Straw Bale Garden Part V: Growing Vegetables

...seedlings. Others, like this cucumber, I sowed directly into the bales by making a little hole and putting in the seed with some home made seedling mix. Again, the vegetables in the bales are doing better than veggies in my two remaining raised beds. The reason, I believe, is that the beds are depleted and the compost I added to them was low quality. While more resource intensive than growing in the ground or raised bed, straw bale gardening has...

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De-Cluttering for DIYers, Homesteaders, Artists, Preppers, etc.

...aterials may kill your own possibilities, too. If we have piles of never-started or unfinished projects collecting dust on the shelves of our workshops (or in the back of the closet, or under the bed), it’s confusing, and guilt inducing, and makes you want to avoid your workspace. I really like the idea of deadlines which produce results. It feels good to have a finished project in hand. It would also be nice to have projects done when they need t...

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On Living in Los Angeles Without a Car: A Debate

...to actually get down to the legalities of setting up that system, finding partners, finding a car, committing to the time it would take to maintain such a project and really making it happen, or are we just going to talk about it? This is getting pressing. I can get by for basic things without a car, but not having access to one has clipped my wings, especially when it comes to outdoor activities, which are important to me. I’ve already rented a c...

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Saturday Linkages: Bow Drills and Cramped Apartments

...fzQ.twitter … Low-Tech Wonders Hand powered drilling tools and machines: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/12/hand-powered-drilling-tools-and-machines.html … Endless Rope Drives: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2013/03/the-mechanical-transmission-of-power-3-wire-ropes.html … Cramped Apartments in Hong Kong Shot From Directly Above http://lloydkahn-ongoing.blogspot.com/2013/03/cramped-apartments-in-hong-kong-shot.html#.UUPmMbpCjK4.twitter … Saint-...

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Weeds into Fertilizer

...just happen to be very good at taking up nutrients from relatively poor soil. The point here is let your weeds rot in water and you get a nice fertilizer. This is better than water into wine as far as I’m concerned. Which reminds me that I want to try making dandelion wine this spring…. So many of the plants that people consider weeds, like dandelion and nettle, are nutritious and medicinal plants. My favorite part is that they are easy to grow an...

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