Journal of the New Alchemists

...) covers mostly their agricultural experiments, but occasionally dips into urban planning and other subjects. Biodome. Image: Journal of the New Alchemy. It’s interesting to look back at their work to see what ideas went mainstream and what faded away. What didn’t stick is what Nassim Taleb would call “top-down” approaches to design epitomized by the 70s fixation on geodesic domes and self contained ecosystems (though we’re starting to see a resur...

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The Homegrown Mailbox: How and Where Do I Get My Soil Tested?

...Savio kindly sent me the following list of labs with comments. Biological Urban Gardening Service PO Box 76 Citrus Heights, CA 95611 (916) 726-5377 URL: www.organiclandscape.com Email: bugs@organiclandscape.com Organic recommendations, very user-friendly Owner Steve Zien and I co-author “Organic Matters” organic gardening column in Sacramento Bee for 20 years. Wallace Laboratories 365 Coral Circle El Segundo, CA 90245 (310) 615-0116 www.bettersoi...

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Thursday Linkages: Mason Bees, Hawks and Robot Cars

....com/2014/05/where-do-rats-go-when-they-die … Boxwoods? Bah! by James Roush http://feedly.com/e/KZ4uAoLm Bikesnob on robot cars: http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2014/05/its-end-of-world-as-we-know-it-and-i.html … Urban Beekeeping in San Francisco: http://wp.me/p4fosC-dQ Silent Watcher http://www.recyclart.org/2014/05/silent-watcher/ … For these links and more, follow Root Simple on Twitter: Follow @rootsimple...

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007 RIP Handsome, 3 Power Tools You Should Own and Hipster Compost

...ecent comment on the blog we review an old post on three power tools every urban homesteader should own: drill, circular saw and jigsaw. Lastly, we expand on a recent post about composting brew waste, coffee grounds, juice pulp and coconut husks. In other words, “hipster compost.” During the discussion we answer a reader concern about black solider flies in compost. For more info on soldier flies (they are beneficial in compost but can be a proble...

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City Farm Chicago

...nevitable development comes, pull up everything and move on. Assuming that urban land is contaminated, the City Farm folks simply piled up about three feet of compost, soil and mulch right on top of the broken concrete and asphalt of its current location. All that soil will move when the yuppie condos replace the salad greens and radishes. City Farm is an idea that makes sense in big U.S. cities which, despite astronomical real estate prices, have...

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