Search Results for: label/soil/2010/06/the-urban-homestead/2011/04/making-it

961 results

Sad foot sign, the end is comin’

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Design
2 Comments
...all seriousness, our corrupt city government does a very poor job of placemaking. The best they can do is name intersections after people with pathetic little signs posted high up on a signal. You know you’re in trouble when a podiatrist sign is a better placemaking option. Paris LA ain’t. I think we’re going to have to take things into our own hands and build our own Happy Foot Sad Foot Arc de Triomphe. One we do that the People’s Parliament of...

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California’s New Greywater Code: Common Sense Legalized!

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Water and Power, Water Conservation
8 Comments
...imes spur more innovation like this. Originally slated to go into effect in 2010, the plumbing code was updated as an emergency measure to deal with drought conditions that have plagued the southwestern US for years. Under the new California greywater code: 1. In most cases you won’t need a permit. 2. Allows discharge into a simple mulch basin rather than the expensive and complicated sub-surface emitters required under the old regulations. 3. No...

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Your Open Floor Plan is a Death Trap

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Design
23 Comments
...re Service Fatalities in Structure Fires 1977-2009 Rita F. Fahy, Ph.D. June 2010). Let’s take a closer look at some of the unintended consequences of open floor plans and modern materials. Open Floor Plans U.L.’s research proves conclusively that open floor plan interiors create fires that spread faster and are harder for firefighters to control. Another trend in homes is to remove walls to open up the floor plan of the home. As these walls are re...

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Straw Bale Garden Part V: Growing Vegetables

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Gardening, Straw Bale Gardening, Vegetable Gardening
23 Comments
...ted straw bales are more like the kind healthy soil that supports a web of soil organisms that, in turn, help vegetables grow. Some of the plants, like this winter squash, I planted as seedlings. Others, like this cucumber, I sowed directly into the bales by making a little hole and putting in the seed with some home made seedling mix. Again, the vegetables in the bales are doing better than veggies in my two remaining raised beds. The reason, I b...

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