tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:28:07 +0000Learn more about gardening, being green and reconnecting with nature.http://backyardharvester.com/blog/index.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)Blogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-7023500147834864283Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:40:00 +00002010-04-27T11:28:07.045-05:00The air is warming up, robins are chirping and gardeners are preparing to plant. Before the first seed or transplant is placed into the garden, however, it's essential that the soil be tested. This is especially important for people who live in urban areas.After a century of industrialization, improper waste disposal, the accumulation of vehicle exhaust and the decay of leaded paint, urban soils http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2010/03/get-it-tested-your-soil-that-is.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-7552980751139666726Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:44:00 +00002010-02-05T20:38:55.239-06:00The Winter Seed Swap and Garden Gathering will be an opportunity for Chicago-area gardeners to share seeds* and discuss plans for the growing season. Participants will learn the basics of seed germination, how to use recyclables as starter pots, and how to transplant and protect tender seedlings. Come to find out how others maintain a garden in this area's charmingly variable climate.The Winter http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2010/01/chicago-seed-swap-february-20-in-rogers.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-3898171569233129559Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:27:00 +00002010-02-04T11:41:41.011-06:00I want to find out who would be interested in yard-sharing. This is an arrangement in which a property owner makes an agreement to share his or her space with a gardener who doesn't have access to a yard or a community garden plot. You can imagine that there are quite a few people in that category in Chicago.In many situations, the gardener enters into an agreement whereby he or she grows http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2010/02/yard-sharing-in-chicago.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-7577919860732590800Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:18:00 +00002010-02-01T20:52:50.801-06:00Below, you will find a list of plants that can be grown from the seeds that I've collected. Many of these seeds were gathered by hand throughout the year. Some are the remainders of what I purchased last winter. A few were sent to me by friends. Then there are those that I picked up at seed swaps.I've organized the species in the list according to plant type, habitat or potential for overgrowth. http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/12/seeds-and-seed-people-for-2010.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-590195103399771613Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:14:00 +00002009-10-13T00:18:51.814-05:00It was sometime around 11 a.m. when I heard that Chicago was out of the running for the 2016 Olympics.Earlier, on my way downtown, I was pretty much praying that the IOC would vote for another city. I know that many people had there hopes up and expected that the city would gain new stature (while some gained new wealth). However, as I stated in the previous post, I wasn't interested in seeing http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/10/rio-olympiad.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-4504947087368153589Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:09:00 +00002009-09-26T12:19:44.490-05:00I completely agree with the sentiments expressed in the letter below. I was neither supportive of nor opposed to Chicago's Olympic bid until earlier this year, when I learned that the central venues would be built on top of Washington Park, the second-largest green space on the South Side.So I'd be quite happy to see the Olympics return to Tokyo or go anywhere else.http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/09/tokyo-2016.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-2816960539537609151Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:18:00 +00002009-09-18T13:21:59.211-05:00I have received nothing from them after ordering seeds two months ago. The one time (out of three times contacted) that I got a reply, it was a bit of a runaround. So now I'm pressing for a refund.http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/09/avoid-ordering-from-banana-tree.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-8633337370496337102Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:46:00 +00002009-09-10T12:47:00.151-05:00"If global warming continues unchecked, Chicago would see a repeat of the killer 1995 heat wave every summer by the middle of the century, an environmental group says in a study released Wednesday."The report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, "Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Midwest," also predicts that the city's air quality would deteriorate if humans do not scale back greenhouse http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/09/buy-your-fruit-bearing-cacti-now.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-5863277621323269890Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:24:00 +00002009-08-26T23:24:43.431-05:00"The European honeybee is the solo act of industrial agriculture. But in natural landscapes, there has always been a diversity of pollinators busily at work: bumblebees, moths, flies, beetles, butterflies, birds, and bats, just to name a few. There are 4,000 native bees in the U.S. alone, and at least 17,000 species known on the planet. And some of them make European honeybees look like slugabedshttp://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/08/avoid-abandon-pesticides-and-grow-wide.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-8622272751836699898Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:58:00 +00002009-08-26T15:03:10.578-05:00"Illinois’ status as a major agricultural state leads many to believe that it produces a lot of healthy food. But the reality is that the miles of farm fields produce just two crops: soybeans and corn, primarily used to sweeten food or for ethanol production. Ken Davis reports on the dangers of industrial farming."http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/08/how-farm-belt-feeds-industry-not-people.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-4899583916102835430Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:53:00 +00002009-08-26T23:53:59.395-05:00Vertical farms are a fine idea, but I think there are a few things glossed over in this article.First, many plants -- especially your root crops -- need soil/pressure/the Earth to grow well and to absorb the nutrients that they need (and that will nourish us, in turn).Second, thinking "water + fertilizer = food" is the same reductive, "everything can be treated like parts in a machine" mentality http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/08/take-farms-to-new-heights-but-plants.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-2797484149559697491Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:33:00 +00002009-08-21T11:35:16.307-05:00That's one explanation for why the Chicago school district continues to offer sugary desserts and junk food in its lunches.Just last night, my lady friend and I walked through Warren Park, and she mentioned my "if I was president" plan to nationalize all golf courses and use them as public farms. "Imagine the changes you could make to school lunches with all this space," she said as we walked by http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/08/i-think-it-helps-entice-kids-to-go.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-2982160237369155635Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:01:00 +00002009-08-26T23:39:01.182-05:00After puzzling over it for months (and happening to see a related specimen at the medicinal garden at U-Dub), I can now report that the tall plants around the northern half of the garden are...Salvia hispanica (golden chia).I threw so many different seeds into those flanking beds in March and April, I couldn't be sure what was coming up until June. Since then, my best guess was that these plants http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/08/ch-ch-ch-chia.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-1052745801375789140Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:08:00 +00002009-08-11T15:08:18.437-05:00I was very pleased to read this story about taxonomy in The New York Times.The article went beyond the history and function of classification for scientists. The author pointed to nearly universal and similarly organized methods for naming organisms that occur among unrelated language groups around the world. It seems that humans have an innate need, driven by language, to classify what is aroundhttp://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/08/sorting-bugs-from-beets-from-baboons.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-4431353600866237940Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:34:00 +00002009-08-11T14:35:06.155-05:00On the last evening of our recent Seattle excursion, I took a bus to the University District to have one last bowl of pho. There was a delay near the UW Medical Center, so I decided to hop out and walk the last few blocks. And then I remembered that the medicinal herb garden was along the way... Still images from my meandering garden walk can be seen here.http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/08/garden-geek-out-in-seattle.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-5118060124988208436Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:25:00 +00002009-08-11T13:12:45.626-05:00I took a long walk from Milwaukee and Lawrence to Lawrence and Clark yesterday evening. Along the way, I took note of numerous wild plants that have browned, peaked and gone to seed. Soon, there will be almost as much to do as there was in March and April: picking fruits, collecting and cleaning seeds, clearing out beds, planting winter vegetables.On that last point, it's actually past time to http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/08/summer-season-is-ending-but-there-are.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-4534552673428407111Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:34:00 +00002009-07-31T11:34:45.422-05:00Nance Klehm will lead an urban forage walk in Chicago this Sunday, Aug. 2, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Meeting place will be the bait shop on Montrose, right next to Lake Michigan. The walk will take place rain or shine (but the weather's supposed to be nice). Donation of $10-$20, young kids are free.For more information, refer to Nance's urban forage page or send email to nettlesting (at) yahoo.com (http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/07/foraging-on-sunday-afternoon.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-1665764165353078702Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:40:00 +00002009-07-29T08:41:24.691-05:00"Venezuela produces about the same amount of cacao as it did three centuries ago: 15,000 tons a year, less than 1 percent of global cacao output. But that amount stirs the passions of critics and devotees, turning a luxury crop destined for foreigners into a contentious, and sometimes violent, political issue."http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/07/meanwhile-in-venezuela.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-2841569879004671224Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:21:00 +00002009-07-28T17:28:01.483-05:00...the plants were doing well. I decided to skip a week since there wasn't really any produce to collect. Just seeds that needed to dry (mustards, radish, peas) and tomatoes that needed more heat. There were also new blooms on some of the herbs and wildflowers.CalendulaBlessed thistleUnripe huckleberriesBroccoli flowersThere are a number of fruits on the tomatoes, and it seems that the tomatilloshttp://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/07/last-time-i-went-tendin.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-798859039199667572Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:33:00 +00002009-07-28T12:58:20.854-05:00From the Arthur blog:"A recent study has revealed that ingesting soil bacteria (or Mycobacterium vaccae) not only makes your immune system more capable of handling allergens like bee pollen and cat dander, but also increases the release of serotonin into your brain."From the Discover Magazine article that was referenced above:"Some studies have found that treatment with M. vaccae, the inoffensivehttp://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/07/god-made-dirt-and-dirt-dont-hurt-it.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-8376709581865024368Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:07:00 +00002009-07-17T21:32:32.001-05:00I posted an article about late blight disease last month, but here's the latest news from The New York Times:"A highly contagious fungus that destroys tomato plants has quickly spread to nearly every state in the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic, and the weather over the next week may determine whether the outbreak abates or whether tomato crops are ruined, according to federal and state http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/07/keep-eye-out-for-blight.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-6572842382535632612Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:37:00 +00002009-07-14T23:37:55.898-05:00...things are still growing nicely.These images were taken between the 2nd and the 7th. Some are from the Trigram Garden, others are from our apartment.Heal-AllSteviaHoly basilSageAnother holy basilOreganoTomatoes and moonflower vineSiberian tomatoesBumpy broccoliRadishes, greens and a whole lot of stems with seedsThe garden, looking south, July 5http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/07/meanwhile-on-backsteps-and-out-in-burbs.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-936113717655954953Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:26:00 +00002009-07-14T23:10:17.871-05:00From Alternet:"The pioneers of organic farming in the 1960s were as eclectic as a bag of mixed greens. For some hippie farmers, embracing organic farming was part of their broader vision and commitment to sustainable agriculture. And, that meant not just treating the land well, but also the workers and animals on that land."The social-movement component of organic farming, however, has been http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/07/to-be-fair-not-everything-about-organic.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-4374867322589984377Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:42:00 +00002009-07-14T23:42:59.455-05:00...and these poisons need to be banned outright.From Scientifc American:"Used in yards, farms and parks throughout the world, Roundup has long been a top-selling weed killer. But now researchers have found that one of Roundup’s inert ingredients can kill human cells, particularly embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells."The new findings intensify a debate about so-called 'inerts' — the http://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/07/people-who-make-this-poison-need-to-be.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069771590532319687.post-4377647288275748134Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:36:00 +00002009-07-14T21:41:31.826-05:00From The Sun (UK):"(Manchester) council chiefs are bidding to create Britain's greenest city — by growing fruit and nuts in every park and inviting the public to tuck in."The £200,000 eco-friendly plan was devised amid fears that youngsters do not understand where food produce comes from."It will result in fruit or nut trees and vegetable patches being established in all of Manchester's 135 parkshttp://backyardharvester.com/blog/2009/07/lets-move-to-manchester.htmnoreply@blogger.com (mr damon)0