007 RIP Handsome, 3 Power Tools You Should Own and Hipster Compost

July 9, 2014

...ecent comment on the blog we review an old post on three power tools every urban homesteader should own: drill, circular saw and jigsaw. Lastly, we expand on a recent post about composting brew waste, coffee grounds, juice pulp and coconut husks. In other words, “hipster compost.” During the discussion we answer a reader concern about black solider flies in compost. For more info on soldier flies (they are beneficial in compost but can be a proble...

Read…

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...

Read…

Apartment Parking Lot Gardening in East Hollywood

Mr. Homegrown

July 31, 2014

Gardening

8 Comments

...start a garden even if you don’t own a house and how an otherwise useless urban space can be put to good use. R.J. says: I wanted to be able to give my granddaughter the experience of gardening while she was growing up but as both my daughter and I live in apartments, and have no space for gardens I needed to come up with a solution . So based on the “Square Foot Gardening Book by Mel Bartholomew I built two 5 ft. x 1 ft. square foot garden boxes...

Read…

Root Simple’s New CritterCam

Mr. Homegrown

August 18, 2014

Animals

8 Comments

...a for the application I intend. Thanks Max!] My plan is to use it for some urban, backyard citizen science. Specifically I want to figure out a few things: What mammals are visiting the backyard? What paths do they take through the yard? What kinds of birds are visiting the bird bath? Have my skunk proofing efforts worked? What’s the most active time in the night for mammalian activity? How many cats are visiting and what time do they come through...

Read…

017 Heirloom Expo Recap

Mr. Homegrown

September 17, 2014

Animals, Bees, Fruit Trees, Gardening, Podcasts, rainwater harvesting, Vegetable Gardening, Water and Power

4 Comments

...during the podcast: California Rare Fruit Growers Rachel Kaplan, author of Urban Homesteading Trathen Heckman of Daily Acts Apiculturalist Michael Thiele “Fruit Freak” John Valenzuela Franchi seed seller The Heirloom Seed Store Permaculturalist Toby Hemenway If you want to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to [email protected]. You can subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store and on Sti...

Read…