The Wonder of Worms

...if we can manage that, we want more. More vegetables. Bigger flowers. More fruit. Now. And to do that, we construct artificial, hyper-productive systems–like garden beds. To support these systems, we also construct artificial systems in which to raise worms, so we can harvest their castings and put them where we want them, when we need them. These are worm bins. What exactly do you do with worm castings? Worm castings are often referred to as fert...

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069 Understanding Roots with Robert Kourik

...Kourik’s new book Understanding Roots. From there we touch on how to plant fruit trees and the intricacies of how to water trees, vegetables and native plants. Then we delve deep into drip irrigation, dynamic accumulators and phytoremediation. If you’d like to pick up a copy of one of Robert’s books visit robertkourik.com. If you want to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to rootsimple@gmail.co...

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Paper Wasps: Your New BFFs

...ative European variant is more the wasp you will likely be dealing with in urban/suburban North America, because unlike their native counterparts, Euro wasps aren’t shy. They are the ones who will build a nest by your back door, or on the side of your mailbox. Paper wasps build those distinctive, easy to recognize papery nests made of many cells. There are other types of native wasps which build with different materials, such as mud. Honeybee colo...

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Julian the Apostate’s Sleeping Advice: Sleep on the Ground and Your Mattress is Freeeeeeeeeee

...h blowback particularly if you’re a young hipster. I predict that soon after I spot the first pallium wearer at our local Trader Joes, REI will come out with “tech” palliums suitable for hiking, urban philosophizing and sleeping. Addendum: Kelly pointed out to me that fantasy literature is full of examples of cloaks doubling as bedding. Save Save Save Save...

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094 The American Woman’s Home

On the podcast this week Kelly and I discuss a 19th century urban homesteading book written by Catherine Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe, The American Woman’s Home. The book was written mostly by Catherine, with some contributions from Harriet (author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin). It’s likely that Catherine realized that attaching her famous sister’s name would sell more copies. Published in 1869, The American Woman’s Home covers a great deal of terri...

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