Search Results for: label/art%20of%20memory/2011/04/making-it/2010/06/the-urban-homestead

982 results

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

Avatar photo
Gardening, Soil
9 Comments
...a lab is much more accurate. To find a lab in the US, the best place to start is with your local Cooperative Extension Service. Find yours via this link. Some offer free or low cost soil testing. Here in Los Angeles the Extension Service does not offer testing, but they were nice enough to provide a list of local labs. The lab I talked to, Wallace Laboratories, offered tests at $75 a sample–see their price list for specifics. Before you send a sa...

Read…

California Agriculture Journal Online

Avatar photo
Animals, Bees, Resources
1 Comment
...iculture online for convenient downloading at californiaagriculture.ucanr.org. There’s plenty of detailed (peer reviewed!) nuggets for the home gardener between the pages of this scientific journal. Make sure to check out the article and video of UC Berkeley entomologist Gordon Frankie explaining what kinds of plants are best for attracting bees in your urban garden. Thanks to Los Angeles County Master Gardener Coordinator Yvonne Savio for the tip...

Read…

Rubber Sidewalks Rescue Trees

Avatar photo
Thoughtstylings
2 Comments
...ing we just need more of here in Southern California. I used to work at an urban forestry non-profit, TreePeople. So I am familiar with the challenges of the tree/sidewalk interface. I have fielded calls from people frantically trying to save trees that are being ripped out because they are lifting the sidewalk. I have also received calls from people eager to remove trees for the same reason. Sadly, I have also heard from people that would call ju...

Read…

Row Cover as an Insect Barrier

Avatar photo
Vegetable Gardening
13 Comments
...eds carries Agribon row cover in lengths as short as 50 feet–plenty for an urban or suburban garden. I’ve used both PVC pipe and chain link fence tension wire as support. I secure the row cover down with pieces of rebar and bricks to keep out skunks. What cabbage worms become. It’s not a plug and play solution, however. If it gets hot I have to remember to pull the row cover off. And the added humidity can cause outbreaks of aphids. But overall, i...

Read…