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Cinder Block Gardening

by Kathy T. Leave a Comment

Growing strawberries, that sweet luscious fruit everyone loves, can have its challenges.  Weeds love taking over strawberry fields, and birds and other animals pluck away at and dine on the fruit.  So how can growing strawberries be made easier?  Try growing them in a cinder block!

You will want to put the cinder blocks so that the plants will get six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day.  According to ehow home, the hours of sunlight do not need to be consecutive, but aim for at least six hours of total sun exposure.

Fill the holes in the concrete blocks 3/4 of the way full with the soil mixture. Plant one or two strawberry plants in each concrete block. Position the seedlings so the crown –the part of the plant where the roots meet the stem — rests just at soil level and all roots are covered with soil. Fill in around the roots with fresh soil and firm them down with your hands to secure the plants.

Early spring is when you start planting strawberries, so get ready!

By the way, did you know strawberries are the only fruit with the seeds on the outside?

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Get Rid of Ants

by Kathy T. Leave a Comment

Hopefully ants are hibernating about now during cold weather in most of the U.S., but when they do come out they can be a real pain.  If you have had ant problems in the past and need to get rid of them, here’s a quick and easy tip from Pinterest:

Mix two tablespoons of borax with jam, jelly, honey or syrup until there is a paste. Smear some on some paper or a plate and put it where the ants are at. They should flock to it and eat it and take it back to the nest and it will act as a natural ant killer.

What a great idea!

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Wordless Wednesday: Leaf Stepping Stones

by Kathy T. Leave a Comment

From Pinterest.

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Sand Fleas are Most Unpleasant

by Kathy T. Leave a Comment

A gentleman strolled up the City Hall’s information window today and asked to contact our Parks and Recreation Department. He was seeking help from a specialist on how to get rid of sand fleas. He has a sand box for his toddler daughter, but when he let her play in it she came back covered with flea bites.

How do you get rid of sand fleas?  eHow Health offers a solution,

1.  Remove all of the sand from the sandbox. Shovel or pour it into a strong garbage bag. Take it to the dump. Put it in the back of a truck, if you can, to avoid getting fleas in your vehicle. You may be able to put it at the curb for regular garbage pick-up, if there is a reasonable amount.

2.  Wash your sandbox with a water and vinegar mixture. Mix about half and half in a bucket. Dip a cloth in it, and wash the box vigorously.

You may not want to have to buy all new sand, but it’s worth it.

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Friday Fun Video: Closing the Pool

by Kathy T. Leave a Comment

Swimming season is over and done with for most of the U.S., so if you haven’t already closed your pool because you aren’t sure how OR if you want a pool but don’t know what’s involved, here’s a quick video on how to do it.

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Time to Winter Proof Your Home

by Kathy T. 1 Comment

As the arctic temperatures of winter begin to squeeze most of the United States, it’s time to winter proof your home against higher bills and possible damage from broken pipes.  Where to begin?  The easiest thing to do is work from the outside in.

1.  First unhook your garden hose and insulate your faucets.  The insulators are very affordable, costing between $2 and $5 from local home stores.

2.  If you have a crawl space, close your vents. The cold air blasting through your crawl space could speed up your pipes freezing which could potentially cost a ton of money.

3.  Check to see that your pipes are insulated.

4.  Re-caulk windows to keep the heat in and the cold out.

5.  Make sure you have your chimney checked before building fires.  A chimney sweep is well-worth the money if you want to keep your home safe.

6.  Check your roof and gutters to prevent rain or snow from coming in.

7.  Check your attic and crawl space insulation and replace any where worn out.

For more tips on how to winter proof your home, visit this site.

How to Winter Proof your Home & Beat the Big Freeze

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Friday Fun Video: Outdoor Water Foundtain

by Kathy T. Leave a Comment

This is gorgeous!

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Making Mosaic House Numbers

by Kathy T. Leave a Comment

Oh how we should all love Goodwill!  For very reasonable (or cheap!) prices, you can get would-be supplies to decorate your outdoors.  Some things will take some know-how, but with imagination and ingenuity, you can create all kinds of wonderful art projects! I love the mosaic house numbers shown here in the Mosaic Art Gallery,

I decided that I wanted a nice definite border so I cut up some Orchis Iridium tiles into thirds. I glued the cut up tiles on the wood using my favorite all-purpose adhesive, DAP Kwik Seal. It cleans up with water and dries clear. Just don’t use it for weight bearing projects.

John the artist used tumbled glass to pop the inside colors of the numbers, but was careful to also build a border so it could be easily read. His results are just lovely!

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Topping Off Vent Pipes

by Kathy T. Leave a Comment

There are dozens of ways to save energy in your home during winter months. Most importantly, set the thermostat to 68 degrees and walk away from it. Don’t keep increasing or decreasing the temperature setting and that will help you keep the heating bill under control.  Make sure you seal your windows and doors.  Also close off any rooms you don’t use unless they have plumbing because you don’t want your pipes to freeze.

Home inspector Charles Buell from Seattle, Washington confesses his stove pipe was acting like a chimney when he hadn’t sealed it off properly.

When I pulled off the roof cap and looked down the pipe I was surprised to see—nothing!  No insulation in the pipe.  This pipe had been acting like a chimney since the kitchen was remodeled.   Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!

It is by-passes like this that can amount to higher energy costs and work against the huge amounts of insulation that had been added to the attic space.  It is really no different than leaving the damper open on your fireplace.  The dust in the screen of the old cap is testament to how it has been cleaning the air as I attempted to heat up all outdoors.

Ouch! Interestingly even if you have lived in your home for 10 years, you might consider getting an energy inspection. You never know what might be found!

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Friday Fun Video: Lasagna Planting

by Kathy T. Leave a Comment

I spent last weekend planting bulbs for a flower bed at our city’s public library. Our bulbs will also grow at many times throughout the summer. I can’t wait until spring and summer to see the results of our work!

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