Everything Must Go Part 5: The nitty gritty

January 21, 2015

...ral dusty old 12 oz bottles of homemade mead–a few of which were helpfully labeled, “Bad Mead?”–which have sat on a back shelf unloved and undrunk for many years, for so long the printer ink on the labels was fading. Far longer than any aging period. Erik caught me draining the bottles and just about had kittens. He’d planned on carbonating these bottles…someday…to see if that would improve the flavor and now I’d gone and ruined all of his work. H...

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The Flow Hive: a Solution in Search of a Problem

Mr. Homegrown

February 23, 2015

Animals, Bees

65 Comments

...a more practical level, it seems to me that the ease of the tapping could lead inexperienced beekeepers to over-tap the hive. Now, the inventors say this system is less stressful to the hive, because you don’t have to remove the frames for harvest, or even to check to see if the frames are ready for harvest. And this is true. It is a novel system, where the plastic comb is built so that frame splits open and lets the honey drain out secretly, as...

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The Unintended Consequences of Water Conservation

Mr. Homegrown

September 9, 2015

Gardening

11 Comments

...For trees such damage could mean dropping branches and even tree failures, leading to significant property damage and human injury or even death; lawsuits would certainly follow. As landscapes go dry, the risk of fires would increase. In changing over landscapes to low-water using plants or to non-planted, non-irrigated areas, labor and material costs for plants, installing or retrofitting irrigation systems, and other materials could be significa...

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Romanesco broccoli cameo lights up Star Wars film

Mrs. Homegrown

December 30, 2015

Nature Awareness, Thoughtstylings, Vegetable Gardening

10 Comments

...l deGrasse Tyson and the Village Voice. In @StarWars #TheForceAwakens, the lead character snacks on what includes Romanescu Broccoli, nature’s only fractal food. — Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2015 We make it a hobby around here to spot the use and misuse of plants in Hollywood. This one is interesting, because while the Romanesco is presented as a food, as it should be–as opposed to ivy vines being presented as a food crop in Maz...

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The Biochar Solution

Mr. Homegrown

November 25, 2014

Gardening

9 Comments

...robial life Bind heavy metals (this is a big selling point for me with our lead and zinc contaminated soil) U of W suggests purchasing biochar rather than trying to make it yourself. According to the authors its not easy to achieve proper pyrolysis at home. And they caution that biochar can cause problems for acid loving plants and worms. I’m interviewing a biochar expert for our podcast today. Look for that episode in two weeks. Have you used bio...

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