Whiteflies

...spaces in a series of concentric zones, numbered one through five, with the first zone being our house and kitchen gardens and the outer zones being less cultivated and more wild spaces. Mollison and Holmgren’s zones are easily miniaturized for small urban yards. Trees that don’t need much attention can go towards the back, the chickens a little closer and the vegetables and herbs can benefit from being close at hand. For additional information on...

Read…

My Apologies to the Skunk Community

...ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCQBA58VoGQ For years I’ve blamed the nightly vegetable carnage that takes place in our raised beds on skunks. The other night, our CritterCam (a Wingscapes BirdCam Pro ), revealed the culprit: raccoons. And they work in trios! No wonder it’s been so difficult to secure the beds! Given the strength and agility of Racoons, I’m surprised that bird netting has worked at all (though, I’ll note, only when that netting is fi...

Read…

Italian Dandelion Redux

...an army of aphids, the Italian Dandelion seems immune to both pest and disease. And, nearby, volunteer mallow hints at a spring of easy foraging. Horace was on to something. And to all who responded to my call for urban homesteaders: I’m overwhelmed by the response (and the emails!). You are all an incredible inspiration and, like my botanical friend Cichorium intybus, a sign of abundance in the midst of adversity....

Read…

Of Skunks, Sauerkraut and Stoicism

...We were honored when the nice folks behind Stoic Week 2013 asked us to write a blog post. It begins, Practicality is why stoicism works so well as the philosophical operating system of urban homesteading. While Foucault and Hegel might help me navigate the epistemological frontier, when I’m staring at a carefully tended vegetable bed that just got destroyed by a skunk, you can bet I’ll reach for the Seneca. Read the rest here....

Read…

Saturday Tweets: Eating Ants, Bikes and LA as Heat Island

...oot Simple (@rootsimple) September 23, 2015 LA Gets More Added Warmth from Urban Heat Islands Than Anywhere in the State http://t.co/PU9msfbCRb via @CurbedLA — Root Simple (@rootsimple) September 23, 2015 Dan Price’s underground home, art & philosophy on $5,000year – videos – *faircompanies http://t.co/B9DJHXQj7e via @faircompanies — Root Simple (@rootsimple) September 23, 2015 The Vegetable Detective, Take Two http://t.co/TIStMrDQml — Root Simple...

Read…