Admitting Gardening Mistakes

August 17, 2015

...and a unwillingness to admit mistakes. Take, for instance, the stone fruit trees in our front yard. The “new normal” that climate change has brought to our region–fewer chill hours and drought–has greatly diminished the health and productivity of most of our stone fruit. It’s time for those trees to go and for the execution of a more coherent and attractive landscape plan. As Hermann von Pückler-Muskau advises in his 1834 book Hints on Landscape G...

Read…

Yet More Reasons to Mulch

Mr. Homegrown

October 14, 2014

Gardening

4 Comments

Image: Wikimedia. From a water conservation perspective alone, our trees need a good layer of mulch. But there are many more reasons to mulch, according to research by James Downer, Farm Advisor with the Cooperative Extension in Ventura County, California: Mulch provides nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. A serendipitous accident in one of Downer’s studies revealed that mulch changes soil structure so that mulched soils are able to absorb more w...

Read…

Induced Demand

Mr. Homegrown

July 3, 2014

Thoughtstylings, Water and Power

12 Comments

...when it comes to greywater, but it’s a good point. Did I plant more fruit trees because I had a greywater system? Has this caused more water consumption in our current drought? Honestly, I think the answer is yes. You could probably find induced demand between the lines of David Homgren’s permaculture principles. But perhaps we should insert a thirteenth principle: acknowledge induced demand and work to prevent it. Simply being aware of the pheno...

Read…

Village Homes: A Model for Sustainable Suburbs

Mrs. Homegrown

February 21, 2014

Design, Garden Design, Permaculture, Urban Farming

6 Comments

...o the sewer system, it runs to swales between the houses, to nourish fruit trees. The resulting space is a lush park full of edibles, from exotic jujubee trees to grapes to almonds. Residents can stroll around in the abundant shade and pick fruit at will. Only the almond crop is off limits–the almond crop is harvested every year and sold to support the the gardening services for the entire development. There are also community garden space availab...

Read…

Saturday Linkages: Battling Herbicides, Solar Wall Ovens and Jaywalking

Mr. Homegrown

February 8, 2014

Saturday Linkages

3 Comments

...ricas-public-transit-rout.html … LA residents: The city offers free native trees for street planting. Coast Live Oaks are approved as street trees! http://environmentla.org/pdf/2014/Theodore_Payne_Foundation_FlyerTA.pdf … Documenting the NYC snowpocalypse’s neckdowns: latent traffic calming revealed by climate and crowds: http://boingboing.net/2014/02/05/documenting-the-nyc-snowpocaly.html … Tom Vanderbilt in NYT: Jaywalking Tickets Don’t Make Str...

Read…