Interview With Apartment Gardener Helen Kim

August 27, 2008

...eet it was. The mint is great to slice up and just throw in a glass of ice water. And it’s a must for my favorite summer beverage: glass of ice, shot of tequila, top with tonic water, squeeze in half a lime, and add a bunch of crushed mint. The okra plants are going great guns and I’m looking forward to cooking something non-slimy with them! … but I still haven’t gotten around to making any tea with the lemon verbena… HE: We heard that some of the...

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Using Greywater from your Washing Machine

Mr. Homegrown

December 15, 2007

Water and Power, Water Conservation

9 Comments

...ent. Our next step will be to figure out some plantings that will take advantage of our laundry schedule, and to construct some simple earthworks and mulch basins to accommodate the water flow. Right now we just let the water percolate into the front slope, and our rosemary and Mexican sage look a lot healthier for it....

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Can our landscapes model a vibrant future? Not according to the LA DWP.

Mrs. Homegrown

July 7, 2014

Garden Design, Gardening, Lawns, Water and Power

18 Comments

...ought. I think that’s because we’re just not feeling it in the cities. Our water is cheap, the taps are running, food prices aren’t terribly affected– yet. So we keep washing our cars and hosing off the sidewalks and topping off our swimming pools and, of course, we water our lawns. Lawns are a big liability in this region. I think they may not be such a crime in milder, wetter places where they grow happily (though there’s no getting around the f...

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How to polish your silver effortlessly–with Science!

Mrs. Homegrown

February 1, 2016

Cleaning, Domesticus, How-to

5 Comments

...aybe up to 10 minutes or so. 4. Remove the clean pieces of silver from the water and rinse with clean water and dry with a cloth. You could opt to further bring out the shine with some polish or a polishing cloth. The solution is non-toxic, so you don’t have to worry about wearing gloves, and you can pour it down the sink without guilt. Just FYI, I was able to do three consecutive batches of flatwear in the same water bath, although I could see so...

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Water your Trees with Greywater

Mr. Homegrown

February 5, 2018

Gardening, Trees, Water and Power, Water Conservation

12 Comments

...e one word or two or, in the neologistic spirit of “apisoir,” perhaps we need to invent a sexier word for reusing our water. Greenwater? Freewater? Leave a comment!...

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