Bee Idle

April 3, 2015

...on her allotment in Birmingham, where we spent the day filming the first two instalments of our new online gardening course for eco-idlers. The principle is low effort, high productivity. Alys is a brilliant instructor and I wish I’d consulted her before I started growing vegetables and herbs. It would have saved me a lot of pain . . . We’re also organising an event with Alys for the Chelsea Fringe Festival. Her idea is that we create a Plant Cem...

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Renting and Homesteading

Mr. Homegrown

April 27, 2015

Animals, Bees, Chickens, Fruit Trees, Garden Design, Gardening, Urban Farming, Vegetable Gardening

4 Comments

...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYpDlwx44pI College student Sheila Cassani transformed her rental unit in Oakland California into a beautiful garden space she calls Kansas Street Farm. She’s turned a small space into a productive paradise with fruits, vegetables, chickens and bees....

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Mulch, mulch, mulch!

Mrs. Homegrown

May 14, 2015

Back to the Garden, Garden Design, Gardening, Permaculture, Soil

11 Comments

...d the idea of leaving the odd corner or bit of slope un-mulched.) Mulching vegetables: Mulch in the vegetable beds is potentially useful, but also has downsides. It’s very specific and local knowledge, so you have to see what works best for you. I’ll say straight off that if slugs are a big pest in your vegetable beds, mulch will provide them with lots of nice habitat, so I’d not mulch anywhere near my vegetable beds in that case. A mulch of clean...

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057 Winnetka Farms Part 2

Mr. Homegrown

August 12, 2015

Animals, Chickens, Gardening, Pests, Podcasts

5 Comments

...rnando valley. In last week’s podcast, episode 56, we talked about Italian vegetables. This week Craig tells us about his double-laced Barnevelder chickens, Muscovy ducks and we complain about our mutual problems with rats and racoons. Barnevelder chickens TLS Ranch Barnevelders Biosecurity Muscovy Ducks The raccoon menace Weeks colony in Winnetka Craig’s grape arbor Aquaponics Harrisina metallica – Western Grapeleaf Skeletonizer Rats! The Kitchen...

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061 National Heirloom Expo Report

Mr. Homegrown

September 16, 2015

Gardening, Podcasts, Thoughtstylings, Vegetable Gardening

1 Comment

...aker Creek Seeds and features speakers, a huge hall of heirloom fruits and vegetables, vendors, livestock, a biodynamic pavilion and live music. I’ve attended each year for five years in a row. This year I took my portable recording equipment and on this episode of the podcast you’ll hear interviews with root vegetable expert Grant Brians, Sir Cobalot, Sustainable Santa (yes you heard that right) and we’ll conclude with a discussion about the Cali...

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