How to Make a Pair of Permaculturalists Laugh So Hard They Have to Wait to Drive Home

Today Nathaniel and I did presentations at Gardening for Good‘s Community Gardening Symposium. Nathaniel sat in on a “Going Green in the Garden” discussion panel and I did a talk on “Perennial Vegetables.” We weren’t at last year’s Community Gardening Conference so we didn’t know what to expect. It turned out to be a high-quality, affordable conference with thoughtful care…

How To Identify (and Be Slightly Grossed Out By) Dog Vomit Slime Mold

With all of this week’s heavy upstate rains, microbiological processes are kicking into full gear and bacteria and fungi are actively working on the process of decay. Many species of mushrooms are popping up in yards, lawns, mulch, and on almost any other damp substrate. Mushrooms are rarely an eyesore — most of them are quite attractive. They simply indicate…

How to Use Mushrooms to Get Rid of Atrazine (and Spare Male frogs from “Castration”)

I thought I would post about morels next but good things come to those who wait. In the meantime we have a bad thing with (at least one) good solution. Ever heard of Atrazine? It’s in the news right now for altering the reproductive systems of frogs: CNN, Reuters, Fox, BBC It’s now infamous and controversial. Atrazine has a reputation…