Life in a Pandemic

...future holds. There are simply too many variables to know what will happen in the coming months. Will we have another wave infections? Will governments bail out corporations or individuals? Will we have a recession or depression? Will there be a revived interest in urban homesteading or will we go back to shopping and consuming? I’m wary of suggesting a silver lining in this crisis. For many, around the world, it will just be awful. I’m curious ho...

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Bee Trellis

...rellis to surround the hive boxes that reside next to her shed. In a small urban yard a trellis around your bees will keep everyone happy. Bees naturally tend to fly upwards after leaving the hive but the addition of a fence keeps the few sideways stragglers from negative canine and homo sapiens interactions. As usual, the design process around Root Simple begins with the realization that our 1920s house looks best when surrounded by fuddy-duddy l...

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Filter Fail: How to Cure Internet Addiction

...is an incredibly useful research tool and a great way to reach out to the urban homesteading community. That being said, I just can’t seem to stop watching those dancing raccoons. We may be well past the point where the distraction potential of the internet is beginning to adversely effect its usefulness. Preventing filter fail So what can be done on a personal level to prevent “filter fail?” Only two things have worked for me in the past: Checki...

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109 Doubt is Our Product: Bees, Chemicals and Academia

...a State Beekeeping Association oppose legislation that would have required labeling neonicotinoid treated nursery plants? These are just a few of the controversial questions covered in this week’s episode of the podcast. My guests are Stacy Malkan co-director of US Right to Know and beekeeper Terry Oxford of Urban Bee San Francisco. Links: Follow the Honey: 7 ways pesticide companies are spinning the bee crisis to protect profits “Scientists Loved...

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Tell the Bees

...nderson removing a hive from a fence. Photo from the Backwards Beekeepers. Urban beekeeper Kirk Anderson has a vision: bees, kept without the use of chemicals, in backyards all over Los Angeles. Homegrown Evolution was lucky to be able to attend a beekeeping class taught by the very knowledgeable and entertaining Anderson, who has a theory: “There has been a lot of news stories about the bees dying. They became infested with a parasitic mite in th...

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