So Cal Alert: Polyphagus Shot Hole Borer

June 15, 2015

...14. London plane (Platanus x acerifolia) 15.Cottonwood (Populus fremontii)* 16. Black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa)* 17. White Alder (Alnus rhambifolia)* 18.Titoki (Alectryon excelsus) 19.Engelmann Oak (Quercus engelmannii)* 20. Cork Oak (Quecus suber) 21. Valley oak (Quercus lobata)* 22. Coral tree (Erythrina corallodendon) 23. Blue palo verde (Cercidium floridum)* 24. Palo verde (Parkinsonia aculeata) 25. Moreton Bay Chestnut (Castanospermum...

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What is a Swarm of Bees and What Should I Do About It?

Mr. Homegrown

February 13, 2017

Animals, Bees

8 Comments

...y’ll take any dark enclosure with a small, easily defensible, entrance. In urban areas, in addition to tree cavities, they might choose the walls of buildings, utility boxes, compost bins and even the inner workings of hot tubs. But before a swarm can find permanent digs, they need a place for the swarm to hang out while the swarm’s scouts go off in search of the perfect home. Where a swarm lands When shopping for permanent real estate most swarms...

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Toggler Snaptoggle® Heavy-Duty Toggle Bolts

Mr. Homegrown

February 6, 2017

How-to

4 Comments

...a flat screen TV so large that you have to strap it to the top of the car. Urban homesteady types would never do this as we prefer to spend our evenings spinning wool while reading Cicero to each other, of course. But let’s just say (again, hypothetically), that you want to mount that flat screen TV to the wall so that the cats can’t knock it over. This is where the Toggler Snaptoggle® bolts come in. To use them you drill a 1/2″ hole and insert th...

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The Root Simple 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

Mr. Homegrown

November 23, 2016

Thoughtstylings

1 Comment

...thought I’d offer some suggested gifts, mostly obtainable online, for the urban homesteady types in your life. Most of the links are to Amazon, and we get a small cut of the proceeds, which helps keep our webmaster in kibble. But First . . . Charity Of course, rather than buying unneeded crap that will only clutter our already messy houses, we could agree to give to a charity instead. This season, due to our national “orange swan” event, Kelly is...

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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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