How to get free mulch

...nt matter which you apply around your trees and shrubs to retain moisture, build soil and repress weeds. It’s also a good material for walkways and open spaces in a yard. Mulch can be made of leaf litter or straw or pine needles or many other things, but one of the most common types of mulch comes in the form of shredded tree trimmings. Now, arborists and tree services are often happy enough to dump their shredded trimmings in your driveway, becau...

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Of paper wasps and scrub jays

...ow their ways. Paper wasps, also called umbrella wasps, are those guys who build smallish, open celled nests in protected places, often the eaves of your house. Wasp stings are quite painful, but few people know that these wasps rarely attack unless provoked. More, they are very beneficial in the garden, because they prey on insects which damage plants. So when they build nests under our eaves, we leave them alone, and never have any problems. But...

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How to Make a Simple Paint Can Rocket Stove

Update: Root Simple reader Ruben questions whether it is possible to build a true rocket stove out of metal. Ruben sent me to a Facebook post by Benjamin Rosen who says, speaking of another metal rocket stove, “Actually, you can say that this is not a rocket stove. A rocket stove gives great heat from a small amount of fuel because it burns very efficiently at high temperatures. This is achieved by having a ceramic lining in the combustion chambe...

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Designing the World’s Most Pretentious Garden Shed

...nt from napkin sketch to construction in under a week. I set as my goal to build the world’s most pretentious garden shed and, as much as possible, to use salvaged materials. Yes, I’m crazy. I have to admit that when British hedge fund manager Crispen Odey tried to build a $250,000 neo-classical chicken coop at the height of the 2008 economic crisis I couldn’t help but admire the design. For ideas I thumbed through a coffee table book of 18th cent...

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Saturday Linkages: Makers, Haters and Beekeeping Donkeys

...y-step-tiny-home-design.html#.UKbP0iPHQeI.twitter … Open Source Ecology’s “Build Yourself”: http://boingboing.net/2012/11/14/open-source-ecologys-build.html … Popular Mechanics Magazines from the 1930s http://lloydkahn-ongoing.blogspot.com/2012/11/popular-mechanics-magazines-from-1930s.html#.UKbP-zJtCxE.twitter … People Are Suspicious About This Pee-Powered Generator http://motherboard.vice.com/2012/11/8/people-are-suspicious-about-this-pee-powere...

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