Tim JFowler

I love garlic, because it has been so simple to grow.

I plant in the fall, add compost, water in the spring, harvest when the leaves fall over. This fall I planted a ring of garlic and alliums around our apple tree to see how they cooperate. Garlic is supposed to hold the grass back and otherwise act as a good companion plant to the apple tree.

Re: choosing garlic. I replant some of our own and also plant garlic from the local farmer's market or our CSA.

FWIW,
Tim

Some food for thought on the urban (suburban) vs. rural sustainability question - http://energybulletin.net/node/3757 .

There are pros and cons to living rurally vs. "in town". My biggest concern is dependence on automobiles. If you need to drive (to work, school, the store, etc.) on a daily basis then I don't think your location is very sustainable.

I think finding the right community of people is very important and that can happen either in a city or in the country.

FWIW,
Tim

Sepp's "Russian Corn" could be Intermediate Wheatgrass (Agropyron intermedium) or a relative.

"Intermediate wheatgrass is a sod-forming, cool-season, perennial grass native to central Europe, the Balkans and Asia Minor. It was introduced into the United States from the Maikop region of Russian in 1932."

There is quite a lot of information online, esp. from agricultural college studies.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/v1-143.html

FWIW,
Tim

USDA PLANTS Database: http://plants.usda.gov/index.html
Under 'More Information: Characteristics' tree lifespan is listed.

Lifespan: What is the expected lifespan (in years) of a perennial plant relative to other species with the same growth habit? For the Tree growth habit: Short: < 100; Moderate: 100 - 250; Long: >250.

This website http://environ.binghamton.edu/urban/edible.html has good info for fruit and nut trees.

FWIW,
Tim

Yikes!

I guess it all depends on where you live. Here in New Mexico not only is it legal, it's encouraged and the city I live in has a rain barrel rebate program. I'm just using the harvested rain water for the garden at this point. But, with some more storage capacity I could consider other uses.

Putting in rain barrels was pretty easy for me, the big hold up was getting a new roof first. http://www.econewmexico.com/rain-barrel-water-harvesting

Tim