Gardening for Life - Discovering New Ways To Feed The World Permaculture Principles Got Weeds? Use Vinegar, Not Roundup NEED PROOF THAT VINEGAR IS A WEED-TERMINATOR? Just look at the weeds growing along a pea-gravel path in my Herb Garden. These were photographed yesterday afternoon, just moments before I sprayed them with cheap, straight-from-the-bottle, store-brand white vinegar. Here’s what all that greenery looked like this morning: I’d say those weeds are deader than dead. And speaking of Roundup! The next time you want to murder your weeds, why douse them with something that will remain in the soil for who knows how long? Application: I use a pump-sprayer to apply vinegar. I’ve found that vinegar works best if sprayed on warm, sunny days (at least 78 degrees). Note: Vinegar is not selective; it can potentially harm plants you wish to keep, should you accidentally spray them. (Need to eradicate weeds from a garden bed? Will vinegar kill every weed it touches? Some sunny day, I hope you’ll give vinegar a try. Don’t miss anything at A Garden for the House…sign up for Kevin’s weekly newsletter.
earthly pursuits old and new gardening ideas, books and bookcases The Guerrilla Gardening Home Page Wilson Solar Grill Stores the Sun's Energy For Nighttime Grilling Many of us will be firing up our grills this weekend for some well-deserved barbecue time. After all, barbecuing is one of America’s greatest pastimes, but it certainly isn’t one of our most environmentally friendly. Whether you prefer charcoal, wood chips or propane, grilling releases emissions and contributes to poor air quality. Up until now, solar powered grilling has required, as you might expect, the sun, which means traditional fuel-fired grills are required after sunset. But new solar technology developed by MIT professor David Wilson could bring a nighttime solar-powered grill to the market very soon; an invention also of great benefit to those in developing nations who rely on wood to cook all their food. Wilson’s technology harnesses the sun and stores latent heat to allow cooking times for up to an amazing twenty five hours at temperatures above 450 degrees Fahrenheit. A group of MIT students are working with the technology to develop a prototype solar grill. Via Treehugger
No-dig gardening No-dig gardening is a non-cultivation method used by some organic gardeners. The origins of no-dig gardening are unclear, and may be based on pre-industrial or nineteenth-century farming techniques.[1] Masanobu Fukuoka started his pioneering research work in this domain in 1938, and began publishing in the 1970s his Fukuokan philosophy of "Do Nothing Farming", which is now acknowledged by some as the tap root of the Permaculture movement.[2] Two pioneers of the method in the twentieth century included F. C. King, Head Gardener at Levens Hall, South Westmorland, in the Lake District of England, who wrote the book "Is Digging Necessary?" in 1946 and a gardener from Middlecliffe in the UK, A. Guest, who in 1948 published the book "Gardening Without Digging". History[edit] Methods[edit] Another no-dig method is sheet mulching wherein a garden area is covered with wetted paper or cardboard, compost and topped off with landscape mulch. See also[edit] References[edit] Bibliography[edit] King, F.
Open Source Permaculture On Its Way to the Internet Samuel Mann/CC BY 2.0. A permaculture garden in Otago, New Zealand. From the urban sprawl of Istanbul and Mexico City to the Rocky Mountains in the United States and the deserts of Jordan, permaculture activists are gently greening the world one small patch at the time. Prague-based documentary filmmaker and environmentalist Sophia Novack is hoping to help accelerate that process with the creation of Open Source Permaculture, a free online resource that she says would teach "anyone (including you!) Permaculture Social NetworkingThough the full definition is more complex, permaculture, short for "permanent agriculture," is essentially a way of designing farms and gardens so they work like natural ecosystems. Richard Patterson/Sterling College/CC BY 2.0. With six days left in its campaign, Open Source Permaculture has raised more than $9,000 of its $15,000 goal.
No Outdoor Space? Try Gutter Gardens : katyelliott.com Posted on | April 29, 2009 | 12 Comments I love this garden idea! Great for tip for urban living. Attach gutters to the back of a house/building or to a fence. Gutters are available in many different sizes which makes them ideal for fitting into a small space. (discovered via Make via lots of other blogs that lead to juneauempire.com) Related Post:diy: Colorful Tomato Cagesdiy: Cement Flower PlantersWood Slice WalkwayWillow Edging & LavenderMore Garden Inspiration Comments Cool Thumb-controlled Watering Pot Made With Recycled Materials : Fun In The Making I got the idea to make these thumb controlled pots from the pottery ones I’ve seen at Historic Williamsburg. The original earthenware “thumb pots” were used in 17th and 18th century English gardens. I reproduced this clever watering device using salvaged plastic bottles and jugs. To Make: Find a suitable “pot.” Drill a hole in the center of the cap of your container. How it works: It works similar to holding your thumb over the top of a drinking straw. 1. 2. 3. 4. How to hold a thumb pot.
Milan's Vertical Forest Wednesday, 12 October 2011 GreenMuze Staff Milan’s Vertical Forest from Stefan Boeri Architects. The Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) will be the greenest building in Milan when completed, which is one of Europe’s most polluted cities. Designed by Stefan Boeri Architects, as part of their BioMilano vision to incorporate 60 abandoned farms into a greenbelt surrounding the city. Each apartment balcony will have trees (900 plantings are planned for the two buildings) that will provide shade in the summer and drop their leaves in winter to allow in winter sunlight. Visit: Via Inhabitat
Farmscaping "Farmscaping" is a holistic approach to pest control on farms that focuses on increasing biodiversity in order to maintain healthy populations of beneficial insects, birds, bats, and other wildlife as part of an ecological pest management program. Farmscaping often treats beneficial wildlife as a kind of "minature livestock" that must be managed and provided for for just like cows, sheep, chickens, and other farm animals. Farmscapers use observation and science to plan hedgerows, flower beds, cover crops, and water reservoirs to favor beneficial wildlife over pests. Benefits of Farmscaping Farmscaping reduces the need for pesticides, lowering costs and reducing exposure to potentially harmful chemicals by farmworkers and consumers. Farmscaping is also simple and generally inexpensive to implement. Finally, in addition to the ecological and environmental benefits of providing habitat for wildlife and increasing biodiversity, farmscaping also increases natural beauty for resident humans.