technology? It’s pretty much the same, after all, as wearing one contact. I have decent distance vision, so I could wear a monocle for closeup vision in my non-dominant eye. If you use glasses try looking through them with just your non-dominant eye to understand how a monocle would allow you to see both close up and distance at the same time. Monocles weren’t a...

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