Best Practices for Gardening in Contaminated Soil

...agriculture will increase incidences of elevated blood Pb for children in urban areas. This is due to the high likelihood that agriculture will improve soils in urban areas, resulting in reduced bioavailability of soil Pb and reduced fugitive dust. Plant uptake of Pb is also typically very low. The exceptions are low-growing leafy crops where soil-splash particle contamination is more likely and expaneded hypocotyl root vegetalbes (e.g. carrot)....

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Saturday Linkages: Composting People, Jujubes, Bumpy Eggs and More

...t without plastic: http://www.washingtonsgreengrocer.com/everything-else/storage-tips/how-store-vegetables-fruit-without-plastic.htm … Hot? Get a fan: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2014/09/circulating-fans-air-conditioning.html … Urban Change in L.A. – Too Little, Too Slow http://la.streetsblog.org/2014/09/12/guest-editorial-urban-change-in-l-a-too-little-too-slow/#.VBSkrTljKfw.twitter … For these links and more, follow Root Simple on Twitter: Fo...

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Permaculturalist Paul Wheaton in Los Angeles

...y/Time Sunday, March 3rd 10am to 8pm Location Daytime Events @Institute of Urban Ecology 3896 N Fair Oaks Avenue, Altadena , CA Evening Paul Wheaton Lecture @Armory Center for Arts 145 N Raymond Ave Pasadena, CA 91103 Registration (click here to register) $5 for 1st ticket $1 each add’tl ticket Sponsoring Organizations Institute of Urban Ecology RIPE Altadena La Loma Development EcoWorkshops.com Oh Happy Days Natural Foods Market Whole Foods Marke...

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Why is My Squash Bitter?

...t to save seed and you take the precaution of taping up the flowers, bumblebees and solitary bees can chew their way through the tape to get at the pollen. In short it’s really easy to breed a freak Frankensquash or Frankencucumber, which can actually be toxic. Cynthia, a Root Simple reader in Texas, alerted me to an interesting hazard with bitter out-crossed Cucurbitaceae. According to Tony Glover, regional extension agent at the University of Al...

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We Grow Houses

...ttractant is species-specific and won’t attract beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies. Public information officer Ken Pellman, on the scene to deal with NBC, assured me that I wouldn’t have any trouble unless I “licked the utility poles” and went on to say that the Naled application would prevent larger applications of pesticides should oriental fruit flys establish large populations down the road. Perhaps. While toxicity concerns are pr...

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