Aerated Compost Tea: Does it Work?

...e’s a lot aerated compost tea brewers on the interwebs! I’ve been asked by Urban Farm Magazine to write a short piece on the pros and cons of aerated compost tea (ACT for short). I’ve been sifting through the peer reviewed literature on the subject. Most of the studies show, at best, mixed results. And, honestly, my bias is against gardening techniques that require gadgets or novel techniques with no analog in nature. I’ve also tried it myself and...

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Stuff That’s Happening

.... Biodynamic beekeper Gunther Hauk will be teaching a two part workshop on Saturday December 2nd at Highland Hall Waldorf school in Northridge, California. Head over here to sign up. Lastly, Bike buddy Colin Bogart has set up a Facebook group for Pacific Ready-Cut homeowners. Pacific Ready-Cut was the West Coast answer to the Sears kit house. Odds are good that if you live in an old house anywhere from LA to Seattle it was milled by this company....

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New Slow City

...ted to put up his schedule so you can catch him if he comes to your town. He’s an engaging speaker, so do get out and see him if you can. See his events page for details on each event. Wednesday, Sept 30 – SAN FRANCISCO Friday, Oct 2 – CLAREMONT Saturday, Oct 3 – LOS ANGELES Tuesday, Oct 6 – ASHLAND Wednesday, Oct 7 – CHICAGO Thursday, Oct 8 – CHICAGO Sunday, Oct 11 – ALBUQUERQUE Thursday, Oct 15 – SANTA FE Wednesday, Nov 4 – NEW YORK Thursday, No...

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Stuff to do in February and March

...piscopal Cathedral that will dump freeway speed traffic right in front of a new bike lane. Tell them no! More info here. Wednesday, 2/24 Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council Meeting to SAVE PROYECTO JARDIN Thursday, 2/5 Save The Hahamongna Nursery Saturday, 2/27 Curious about aquaponics? Come help and with the aquaponic installation at the Micheltorena School Garden. Tuesday, 3/15 CERT training in Silver Lake (the LAFD site erroneously reads “Echo P...

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A Lecture on the Connection Between Cats and Grain

If not for cats would we have bread? On Saturday June 4th at 2 p.m. at the Los Angeles Bread Festival at Grand Central Market I’m going to deliver a talk on the connection between cats and grain. The connection is a basic one: store grain and you get vermin. Then you need cats. But, in the course of preparing for this lecture, I discovered that the commonly held narrative of cat domestication is an unsubstantiated fiction. That narrative goes som...

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