City Farm Chicago

May 19, 2009

...nevitable development comes, pull up everything and move on. Assuming that urban land is contaminated, the City Farm folks simply piled up about three feet of compost, soil and mulch right on top of the broken concrete and asphalt of its current location. All that soil will move when the yuppie condos replace the salad greens and radishes. City Farm is an idea that makes sense in big U.S. cities which, despite astronomical real estate prices, have...

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The Homegrown Mailbox: How and Where Do I Get My Soil Tested?

Mr. Homegrown

June 5, 2009

Gardening, Soil

9 Comments

...a lab is much more accurate. To find a lab in the US, the best place to start is with your local Cooperative Extension Service. Find yours via this link. Some offer free or low cost soil testing. Here in Los Angeles the Extension Service does not offer testing, but they were nice enough to provide a list of local labs. The lab I talked to, Wallace Laboratories, offered tests at $75 a sample–see their price list for specifics. Before you send a sa...

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Rubber Sidewalks Rescue Trees

Homegrown Neighbor

November 10, 2009

Thoughtstylings

2 Comments

...ing we just need more of here in Southern California. I used to work at an urban forestry non-profit, TreePeople. So I am familiar with the challenges of the tree/sidewalk interface. I have fielded calls from people frantically trying to save trees that are being ripped out because they are lifting the sidewalk. I have also received calls from people eager to remove trees for the same reason. Sadly, I have also heard from people that would call ju...

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On Living in Los Angeles Without a Car: A Debate

Mr. Homegrown

May 21, 2013

Bikes, Transportation

41 Comments

...formal car share arrangements. I know someone, who lives downtown, who is part of such a program. Maybe we should look into creating a car share program in our neighborhood. Kelly: Well, yes, that is a possibility, but is it a likelihood? Are we going 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...

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Row Cover as an Insect Barrier

Mr. Homegrown

October 22, 2012

Vegetable Gardening

13 Comments

...eds carries Agribon row cover in lengths as short as 50 feet–plenty for an urban or suburban garden. I’ve used both PVC pipe and chain link fence tension wire as support. I secure the row cover down with pieces of rebar and bricks to keep out skunks. What cabbage worms become. It’s not a plug and play solution, however. If it gets hot I have to remember to pull the row cover off. And the added humidity can cause outbreaks of aphids. But overall, i...

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