Archive for February, 2009
Friday, February 27th, 2009
Did you know bamboo plants have more uses for more people than any other group of plants in the world?
You can find quite a few articles on "how to grow bamboo," so we'll keep that short and also go into the reasons you'd want to grow a stand of bamboo ...
Posted in Edible Landscaping | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 26th, 2009
As we talked about a couple weeks ago, there are a lot of great reasons to keep a beehive in your yard, doubly so if you're gardening or growing fruit trees. But if you want to get started, it does cost a few hundred dollars to purchase at least one ...
Posted in Bees & Beekeeping | No Comments »
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
I don't have solar power for my home yet, but it's definitely on the slate for future home improvements. Even with tax credits and what not, it's a pretty expensive upgrade, and since I live in the oft-cloudy Pacific Northwest, it's not as much of a no-brainer as it might ...
Posted in Alternative Energy | No Comments »
Friday, February 20th, 2009
A lot of us have this notion in our heads that you have to move out to the country, get a bunch of acreage, and build an earthship or other custom "green" home in order to find sustainable living. So we sell our city homes, buy rural land, and move ...
Posted in Mindset | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
If you're like me and live in a wet place such as the Pacific Northwest, you may not have paid much attention to graywater and water conservation overall, but knowing how to make the best use of the water we have helps protect us from the uncertainties of the future. ...
Posted in Water Conservation | 1 Comment »
Sunday, February 15th, 2009
Everybody knows about apple, pear, and cherry trees, and depending where you live, you've probably seen plum, peach, apricots, and nectarines. For you lucky southerners, citrus trees such as lime, lemon, and orange may grow well.
But what if we want to try something else? There's nothing wrong with ...
Posted in Backyard Orchard | No Comments »
Friday, February 13th, 2009
One of the reasons I'm a big fan of permaculture and perennial crops (think fruit trees, berry bushes, asparagus, etc.) is that quite frankly it's less work than a vegetable garden. In veggie gardens, the majority of the crops need to be planted anew each year. If you're already working ...
Posted in Vegetable Gardening | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
We'll talk about solar water heaters and some really creative ways to save money and get "off the grid" with our electricity needs later, but let's start with something that's not too far out there: the tankless hot water heater.
First a word about your regular water heater. These guys ...
Posted in Saving Money | No Comments »
Monday, February 9th, 2009
I used to raise my eyebrows at the ladies picking weeds along the bike path, plucking these dubious things from the earth and putting them into bags.
Now I realize they were just wiser (and probably healthier) than me. Instead of relying entirely on the limited selection available ...
Posted in Foraging | 2 Comments »
Friday, February 6th, 2009
Gardening in the city, and even surburban areas, often means there isn't a lot of room for planting. That's a big reason why "vertical gardening" is becoming so popular. This is when you train plants to grow up instead of out and over the ground.
In addition to being ...
Posted in Vegetable Gardening | 4 Comments »