2014, a Year in Comments: Plant Thievery, Loquats, Breakfast Cerial and the Apocalypse

...t of researching the issue was discovering the Garden Professor’s Facebook page, wherein brainy horticulture types engage in a dialog on newfangled ideas. Use the search function on that page to find the subject you’re interested in. Who would have guessed that Facebook is useful for more than sharing cat photos and speculating about caftans? 5. Non-GMO Versions of Grape Nuts and Cheerios Less Nutritious Than GMO Versions. This may seem to be a po...

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The Difference Between Mulch and Compost

...d observations physical concerning them : and in a second part are annexed meditations, and observations theological and moral, in three centuries upon that subject (As an aside, I think we need to bring back really long book titles and creative spelling). In this book Purchas uses the word “mulch” as a suggested material for a beekeeper’s smoker, “Then make a smoak of mulch and wet straw.” Later uses of the word mulch are also about the use of ha...

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Mulch, mulch, mulch!

.... At this time the benefits of mulches such as water conservation, reduced used of herbicides, and reduced soil erosion are very apparent while the risks to termite infestations due to mulches are unknown. Homeowners will continue to use mulches in landscaping around their houses and buildings. Our current recommendation is to be vigilant and up-to-date with termite inspection and treatment. Wood mulch robs nitrogen from the soil: There is also a...

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Saturday Tweets: Eating Crickets and Making Coffee

Cricket: It's what's for dinner? http://t.co/qdKwzDiIA9 pic.twitter.com/mNUmd5bCak — Modern Farmer (@ModFarm) October 14, 2015 Neonics severely affecting queen bees, according to new research. Via @keatleygarvey http://t.co/jfoJVN5JNB — UCUrbanAg (@UCUrbanAg) October 16, 2015 Banana Spook Cake – A Vintage Halloween Recipe Re-Run http://t.co/zYOyLPuW6p — Root Simple (@rootsimple) October 15, 2015 Top 33 Coffee Projects http://t.co/eWy4mIES...

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I Spent a Year Making a Bed

How’s that for a click bait title? But I really did spend almost a year on this with most of that time eaten up teaching myself how to do marquetry and inlay work. As I mentioned before, my first attempts didn’t go well and I spent a lot of time searching for advice on how to do this particular style of Art Nouveau work that almost nobody does anymore. Sanding and finishing metal and wood right next to each other also proved difficult and I’m not...

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