Author Archive: Ruth Collins

Become An Expert Gardener With These Top Tips

January 23, 2020

Many people are discovering just how wonderful having an organic garden can be. Using this simple advice, you can begin growing your own thriving organic garden. Just follow these useful tips to get some great results.

Look for the variants of a plant that offer the highest yield. A hybrid designed for your weather, and resistant to local diseases, will give a better yield than non-hybrids.

Fall edibles are a wonderful addition to your garden. Why not plant lettuce and kale inside a hollowed-out pumpkin? Hollow out the pumpkin and spray with Wilt-Pruf to prevent rot. Finished? Now you’re all set for planting!

Shelter your deciduous shrubs. Shrubs that are planted in containers are especially susceptible to frost and must be carefully protected. With a sheet or blanket, you want to loosely cover the wigwam after you tie the tops of the canes together. When you do this you allow air to flow and circulate which can actually prevent rotting, this method is great and better than just wrapping your plant in some plastic.

There are many natural substances that are effective for warding off unwanted visitors. A border of marigolds or onions around your veggies can prevent slugs. Insects also avoid shrubs and trees that are mulched with wood ash. Using methods like these eliminates the need for chemical pesticides, which can be harsh or even harmful.

Take the time to place organic mulch in the area around your vegetable plants. Mulch helps the soil surrounding the plants remain moister for a longer time. It will also prevent weeds from popping up around your plants. This will save you a ton of time and work.

This advice you just read should show you that with a bit of work and perseverance, you can get your organic garden into full bloom. Start implementing the hints and tips you’ve been given to find out what an incredible garden you can grow. This advice can help you achieve success regardless of what you choose to plant in your garden.

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Healthy Living: Tips For Growing An Organic Garden Of Your Own

January 22, 2020

Organically grown produce is superior to the produce found in local supermarkets, and is also tasty and healthy for your body. Why not save your money and grown your own veggies? Read the following article to find out more about organic gardening.

Water containing some aspirin helps your plants fight illness. One and half tablets of aspirin in a couple gallons of water will be a wonderful help to the plants you have. Help your plants to fight disease by spraying them with the aspirin water. Try to apply the mixture to the plants at least once in each three week period.

The ambient temperate of a room with live plants should be kept between sixty-five and seventy-five degrees throughout the day. The temperature needs to remain warm so they may grow. If you aren’t wanting your house to be this warm in the winter, you can use a heat lamp on the plants.

Prepare the ground for a perennial garden quickly and easily. Simple slice into the soil with a spade, flip the turf, and mulch the area with 3 to 4 inches of wood chips. Let this sit for a couple weeks, next dig into it to plant your new plants.

You’ll save time and energy if you keep tools nearby while working in your garden. You can keep them in a good sized bucket, or wear utility pants that have plenty of large pockets. Have gloves, small shears, a trowel and any other tools you may need on hand to make it simpler to maintain your garden.

Put an organic material, such as mulch two or three inches deep, in your flower beds. Mulching helps to hold moisture in the soil, enhance the soil quality, and slow down the growth of weeds. It also adds a uniform and cohesive look to the garden.

Never buy poor produce again. Use the tips you just read to start growing your own organic fruits and vegetables.

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The Best Horticulture Tips, Tricks And Pointers

January 21, 2020

There is much more to horticulture than just having something pretty to look at. It is also more than just something people with green thumbs can do. Horticulture can have a very calming effect, and can really slow life down a bit, allowing you to find your inner peace. Gardening is best when you have the knowledge to do it right.

Use climbers for covering fences and walls. Climbing foliage is a great way to disguise unsightly features on your property, sometimes in the span of just one season. They may also grow through tress and shrubs that are already grown, or you can train them to cover your arbor. Some may need to be attached to a support, and others will attach themselves to any surface using their twining stems or tendrils. If you’re looking for the most reliable varieties available, choose from clematis, wisteria, and climbing roses.

It is important to choose the right type of soil if you want to achieve the best results. You may need to alter the kind of soil you use based on the types of plants you intend to grow. You may also be able to design an artificial area that contains one type of dirt.

Saturated Level

A certain amount of CO2 is necessary for plants to maximize their growth potential. A major portion of plants grow their best in an environment with a saturated level of CO2. The best way to obtain a saturated level of carbon dioxide (CO2) is to use a greenhouse. CO2 levels, when kept high, give your plants optimal growing conditions.

Take the information you’ve gleaned from the tips presented here, and make your garden live again. Your plants and shrubs will thank you from the bottoms of their roots. Horticulture is a potentially life altering activity, but only if you permit it, so why not start now?

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Read This If You Want To Make The Most Out Of Your Landscape

January 20, 2020

Landscaping is a great way to vastly improve your home’s appearance. You can improve your landscaping skills with some simple tips. Use this article to learn how you can improve the landscaping in your home.

As you are planning a new landscaping project, think about the overall effect you wish to achieve before you do anything else. This will give you a visual idea of what you want, how it will look, and what kind and amount of materials your project will require. If you find you need to make adjustments, it will be easier to do to a sketch than to your yard or garden.

Native Plants

When landscaping, it is best to use plants which are native to the area. When choosing plants, native plants are a perfect fit because they will thrive in your climate. Native plants tend to be hardy species, able to thrive in less-than-ideal soil and with less water in even the poorest weather conditions.

Consider using granite for surfaces on outdoor kitchen areas you may be planning to add to your landscaping. While marble could cost less to you, you can place hot things on granite without damaging it and it doesn’t require a ton of maintenance.

Test the pH and composition of your soil before you plant anything. This can give you valuable information about anything that your soil might be lacking in. You can use this information to make changes to the soil which will encourage healthy plant growth. This will ensure your garden and landscaping have a greater opportunity to flourish under optimum conditions.

If you are planning to put your home on the market, landscaping is worth considering. Compared to other types of home improvement projects, a good way to generate good returns for your house is landscaping. The front lawn is obviously more important for curb appeal, but a nice backyard can really drive up your home’s value, too.

It should be obvious that landscaping isn’t too hard if you do it right. Use the tips in this article to help map out your landscaping plan, and get ready for a beautiful yard! Once you learn the basics and get into the routine, landscaping will be easy and enjoyable. Today is the day to start bettering your skills as a landscaper.

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Home Improvement Ideas That Will Excite And Inspire You

January 18, 2020

When thinking about home improvements, some homeowners get scared. Perhaps they believe the difficulty, mess, hassle and expense of home improvement are just too overwhelming. But actually, home improvement doesn’t have to be hard. Education and planning can go a long way toward the completion of home improvement projects that look great and involve minimal fuss and expense.

Find your true style before you start your customizations to your home. Figuring out what your decorating style is will help you decide what improvements to make on your home. You can readily see a necessary change mid-stream, before the project is too far underway. Adjustments mid-project can be very costly and not appeal to your budget.

To remedy squeaks in your floor, utilize construction adhesive. You’ll have to work from the basement or in the crawlspace but the effort will be worth it. With a caulking gun, place a line of construction glue along the sides of each floor joist, allowing the glue to secure each adjoining subfloor plank to your joists.

You need a drill when you’re going to tackle home improvement projects. It allows you to make different sized holes in surfaces for screws, and allows you to drive the screws in with special attachments. It is recommended that you have a cordless drill with 9 volts or more of power, and the basic drill bits and attachments for working with Phillips or flat-head screws.

Even a novice at home improvements can fix a leaky faucet. You will make a big difference in your water bill if you can fix all your water leaks as they occur. This is a project that will pay for itself in no time.

Connecting PVC pipes is easy and only requires you to use PVC primer and cement. You should always use products made for this type of material. Additionally, there should be no water on the surfaces of he pipes.

Here, you will find several suggestions to help prepare homeowners to successfully undertake home improvement projects. Because self-education and research could eliminate a lot of the risks that can be seen in work related to home improvement, there are many projects that any homeowner could do in order to improve a house’s value and comfort.

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Harness The Power Of Green In Your Home

January 17, 2020

Going green is beneficial for the private home, while benefiting the environment at large too. You will be able to make your home energy efficient while also reducing your electric bill. Continue on for some helpful green energy tips at home.

There are numerous grants available for home owners to increase the use of renewable energy. Get in touch with your local government to find out what kind of programs exist in your area. There might be programs in your area that can allow you to install solar or wind energy solutions for free or with taxable deductions if you qualify for them.

Do you own a farm? You could rent a small portion of your property to an energy company willing to install a wind turbine. You could take advantage of the energy offered and the space requirements are minimal.

When you are away from home, use window coverings. They will help to keep the temperature and the energy consumption of the house down when the house is vacant. More often than not, south-facing windows will let in the most sun due to their positioning. Try to cover the windows using coverings like roman shades, roller shades, and dark curtains.

Try drying your laundry outside in the sun whenever possible, rather than using a dryer. This can cause your clothes to smell really good. It is a fresher smell than you would get from the dryer. You can also save money on your energy bills.

Don’t run the dishwasher unless it’s full in order to save energy and money. Never run it with just a few dishes inside. A dishwasher can surprisingly hold a lot of dishes. Carefully align your dishes so that you can place as many dishes into it as possible.

Adopting green energies should not bust your wallet wide open. A few minor changes can help you save a lot of money on your bills. Keep what you’ve read here in mind, and consider sharing this article with friends and family so they can benefit from green energy along with you.

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How To Properly Grow An Organic Garden

January 16, 2020

Learn some of the tips included in this article so you can make a garden that everyone can enjoy. Figure out what you need beforehand, so you don’t spend money on equipment that isn’t necessary, or impractical seeds for your climate.

Transplanting plants and bringing them indoors can protect them from harsh winters. Choose the plants that are most likely to survive. Remember to be gentle when digging up your plants; carefully dig away from the roots and gently place the plant into a container.

Before you plant seeds, pre-soak them for a night somewhere dark. Put some seeds (a small amount) in a container that isn’t too large for the plant you’ll be growing. Fill that container with water, almost to the top. This way, your seeds are well-hydrated and can start growing with a head start. The young plants will survive better, and get a boost toward maturity.

Coffee Grounds

For areas with high alkaline, mix coffee grounds into the soil. The coffee grounds are a very inexpensive way to add acid back into the dirt. This will allow your vegetables and greenery to really thrive.

Take extra care of any fragile shrubs that are known to drop their leaves in the autumn. If the temperature drops below 50 degrees, you should consider protecting them, especially if they do best in warm environments. Pull the canes together at the top and securely tie them. Next, using a sheet or perhaps even a blanket, cover the structure. Using fabric, rather than plastic, allows air circulation and prevents rotting from moisture build up.

You should purchase a wheelbarrow, as well as a kneeling stool to help you garden. It can be very uncomfortable on the knees when working so close to the ground, so a light, portable stool makes horticulture easier. You often need to move large objects from place to place, so it’s a good idea to have a sturdy, well-balanced wheelbarrow.

If you are growing a vegetable garden, you may find that pests can be difficult to control. Avoid spraying harsh chemicals on fruits and vegetables destined for your table. Persistence and care is a much better solution for pest control, but many avoid it because it actually requires some work on their behalf. If you catch them when there are only a few around, you can actually pick them off the plants by hand.

Research, hard work, and some dedication are the main requirements. Your efforts will be rewarded by a great garden, and the satisfaction of having created something yourself.

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Home Improvement Tips And Tricks To Help Your Increase The Value Of Your Home

January 15, 2020

The more you carefully plan out each step of your repairs, the less likely you are to run into unexpected detours. You will run into them, however. That’s normally the case with any home improvement project. It takes a lot of skill to be a carpenter. A handyman does not always know how to do all home improvements. This is the reason you should pay attention to these tips.

If you can afford it, go for hard wood floors and stay away from laminate. Laminate might look like real wood, and it truly simpler to maintain and clean, but they can not be refinished. In a decade, perhaps two, you can hand the home down to a new owner and you want them to be appreciative of the work performed.

Make your home more energy efficient by putting weather stripping around your windows and doors. This is an inexpensive material purchased at the home improvement store, and seals out exterior cold and hot air to stabilize inner temperatures so that your heater and cooling systems do not need to work as hard. Also, this helps to reduce drafts for a better living environment.

It is easy for a small room to be overly dark due to insufficient lighting. Let in the light! This can be resolved through cleaning the windows and opening blinds. If you make the most of natural lighting, any room will seem bigger. Use pale colors on your walls and avoid clutter. That tiny room will suddenly seem much more spacious and breathable.

Vinyl Flooring

Fix bubbling vinyl flooring with a slit and a shot. If your old vinyl flooring has a bubble under the surface, slice it open with a sharp utility knife to release trapped air. Then flatten the area where the bubble was. After this you need to insert some glue to keep the floor sealed. A glue-filled syringe will make the job easy.

Not all home improvement projects are hard. In fact, some jobs may seem simple to complete. But, not understanding how to do them is going to cause you stress and make an easy job more difficult. This article has given you some great tips for avoiding home improvement pitfalls. Use it to your benefit.

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Harness Nature’s Energy With These Green Energy Tips

January 14, 2020

You have probably heard green energy technologies mentioned, but you may not know exactly what they are. If you want a quick primer on green energy, as well as why it’s useful, then this article is for you. Read this article to learn how you can use green energy in your home.

Use solar heating systems to heat all your water in order to save money. Traditional gas and electricity are not that efficient, but solar-powered water heaters glean the sun’s natural energy to maintain even temperatures. Many of these improvements will cost you a bit up front, but the cost savings and tax deductions will usually more than offset that cost.

Solar Panels

Solar panels can be an excellent investment for the typical homeowner. There are several things that should be considered prior to installing solar panels. A major factor in choosing if you can use a solar system is the amount of sunlight your home receives on average. If you live in an area with a lot of shade, or worse, a lot of cloudy days, you’ll be unable to make full use of solar panels.

Are you a farmer? If so, you can rent a portion of it so wind turbines can be installed. Not only will the turbine use minimal land, it can provide you with free energy.

Use cold water for laundry, whenever you can. Almost 90% of the energy you use when you do laundry is due to heating water. Just make sure you don’t harm your clothes in the process; check out the labels on your clothes and make a judgment for yourself. In addition, remember that a washing machine will be most energy efficient when it is full.

A solar water heater may be a viable option in your home. This option is only applicable in areas that do not reach freezing temperatures. If you live in a warm climate, you can use a system that pumps your water through the solar heater before coming out of your pipes. But, be sure to keep a regular water heater for a backup should the sun not come out or for times that you need large amounts of hot water.

Now that you’re informed on green energy, you are ready to begin using it in your home. Apply the ideas that you’ve just learned, and start going green today. Not only will the environment thank you, but your wallet will too.

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Beautiful Outdoor Landscaping For Any Household Budget

January 13, 2020

Does your home appear dull and lifeless? Landscaping could be the answer for you. Just a small amount of landscaping can make a home into a piece of art. For some landscaping tricks that you could use, continue reading this guide.

Consider re-edging flower beds with subtle curves for a new look. Curbed beds look more contemporary than their sharp edged counterparts. An inexpensive project, which makes a big impact is cutting fresh edges.

Water your plants with a drip-style system. These irrigation systems are easy to install, and they allow you to give your plants a continuous stream of water. The water is much more efficient but it’s a drip and not a stream, which is what’s used for hoses and sprinklers.

Planning to sell your home in the near future? In contrast with other projects, landscaping creates huge returns in home value. Consider focusing on your front yard to add some curbside appeal to your home, or maybe create an outdoor socializing area in the back.

Quality Products

Always go for quality over cheap products. A lot of the time you will find that hardware stores don’t carry the best quality products. Check out a specialty store in order to obtain unique products as well as useful advice from different experienced workers. You may pay a little more, but it’s worth it simply because you get quality products and advice.

When you plan an extensive landscaping project, it is always a good idea to include a wide variety of different plant species. This can protect your planting areas in the event a disease or insect colony shows up. If these attacks reach your plants, and they are all of the same species, they will all die. To insure the health of your plants, incorporate diversity in your landscaping.

You home will look more exciting with these landscaping tips. It can be as beautiful as the homes you see in films. Just remember to use all the things you’ve learned here and you’ll eventually breathe new live to your property.

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