Archive for May, 2009

Clay Pot Watering System: Efficient, Ancient, and Easy

Friday, May 29th, 2009

We like to think we're pretty smart with our modern irrigation methods, but they aren't always water efficient, and many aren't practical for those of us gardening on city lots. Drip irrigation has grown in popularity of late, and it's certainly better than standing over your garden beds spraying ...

Edible Ground Covers to Replace Your Grass Lawn

Monday, May 25th, 2009

If you're a fan of the Food Not Lawns way of landscaping, then you might be wondering if there are any ways to replace your grass with something you can eat. Something low growing that wouldn't block views or keep folks from walking through. Something low maintenance that ...

5 Berries You Can Grow in Containers

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

So, you want to grow some of your own food--maybe some tasty berries--but you don't have a big plot of land to devote to it. No worries, my friend. Quite a few berry varities can be grown in pots. Let's take a look at 5 tasty specimens ...

Gas vs. Solar Water Heaters, Cost Comparison

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

Many of us would love to install a large solar panel system that produces enough energy to allow us to be independent of the municipal power grid, at least most of the year.  It's a big, expensive undertaking though, so if you're on the fence, you might consider starting with ...

3 Reasons to Raise Chickens in Your Backyard

Friday, May 15th, 2009

While raising cows, alpacas, goats, and other large livestock isn't that practical in your average urban or suburban backyard (I can't imagine why not...), more and more folks are getting on board with raising chickens. And there are a lot of good reasons for it too. I'm going ...

Saving Energy with Your Computer

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

While we'd all like to deck out our houses and condo buildings with full arrays of solar panels, that's an expensive proposition and not one we're all ready to make. We can all, however, be more energy efficient. Not only does improved energy efficiency lower our monthly bills, ...

Should You Order Beneficial Insects for Your Garden?

Monday, May 4th, 2009

One of the reasons we start our home vegetable gardens is so we know we've got healthy organic food that hasn't had anything funky done to it. We don't want to spray chemicals or pesticides on our growing veggies, so we rely on natural forms of garden pest control. Beneficial ...

Raising Goats in the City?

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

Goats offer quite a lot. They can clear invasive weeds (they'll even mow down those Himalayan blackberry bushes that are taking over your yard...), offer fresh goat milk (which can be used to make everything from goat milk soap to goat cheese), and they can be a fun pet. ...