Saturday Linkages: Saris, Punk Rockers, Poppies and Young Agrarians

April 26, 2014

...asps-nest-built-ov.html … Punk rock homesteading resources: http://punkrockhomesteading.com/e-books/ Two new California poppy species: http://www.pensoft.net/journals/phytokeys/article/6751/two-new-desert-eschscholzia-papaveraceae-from%C2%A0southwestern-north-america … Contrasting Front Yards: Turf Only v. Wildlife-Filled | Garden Rant http://gardenrant.com/2014/04/contrasting-front-yards-wildlife-v-turf.html … When Pedestrians Get Mixed Signals h...

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The Flow Hive: a Solution in Search of a Problem

Mr. Homegrown

February 23, 2015

Animals, Bees

65 Comments

...s a natural beekeeper I don’t use foundation at all, as bees are by nature builders, and I believe they build the best homes for themselves. I would not presume to define the scope and size of their home. Another concern for me is honey robbing. Pictures on the Flow™ Hive site also show honey dripping from the hive into open jars. In our region, this would set off a robbing frenzy as other hives in the area discover free, open air honey. When robb...

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How to get free mulch

Mrs. Homegrown

May 4, 2015

Gardening

15 Comments

...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

Mrs. Homegrown

June 2, 2015

Bees, Gardening, Insects, Nature Awareness

15 Comments

...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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Designing the World’s Most Pretentious Garden Shed

Mr. Homegrown

September 13, 2016

Design, Gardening

11 Comments

...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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