Black Widow or False Black Widow?

...e kind of dangerous, either. This is not reassuring. But then on the handy page Frequently Encountered Spiders in California, I learned about the False black widow. Another European invasive, this spider seems to be displacing our native black widows in urban areas. This spider is roughly the same size and shape as a black widow, but is brown with a faint purple sheen. I like this false black widow option a lot. The false widows don’t have a dange...

Read…

Saturday Tweets: Figs, Cordless Tools and Dancing Sunflowers

...— Root Simple (@rootsimple) August 7, 2016 Biking on the Burnside-Couch Couplet? Just follow the yellow brick road. #pdxbikes #PDXTraffic #wizardofoz pic.twitter.com/J17DprhV6F — PDX Transportation (@PBOTinfo) August 12, 2016 Happy Saturday everyone, with this calendar page from the Dunois Hours (Paris, 15th century)https://t.co/T0EuTsH1La pic.twitter.com/wJhmzdL13K — Medieval Manuscripts (@BLMedieval) August 13, 2016...

Read…

Is Urban Homesteading Over With?

...rches for gardening of all kinds–I tried “vegetable gardening,” “vegetable seeds,” “rose pruning” and “lawn care,” are down. I think this may reflect a demographic shift–an older generation dying off. We need to get young people gardening! Bread Baking No wonder I can’t seem to offer enough bread baking classes. Bicycles Cycling is down, but I’m sure this reflects disenchantment with Lance Armstrong and professional cycling. Searches for “bike com...

Read…

How To Manage a Compost Pile Using Temperature

...that, with the turn I did at day 14, all of the pile got up to 150°F. Weed seeds are killed above 130°F–another reason to watch temperature. Failing to get high temperatures can be an indication of too much carbon or a lack of water. To correct, add more nitrogen and water and turn. A loss of temperature could indicate that the pile is going anaerobic. The solution is to add more carbon material and turn. Once the pile has had 15 complete days ove...

Read…