Homegrown Evolution in Chicago

May 9, 2009

Events

...ter with: nettlesting@yahoo.com Erik will lead an informal presentation on Urban Homesteading in Los Angeles – focusing on his and his wife’s homegrown systems of adventurous experimentation of chickens, growing, greywater, brewing and more – some successful, some not so much! Copies of The Urban Homestead will be for sale. Many thanks to Nancy Klehm for arranging these events! See her website Spontaneous Vegetation for more info on other events a...

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Straw Bale Garden: What I Learned

Mr. Homegrown

November 12, 2013

29 Comments

...I learned from the experiment: Plants that suck up a lot of nitrogen, like squash, do well in a straw bale garden. My tomatoes flourished but, due to the high nitrogen, made more leaves than fruit. I’m not saying you shouldn’t plant tomatoes in straw bales–results will be better than in poor soil, but it’s hard to regulate the amount of nitrogen when prepping bales. Stake the bales. They will fall over eventually. I knew this but was too lazy to a...

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110 A Report from the 2017 National Heirloom Expo

Mr. Homegrown

September 20, 2017

Food, Gardening, Permaculture, Podcasts, Vegetable Gardening

...me the chance to talk to some really interesting folks including: Hawaiian squash farmer Anna Peach of Squash and Awe Farm. Ashley Madrone who represents Mycopia Mushrooms and Bay Area Green Tours. Peter Gilmore, executive chef of Quay and Bennelong in the Sydney Opera House. Here’s Chef Gilmore at work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OxA_W90Spo If you’d like to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an e...

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How To Stop Powdery Mildew

Mr. Homegrown

August 6, 2013

Gardening, Pests, Vegetable Gardening

17 Comments

...I have to. Part of my problem might also be too much nitrogen–my infected squash is in our straw bale garden and I had to apply a lot of blood meal to get it going. More sun would also help but that would involve cutting down a very large tree. I’ll update this post later in the season. Let’s hear from you . . . What powdery mildew treatment have you tried and how did it work? Leave a comment and join the conversation! And I put the question out...

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Straw Bale Garden Tour Part II

Mr. Homegrown

August 21, 2013

Gardening, Straw Bale Gardening, Vegetable Gardening, Videos

6 Comments

...ppears this week. The vegetables varieties you see growing are Tromboncino squash, Lunga di Napoli squash (growing up into a native bush), Matt’s Wild Cherry tomato, Celebrity tomato, eggplant and Swiss chard. And just to take down my smugness a notch I also included a shot of an unsuccessful cucumber plant. Other than the cucumber, though, this is one of the most productive vegetable gardens I’ve ever planted. I’m now a big fan of the straw bale...

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