A Painful Beekeeping Lesson

July 20, 2015

...and lit palm trees on fire. Unfortunately for me, the deluge softened the soil underneath one of the legs of one of my beehives causing it to fall over and knock over another hive. I didn’t discover this situation until 7 p.m. as it was getting dark. Kelly was out of town and I was alone in the backyard staring at a jumble of bee boxes. Here’s what I should have done: Take a deep breath. Pause, and assess the situation. Come up with a plan. Gathe...

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019 Garden Nerd Christy Wilhelmi

Mr. Homegrown

October 1, 2014

Gardening, Podcasts, Vegetable Gardening

3 Comments

...vons Double digging vs. no-till A documentary about Ruth Stout Breaking up soil with permaculture method The power of mulch Square foot gardening Peat moss vs. coir Growing carbon and compost crops Heavy metals Phytoremediation with milk thistle and chicory What to fill a raised bed with How to deal with shade Integrating livestock: chickens and bees What to do with Peruvian pepper trees (Schinus molle) Attracting pollinators You can also connect...

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Camping on Halloween Night

Mrs. Homegrown

November 11, 2014

Miscellaneous, Nature Awareness

18 Comments

...remade. The rain had carved deep channels and rivulets in the hard-packed soil. The scrubby, hard-bitten plants eking out their living on the granite slopes shimmered in the morning light, free of dust for the first time in months, revealing their true and gentle colors. I heard water and ran to the stream bed. The day before it had been dry, now it ran with water. I knew it was a temporary flow, but the sight of running water after a long dry su...

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Behold the Ant Lion

Mrs. Homegrown

November 20, 2014

Animals, Insects, Nature Awareness

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...all over the world, in any region which has a dry, warm climate–and sandy soil. Dry sand is necessary for their predation style. They dig holes in which to capture their prey. The hole I saw, like the hole above, is called a lion ant trap. (And a wicked trap it is! Arrggg matey!) What dug the hole? This: This is an ant lion in its larval stage. And believe me, there are scarier pictures of these guys on the Internets, but none free of copyright r...

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027 Michael Wittman on Biochar

Mr. Homegrown

December 3, 2014

Podcasts

3 Comments

...it made? Can you make it at home? Biochar and heavy metals How it improves soil texture History of biochar Biochar and pH How to use biochar Using biochar in compost to reduce pH How commercial biochar is made The Biochar Journal Biochar in animal husbandry The Biochar Revolution Blue Sky Biochar Facebook Page I mention an article from the Washington State University, Biochar: A Home Gardener’s Primer And thanks to Root Simple Podcast listener Max...

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