Yearly Archives: 2015

Hops in a yard by "Sherry AK", found on Tomatoville.com — Writer’s note: I want to be honest with this one right off the bat. This is something I have never tried, nor plan on trying in the near future. My fiancé, who homebrews, can’t wait till we get out of an apartment so we can try hops in the suburban […]

Urban Hops for the Homebrewer

This entry was posted in Plants and tagged container hops hops urban hops on 12.October.2015 by Grace Conyers

Zelienople Harmony Country Fall Festival — Admittedly, I’m sad this year. This is the first fall in a good long while I haven’t had a fall harvest; and it was all because I moved. Alas, now I understand the appeal of an agrarian culture and what must have drove our ancestors to stay put. There is […]

Fall Harvest on My Mind

This entry was posted in Edibles and tagged harvest preservation on 28.September.2015 by Grace Conyers

Large areas of lettuce in a garden inspired by French potager gardens by Seed to Feed Me. — Do you like salad? You’re a fool. Not because bacon is better (although, of course, it is) but because salad vegetables are nutrition-lite, resource-guzzling, pseudo-healthy food crimes that enable the overconsumption of blue cheese dressing. — Emma Sturgess, The Guardian, Do you like salad? You’re a fool. Harsh words for […]

Salad is worse for the environment than you know

This entry was posted in Edibles and tagged lettuce on 21.September.2015 by Grace Conyers

Basics of a balanced pond with permaculture in mind. — Unless you are lucky enough to have a pond or lake on your property, one of the only ways you are going to get a full natural ecosystem is to make your own garden pond. This isn’t as tricky it seems, and frankly, starting from scratch has a lot of […]

Dreaming of permaculture and landscaping with water

This entry was posted in Ecosystems Water features and tagged construction projects permaculture ponds water features on 7.September.2015 by Grace Conyers

New weeds in a community garden stem from the government from the New York Times. — This past year has been exciting for urban farmers. It would seem as the combination of foodies and garden enthusiasts increases, so does the government’s leniency on what we raise in the cities. It’s not just limited to plants, but some cities are even allowing bees, rooftops covered in greens, […]

Community gardens have big obstacles

This entry was posted in Laws and Regulations and tagged urban farming problems on 31.August.2015 by Grace Conyers

20150714_153107 — Sometimes you think an idea is nifty and the perfect solution to what your needs are. Then, through trial and error, you find out it isn’t. I knew I’d be moving soon, so I wanted something portable, light, and would allow me to grow a few herbs. A browse through […]

Failed Adventures in Gardening: A Shoe Organiser Vertical Farm

This entry was posted in How-to Inspiration Small spaces and tagged experiments failed vertical gardening on 24.August.2015 by Grace Conyers

a8e8f1b99043257d0a714397dce0ccc3 — It is said that the first container ponds were designed in Ming Dynasty, China for viewing fancy goldfish as they swim around in wide mouthed ceramic pots. And, although I can’t find an original citation for this statement, I can say it’s a pleasant enough idea that we’ll go with […]

An Outdoor Fish Tank For Your Garden

This entry was posted in Landscaping Water features and tagged container gardens containers ponds water features on 20.July.2015 by Grace Conyers

Look up "calm mind" and you'll find similar images to these. Most of them have water. (Found at TinyBuddha) — It’s been raining nearly every day since sometime in April here in Indianapolis, Indiana. With all the rain, ponds are on my mind — after all, we have enough free standing, volunteer ponds around. The purpose of ponds beyond annoying us when we drop something in them is three-fold. They […]

Ponds are for more than landscaping

This entry was posted in Ecosystems and tagged ponds water wetlands on 29.June.2015 by Grace Conyers

Image from Main Street Monroe article on types of apples in Ohio. — The whole reason we grow apples is to taste that sweet, slightly tart, juicy, perfect orb in the fall. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, either. The magic all happens when the sugar is at it’s peak, but the fruit hasn’t begun to rot. It’s a fine line, and […]

The Great Apple Harvest

This entry was posted in Fruit trees and tagged apple harvest apple storage apples on 22.June.2015 by Grace Conyers

Iconic symptom of fire blight is burnt leaf tips that kill young growth. Image from Walden Effect. — I’d be lying if I said there was a short list of diseases and insects that could attack and harm your apple tree. The worst part is that apple trees are prone to pests — birds, mice, and insects alike all love a good apple as much as we do. […]

Defending your apple tree from disease [Care part 2]

This entry was posted in Fruit trees Garden care Pests and tagged apple trees pests tree care on 15.June.2015 by Grace Conyers

orchardjpg-af368e66f35cd2f8 — This is a continuation of the apple tree series. Part one can be found here. There is nothing quite so satisfying as eating a fresh apple. The sugar content is so much higher than what we can get in the store that a tree ripened apple is the closest we’ll […]

Caring for apple trees in your backyard [part 1]

This entry was posted in Fruit trees and tagged apple trees pruning on 8.June.2015 by Grace Conyers

1280px-Honeycrisp_apple_orchard — Apples are a healthsome food, and often something people crave. Understandably, if you are looking for a fruit tree to plant, this may be at the top of your list. But, if you are going to plant an apple tree in your yard, you’ve got your work cut out for […]

Apple of your eye

This entry was posted in Fruit trees Plants and tagged apples fruit trees on 1.June.2015 by Grace Conyers