by Tom Girolamo | Feb 15, 2016 | Uncategorized
Winter is a great time to think about the pond you have or the one that you want to have. This article will help you to ask the kind of questions necessary to help yourself . Small ponds, either lined or unlined, are challenging to manage if you ignore basic...
by Tom Girolamo | Jan 6, 2016 | Lessons Learned
Did you resolve to get in better shape this new year? Isn’t it amazing? We drive to the gym, park near the door and work out in air conditioned comfort. Lights, heating, cooling, gasoline and human energy just going to waste! Many studies (and basic, common...
by Tom Girolamo | Jul 29, 2015 | Cruising Stick
What’s a cruising stick!!?? Well, foresters that manage land use a variety of measuring devices. Measuring growing trees isn’t any different than checking the progress of your financial portfolio. Forest management goals for wildlife, aesthetics, hunting,...
by Tom Girolamo | Jul 9, 2015 | Uncategorized
Should you grow your own fruits and vegetables or buy them at the market? What about landscape plants? Should you buy big ones and get a head start or grow your own from seed or starts. Well that all depends! What are your goals and how do you see your...
by Tom Girolamo | Jun 23, 2015 | Lessons Learned
A recent trip to Puerto Rico re-enforced some of the things we are doing right in sustainability and things we need to work on. When friends found out we were headed for Puerto Rico we got questions like; Why go there? What kind of weapons are you taking with you? ...
by Tom Girolamo | Aug 8, 2014 | Uncategorized
When people think of native and natural landscapes their thoughts often go to prairie landscapes. However there there are many options for the uses of prairie plants and grasses in your landscape. When comes to native and ornamental grasses; there are varieties that...
by Tom Girolamo | Jul 31, 2014 | Uncategorized
I don’t grow a lot of annual vegetables because my spring is really busy, relying instead on perennial fruit and vegetable crops. Annuals that I do grow, like my harvest of small and fingerling potatoes in the picture, are things that are simple and fast. You...
by Tom Girolamo | Jul 11, 2014 | Uncategorized
No, Kathy was not yelling at Tom! Our friends Katrina and Cory needed a lesson in chicken processing in preparation for putting their 150 clover fed meat birds in the freezer. While I have skinned most of my chickens, this project built a fire under me to make a low...
by Tom Girolamo | Jul 11, 2014 | Uncategorized
Can raised garden beds be part of a sustainable landscape? I’ve often pondered this question. Cutting down old growth cedar (or even redwoods) to construct them, using lots of other materials and doing a lot of work just to grow a few dollars’ worth of vegetables...
by Tom Girolamo | May 21, 2014 | Uncategorized
You can’t begin to save the planet without first saving the soil outside your back door. Commodity agriculture is hell bent on raising crops using hydroponics – lots of water, lots of fertilizer, lots of pesticides and any soil-like matrix to hold the...
