Without Merit: poison in your compost

December 7, 2009

Composting, Gardening, Thoughtstylings, Vegetable Gardening

...ns for performing a simple test here (pdf). Basically, you plant three pea seeds in a 50/50 blend of compost and potting mix and compare their growth against a control group of three pea seeds grown in just potting mix. If you use manure in your compost pile and you don’t own the animal it came from, this test should be routine. Secondly, a political solution: the Rachel Carson Council suggests writing two EPA officials to suggest banning a trio o...

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033 A GMO-Free Los Angeles with Joanne Poyourow

Mr. Homegrown

January 14, 2015

Podcasts

3 Comments

...vironmental Change-Makers tells the story of her part in trying to ban GMO seeds in Los Angeles. During the show Joanne mentions: David King of the Seed Library of Los Angeles (SLOLA) Seed Freedom LA for more info about GMOs or for info on how to make your city or county GMO-free. 21 Reasons for a GMO-Free Zone Scientific and scholarly studies on GMOs Info for Grassroots campaign organizers Where to find Safe Seeds How to assure your garden is GMO...

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End of Season Tomato Review

Mr. Homegrown

November 26, 2008

Gardening, Tomatoes, Vegetable Gardening

7 Comments

...ce it. And they’re just about as big as a Cadillac Escalade. We saved some seeds and will definitely be growing these again next year. The most productive, trouble free and productive tomatoes this year were plain old Romas and San Marzanos, both of which provided a summer of tomato sauce and enough extra fruit to do some canning. Two hybrid cherry tomatoes we grew in self watering containers, Sun Gold and Sweet 100 also did well. The Romas have t...

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Homesteading Disasters: The Skunk Menace

Mr. Homegrown

October 12, 2012

Mistakes

17 Comments

...ed. I know that I’ve got a skunk problem. Yet each year when I sow lettuce seeds I get lazy about putting up the required bird net barrier over the beds. Or I haphazardly put it up, thinking that the skunks aren’t smart enough to squeeze through any gaps. And each year I wake up the morning after planting to a kind of vegetable garden apocalypse–dozens of V shaped holes, overturned seedlings and scattered seeds. And each year I swear off vegetable...

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In August, Way Too Much Squash

Mr. Homegrown

August 17, 2008

Gardening, Mistakes, Vegetable Gardening

23 Comments

...as an “All-America Selection” in 1938 (AAS is kind of like a dog show for seeds run by the National Garden Bureau). We grew our EPS from Botanical Interests seeds we got at our local nusery. Our EPS squash has lived up to its name, having grown rapidly, producing tasty summer squash with a zucchini-like flavor and consistency. Unfortunately, all squash that we have grown here has been subject to powdery mildew, a white fungus that spreads rapidly...

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