Monthly Archives: November 2022

Create A Garden To Remember With This Useful Advice.

November 30, 2022   Matt

Create A Garden To Remember With This Useful Advice.

Gardening is not just a popular hobby for those who own property, but a family activity and even a profession for some. As with any endeavor, gardening is a lot easier if you know a few things before you get started. Read on to learn some pieces of advice sure to make your thumb a little greener.

If you want a patch of green in your garden, consider planting a ground cover instead of a lawn. Lawns require a lot of water and maintenance. On the other hand, a ground cover usually uses less water, and certain varieties discourage weeds from growing. Many varieties of ground cover have the green color comparable to a lawn. You can save time and money with a ground cover.

Choose silvers and grays to lighten up the garden on dull days and shine in the moonlight. While most gray-leafed plants are attractive enough to hold their own in the garden, they are often used due to the effect they have on surrounding colors. They make pastel colors look brighter, and tone down the effect of vivid colors. Most plants with silver or gray foliage are native to the Mediterranean, therefore requiring little watering in the dry months. The best known silver and gray plants are dusty miller, lychnis, silver lace and artemisia.

A great tip to consider when cleaning up after gardening is using a nail brush for your hands. This is a great tip because having the correct cleaning tools will ensure that you can get your hands looking great in no time.

Create warmth with golden or yellow foliage. Visual vibrancy and warmth exudes from golden and yellow-leaved foliage. They are particularly effective in shady locations, giving the illusion of light and depth. They coordinate beautifully with purple flowers or deep bronze foliage. Good choices include Caryopteris ‘Worcester Gold’, Viburnum ‘Aureum’, various Hostas and Spirea ‘Gold Flame’.

When deciding to take up gardening, it is important to study and know your geographical area. Some vegetation simply can’t survive a northern winter. Contrarily, some plants can’t survive a Texas summer. As such, it is important to know where you are and what the plants that you intend on growing can handle.

To make a dull plant look greener, bury match heads near the plant’s base. The primary reason for a plant looking dull or faded is sulfur deficiency. Putting match heads in the soil around the plant will allow the soil to absorb the sulfur and feed it back to the plant.

An old wagon can help save time as well as your back. Instead of constantly having to retrieve your gardening tools as you work your way around your garden, commandeer an old child’s wagon. An old wagon works as well as a garden cart, and can often be obtained free or very cheaply if you get it used.

You were told in the opening of this piece that if you read on, you would learn a few things about planting and growing. Hopefully, that has taken place and you are ready to go out in the yard and plant some seeds. Keep in mind what you have learned, and you’ll have fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers in no time.

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Learning More About Gardening And Landscaping

November 29, 2022   Matt

Learning More About Gardening And Landscaping

If you are interested in possibly taking up gardening, you may have hesitated to actually dive into gardening because you simply are afraid that you do not have enough knowledge to be successful at gardening. In reality, there are some resources available to you through which you can gain the knowledge necessary to enjoy success in gardening.

In this day and age, in many communities the world over, there are classes and courses being offered regarding organic gardening. For example, many garden centers in the brick and mortar world offer gardening and landscaping classes and courses. These courses and classes can take a number of different forms. Some centers offer these classes and courses over a period of time. In other words, a person involved in such a program will attend a class a week over the course of four weeks or in some instances even more. On the other hand, there are programs that take the form of day long gardening and landscaping seminars. Oftentimes these more intense day long sessions bring together professionals from different communities to share their knowledge with people attending these programs in your local area.

In addition to courses and classes that are offered by gardening centers, many colleges and universities — through community extension programs — now offer gardening and landscaping classes to people who live in the community in which these institutions of higher education are located. These schools offer a variety of different learning opportunities.

Beyond what is offered by garden stores and shops as well as colleges and universities, many county extension offices — or their equivalent — offer gardening and landscaping classes. Extension offices are those local offices in communities in different parts of the world that deal with gardening and related issues. Extension offices can go by different names, of course. However, the principle is the same that these local agencies offer classes and courses to people interested in improving their gardening skills. Oftentimes there is no charge for the classes and programs sponsored by these different agencies in local communities.

By taking advantage of these educational programs, you will be in a far better position to learn more about gardening. In the end, you will be a more skilled gardener by taking the time to undertake these educational programs.

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Steps On How To Do Plumbing Right

November 27, 2022   Matt

Steps On How To Do Plumbing Right

Many of us have no idea how plumbing works. Knowing a few simple tips and tricks can help you keep your money in your hands and not that of a plumber. Sometimes, it is necessary to call up a plumber, but by following a few words of advice, you can take preemptive action and stop a problem before it starts.

Install screen traps or drain covers on all of your sinks and tub drains. Most home plumbing calls are about clogged pipes. These can be caused by debris, especially hair, washing down the drains. Putting in a trap means that you can clean this debris off before it ends up in the pipes.

Make sure you know where your home’s water shutoff is located. You never know when there might be an emergency involving a broken pipe or damaged connection that requires you to turn off the water right away. In addition, knowing where the shutoff is located is vital before you start any plumbing project, in case anything goes wrong.

Make sure that the temperature of your home’s water heater is not above 120F. On older water heaters, be sure it is not above medium settings. When temperatures get higher than 120, scalding can occur. Also, having the settings above 120F, tends to use more energy than lower temperatures do.

Use strainers in all drains to catch hair and other objects. This will prevent all the material from going down the drain and causing a clog, which can cause a bigger problem down the line. Clean out the strainers daily so that you don’t start getting backup of water in your sink or tub.

Before embarking on a plumbing project, make sure that you’re aware of where the shutoff valve for water in your home is, as well as the valves for shutting off individual structures like sinks, toilets, etc. This way, if something goes wrong, you’ll be able to stop the water flow.

Mold growing at the base of your toilet can indicate that condensation is forming on your toilet bowl thanks to room temperature versus bowl and water temperature, or that you have a leak in the wax seal around your toilet. To replace the wax seal, turn off the water to the toilet, disconnect from the water supply and then lift the toilet and replace the ring. The real trick is setting the toilet back down on the ring correctly. Buy an extra ring in case you mess up and to avoid having to run to the hardware store in the middle of the job.

Make sure that any exposed pipes in your home are insulated, especially those found in crawl spaces on the outside walls of your home. This will help keep them from freezing and causing you tons of problems. Frozen pipes can often be devastating and leave you with problems that are expensive to fix and no water in the middle of winter.

Hopefully this article helped you learn a little bit more about your plumbing and how to stop issues before they start. By learning and knowing, like was discussed in this article, you can be sure to save a few dollars every year. Plumbing disasters can cost a lot of money, so use this advice well!

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Gardening Advice To Turn Your Brown Thumb Green (2)

November 25, 2022   Matt

Gardening Advice To Turn Your Brown Thumb Green

You want to be the best you can be when it comes to gardening. This is important because you want to be able to proudly show off your garden to anybody that comes to your house. This article is for you because it will provide some great free advice to help you out.

Start a compost bin, and enjoy nutrient-rich fertilizer that you can use for your vegetable plants, herbs, flowers and more. Food scraps and peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, newspaper, paperboard, yard waste and other organic matter are perfect additions to your compost bin. Keep a small bucket or bag in your freezer as an odor-free way to collect kitchen waste, and empty the container into the outdoor bin when it is full.

If your home just has a small patio, you can still have a garden by growing plants in containers. Container gardening can give you the option to grow all kinds of flowers, plants, and even vegetables. You can also bypass the problem of frost by taking your containers inside during frosty weather.

When gardening, you may want to consider using chamomile tea as a method to control fungus. This is a great natural way to prevent your plants from dying off. Always look to reuse your own home products as ways to take care of your garden.

Create a deep flower border. Most people think the standard flower border should be about three or four deep, but a showy border needs to be at least six or eight feet. This will give you enough space to plant small ornamental trees and large flowering shrubs, along with the usual annuals and perennials.

Slide your fingernails against a bar of soap to prevent dirt from getting under your nails. The dirt doesn’t necessarily hurt you, but you will save time and effort when cleaning your hands later. Instead of having to dig underneath your nails, you can just use a nailbrush to quickly remove the soap residue.

A trick to help measure in the garden is to take one of the long handled garden tools like a shovel and mark on its handle using a tape measure. Using a permanent marker, mark out the feet and inches on its handle and when specific distance is required in planing, have a handy measuring device is close at hand.

To make your garden more productive, allocate space based on what grows best in your area instead of simply choosing your most favorite crops. Although you may love beets, if tomatoes grow better in your climate then give them more room in your garden and make your beet plantings smaller. Ask your neighbors or take a look around your area to see what grows best in your region.

In conclusion, these are a few of the most important tips available for gardening. Go ahead and give them a try and you should be happy with your turnout. Hopefully, this will give you not only knowledge, but also the confidence to do your best in the garden.

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The Art Of Landscaping Your Garden

November 24, 2022   Matt

The Art Of Landscaping Your Garden

Landscaping is the one gardening endeavor that can consume lots and lots of your time and energy. If you are thinking of tackling it on a grand scale, you will need some major preparation. If you were to consider hiring a professional landscaper, you would most probably find that the costs would be quite horrendous.

Now that’s fine if money is no object, but I personally get great pleasure from my own endeavors, gardening is after all my great passion in life.

I would strongly suggest however, that you have a clear idea in your mind about how you would like your garden to look, rather than simply starting off without a clear plan in mind.

Having said all that, here are simple but indispensable tips to guide you in making your landscaping activities extremely rewarding.

Draw Your Landscape Plan.

However not just any plan. It needs to be a well thought out landscape plan, or you are certainly doomed to lose money as well as time and energy. You really need to take account of the style
and function of your landscape, and a good idea of the plants that you also want to include. Focus on that area where you spend most of your time, because this is where your landscaping labors should all be directed.

Investigate A Free Planning Service.

Hiring an independent designer would probly cost you hundreds of dollars, but you might well discover that many nurseries offer a free planning service, particularly if you are likely to be
spending some money with them.

Take Account Of The Style Of Your Home.

When planning your landscape, the style should complement the design of your house and your personality as well. There are various landscape styles which you can choose for your garden:-

1. Formal – This style uses lots of straight lines and perfect geometrical shapes. Orderly arrangement of plants instead of random positioning is employed, and close arrangement and pruning
is used on many landscaped gardens with this style.

2. Informal – This kind of landscaping goes well with houses which have a cozy look to them. Beds with curved edges instead of straight lines and random placement of plants suit this landscape style.

3. English Garden – This style emphasizes on the harmony between the house’s architecture and the garden.

4. Formal/Informal Garden – This style often comes with a brick walkway that exudes formality. This walkway leads to the rear with a circle of plants. The arrangement of plants resembles the English garden style, but it has no formal borders.

5. Oriental – It is often the kind of garden found in houses with small backyards. It uses rocks, evergreens and water, and a wide variety of plants to create several angles with this style.

6. Woodland – This landscaping suits a house that has a wooded backyard and an inclined terrain.

Keeping those tips in mind will not only make your landscaping a very fruitful activity, but will save you considerable expense as well as time.

Don,t be frightened to use your imagination and flair for color in this project, after all it is primarily to please yourself and your family. I suggest that the satisfaction that you will gain from creating and designing your own personal landscaped garden, will make you feel like a true artist.

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Tips To Help You Do Your Own Plumbing

November 22, 2022   Matt

Tips To Help You Do Your Own Plumbing

Plumbing has so many possibilities as to what you can use, do, and how you can apply it to your own plumbing jobs. It is rare to find somebody that has plumbing needs just like you, so why not take advantage of that and perfect your own? This article can help you.

One way to prevent pipes from freezing during the winter is to keep cabinet doors in your house that contain the pipes open. This can insure that they get adequate heat to keep warm. Make sure also, to unhook and kind of hose outside and run a little water to clear the pipes of any remaining water going outside.

Make sure to have someone check on your home if you plan to be away on vacation for longer than a few days. Plumbing problems can cause massive water damage, and the longer they’re a problem, a worse the results will be. Having someone drop by and check the place out can prevent the worst from happening.

The truth to DIY plumbing is that you’re taking your life on the line when you start a project. You may drive yourself nuts, cost yourself an arm and a leg, and end up having to call in a professional to fix the mess you made – at double the price. Consider a professional first unless you really know what you’re doing.

Do not let your faucet leak. Did you know a leaky faucet can waste about 150 gallons of water every day? If you have a leak, never ignore it. It could be coming from the faucet or the pipes. Continually check pipes and faucets for extra moisture or small leaks.

If you ever put food down the garbage disposer after a meal, make sure that you run cold water for about 15 seconds to help drain the excess debris. This will help in flushing out the excess particles down your drain, which otherwise, can build up and cause a clog, eventually.

One way to eliminate the bothersome noise of banging pipes is to see if you need to add extra straps. Over time, old straps can come loose or deteriorate and fall off, resulting in pipes banging against the wall when water is flowing. The addition of inexpensive straps will keep the pipe secure and get rid of the noise.

If your water bill seems unusually high and you haven’t changed your water usage, the problem is most likely in the service line. The cost to hire a professional to find and repair the service line most often is far greater than installing a new line and then having the old one shut off permanently.

Make sure overflow holes are cleaned out. This can help to prevent any water damage. Overflow holes are a way to stop water from overflowing if a sink is left on by accident. If the overflow hole is clogged it will not be able to do its job.

Isn’t doing your own plumbing a lot of fun? As you have seen in this article, there are a lot of ways this can be done and no two techniques or equipemnt will yield the same results. There are also lots of customizable options that can work with your home and budget.

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