What Is The Best Mulch To Use In Los Angeles?

In L.A. What is the Best Mulch to Use?

If you’re anything like me, you’ve noticed the barren, compacted parkways all around L.A.  Most of them have at least some plant life, some have trash, others nothing at all.  Just sun-baked, bleached dirt.  My guess is that most of you reading this are not quite as nerdy as I am about the health of our parkways.  Like, you may never have asked what is the best mulch to use in your yard or the planting strip out front of your house or apartment, known as a parkway.  Technically, the city owns parkways, but citizens must maintain them.  Perhaps where we can come together is that parkways could stand a makeover.  I’m here to share my techniques for revitalizing the parkways of L.A., cheaply and with little work on your part.

The methods I use with my clients are super simple, yet they, like most Permaculture techniques, pack a massive punch.  In the field, ecological designers like me call this sort of approach, where minimal effort produces maximum results, a fulcrum move.  The idea is that a fulcrum moves only a little at the joint, but at its end it swings wide.  In other words, you put in little work to effect a change, but the landscape jumps into action and sweeping change is the result.  Another great benefit of using fulcrum moves like the ones I’m going to share with you here, is that your costs are reduced.  That’s right, your water bill will go down, and if you pay a “mow, blow, and go” landscaper, you won’t need them to maintain your parkway as much, if at all.

If this sounds good to you, read on.

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Is $75K Buried In Your Soil?

Buried Treasure Found

Do you loveimage: buried treasure found stories of buried treasure found?  Most of us have at one point dwelt for a moment on how neat it would be to find a jar of gold coins buried on our property.  Before I was born, my dad did exactly that, at his parents’ Mount Tamalpias home.  Going back years later, he dug but could not find the jar of stored wealth.  Did someone else discover his stash?  Or did he simply forget where he had buried it?  Now it’s too late to find out, since there are new owners who probably don’t want holes or strangers in their yard.  But what if he had known what I’m about to tell you?  He could have avoided all that digging and the loss of some precious metal coins worth a lot more than their mint value today.

I don’t want you to make the same mistake, not that you necessarily would do what my dad did, but I’m excited to share with you my  method of getting a lot of money out of the ground your home sits on.

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How to Make Extra Money At Home: Turn Raw Land Into a Cash-Producing Business

Raw Land As a Cash-Cow:  How to Make Extra Money at Home

If you’re not earning income from your property, you might be wasting its potential.  If you’re serious about learning how to make extra money at home, why not transform your landscape into a living ATM?

image: cash crops I’m talking about permaculture design.  Transforming your yard into a productive oasis is the most sustainable shortcut to long-term returns.  And in this post, I’ll teach you exactly how to do it.  If you’re unsure about transforming your existing property, what if I told you a permaculture master plan could save you money on materials and labor while offering you the potential of an income-generating cottage industry you can operate from home?

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Backyard Water Features: How I Turn Hills Into Fountains

Ecologically designed backyard water features transform issues into elegant features.Slope Allows Sophisticated Backyard Water Features

If you’ve ever looked at rural property advertisements, you’ve probably noticed that flat is desirable.  It seems like everyone wants a level piece of land, and for good reason, because it’s easier to put a house there.  But what if I told you that a property with some slope is highly valuable?  I have transformed many formerly unusable outdoor spaces by creating innovative backyard water features you wouldn’t expect.

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Having Fun Making A Difference

image: landscapers los angelesI usually try to be in several places at once by multi-tasking.  Physically, I have offices in Oregon and California.  As one of probably many landscapers in these cities, I see many properties facing climate issues that my Portland, Oregon, clients only deal with during their hot, dry summers.

Landscaping in drier climates is, to me, an opportunity when handled with sustainability in mind.  The semi-arid Mediterranean climate of Los Angeles offers a diverse set of challenges.  I like challenges.

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Why You Need Whales And Wolves To Stabilize Climate For You

Can You Stabilize Climate?

image: wolves stabilize climateI don’t know about you, but I don’t have the capability to stabilize climate on a grand scale (so far beyond 55 acres).  I can’t add appropriate levels of organic nutrition to the ocean where needed and at the right time.  Like you, I also don’t have the time to guide wild deer and elk populations away from overeating young forests before saplings have a chance to regenerate.  (I can specify deer-resistant buffer zones, but that’s another story.)

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