Saturday Linkages: Let’s Make Chickens Legal in Pasadena!

February 2, 2013

...dkahn-ongoing.blogspot.com/2013/01/bikesailing.html#.UQckcMq9Xa8.twitter … Build your own junk bagpipes out of PVC and duct tape: http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-Smallpipes-for-a-few-bucks-Membra/?ALLSTEPS … 2-In-1 iPotty with Activity Seat for iPad: http://boingboing.net/2013/02/01/2-in-1-ipotty-with-activity-se.html … Your Biggest Carbon Sin May Be Air Travel http://nyti.ms/VesXDI For these links and more, follow Root Simple on Tw...

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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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How to Make a Simple Paint Can Rocket Stove

Mr. Homegrown

February 24, 2016

Appropriate Technology, Rocket Stove, Water and Power

4 Comments

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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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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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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