Stickers for the Organic Gardener

...Boing a clever re-purposing: “Evil Mad Scientist Labs wants you to proudly label your organic garden with these handsome “Now Slower and with More Bugs!” stickers, originally produced to adorn software products. The influence of the Slow Food movement is increasing, and gardening is getting ever more popular. Even the tech bloggers are posting about local pollinators and getting beehives. In this environment, it is fitting that a new use has been...

Read…

Is Lead Poisoning a Risk in Urban Gardens?

...issue. But if the results of a University of Washington study on lead and urban agriculture are to be believed, we might not need to be as concerned. The researchers note that most vegetables don’t take up lead and that improving soil with compost greatly reduces the bioavailability of lead. You can read a summary of the results of this research paper here. Thanks to Joanne Poyourow of Environmental Change Makers for tipping me off to this resear...

Read…

Saturday Tweets: Barbra Streisand, Urban Farm Troubles and Thoughtful Plants

...ttp://t.co/xu3ZRI8aGU — Root Simple (@rootsimple) December 5, 2014 Seized! Urban farm troubles in Detroit: http://t.co/QLvb5ex0dP via @JewishNewsDet — Root Simple (@rootsimple) December 4, 2014 Inhofe's grand climate conspiracy theory: It's all about Barbra Streisand http://t.co/ajhqjEzvBZ via @motherjones — Root Simple (@rootsimple) December 3, 2014 Six Myths About Climate Change that Liberals Rarely Question http://t.co/RoxuTeQxot — Root...

Read…

An indispensible urban tool: the titanium spork

...preparation for a long hiking trip, but it soon proved its utility in the urban environment. It’s always in my bag, a permanent part of my “everyday carry”, and I use when I’m eating food from home as well as in situations where I’d otherwise be forced to use plastic flatware. I love its simplicity and utility. The prongs of the spork are substantial enough to work as a fork, but aren’t hard on the mouth when it’s used as a spoon. I have another...

Read…

Chicago’s Urban Bees

...hives on a former Sears and Roebucks site. The Co-op provides job training to under-employed folks and sells a variety of products. I didn’t get a chance to visit it on my trip to Chicago, but hope to the next time I’m there. In other Chicago bee news, the Green Roof Growers just got a hive. Urban rooftops and abandoned industrial sites make a lot of sense for beekeeping, as many agricultural areas are contaminated with pesticides. Keeping bees i...

Read…