Home And Garden

BANANA PEELS  –  Eating a banana helps replenish lost potassium. Roses love potassium too. Simply throw one or two peels in the hole before planting or bury peels under mulch so they can compost naturally. Get bigger and more blooms. I also use banana peels on my vegetables. COFFEE GROUNDS  – Acid-loving plants such as tomatoes, blueberries, roses and azaleas may get a jolt out of coffee grounds mixed into the soil. But more likely it’s the nitrogen that helps. Sprinkled on top of the ground before watering or pour a liquid version on top of the soil. If using as a soil drench, soak 6 cups of coffee grounds in a 5 gallon bucket of water. Let it sit for 2-3 days and then saturate the soil around your plants. EGG SHELLS  – Wash them first, then crush. Work the shell pieces into the soil near tomatoes and peppers. The calcium helps fend off blossom end rot. Eggshells are 93% calcium carbonate, the same ingredient as lime, a tried and true soil amendment! I use eggs...

Common Names: garden phlox, summer phlox Family: Acanthaceae (acanthus Family) Description Garden phlox is an herbaceous perennial that returns consistently year after year from a thickened root stock. It gets as large as 4 ft (1.2 m) tall, with thin, finely toothed ovate or elliptic leaves 2-5 in (5-13 cm) long. The inflorescence is a large pyramidal cyme to 8 in (20 cm) across of salverform flowers, each about one inch (2.5 cm) across. (Cyme: a branched flower cluster; Salverform: a flower with a long tube that expands into flat petal-like lobes.) Phlox flowers have five lobes. The flowers are fragrant and their color varies from white to lavender in wild plants, with other colors available among the many named cultivars. Garden phlox has a long blooming period from early summer well into autumn. Location The wild form of Phlox paniculata grows naturally in the eastern U.S. from Wisconsin and Ontario, west to Missouri and Arkansas and thence south to eastern Texas and central...

Some ponds are never cleaned and the ponds and its occupants survive very well. However, a large number of ponds are created with high fish densities or are built in locations were the pond receives a great deal of debris over the year. Even if you start out with just a few fish initially, in a healthy pond they will breed to the point that the number of fish will push the environmental limits of your pond and biofilter. The debris may be the result of leaves blowing into the pond, the die-back of vegetative pond plants as well as fish wastes. It is these latter types of conditions that will necessitate you cleaning the pond eventually. The two most likely time points for cleaning are in the fall, to reduce the amount of accumulated muck on the bottom of the pond as you head into winter, or in the spring to remove material accumulated over the winter from leaves blowing into the pond, accumulated fish waste or catkins and similar materials shed by trees as they leaf out. Cleaning in t...

To ensure that your garden crops make the most of the rich, organic soil you create, you need to understand your soil’s pH. The pH describes the relative acidity or alkalinity of your soil’s makeup, and it has important implications for plant health and growth. Soil pH impacts beneficial fungi and bacteria in the soil and influences whether essential minerals are available for uptake by plant roots. What Is Soil pH? A solution’s pH is a numerical rating of its acidity or alkalinity. All pH is measured on a logarithmic scale from zero (most acidic) to 14 (most alkaline, or basic); 7.0 is neutral. The pH scale is used by chemists to measure the concentration of reactive hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution. Most food crops prefer a pH of 6.0 to 6.5, but you can have a productive food garden as long as your pH is about 5.5 to 7.5 (see chart in slideshow). A difference of just 0.5 may not seem like much, but the pH scale is logarithmic, which means, for example, a pH of 7.0 is actually ...

Regular routine maintenance is an important part of caring for your lawnmower you will improve your lawn mower's performance and extend its life. However, there's no need for you to go to a mechanic every time your lawnmower rumbles strangely. Learn how to fix it yourself! All you should need are some basic tools and some elbow grease. 1-Prior to starting, do a close visual inspection, cleaning out any debris, then: Tighten or replace any loose nuts / bolts. Sand, prime and paint rusted structural parts. Replace or coat any bare or frayed wiring connections. 2-Remove the spark plug lead from the spark plug and move it away from cylinder head. Always do this before attempting any repairs to a lawnmower that require turning the engine. 3-Position your mower. Tip it with care. There is no one rule fits all for tipping two or four stroke engines. It is best not to tip, but if you do you should remove the air filter so that it does not become saturated with oil or gas an...

The first and most important thing a healthy garden needs is strong, nutritious soil to grow in. To grow your superfoods, you'll need to properly maintain your soil so that it will provide you with excellent, tasty, organic produce for years to come. The first rule of good soil maintenance is to never leave it bare. The only time you should be able to see dirt exposed to the elements is when you've planted seeds in it. Your soil should always be growing something or covered to protect it from the elements. Winter time cover crops such as clover, alfalfa, or whatever is common in your area can be grown in the late fall, overwintered, and then turned under to act as a top-layer mulch. Compost and manure are basically the same thing. Compost is plant and organic material that's been allowed to rot and break down, producing nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Manure is much the same, having been processed through the bowels of a plant-eating animal such as a cow...

Common Names: Indian shot, Queensland arrowroot Family: Cannaceae (canna Family) Description Like the popular hybrid cannas referred to as Canna x generalis, Canna indica or Indian shot is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial with large leaves and showy flowers, although the flowers are smaller than those of the fancy hybrids. Leaves are dark green, often with bronze highlights. They are oblong-lance shaped, up to 20 in (50 cm) long and 8 in (20 cm) wide. The asymmetric flowers, around 2-3 in (5-8 cm) across, have three petals that are bright red with orange lips or spots. Plants can get 4-7 ft (120-210 cm) tall, but are usually smaller. ‘Purpurea’ has purplish leaves and smaller, bright red flowers. Location Canna indica is native to tropical and subtropical Central and South America. It is grown in Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe and the West Indies and has become naturalized in many parts of the world with suitable climate. Indian shot can be found growing along road shoulders...

This happens to be the most often asked question or concern regarding the maintenance of interlock. Contrary to what many believe, the weeds or grass growing up through the joints are actually sprouting from the sand joints and not the base of the brick. Therefore we do not recommend placing fabric or plastic sheets under the interlock brick. To control or eliminate the unwanted growth a simple maintenance routine is required. Pulling the weed out near the base before it strongly roots is the most recommended method of removal. Make sure you get all the root stock out or a new growth can sprout from the partial root. Maintaining clean, weed free garden beds, and keeping the sand level to the top of the brick is very important. For more advanced or stubborn growth you may have to chemically control the weeds. During routine grass edge trimming you can trim the weeds down to the level of the interlock and then proceed with spraying a chemical herbicide such as Round-up. By trimming th...

Common Names: Natal plum Family: Apocynaceae (dogbane Family) Description Natal plum is a dense, closely branched spiny evergreen shrub or small tree up to 20 ft (6.1 m) in height. Most of the cultivated forms are much smaller, though. The dark glossy green leaves are ovate, 1-3 in (2.5-7.6 cm) long, thick and leathery, and arranged in opposing pairs. Forked spines, about 1-2 in (2.5-5.1 cm) long, arm the branches and the ends of the twigs. Broken twigs exude a white milky sap. Natal plum produces an abundance of white starlike flowers with five thick and waxy petals. The flowers are about 2 in (5.1 cm) across and sweetly fragrant, like orange blossoms, especially at night. The edible fruit is a pretty plum shaped red berry abut 2 in (5.1 cm) long which tastes like sweet cranberries. Natal plum blooms almost all year long and most of the time both flowers and fruit are present. 'Bonsai' grows in a compact mound only 2 ft (0.6 m) tall. 'Prostrata' and 'Horizo...

A vase of fresh flowers cut straight from the garden can instantly make a house feel more like a home. So it’s surprisingly that more people don’t try growing their own cut flowers, particularly when you consider the benefits to your purse. There are plenty of cut flowers that you can grow at home, but if you need some inspiration take a look at our top 10 favorites. You don’t need to be a florist to get the best from your cut flowers either. There are lots of handy tips that you can employ to make your blooms last longer in the vase. Here are a just a few to get you started. Keep your cut flowers looking good for longer. • Cut flower stems at an angle to prevent the stem resting on the bottom of the vase and sealing itself over. Angular cuts also great a larger surface area for water uptake. • Strip any foliage from stems that would sit below water level in a vase as these will simply decay, becoming slimy and smelly. • Always use a thoroughly clean vase as bacteria can su...