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Rainwater Cistern Pump Troubleshooting
Several months ago, we were bestowed a 500 gallon rainwater cistern with a submersible pump. The pump turns on when it senses pressure changes such as squeezing the hose nozzle. Several weeks back, it grew less and less responsive taking several minutes to turn on. These were the steps I went through to troubleshoot: Shake the hose Fling the hose…
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Lettuce Germination
Lettuce may be one of the easiest crops to grow so long as it isn’t planted too late in hot conditions that make it bolt. Several years ago I had a great crop of Romaine in a raised bed with ideal soil conditions. There was a rich blend of manure compost, peat moss, vermiculite and the existing soil. I started…
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Sprouts
Each day I’ve been checking tiny little spouts, spritzing them with water and waiting for the last empty soil pods to show signs of life. Winter returned to Raleigh, North Carolina this week, thanks to Sir Walter Wally the Groundhog, so I’ve not been able to bask in the sun on the small brick patio in the garden. I’m hoping…
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Garden Paths and an Evolution of Space
I’m in the middle of prepping a distance course titled “Water and Nutrient Management for Sustainable Home-Scale Agriculture.” As I’ve been researching material for the course, I started reading Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway. He shows how using keyhole paths and interplanting in the garden rather than rows and paths can increase the amount of area for planting while reducing…
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DIY Plant Stand with Grow Light
Being a frugal gardener, I don’t have the money to shell out on upwards of $200 plant stands with grow lights. I have a window with a decent amount of afternoon light, but the seedlings do tend to get leggy as they strain for the sun. Today, I put together a system using a shelf I already had and a…
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Photographing Backyard Birds with a Point and Shoot, Behind a Window
I am not a photographer. I have no miracle tips for you. Disclaimers aside, last winter I developed an obsession with taking pictures of the birds on our feeders. It became my urban semi-artistic redneck version of hunting. I didn’t want to kill anything, I just wanted to capture their little, beaky souls. My Nikon P90 has a 24x optical…
