5 Secrets to a ‘No-work’ Garden
It took over 20 years of gardening to realize that I didn’t have to work so hard to achieve a fruitful harvest. As the limitless energy of my youth gradually gave way to the physical realities of mid-life, the slow accretion of experience eventually led to an awareness that less work can result in greater crop yields. Inspired in part by Masanobu Fukuoka’s book, One Straw Revolution, my family experimented with gardening methods which could increase yields with less effort. Fukuoka spent over three decades perfecting his so-called “do-nothing” technique: commonsense, sustainable practices that all but eliminate the use of pesticides, fertilizer, tillage, and perhaps most significantly, wasteful effort. Here are the strategies we used which enabled us to greatly increase our garden yield, while requiring less time and less work.
Tips for Starting an Apartment Garden
Whether you’ve got a certified green thumb and are lamenting your move to a yard-less apartment or you’re a longtime apartment dweller looking for a nature-friendly hobby, apartment gardening can be a rewarding way to spend some time, decorate your home, and maybe even grow something edible. This article shares a few tips for getting an apartment garden started. Location is a primary concern for an apartment garden. Perhaps you have a small—or, if you’re lucky, medium-sized—patio or balcony.
crafty_tardis: I posted this over on dw_cosplay and som
I posted this over on dw_cosplay and someone suggested it might be of interest here as well, so hopefully that is the case; I wanted to share something I made for a friend, it was her first Gally this year and she decided to crossplay Four. Since she was a bit nervous about it I decided it was the perfect opportunity to try out a project that had been kicking around my head for a bit and make her a beaded version of the Tom Baker scarf. I used 15/0 Toho rounds, and had a heck of a time finding good color matches (the blue in particular I ended up lucking out with some random beads a friend gave me) which ended up meaning I used a combination of matte, metallic and transparent finishes.
DIY IKEA Shelf In-Home Aquaponics - Planted Space
Dubbed "Malthus," this Ikea-hacked project by Conceptual Devices pieces together a 100g fish tank, plastic grow beds, a pump and piping onto an IKEA Broder shelf, with wheels. Malthus is designed to be an in-home unit, and to grow one meal a day, a portion of fish with a side of salad. If you don't know yet, aquaponics is basically hydroponics + fish in a sustainable loop. The fish provides nutrients and CO2 to the plants, and the plants in turn purifies the water and returns O2 to the fish.
Pinspiration: White Vase + Pom Pom Flower
Have you seen all those glass vases painted white? There ALL over Pinterest. I love how clean they look… So, of course, I needed to try it out. I stopped by the Dollar Store the other day and picked up some simple vases.
4 Simple Steps to Grow a Hundred Pounds of Potatoes in a Barrel
Container gardening isn't only for savvy urban gardeners and folks with limited space to grow, it can also be for folks who want to maximize their yields in a controlled environment. Not only does growing potatoes in a barrel reduce the amount of weeding and exposure to pests and fungi, you don't even have to risk shovel-damage to the tender potatoes by digging them out of the ground when they're done, just tip the container over! After extensive research to plan my own potatoes-in-a-barrel, I've boiled all of the recommendations down to 4 simple steps to a winning potato harvest. 1. Select and prepare a container
How to Make Cheap Garden Beds
Sometimes garden writers make things involve more work and expense than necessary. Raised garden beds are one example. Your crops will grow fine whether your beds are level, raised or even sunken (a good choice in dry, windy regions).
Mari's Origami Home
"Life is Beautiful" created by Yoichi Yamauchi (Yami), is an arrangement of 427 individual models. Top left: Health. Bottom left: Happiness.
Eco Homes from the Earth: 7 Ways to DIY
Wouldn’t it be nice to own your own green dream home, made with recycled and natural materials and packed with custom features? Whether you’re an experienced builder or have never picked up a power tool in your life, you can build a natural eco-friendly home with user-friendly, low-cost materials like cob, cordwood, straw and the dirt and wood from your own land. These 7 natural building techniques produce beautiful homes with a small ecological footprint and tons of personality. Earthships and Hobbit Houses (images via dominicspics, ECOnscious, Earthship Biotecture) [youtube=L9jdIm7grCY]
Party Blog › water party: sponge ball tutorial
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 Whether you call it a Water Party, an Under the Sea Party, or a Splash Party, we’ve got you covered. This party is now available for purchase in our shop. Photos by Nicole Hill Gerulat.
The Art of Weeding: Part 2
In Part One of this series on organic weed control we learned about how weeds affect our garden and tips to prevent them in the first place. In this article, we'll learn how to get rid of weeds, naturally, tools for the job and how weeds can even be good for you and your garden. Real tips for getting rid of weeds As the saying goes, the bigger the elephant, the harder it is to move it. In the garden, the bigger the weeds, the harder it is to control them.
How to keep the dirt in a pallet planter ?
Many readers ask the question on how to make a clean pallet planter and how to keep the dirt in ! Here is then the result : Here is a simple solution ! That may not be the only one. If you have another technique, please comment and/or send us pictures, we’ll complete and update the post !
This to That (Glue Advice)
For the strongest bond we recommend: LePage's Metal EpoxyJ-B WeldFaststeel Epoxy Putty if you have gaps to fill For a less toxic alternative we recommend: Hot Glue Remember, put the glue on the metal first, then contact it to the styrofoam!
i have an old piece of furniture that is green friendly and human/plant/animal safe. good luck! by orphananni1978 Jun 16
I liked this site too...I planned to pick up 6 pallets on Monday for use in growing edible flowers... so I was looking on the web for more specifics on how to conctruct the "garden". Sadly, I found a comment that the pallets are treated with chemicals. I checked it out and now will not be using them:( I had no idea that they were sprayed with icky stuff. Thought you might like to know...I'm deleting the pearl from my garden tree. Best wishes with your garden this year--Judy by judyjudys May 15