Filter Fail: How to Cure Internet Addiction

...is an incredibly useful research tool and a great way to reach out to the urban homesteading community. That being said, I just can’t seem to stop watching those dancing raccoons. We may be well past the point where the distraction potential of the internet is beginning to adversely effect its usefulness. Preventing filter fail So what can be done on a personal level to prevent “filter fail?” Only two things have worked for me in the past: Checki...

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Saturday Tweets: Starlings, Chipmunks and Maple Syrup Season Lessons

...com/RvU0ax5Cii — Lyanda Lynn Haupt (@LyandaHaupt) May 12, 2017 Caught raiding birdseed, chipmunk yields haul https://t.co/QUatfa977T — Root Simple (@rootsimple) May 12, 2017 Ghost Lanes: Angled “Scarchitecture” Reveals Historic Urban Roads https://t.co/Bbr8h3AbHp — Root Simple (@rootsimple) May 8, 2017 What I Did Wrong This Maple Syrup Season #DIY #homesteading https://t.co/OnXcnVpcbp pic.twitter.com/Ji1xdC6fsD — Eric Rochow (@GardenForkTV) May 12...

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Saturday Tweets: Date Palms, Clear Ice and Hugs

...Rochow (@GardenForkTV) May 22, 2017 Paint the Town: 3 More Strangely Legal Urban Street Artworks | Urbanist – https://t.co/ld9AjUHzof — Eric Rochow (@GardenForkTV) May 22, 2017 Hippies are the new hipsters: the Silver Lake shaman: https://t.co/twqIDKLmx7 via @qz — Root Simple (@rootsimple) May 22, 2017 A random medieval city layout generator https://t.co/oZX3FkHX2J #procgen pic.twitter.com/YiMCaeQY6X — algoritmic (@algoritmic) May 23, 2017 A Musli...

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Essential System #3 – Sew Your Own Damn Clothes

...tart spinning and weaving your own fabric). Some recommendations for brave urban homesteaders who want to take up sewing. Don’t start with stretchy fabric. Don’t even think of using velvet (we learned this the hard way). Choose patterns carefully so you don’t end up looking like, well, folks who sew their own clothes. Consider purchasing a used serger, which cuts the fabric and finishes the seam all at once, which folks in the know tell us makes l...

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

...I was able to interpret the results myself with their slightly overpriced booklet that you can order along with the test. Another approach, especially if you live in an old house like ours, is to assume that your soil is contaminated, skip the test, and grow things in raised beds, containers or stick to ornamentals. You could also try bioremediation: each season plant a cover crop, let it grow, and then pull it up and dispose of it. Test the soil...

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