A Three Step Strategy for Curing Internet/Smart Phone Addiction

March 8, 2017

...g in the morning. Pick up a book first. Build something. Garden, pull some weeds and plant some vegetables. Go to concerts, plays, lectures etc. Seek out a spiritual practice that involves both private time and scheduled group engagement. Read and apply some of the “deep work” anti-distraction strategies found in Cal Newport’s blogs and books. I think the common thread with these activities is redirection and physical separation from our computers...

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The Difference Between Mulch and Compost

Mr. Homegrown

March 31, 2015

Gardening

2 Comments

...or over a plant to provide insulation, protect from desiccation, and deter weeds. Also: textile or other artificial material used for the same purpose. I’d argue that compost, properly defined, is fully not partially rotted organic material (or textiles or plastic, though I don’t like plastic mulch). The distinction is important. If you integrate mulch, i.e. partially rotted material, like wood chips or straw into soil you’ll cause a temporary nit...

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104 Erin Schanen the Impatient Gardener

Mr. Homegrown

June 28, 2017

Gardening, Podcasts

2 Comments

...akes. Dealing with creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides) and other weeds. Remodeling a cottage. Erin’s day job as editor of Sailing Magazine. You can hear more about Erin’s sailing adventures on Garden Fork Radio episode 421. How to plant a tree. Killing plants. Winter and gardening with climate change. The folly of taking shortcuts with your soil. The importance of testing soil. Where to have soil tested. Deer! Messina’s Deer Stopper. Pla...

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Going to Seed

Mrs. Homegrown

June 24, 2016

Back to the Garden, Gardening, Nature Awareness, Vegetable Gardening

14 Comments

...hemicals around. Just stop. Leave the leaves. Let fallen leaves and pulled weeds stay on the land to protect and nourish the soil. Let volunteers bloom. Let your garden go to seed. If we live with fussy neighbors, or under the impression that our gardens should look like the ones in the magazines, we might work hard to keep our vegetable and flower gardens impeccable, starting seedlings in advance to replace aging plants so there’s never any sense...

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Make Magazine: Online and Free

Mr. Homegrown

July 19, 2019

Gardening, Vegetable Gardening, Water and Power

3 Comments

...co-founder Palmer Luckey’s interest in funding the company, and a GoFundMe page started for it.] I wrote an article on drip irrigation for Issue 18 and have to say that it was a pleasure to work with the Make editorial team. Unlike other publications I’ve written for, the editors at Make knew a lot about the technical details of the subject matter and worked hard to ensure accuracy. Speaking of technical details, the only thing I’d change if I wro...

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