Lawn & Garden

How To – What To Expect From Lawn Care Fertilizer Companies

Every Spring or for that matter throughout the summer and fall you are likely to get a visit from your local lawn care company. Although many full service companies that also cut your grass can perform fertilizing and weed maintenance there are a number of specialty companies that will tell you they can restore your lawn and get rid of your weeds if you sign up for their year long maintenance program.

Although there are …

How To – Painting Wicker Furniture With Spray Paint

Recently a friend was restoring some old wicker furniture and had a problem where the spray paint they were using was not giving the finish they wanted.  Using a glossy spray paint they found that many layers were required to get the gloss and then it would fade before drying completely. If they added enough paint to keep it glossy the paint would build up so thick that it remained sticky for many days.

This …

How To – When Is The Right Time To Start An Apartment Garden?

If you are lucky enough to have some space in your apartment where you can grow a few vegetables or flowers the time to start is in early spring.  Vegetables are normally available in starter packs at your local stores and home centers from March to April and the variety will change as the season progresses.

Since you are starting a garden in your apartment you will need to plan your space and what containers …

How To – Rabbit Fencing For Your Vegetable Garden

If you have rabbits in your area and most suburban and rural areas do have them even if you do not see them all the time then you will need to protect your vegetable garden from these hungry furry monsters.

The interesting part is protecting your garden doesn’t take a lot of work and as you will see a 2 foot high wire fence is enough to keep everyone happy. Rabbits will not normally eat …

How To – Cleaning Black Mold From Whirlpool And Hot Tubs

Most new whirlpool owners forget the fact that along with the added features found in their new tub there is also extended maintenance necessary to keep there tub clean and healthy for using.

There are two different types of Whirlpool tubs. The first is an Air Jet system that does not circulate water through the pump. The second is a water circulation system that provides water jets. Either of these types can be found in …

How To – Fall Garden Composting Improving Your Soil For Spring

At the end of every growing season vegetable gardeners are faced with a large amount of plant material that needs to be removed. All season these plants have been sucking the nutrients out of your soil to grow the tasty vegetables you have been eating and now they can be recycled to improve not only the nutrients but soil quality for next year.

You should begin the collection of your compost throughout the growing season …

How To – Fighting A Bed Bug Infestation

Bed Bugs have been getting a lot of news lately and the rise in the numbers found in Northeastern cities has become a serious problem. Although the bed bug does not normally spread disease it can like many other pests carry diseases that are serious or deadly to humans.

Bed bugs feed on Human or Animal Blood.

Most often you will find bed bugs in natural fiber materials in your home. They like to infest beds …

How To – Drying Herbs

Fresh herbs are great year round but growing healthy herbs during winter months can be difficult if your location does not get enough sun. The easiest way to extend your harvest is to dry your harvested herbs and store them in air tight containers.

The simplest method is to hang the herbs in small bunches in a warm dark place until they dry naturally. This could take a few days to a couple weeks …

How To – Safety and Pesticides in Your Home

Some of the most dangerous chemicals that the average person will come in contact with are used in and around your home. They come in many forms: Powders or Granules, Liquids and Sprays and although government regulations mandate labeling many times the labels go unread by the end users.

Pesticides, Herbicides, Wood Preservatives, Paints, Fertilizers, Fuels, cleaning and other products are all at the top of the list of things you should take …

How To – Harvesting And Drying Basil

Its been a long growing season and if your lucky your Basil plants should be about a foot and a half tall and provided lots of great seasoning all summer long.

If you have a three season room that gets lots of light then you could probably bring your plants indoors if you planted them in containers like we did but you risk the chance of bringing in insects that live in the soil. A …