Root Simple Podcast

Behind the headlines about bee die-offs is an untold story about the methods of conventional beekeeping. There is a sharp divide between mainstream beekeepers and natural beekeepers. In this episode we delve deep into the controversies over how bees are managed with beekeeper Susan Rudnicki. We recorded this episode in front of a live audience at one of Honey Love’s monthly symposiums. We get into a lot of detail on beekeeping methods, so consider this episode a kind of natural beekeeping 101. During the podcast Susan discusses:

• Why are all the bees dying?
• Treatment vs. non-treatment.
• Why most advice is pro-treatment.
• Keeping feral stock.
• Africanized bees.
• Mistakes.
• How often to inspect.
• Swarm prevention.
• When to take honey in a Mediterranean climate
• Dodgy bee removal services.
• The “Complete Idiots Guide to Beekeeping.”
• What’s wrong with package bees?
• The difference between swarming and absconding.
• That Flow Hive thingy.
• Darwinian concepts in beekeeping.
• “Scientific” beekeeper Randy Oliver’s change of opinion on feral stock: here and here.
• Bee Audacious conference.
• Foundation vs. no foundation.
• Reducing entrances.
• Queen excluders.
• Screened bottom boards.
• Straightening crooked comb.
• Eight frame boxes.
• The problem with organic treatments.
• Les Crowder’s “Top Bar Beekeeping.”

If you’d like to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to [email protected]. You can subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store and on Stitcher. The theme music is by Dr. Frankenstein. A downloadable version of this podcast is here.

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Image: UXO Architects

A few weeks ago I retweeted an article about a nightmarish Victorian house flip that touched off a minor architectural tweet storm. That prompted an email from James Heard and Ashton Hamm of UXO Architects who had some opinions about this flip and about architecture and city design in general. So I asked them to join us on the podcast. During the conversation Ashton and James mention:

• The economics of house flipping
• Architects in the gig economy
• Worker cooperatives
• Financial barriers to becoming an architect
• The Architecture Lobby
• Architecture Lobby Manifesto
• Housing affordability
• Last House on Mulholland Drive communal living proposal
• Codes
• Why do all those boxy new buildings look the same?
• Aesthetics in architecture
• Neutra VDL house

If you’d like to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to [email protected]. You can subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store and on Stitcher. Closing theme music by Dr. Frankenstein. A downloadable version of this podcast is here.

Image: Renee Garner.

There’s a struggle in cities, around the world, to make streets safer for everyone, especially our children and elders. One hundred years of car-centric planning has created cities and suburbs that are ugly and dangerous. Renee Garner is fighting a plan to turn the road in front of her home in Matthews, North Carolina into what would be, in effect, a multi-lane freeway. During our conversation we talk about her activism and what happened when a local reporter uncovered a trove of mean spirited text messages about her from the (now former) mayor. In addition to her efforts to stop the John Street widening project, Renee is an artist, illustrator and avid permaculturalist. You can find Renee’s website at renee-garner.com. Check out her amazing illustrations here.

If you’d like to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to [email protected]. You can subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store and on Stitcher. Closing theme music by Dr. Frankenstein. A downloadable version of this podcast is here.

When I wrote a post lamenting the difficulties of forming and sustaining groups I got an email from Adam Brock, author of Change Here Now, a book which uses architect Christopher Alexander idea of a “pattern language” to find solutions to the many challenges in front of us. A large section of the book develops a pattern language for what Adam calls, “nurtured networks.”

From his bio: Adam Brock is a Denver-based facilitator, entrepreneur and designer. His work lies at the intersection of urban agriculture, sustainable business, and social change. He is a certified permaculture designer and a co-chair of Denver’s Sustainable Food Policy Council. Adam currently serves as Director of Social Enterprise at Joining Vision and Action, Denver’s premier consulting firm for social change organizations. Adam’s website is AdamBrock.me. During the podcast Adam mentions:

• The GrowHaus
• A Pattern Language by architect Christopher Alexander
• Nurtured networks: setting goals, rules and leadership strategies
• Skilled facilitation
• Nemawashi
• “Forming, norming, storming and performing”
• Heirloom currencies
• Nextdoor
• Creating nurtured networks online
• Denver Permaculture Guild
• Human Polycultures

If you’d like to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to [email protected]. You can subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store and on Stitcher. Closing theme music by Dr. Frankenstein. A downloadable version of this podcast is here.

Our guest on this episode is “GardenNerd” Christy Wilhelmi, previously heard on episode 19 of the podcast, who returns this week to discuss her new ebook 400 Plus Tips for Organic Gardening Success. As you might guess we touch on a lot of topics and tips including:

• Monarch VR
• CropSwap
• Time Banking
• Homestead Hamlet
• Repair Cafés
• Sandflex
• Almanac.com
• Epic Seeds
• Baker Creek
• Seed Savers Exchange
• Renee’s Garden Summer Spinach
• National Heirloom Expo
• Aunt Molly’s Ground Cherry
• Keeping tomatoes healthy mid-season
• Powdery mildew
• When to harvest tomatoes
• Extending the growing season for tomatoes
• Mulch
• Shade cloth
• Capillary matting
• Don’t pull your bolting vegetables!
• Ollas
• What to do with zucchini?
• Growing wheat
• Hugelkultur
• When to harvest watermelons
• Messina’s squirrel stopper
• Rats!
• America’s Best Gardener Competition

Christy’s website is GardenNerd. You can also connect with Christy on Facebook and Twitter.

If you want to leave a question for the Root Simple Podcast please call (213) 537-2591 or send an email to [email protected]. You can subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store and on Stitcher. The theme music is by Dr. Frankenstein. Additional music by Rho. A downloadable version of this podcast is here.