Tell the Bees

February 9, 2009

...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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Saturday Tweets: DIY Kayaks, Maps and Dragon Anatomy

Mr. Homegrown

August 6, 2016

Saturday Linkages

3 Comments

...ican #Architecture Profession for your foresight and contributions to the #urban form in the USA! pic.twitter.com/sGucLhJX4p — Erik Griswold (@erik_griswold) July 30, 2016 Dragon anatomy for beginners. Yes, you did read that correctly.https://t.co/F06Qanht14 pic.twitter.com/FJzwhiQzJK — Medieval Manuscripts (@BLMedieval) July 30, 2016 Good Night Heidelberg, Cod. Pal. Germ. 466 pic.twitter.com/ldauWNgffo — Damien Kempf (@DamienKempf) July 30, 2016...

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The Great Beekeeping Debate

Mr. Homegrown

August 25, 2016

Animals, Bees

13 Comments

...untry is a different question than how to keep a few hives in a biodiverse urban area. To be fair, the first question is essential since it’s how we currently keep everyone fed. But much of the advice given to large scale beekeepers does not always apply to small scale backyard beekeepers. The hubris can go both ways. Those of us on the natural beekeeping side can also think we understand the whole better than we do. We can fall into the same redu...

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Paper Wasps: Your New BFFs

Mrs. Homegrown

October 31, 2016

Gardening, Insects, Nature Awareness

10 Comments

...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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094 The American Woman’s Home

Mr. Homegrown

October 26, 2016

Domesticus, Podcasts

6 Comments

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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