Gardening Help

Like any major upgrade, an outdoor kitchen could be a simple affair that costs a couple grand or it could easily run into six figures. When deciding how much to invest in an outdoor kitchen, consider how you will use the space and how often it will be used, and how long you plan to live at your current location. Each of these factors will help determine the size and scope of your project. Here are some of the more specific factors to consider when budgeting for a new outdoor kitchen.

Landscaping

You aren’t likely to make or eat many meals in the middle of a weed field. Yo

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What day is it? Saturday, Right….it’s been that kind of week, which I hope excuses and slightly explains my absence since Wednesday. I won’t go into all the details, but I want to at least share with you the loveliness of the lunch I had on Thursday. (I got to meet Michelle Obama!!!).

When you meet someone like the first lady you don’t get to take your own pictures of your meeting — (I only got to take these with my camera phone of her speech during lunch) — only the white house official camera guy gets to take a picture, but supposedly they will be sending me a copy (which I can’t wait to share!!). I have to say

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Fruit trees that bear every other year are called biennial bearers. Not all fruit trees do that. One year the crop is very heavy, requiring most of the trees energy.  Consequently, few new fruit buds are formed the next year and the tree has little bloom and thus limited or no crop is produced.  This problem is most often seen in apples, but it can appear in other fruits also.  To assist in controlling biennial fruiting, try annual pruning to control the number of buds and blossoms. Removing excess fruit from the tree soon after bloom is also helpful.

Did you do your spring cleaning this year? While many of us don’t do a formal seasonal swap over of our clothes, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good idea to clean out the closet on a periodic basis. Here are thirteen reasons why cleaning your closet today is a good idea for your self-esteem, your wallet and your time management.

1. It improves your clothes. Clothes last longer and smell fresher if they are hung properly and not smooshed together.

2. Removing everything that doesn’t fit means that what’s left is always available to you and does, in fact, make you feel better.  Getting rid of, or altering, ill-fitting garments is a boost to the self-esteem. If you’re st

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I love finding things destined for the trash or recycling bin and turning them into something useful for my garden. Today, I’m looking at different ways to use different sizes of tin cans as planters.

Ideas for Using Cans as Planters

• One of the simplest, prettiest ideas I’ve seen for growing on a wall or fence is to use large cans (such as those that hold ground coffee or cans that many restaurants use. These usually contain tomato sauce or vegetables.) I came across the idea first in Gayla Trail’s fabulous book, You Grow Girl! and was happy to track the project’s inventor down online, where she offers instructions for how to make your own hanging can garden.
• Another great idea is to use standard size cans, such as those that soups and canned vegetables come in, as herb planters.

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