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Dandelions

Dandelions
by Anita Sanchez Whether you love them or hate them, dandelions are among the most familiar plants in the world. They're one species that just about anyone can identify at a glance, as familiar to humans as the dog. Dandelions are, quite possibly, the most successful plants that exist, masters of survival worldwide. Nowadays, they're also the most unpopular plant in the neighborhood – but it wasn't always that way. To get us back on the right dandelion track, here are 10 dandelion-related facts. 1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 7. 10. Dandelions probably will never be eradicated, but we can learn to be more at ease with dandelions and other wild things – and maybe even to love them a little.

Pack a Backpack for Camping From Wired How-To Wiki A well-packed sack will save your back. Photo by The Glasshalffull via Flickr. It's happened to everyone before. You start out in the comfort of your living room, with a cavernous empty backpack and all your gear spread out before you. Then, six miles out, you realize: Despite stuffing your pack to the brim, you've forgotten your rain shell and soaked your food in fuel. This article is part of a wiki anyone can edit. Outside In Especially with a lightweight backpack, you should put your sleeping pad in first. Sleeping bag next Pack in the reverse order of stuff you'll need. Distribute your supplies Tent: Heaviest items go in the middle and closest to your back. Cooking Gear: If you're planning on hot meals along the side of the trail, your portable stove is up next. Dry Clothes: Even if you don't intend to change your clothes, bring an extra set - especially socks (wool or poly, not cotton)! Medical: Consider the environment you're entering. Balance it out

Worm Composting Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture City of Vancouver - City Farmer Wormshop See these links first. City Farmer's Step-By-Step Photo Guide to Worm Composting See City Farmer's wormshop instructor describe how a worm bin works. (Video) See City Farmer's wormshop instructor describe how to harvest a worm bin.

Building a Two-Can Bioreactor Purpose Two-can bioreactors are designed to be used as small-scall indoor composting units for families, and for composting as an educational tool in the classroom. Materials 32-gallon plastic garbage can 20-gallon plastic garbage can drill brick spigot (optional) duct tape (optional) insulation (optional) Construction Using a drill, make 15 to 20 holes (0.5" to 1" diameter) through the bottom of the 20-gallon can. Note: A system of 10-gallon plastic garbage cans that can fit inside 20-gallon cans can be substituted if space is a problem. The composting process in the cans will take from three to five weeks. Credits

Building a Rain Barrel If you have a garden or alot of plants then you know that you can use quite a bit of water keeping everything green, especially when there are days or weeks between rain showers. I have noticed rain barrels being sold at Whole Foods for $99 and thought the construction looked simple enough to do on my own and possibly at far less a price. So I undertook the task of doing just that. I picked up an empty barrel at a local farm store that once contained olives. It even had one olive left inside when I got it, I didn’t eat it as tempting as it was. Make sure you find a food grade barrel for this project, you don’t want unknown chemicals spread onto your garden or plants. (1) 3/4″ Male Hose Bibb (I used a no kink bibb)(2) 3/4″ PVC Female Adapter(1) 3/4″ tapped Male Hose to Male adapter(2) 1″ Galvanized or Brass Washers(4) #18 O-rings (1″)Teflon Tape1″ Hole Drill Bit(1) Brass Hose Cap18″x18″ Square Metal Screen(8) Aluminum Self-starting Screws 3/4″ Male No-Kink Hose Bibb #18 O-Ring (1″)

Painter's Portal Home Urban Survival Tools is a First Aid Kit and Survival Kit making company and online retailer. We produce products you will need to survive any emergency or wilderness situation. Our main offerings include: Urban Survival Kits,Bug Out Bags and First Aid Supplies. Urban Survival Tools mission is to prepare you with First Aid Kits, Survival Kits, Survival Bags, and Food/water storage you would need to survive a disaster. If you are looking for an Emergency Pack, or other Survival Gear, Urban Survival Tools wants to help out. Info@urbansurvivaltools.com Survival Kits are an important purchase. When you are purchasing bug out bags or survival equipment, you need to consider your surroundings, and your daily activities. If so, then you may want to consider storing multiple survival kits. Another important consideration to keep in mind when you are purchasing survival bags or first aid kits, is that as much as possible, each person should carry their own survival gear. Useful Resources:

How to Grow Raspberries Raised beds eliminate root rot The original 20 plants have grown into a full bed from which the author picks 2 gallons of raspberries a day during the summer months, roughly a pint per plant, though the amount tapers off as fall approaches. Raspberry plants hate wet feet, and they are gross feeders. If you have rich, deep soil that drains well year-round, you can simply plant your raspberries in a permanent garden site. It is important that you do not establish your raspberry patch in an area where you have recently grown tomatoes, peppers, or potatoes, to avoid verticillium wilt, which these vegetables can carry, and raspberries can catch.

Small Footprint, Big Yield: Create an Easy Micro Organic Urban Garden Today! | Urban Gardens | Unlimited Thinking For Limited Spaces April 28, 2009 by Robin Plaskoff Horton There are two things urban gardeners are short on: space and time. The Urban Garden, brainchild of Bill Arquitt, resolves both of these issues, making it efficient and simple to plant a vegetable garden with up to 55 plants in a 3-foot deep by 4-foot wide footprint. The contained six level tiered system is nearly maintenance-free, eliminating heavy weeding, and its northwestern cedar construction renders it naturally bug repellent. Garden Article: Growing Ginger Do you love Asian foods, ginger ale and pumpkin pie? It’s the taste of ginger that’s won you over. Zingiber officinale is easy to grow and makes for a great project with kids. And with its attractive foliage, this plant will add beauty to your home and garden, as well. Because ginger root tubers grow right near the soil surface, don’t bury them when you transplant them to your garden. Photo Credit: John Buettner Simply lay the ginger root on the top of the potting soil to “plant” it. Pull the roots from the ground and allow them to dry in the open air before removing the stalks and harvesting. Ginger root is sold in a clump that’s often called a “hand.” Planting is easy as pie: Simply pick a pot that’s at least twice the diameter as the length of your root section. Studies say ginger’s peak flavor arrives at 265 days. With proper care, your ginger can reach 2-4 feet tall. You can use these flavorful roots in many recipes. Candied Ginger Peel and slice your ginger root into small sections.

Tautline Hitch © Copyright 2014 John E Sherry. All rights reserved Disclaimer: Any activity involving rope can be dangerous and may even be life threatening! Knot illustrations contained in this web site are not intended for rock climbing instruction. Growing Your Own Garlic - Planting Growing Harvesting and Storing Garlic As far as I'm concerned, garlic gets the blue ribbon for growing your own. It's absurdly easy to plant and care for; it tastes great; it looks beautiful and it takes up so little ground that even those with very small gardens can raise enough to be self-sufficient in garlic for a good part of the year. All you have to do is choose the right varieties; plant at the right time, in the right soil; then harvest when just right and store correctly. 1. Choosing Types of Garlic If you look in a specialist catalog like the one at Gourmet Garlic Gardens, you'll find dozens of varieties of garlic listed. You see where this is going – and you can see a lot more types of garlic on either of those websites, but for general purposes the most important difference is the one between softneck and hardneck. Softnecks are so called because the whole green plant dies down to pliancy, leaving nothing but the bulb and flexible stems that are easy to braid. Gardeners in most of the U.S. can try some of both. 2.

Cardboard Love (by @baekdal) #design Design Art Cartoons Cars About Follow RSS Advertise Search Cardboard Love - /by @42concepts . Written by Thomas Baekdal | Wednesday, April 22, 2009 You only need a small piece of cardboard to show that you care about someone. (via Cardboard Love) Follow: 42Concepts Brilliant Censorship Towel » The Eatable Cookbook » The Secret Forest Cabin, HemLoft » Indy Bag for iPad » A Heffalump Ate My Laundry » Roaarrrr!! The Real Power Nap » Iron, White panelling, Bookcase Wallpaper? Victorian Steampunk Wedding » Your Morning Mug of Coffee » WWII Navy Mines Furniture » A Cradle For Relaxation » Fioriness, Lamps in a Bottle » Bonjour Poupette » Turn Your Drawings into Stuffed Animals » Beautiful Richards' Trunks » MegaPhone for the iPhone » The Breakfast Express » Apple Campus 2 High-res Renderings » Paradise and The Floating Island » BookBook for iPhone - Wallet and iPhone in one » Android Heroes and Villains » Tribeca 1930s Styled Lamps » Stunning Bamboo Lamps » Balloon Bench » Green Walls » Felt Mouse »

Growing Sweet Potatoes Overview: Although the terms sweet potatoes and yams (Dioscorea sp.) are used interchangeably in the U.S., they are two entirely different vegetables. They are also unrelated to regular potatoes. Latin Name: Ipomoea batatas Common Name(s): Sweet Potato, Yellow Yam Hardiness Zones: Mature Size: Depends on variety. Exposure: Days to Harvest: Harvest roots in 4 months. Description: Sweet potatoes are the tuberous roots of vining plants. The orange fleshed sweet potatoes are the most familiar, but sweet potatoes can be white, yellow and even purple. Suggested Varieties: Beauregard - Pale reddish skin with dark orange flesh. Harvesting: You can dig your tubers once the foliage starts to yellow. Be gentle when digging. Growing Tips: Soil: Sweet potatoes like a slightly acid soil, prefering a soil pH between 5.0 and 6.5. What to Plant: Sweet potatoes are usually grown from slips; small rooted pieces of tuber. If you have a short winter, you can begin new slips from vine cuttings. Maintenance:

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