It's really no secret that not everyone has a green thumb. Some people couldn't grow mold if their basement flooded. Gardening is really an acquired skill and not something you luck into. So if you want to grow a garden but just don't have the confidence or skill-set, use the tips provided below to beef up on your organic gardening.
If you are having a problem with aphids in your garden, spray your plants leaves with a very diluted mixture of soap and water. Then rinse with clear water. You may have to reapply the mixture every few weeks. Make sure that you use dish soap and not dish detergent. Detergent is too strong and will cause damage to the plant.
When you are planting in the shade, use colors that will best stand out in the lighting. Some plants look great in bright sunlight. Other plants will look fantastic in shady areas. Choose purples, blues, and greens for shade. Plant these cool colors behind warmer colored plants in your garden.
Plants that thrive in mulch and acid-based fertilizers benefit from a think layer of pine needles. This is a great thing to do in the fall, as it also adds insulation from cold weather, and as the layer of pine needles decompose they will saturate the soil with their acid.
Although there are many organic weed killers available on the market, it is often best and a real money saver to pull weeds by hand. If you keep up with it regularly, you can easily pull weeds before their roots are established. Wear gloves and be sure to pull out both the foliage and roots.
Developing a skill-set in gardening does not mean you have to possess an aptitude for agriculture, in general. As long as you can follow some fairly basic directions, you should have no trouble, whatsoever, planting and growing a successful garden that is 100% organic. So here's to your success!
Monday, March 25, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
Creating A Totally New Beginning At Home
Your home can be one of the greatest determining factors in your daily attitude. Most individuals spend about 95% of their time in their house or place of employment. Making the most of your surroundings when you are at home will do wonders towards calming your personal mental beast and this, in turn, will only add positive enhancement to your life. This article will provide you with some stepping stones that can take you on the road toward making your space your own.
Any repairs or maintenance that need to be done on the home should be attended to as soon as possible. This is so these flaws are not a constant irritant to you and retract the home comfort feelings that you enjoy. Though small, these flaws will be constantly on your mind until you take the time to fix them. Feeling comfortable comes first. Comfort is often defined by the little things in your home. Make sure that you have comfortable furniture and storage space that fits your physical needs.
Sometimes, just getting reorganized doesn't do enough. No matter how you move your stuff around, you may seem to find that you still do not have enough room. This is a situation in which opening the area to more space would be desirable. If you can only add on a little, it will still give you valuable extra space.
Adding a hot tub or jacuzzi, or even a pool, can increase equity in your home as well as provide hours of enjoyment. But there are other, smaller improvements that are less expensive, yet still very enjoyable, like a home gym or a basketball hoop. These recreational spaces give you more enjoyment now and will eventually provide a monetary return at sale time.
Lighting is really important. Be sure to make changes in your lighting scheme as this can help with vision issues, and will add a new design aesthetic to any room. Try to add new light fixtures as a way of instantly changing the look of your home.
Test your green thumb by transforming your yard into a peaceful, green area that is filled with flowers and attractive landscaping. If you can't do it yourself, think about a professional. Nature is a wonderful relaxation tool so surrounding yourself with this at home will continue to add to your serenity. Plants are great for a variety of reasons.
You can fix up a dingy-looking quickly and without much hassle. You can make your home look nicer by painting it, adding new windows and new doors, and fixing your roof.
You should have a comfy home since you spend so much of your time there. Fixing up your home increases its value, but more importantly, it makes you feel better.
Any repairs or maintenance that need to be done on the home should be attended to as soon as possible. This is so these flaws are not a constant irritant to you and retract the home comfort feelings that you enjoy. Though small, these flaws will be constantly on your mind until you take the time to fix them. Feeling comfortable comes first. Comfort is often defined by the little things in your home. Make sure that you have comfortable furniture and storage space that fits your physical needs.
Sometimes, just getting reorganized doesn't do enough. No matter how you move your stuff around, you may seem to find that you still do not have enough room. This is a situation in which opening the area to more space would be desirable. If you can only add on a little, it will still give you valuable extra space.
Adding a hot tub or jacuzzi, or even a pool, can increase equity in your home as well as provide hours of enjoyment. But there are other, smaller improvements that are less expensive, yet still very enjoyable, like a home gym or a basketball hoop. These recreational spaces give you more enjoyment now and will eventually provide a monetary return at sale time.
Lighting is really important. Be sure to make changes in your lighting scheme as this can help with vision issues, and will add a new design aesthetic to any room. Try to add new light fixtures as a way of instantly changing the look of your home.
Test your green thumb by transforming your yard into a peaceful, green area that is filled with flowers and attractive landscaping. If you can't do it yourself, think about a professional. Nature is a wonderful relaxation tool so surrounding yourself with this at home will continue to add to your serenity. Plants are great for a variety of reasons.
You can fix up a dingy-looking quickly and without much hassle. You can make your home look nicer by painting it, adding new windows and new doors, and fixing your roof.
You should have a comfy home since you spend so much of your time there. Fixing up your home increases its value, but more importantly, it makes you feel better.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Become An Expert At Organic Gardening With These Tips!
Have you always wanted a beautiful bed of roses but just aren't quite sure how to make them grow? If so, you may be in need of some great organic gardening tips. Whether you're trying to grow flowers or rows of onions, these tips can help you get started with an all-natural organic garden today.
One way to improve the output of your organic garden is to prune the non-fruiting branches of your plants. Once the growing season is well underway and you can see where your fruits and vegetables are growing, eliminate stems and branches that are not carrying any fruit. This helps your plants focus their efforts on the fruit-bearing branches.
When maintaining an organic garden, be sure to always wind up your hoses. Dragging and storing a hose that is not wound up can take a lot of time away from you. Try using stationary or portable hose reels to wind up your hoses and to save you some time.
You've decided to start an organic garden. First, you want to have a soil sample done. It is not only a matter of what you are going to put into the soil. You need to know what has been deposited there in the past. Generally, it takes several years for past chemicals and pesticides to be cleared out of the soil. Only then does your garden become truly "organic."
Before you begin planting in your garden, it's a good idea to test your soil's acidity first. Home testing kits are readily available. Your soil should have a pH around 6.5 for most vegetables. If the pH is too low, you can boost it by spreading lime. If it's too high, you can use powdered sulfur.
The great thing about these tips is that they deal with organic gardening in general. So it doesn't matter if you're planning on growing fruits, vegetables, trees, bushes or flowers, the tips in the above article will help you get started. Your thumb won't turn green overnight, but you will begin to learn how to go organic.
One way to improve the output of your organic garden is to prune the non-fruiting branches of your plants. Once the growing season is well underway and you can see where your fruits and vegetables are growing, eliminate stems and branches that are not carrying any fruit. This helps your plants focus their efforts on the fruit-bearing branches.
When maintaining an organic garden, be sure to always wind up your hoses. Dragging and storing a hose that is not wound up can take a lot of time away from you. Try using stationary or portable hose reels to wind up your hoses and to save you some time.
You've decided to start an organic garden. First, you want to have a soil sample done. It is not only a matter of what you are going to put into the soil. You need to know what has been deposited there in the past. Generally, it takes several years for past chemicals and pesticides to be cleared out of the soil. Only then does your garden become truly "organic."
Before you begin planting in your garden, it's a good idea to test your soil's acidity first. Home testing kits are readily available. Your soil should have a pH around 6.5 for most vegetables. If the pH is too low, you can boost it by spreading lime. If it's too high, you can use powdered sulfur.
The great thing about these tips is that they deal with organic gardening in general. So it doesn't matter if you're planning on growing fruits, vegetables, trees, bushes or flowers, the tips in the above article will help you get started. Your thumb won't turn green overnight, but you will begin to learn how to go organic.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Going Green Does Not Necessarily Mean CFLs
There is a common misconception about going green with your light bulbs. Many assume that tto go green with your light bulbs means simply getting rid of your old incandescent light bulbs and replacing them with CFLs. While this is a good step to get you going, and is a basic of the overall movement, going green encompasses so much more than just that.
Lights By H.H. is a company that is devoted to getting companies and individuals in on the green movement, and reduce their overall energy used -- in-turn lowering carbon footprints. While this can be done with CFLs, one must look at the big picture of a lighting situation. Full spectrum light bulbs can sometimes be a better replacement than CFLs, especially if you are lighting a large space. You have to consider that CFLs do take less energy to power, but also put out a more conservative amount of light. So, if you have a grocery store, or large warehouse, replacing them with CFLs would be ridiculous and would end up needing more energy or more bulbs to make a safely lit environment.
Additionally, high bay lighting that has been optimized for the correct light level can reduce the need for lightbulbs. In this case as well, CFLs are not a "green" option. The idea is to plan your lighting scenario carefully and let the experts at Lights By H.H. assist in making your business greener, while still keeping it safely lit.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Cesspools Vs. Septic Tanks
What is cesspool plumbing? A cesspool is one of the most basic forms of plumbing. It usually involves hooking all of your plumbing in a building or a house to flow through one outbound tube, where the wastes collect in a "pool." Whereas 400 years ago, these pools were actually just a puddle of filth, more modern Long Island cesspools are made from concrete blocks. What makes these cesspools so dangerous, is that the waste is simply held there in its toxic state, where it waits for cesspool pumping, where professionals can take the waste away. In the time it is sitting there, the waste poses a danger to anyone nearby, to the ground soil and groundwater, and always carries the possibility of a cesspool emergency or full cesspool collapse.
Whereas a traditional cesspool sits in its raw state, a septic tank system pumps purifies itself through chemicals and a self-imposed septic tank pumping process. These types of wastewater systems are much more safe for the environment, and many residents of Long Island are making the transition from cesspool to Septic. For those that still have cesspool systems attached to their homes, you need to be made aware of the dangers.
Not only are these cesspools dangerous to the environment, but they can also collapse, causing a sinkhole that can be powerful enough to swallow a person or a small car. This is why it is so necessary to realize the dangers, and to maintain and repair any existing cesspool carefully through a professional.
Going Green With Furniture
Personally, I am always trying to find and dream-up new ideas for "green" ideas. I just love searching-out and trying these innovative ideas for lessening our carbon footprint and putting us back into harmony with nature.
Recently, a friend and I were talking about where our biggest wastes were -- in terms of natural resources. As it turns out, cheap furniture is one of the biggest wastes in the retail industry. This article really made me open my eyes, and see that -- even though I consider myself a naturalist, and try to reduce waste in every corner of my life -- I too have been wasting resources by throwing out old furniture and replacing it with another cheap replacement.
Read the entire article here, or on the Fremont Furniture Co. blog online.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Give to a Good Cause, Before Tax Season
Photo Courtesy of Nature's Vision Fundraising
Tax season is creeping up on us quite quickly now. How are your finances looking? Are you wishing you could have had more deductions and/or write-offs this year? Well there is still time for you to do a good deed, and get some money back from the government as well.
Donations are a great way to ease the burden of your taxes from year to year. There are plenty of incentives and benefits from making monetary donations to the various green fundraising and non-profit organizations; the trick is that you need to know what your limits are, how they will effect your end of the year taxes, and which charity, fund, effort, or organization you would like to donate to.
The most important thing to do before you donate, is to speak with your tax professional or CPA and find out what your donation limit is -- there is only so much you can donate in a single tax year without incurring taxes. Your limit depends on several factors including, salary, dependents, tax brackets, and other factors that change from person to person, and circumstance to circumstance.
Once you know your limits and how a donation value will effect your end of year taxes, you need to select an organization to donate to. This is completely up to your tastes, standards, hobbies, or your opinions. The only requirement is that the charity must fall under the rules and requirements set forth against any organization that wishes to be designated as a not for profit charity. This is where coordinating with your tax professional can come most in handy.
To learn more about non-taxable donations, green fundraising efforts, or other benefits you can attain through donations, visit Nature's Vision Fundraising at:
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