Gardening Mistakes: Six Ways We’ve Killed Plants

...stuff and see what takes off. 2. Soil compaction This is a big problem in urban areas and our yard is no exception. The parkway, which gets a lot of foot traffic, is very compacted. Very few plants do well with compacted soil, including natives. The best way to break up compacted soil is with a broadfork, a spendy item. We use a garden fork instead. 3. Soil fertility When it comes to growing vegetables, in particular, you need rich soil. Get a so...

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Hey New York Times Let’s Dump the Wheels Column

...f communities, thanks to the insatiable hunger for space cars claim in our urban spaces. Failing to point out these objective facts makes your auto columns little more propaganda. Where is your bike column? Where is your transit advice column? Where is your walk-ability coverage? Sure, you touch on these issues elsewhere but these subjects have no dedicated column like “Wheels.” Perhaps it’s time to start treating cars the way you might treat ciga...

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As Above, So Below

...for looking at nebulas, galaxies and star clusters even in light polluted urban areas. Primitive astrophotography. I held my camera up to the eyepiece to get this photo of the moon last night. I have to thank, in particular, Rob J of the San Jose Astronomical Association who sent some links about how to host a star party, how to host a school star party and inspired me to get the telescope out again. Here’s some Dobson related resources: Sidewalk...

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Saturday Linkages: Solar Projects, John Cage and Cat Litter

...child’s Draisienne – the Frosta bicycle – IKEA Hackers http://po.st/6gp9HM Urban date foraging: http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=13259 … No Men Allowed! Women Build Own Backyard Sheds http://lloydkahn-ongoing.blogspot.com/2014/04/no-men-allowed-women-build-own-backyard.html#.U0N9ikb3-YY.twitter … Semi-Underground House in Austin, Texas http://lloydkahn-ongoing.blogspot.com/2014/04/semi-underground-house-in-austin-texas.html#....

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Saturday Tweets: Trade Your House For an Entire Medieval Italian Village

...Simple (@rootsimple) April 6, 2015 Six ways local officials can encourage urban farming: http://t.co/ysRVP84REp — Root Simple (@rootsimple) April 11, 2015 Cover Crops Have Got It Covered Part IV: Planting and Managing Cover Crops in Vegetable Gardens http://t.co/a1nF2Xg3SD #aaatopblogs #feedly — Root Simple (@rootsimple) April 11, 2015 Bicycle Powered Chili Roaster http://t.co/c2wgqEeOTs via @Natural Building Blog — Root Simple (@rootsimple) Apri...

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