Advantages and Disadvantages of Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening

February 20, 2014

.... Plug and play–no need to build or improve soil. Keeps roots from getting waterlogged in a wet climate. Cons Requires materials to construct. Might need to buy soil–gardening in the ground is free. Roots dry out quicker in a hot climate. Lack of mineral content in bagged soils. Use of peat moss in bagged products. Unable to truly embrace the “no dig” philosophy: despite best efforts to the contrary, it seems the soil needs to be swapped out every...

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The tale of the tub scrubber

Mrs. Homegrown

February 13, 2014

Cleaning, Domesticus

16 Comments

...and found it worked amazingly well in conjunction with the vinegar, soapy water and baking soda I use to clean the bathroom. It didn’t hold dirt or get grungy. Only now, after all this time, has it started to deteriorate and leave little purple bits of itself behind after a scrub. This is not a deep post — I just wanted to point out that sometimes we can make good use of things which would otherwise end up in the garbage. Purple Puff is finally g...

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Organic Seed Growers Webinar

Mr. Homegrown

January 23, 2014

Events

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...distributing contaminated seed lots. Learn about managing diseases in seed production with various research examples from the vegetable seed crop pathology program at Washington State University, and hot water treatment for seed-borne diseases. Speakers: Lindsey du Toit, Washington State University – Mount Vernon Research & Extension Center; Jody Lew-Smith, High Mowing Organic Seeds...

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Fruit Tree Maintenance Calendars

Mr. Homegrown

December 19, 2013

Fruit Trees, Gardening

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...backyard orchard enthusiasts. The calendars cover everything from when to water, fertilize, paint the trunks and many other tasks. You can also find them in one big handy set of charts in UC’s book The Home Orchard. The permaculturalist in me likes our low-maintenance pomegranate and prickly pear cactus. But I also like my apples, nectaplums and peaches–and those trees need the sorts of interventions described in UC’s calendars. Time to get to wo...

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New Phoebe Update/Question

Mrs. Homegrown

November 20, 2013

Animals, Cats

17 Comments

...ng into space, doing odd things like hunkering down with her head over her water dish and just staying in that position, not drinking, not doing anything. She doesn’t want to interact with us at all. Still, as far as I can tell, she’s not struggling to get enough air, like she was before. My question is this: Do cats behave oddly after hospital stays? I’ve never had a cat do an overnight before, or undergo so much treatment. Do any of you have exp...

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