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

969 results

Induced Demand

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Thoughtstylings, Water and Power
12 Comments
...car and you end up driving more miles since you don’t pay as much for gas. Build a four lane highway instead of a two lane one and so many more people end up driving that you end up with worse gridlock. I’d never thought of induced demand when it comes to greywater, but it’s a good point. Did I plant more fruit trees because I had a greywater system? Has this caused more water consumption in our current drought? Honestly, I think the answer is yes...

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Matching Your Waste Stream to Your Composting Method

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Composting, Gardening, Vermiculture
9 Comments
...ompost pile There’s also stuff that can’t go in the worm bin. And once you build a big pile it’s best not to keep adding to it. For this reason we have a kind of “disposal” pile. It’s a compost bin that gets the materials that can’t go into the other two. Advantages: reduces the biomass of all the stuff that can’t go either in the worm bin or the big compost pile. Disadvantages: produces a low quality compost. Alternatives The labor involved in bu...

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The Arroyo Co-op in Pasadena

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Food
5 Comments
...) and, as a co-op, we can be responsive to member requests. In addition to building a neighborhood market with a conscience, Arroyo Food Co-op is building a community around it. We bring people from all walks of life together at the co-op, for educational and social gatherings that share the theme and values we pursue in our product line. In an effort to foster connections and growth, we host a weekend meeting called “Food for Thought”, where we i...

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Straw Bale Garden: What I Learned

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Gardening, Straw Bale Gardening, Vegetable Gardening
29 Comments
...decided to continue straw bale gardening on a smaller scale. I’m going to build some raised beds and fill them with soil, but I’m leaving room for two bales to grow nitrogen hungry crops, principally squash. I’m also planning on building a box to hold those bales so I don’t have to stake them every season. Like most things in life it’s not an either/or proposition. You can have a conventional vegetable garden and save some space for straw bale ga...

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Who Killed the Non-Electric Toaster?

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Bread, Domesticus, Food
34 Comments
...r broken toaster. It made me remember designer Thomas Thwaites’ attempt to build a toaster from scratch and how well that project showed the complex, interconnecting supply chain involved in manufacturing even the simplest electronic device. The failure of our toaster was caused by a break in the heating wire. Following these instructions, I attempted to mend the break, but it was in an awkward location and, like most objects these days, the toast...

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