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Since GardenDirect.co.uk was opened online around nineteen ninety six it has with momentum become one of the new greatest mail order stockists of tools for your garden. For the company’s twelve years which Garden Direct have been doing business Garden Direct now have two million customers that have been pulled in with honest convenience, the greatest prices, brilliant value for money with year after year high quality garden plants, tools etc. www.gardendirect.co.uk’s supply is so wide ranging; the business can be found constantly prized in their quaint shrub sorts which can be found continually introduced to the recent range, and it furthermore includes gardening sheds with add-ons that help customers to grab the very best for their garden. The business sell beyond 130 million top quality plants every year, the massive majority farmed from www.gardendirect.co.uk’s own nurseries, all this allows people to be calm about your acquisition & be sure that what one have ordered are of the very best standard.

The online store also provide the choice of a catalogue aimed at you to inspect through & buy from in your own time. GardenDirect.co.uk have a superb group from old favourites to tonnes of unusual varieties people might well not purchase found in the greater part of garden stores; the catalogue can furthermore include a variety of seasonal deals also. www.GardenDirect.co.uk provide different options of flowers that people will often buy within www.gardendirect.co.uk’s website. Folk might well either go for a plug, ready or super seeding. All of which are entirely variant, plug plants, sold at 4-6cm high in a plug of compost all of these can be found the best superb value for money, you then have the bigger set plants that are distributed at at 6-8cm tall and being further mature will often be planted direct into one’s garden, lastly you have super flowers these are idyllic for those who have less time to spare, distributed at 9-11cm tall they additionally might be directly planted into your well kept garden.

Along with flower plants the online shop stock the established gardening products that one can buy; these consist of garden tools, gardening sheds & garden shears along with countless others. Should one be looking to buy garden tools, they can order them online at Garden Direct, without the hassle of having to go to a garden centre.

1. No Perch

Tree holes in the wild have no perches, so the birds that use nest boxes do not need them. They can be a disadvantage in that they may attract House Sparrows, an invasive species that often takes over nests from our native hole-nesting birds.

2. Diameter Of Entrance Hole

Most of our common hole-nesting birds can use an entrance hole 1-1/2 inches in diameter. This size also keeps out Starlings, another invasive species that takes over nest boxes from native species.

3. Inside Flooring Dimensions

The inside dimensions of the box are important and should be at least 4 inches by 4 inches so that there is room for the young to develop.

4. Overall Height Of House

The distance from the bottom of the entrance hole to the floor of the box should be at least 5 inches. This keeps the developing young well down in the box and away from predators that might approach the entrance hole.

5. Easy Access For Cleaning

You must be able to open the box, either on the side, front, or top. This helps in two ways: to monitor the progress and health of the young; and to clean out the box at the end of the season.

6. Ventilation

There must be holes or slits at the top of the box sides or along the top of the front of the box to let hot air out when the sun beats down on the box in summer.

7. Drain Holes

The bottom of the box needs to have holes or cut off corners to allow any water to drain out of the box.

8. Mounting

Check to see if there is some way that you can attach the box to a pole, such as holes or a bracket.

9. Wood Material Of Choice

Be sure that the materials the box is made of are 3/4 inch thick wood or a similar material that will insulate the birds from cold and heat. The only exception to wood is Purple Martin Housing — many are made out of Metal.

10. Roof Overhang

The roof should overhang the entrance hole by 1 to 2 inches. This both shades the entrance hole and keeps the rain out.

Courtesy:
Cedar Creek Woodshop

Come Visit Cedar Creek Woodshop For All Your Bird House Needs!!

Is there a gardener you need to buy a gift for? Christmas is as great a reason as you can get to buy gifts for that special gardener. You don’t have to look far to find great gifts for gardeners. Every year there seem to be new gadgets coming out and several on-line websites have wonderful gardening gifts. A couple of them are www.gardenscape.on.ca/ and www.behnkes.com. Both sites have an abundance of unique gifts for the gardener. Local hardware or home improvement stores will also have a good line of gifts for that special gardener in your life.

Practical gifts such as a shovel or trowel, garden hoses or other digging and planting tools are most always welcomed but then there are also the whimsical items to add that extra special touch to a garden.

A basket full of goodies for the gardener is also a great gift idea. Buy one already made or personalize one by adding your own special touches. A basket with the essentials is a good choice. It could include gloves, poison oak/ivy medication, fertilizer, twister ties, rain gauge, and disposable towels etc. You could include an Old Farmers Almanac if your favorite gardener would appreciate such “old school” methods for finding the best time to plant their vegetables and flowers.

Gardening books may need to be on your shopping list. Gardening books can be found anywhere and found on an endless variety of topics. Choose among specialty garden books, such as vegetable gardens, wild flower gardens, or formal gardens. Maybe a book on the subject of perennials and annuals, which flowers are best suited for your climate? How about buying plants that are best suited for your soil type? The local bookstore will have a whole section devoted to gardening books, it’s big business.

Perhaps your gardener wants to attract butterflies or hummingbirds? Or maybe they will after reading a book you gave them for Christmas about the appropriate types of flowers to plant to draw them to the garden. You can also will different hummingbird feeders that will keep these beautiful birds coming back again and again.

Garden stones are another popular gift for gardeners. Garden stones can be unusual shapes, colorful, humorous and can be personalized. You can even get kits to make garden stones with a child’s hand print and their name added to it, a wonderful way to span the generations and bring the little ones into the gardening world. What a wonderful memories that would make for the child and the gardener. Round garden stones can be bought and painted with the family name to make an extra special gift for a garden lover. You can put the year the marriage was established or maybe the year that the garden was started. Your personalization can make even an ordinary gift something very special, a real tribute.

On the more practical side, there are countless gifts to choose from such as special boxes to store your garden hoses and hose carts. Fertilizer sprinklers and water sprinklers are also good gifts. A really cute water sprinkler I found was in the shape of a John Deere Tractor.

A popular item for gardens is the gazing ball, to be honest I just don’t get the attraction but many do. They’re found in all sizes and colors and add a fanciful touch to the garden. Holders for the gazing balls come in many shapes, sizes and materials. A favorite of many is a little angel holding a small gazing ball. Perhaps I need to “gaze” into one for a while and learn the attraction.

Wind spinners and flags are also popular for the gardener. Spinners are available in a variety of colors such as the rainbow spinner and a patriotic, red, white, and blue spinner. Flags can be changed throughout the year changing with the seasons. I was surprised to learn of the many varieties of garden flags. Their growing popularity is due to the ability to give the garden a different look by changing them frequently, with the seasons, the crops, or the weather.

Have a taste for the exotic? You can find exotic plants such as the amaryllis exotica, or unusual items such as the shitake mushroom log. How about an Italian herb garden or a ginkgo tree growing kit? You may be surprised to learn of all that is available.

Animal or angel statues of any size make great gifts. Birdbaths are another added attraction to a garden that never goes out of style. I guess because birds can add so much to a garden and can also help control insects. But whatever you decide on know the greatest gift is the thought you put into it. There are gifts out there for every gardener, it’s a growing world and you can never go wrong as long as your heart is in your gift.

D Dean Hall is a writer with many interests. He founded www.4GVN.Com, a free article submission site for authors of religious and inspirational material, publishers and others can use this free service to help spread the word. See how article submission sites can help you reach a worldwide audience with your inspirational writings.

• Pool pH & Pool Alkalinity

  The pH and Alkalinity levels of swimming pool water affect many areas of the swimming pool and must be kept at the correct levels if you expect to successfully maintain your swimming pool. The Alkalinity of pool water acts as a buffer for the pH, and helps prevent the pool pH level from fluctuating. The Alkalinity should be maintained at 80 - 120 ppm. The pH is the measure of the acidity of the swimming pool water, and the pH level should be maintained at 7.2 - 7.6 ppm. The pH of pool water is somewhat sensitive, but easily controlled if the Alkalinity is kept in range. All basic pool test kits should read the pH and Alkalinity level of pool water, and these levels are easily adjusted with common water balancing pool chemicals. If the pool pH level is not kept in range pool water may irritate the skin and eyes of swimmers, corrode the pool surface and inside of the pool equipment and make it very hard to maintain the chlorine level of the swimming pool.

• Pool Chlorine Stabilizer

  The chemical name of pool “Stabilizer” is Cyanuric Acid and it is referred to by either title. The Stabilizer level of swimming pool water must be maintained at 30-50 ppm. The Stabilizer level is important, but is typically only tested at the beginning of the swimming season when a pool is opened. The Stabilizer in swimming pool water partially surrounds the chlorine on a molecular level, to protect the chlorine and prevent the chlorine from being quickly burned off and used up by the sun.

  The symptoms of having too much Stabilizer or too little stabilizer in your pool water are very similar, and if you experience problems maintaining a chlorine level when all other chemical levels are properly balanced the stabilizer level should be tested. If the Stabilizer level tests lower than 30 ppm it will be difficult to maintain a chlorine level, because any chlorine added to your swimming pool will quickly evaporate and burn off in direct sunlight. If the Stabilizer level tests above 50 ppm it will also be difficult to maintain a chlorine level. Rather than partially surrounding the chlorine in your pool water to protect the chlorine, too much stabilizer will completely surround the chlorine making it inactive. In this state the chlorine is unable to combine with bacteria and harmful contaminants to sanitize your swimming pool.

  Stabilizer can be added to a swimming pool if necessary to raise the level, however once Stabilizer is present in pool water it cannot be easily removed. To reduce the amount of Stabilizer in a swimming pool the water must be diluted by partially draining the pool and re-filling with fresh water. 25% of the pool water should be drained and replaced with fresh water. The pool should be circulated for 12-24 hours, and the Stabilizer level should be tested again. This process should be repeated until the Stabilizer level is within range.

  The chlorine tablets and granular chlorine used to sanitize a swimming pool on a daily basis is a pre-stabilized form of chlorine. This means that the chlorine contains a small amount of stabilizer, and as chlorine is added to the pool a very small amount of Stabilizer is also added to help maintain the level. This small amount of Stabilizer constantly added with pool chlorine does not cause a problem in outdoor swimming pools because water is splashed out or evaporates, and gets replaced with fresh water to dilute the Stabilizer. This pre-stabilized form of chlorine cannot be used in indoor swimming pools, because much less water evaporation occurs and the stabilizer level will slowly buildup. Indoor swimming pool owners need to use an un-stabilized form of chlorine.

• Calcium Hardness

  The calcium hardness of swimming pool water refers to the amount of the mineral calcium present in the pool water. The calcium hardness should be maintained at 80-150 ppm in a pool with a vinyl liner, or 150-200 ppm in a concrete or plaster finish pool. Low levels of calcium hardness can lead to corrosive water conditions, which may damage the pool surface, pool equipment and pool plumbing. If the water in a plaster or masonry finish pool becomes corrosive, the water will absorb calcium from the pool walls and floor by eating away at the pool surface until the hardness level nears 150 ppm. The calcium hardness level can be easily raised using a Calcium Hardness Increaser available from most pool supply dealers.

  High levels of calcium hardness may lead to cloudy pool water and “scaling”. Scaling is most visible around the water line of a swimming pool as a white chalky deposit, but also forms inside pool equipment and pool plumbing. A pool Calcium Hardness Reducer chemical is available from most pool supply companies to lower the hardness to the desired range for your pool. You may also partially drain and refill a swimming pool with fresh water, which has a lower concentration of Calcium.

  Calcium is present in the water used to fill the pool and in the pool chemicals used to treat the water. The pool chemical that adds the most calcium to pool water is standard chlorine pool shock. If you find that your calcium hardness level is too high, read the label of the pool shock you’ve been using and you will likely find that the active ingredient is calcium hypochlorite. Each time this pool shock is added to the pool water, calcium is added to the water. To prevent this problem begin using Chlorine-Free Pool Shock on a regular basis, instead of standard chlorine pool shock (Calcium Hypochlorite). The active ingredient in chlorine-free pool shock is Potassium Monopersulfate, which does the same job of oxidizing bacteria and harmful organics but does not contain any calcium. If you choose to switch to chlorine-free shock you should always still keep the standard chlorine pool shock on hand, because it is the only pool chemical capable of killing algae.

  Please visit www.InTheSwim.com for a complete selection of quality pool chemicals and swimming pool supplies.

   

Ok, the title might be a tad bit misleading. I am not
suggesting that you actually garden during the winter but you
should be using this time to plan your upcoming garden.

As you look out at your yard and garden area during the cold
months of winter, let your thoughts run wild and you will be
amazed at what images you can conjure up. You might even want to
try some of your new found ideas this spring!

1. Pour through garden catalogs, flip the pages and fold
down the corner anytime you find something you like. Go back to
it often until you decide what new plants and flowers you would
like to try this spring.

2. Purchase a gardening book or magazine. Look at what
other people are trying in their gardens and see if their ideas
inspire you to try something new.

3. Look out your windows and try to visualize how you
would like your yard and garden to look like. Study the
sun….notice the shady spots.

4. Make a list of what is important to you, in other
words, what do you want from your yard and garden? Do you want
to create a patio area for entertaining, a vegetable garden so
you grow all of your own vegetables, a quiet area for relaxing,
or maybe an area that will attract wildlife. Anything is
possible but it is important to recognize what you want before
you actually start any gardening project. Ultimately, knowing
what you want will save time and money!

5. Take lots of notes and draw any ideas you might come
up with.(even those ideas that wake you up in the middle of the
night!)

6. Of course, visit online nurseries to see what they have to
offer. Many sites offer suggestions and interesting gardening
articles as well.

Before you know it spring will be here, you will have a shovel
in your hand, and you will have a plan! Always Happy
Gardening!

There are no doubts about the benefits of using hydrogen peroxide properly in a hydroponics system. This becomes especially true if your nutrient reservoir is kept above 72 degrees. Warm water holds less dissolved oxygen, and therefore encourages the growth of more viruses, fungi, and anaerobic bacteria. Hydrogen peroxide adds oxygen to you water and cleans the water of pathanogens. Benefits include healthier root systems, increased nutrient uptake, thicker stems, and bigger leaves.

One expert claims it should be used on all soil gardens as well as in hydroponics sytems. Knowing as much as I do about beneficial fungus and micro-organisms and the benefits they provide to living plants, I am shy in taking this advice. However, when this first line of defense fails and plants become sick I often resort to using hydrogen peroxide treatments on my soil grown plants.

The chemical formula of hydrogen peroxide is H2O2. You may notice it is simply water with an extra oxygen atom. In fact, as hydrogen peroxide breaks down in a solution the result is oxygen and water. Its application helps deliver oxygen to over watered plant roots and helps to sterilize the growing media by killing harmful anaerobic (not oxygen compatible) bacteria and pathanogens that cause disease. This includes bacterial wilt, pythium fungi, fusarium fungi, and others.

I avoid using the common 3% hydrogen peroxide you normally find at drug stores. This is because such low percentage solutions are unstable, and chemicals are added to the peroxide to keep it from breaking down before it can be used. I did a little research because I did not know what chemicals were used for this, or if the plants uptake these chemicals, or if there was a health risk associated with any of these stabilizing chemicals.

Hydrogen peroxide is usually stabilized with acetanilide. Acetanilide is a synthetic compound that was first used for its fever reduction and pain killing properties in the late Nineteenth Century. For many years it was utilized as an alternative to aspirin to treat various ailments, but large-scale medical use stopped when the toxic side effects of consuming acetanilide became apparent. This was enough to make up my mind to use 35% hydrogen peroxide instead.

Firstly, 35% peroxide is caustic and should be treated with the same caution as a strong acid. 35% strength hydrogen peroxide should be readily available at any quality hydroponics supply shop. The stronger concentrations do not use the added stabilizers.

The recommended dosage is to add 2-3 ml to each gallon of water, however, I use 5 ml per gallon and have never had any problems. At every nutrient change treat your fresh water with hydrogen peroxide. The general idea is to let the hydroponics sytem circulate the hydrogen peroxide solution for about a half hour to let the peroxide work against pathogens and to let the solution stabilize before adding your nutrients.

The beneficial effects of using hydrogen peroxide last about 4 days. There are some gardeners who add a little peroxide to their nutrient reservoirs every 5 days in between nutrient changes. If you decide to do this, stick to the guidelines and always make sure your solution is thoroughly mixed before exposing your plants roots to it. Another option is to top off your nutrient reservoir with peroxide treated water whenever it is low.

The original article with pictures and additional info can be found at
http://www.jasons-indoor-guide-to-organic-and-hydroponics-gardening.com/using-hydrogen-peroxide.html

Hi, my name is Jason, from Jason’s Indoor Guide. I have ten years experience growing indoors, under lights. No less than two of those years I was using hydroponics methods. It is my goal to improve the results of every organic and hydroponics gardener through accurate, easy to understand information. Visit me at http://www.jasons-indoor-guide-to-organic-and-hydroponics-gardening.com/

Splashing Out During Drought

Drought and water restrictions have raised the level of
concern regarding creating water features in home gardens.
Many people are under the mistaken assumption that water
features are a contradiction to water conscious gardening.
While there is truth in the fact that large, cascading
waterfalls and far spraying fountains are not particularly
water efficient. The carefully planned water feature can
save water!

Creating a water feature in your garden can be beneficial
not only to the overall look of your garden but to the
environment! A properly designed, installed & maintained
water feature can not only save water but create a haven for
wildlife already struggling to find water in the drought.

Water Gardening Myths Debunked!

Water features use to much water…

Consider how much water is required to keep plants, lawn or
even pot plants alive. Apart from the initial fill of your
water feature, a properly designed and constructed water
feature will require just the occasional top up. It is a
common belief that water features are connected to water
mains and are constantly using water. A water feature should
always have a pump and a sump or reservoir that recycles the
water.

The bigger the feature the better…

There is no need to create the Trevi Fountain in your
garden; with water a little goes a long way. Often a smaller
feature such as a millstone, patio feature or container
water feature strategically placed is more then enough to
satisfy the desire for the look and sound of water in a
garden.

Designing a water friendly water feature

The first step here is to check with local authorities
before designing your feature. Local council often imposes
regulations that must be heeded. Container gardens are
unlikely to require approval or be regulated by councils.

Things to consider…

1.Placement - it is best to site your feature away from
wind and sun (unless using aquatic plants) to reduce water
evaporation. Also consider the location of underground
utilities eg. Electricity, Phone line, Gas etc.
2.Size - when designing wildlife ponds a larger body of
water is easier to maintain than a smaller one. Container
features containing no wildlife or plants require only
minimum amounts of water and can be kept clean with water
treatments.
3.Containers: Container water features tend to have no
wildlife or plants and therefore only require minimal
amounts of water and can be kept clean with simple water
treatments.
4.Water depth - exposed shallow water heats up and
evaporates quickly. For wildlife ponds (aquatic and plant
life) a minimum depth of 45cm is required.
5.Splash - Splash causes water waste of criminal
proportions. Consider features less likely to cause
splashing eg. Trickling waterfalls rather than Niagara
Falls!
6.Shape - although the overall shape is a matter of taste,
consideration should be given to the vertical aspects of
your feature. Sloping sides (eg. beach effect) produces
shallow, warm water that evaporates quickly. If creating a
wildlife pond rocks can be used as platforms to allow
wildlife access to the water.
7.Fountains / Water Jets - although fountain jets look
great, a bubbler or spout can be just as effective and loses
little or no water from your feature.
8.Creeks and streams - can be wasteful. As the sun heats
rocks and pebbles it warms the water resulting in
evaporation. If you must have a creek, consider locating it
in a shaded part of the garden and making it deep enough to
reduce splash.
9.Council regulations: Don’t forget to check with local
authorities before designing your water feature, as some
councils have regulations that must be headed.

Saving Water

It is imperative that your water feature is constructed
properly and with water conservation in mind. Whether you
feature is a small natural wildlife pond or a designer
contemporary water feature mistakes can be made that will
waste vast amounts of water, even without your knowledge. It
is often wiser and less frustrating to call in the
professionals at this stage to ensure proper construction!

Top Water Saving Tips

1.Plants - if you must site a pond in a full sun position
it would be wise to use aquatic plants that float on the
water surface (such as lilies) to minimize evaporation by
stopping the sun’s heat.
2.Fountains - if you must have a fountain ensure that the
pond/reservoir is large enough to catch the splash. It is
best to avoid fountains that spray in the air altogether.
3.Pumps - use a submersible pond pump appropriate for the
size and desired effect of your feature. Speak with a water
garden specialist to size your pump correctly.
4.Eco Systems - create a balanced eco system in wildlife
ponds with the aid of bio-logical filters etc to keep water
clarity and eliminate the need to empty or partially empty
the pond for cleaning.
5.Pets & Children - everyone loves water and this is
especially true of pets and children. Children and pets love
to play in water features, wasting the water or worse still,
causing leakage.
6.Leaks - proper construction should mean you have a leak
proof water feature. Keep an eye on your water level for
significant drops that indicate leaks that need attending
to.
7.Timers - can save water and energy by running the feature
only at times when you are present.
8.Wind Breaks - hedging or planting can be placed around
your water feature as a wind break. This prevents
unnecessary evaporation. Be careful to choose no-toxic and
non-invasive plants.
9.Still Water - the soothing qualities of still water in a
reflection pond can be just as effective as moving water. If
keeping fish or plants use an oxygenator (air pump) as well
as a pump to keep live giving oxygen in the water.
10.Topping Up - a catchment container for rainwater can be
used to top up your water feature.
11.Pipes and Connections - make sure all pipes and
connections are securely fixed to eliminate dripping pipes
12.Frog Ponds - are not only water efficient but help to
protect declining frog populations. Frog ponds also attract
other wildlife such as lizards, skinks and birds.

Some Great Ideas

oDecorate around your water feature creatively with
interesting objects that need no water at all, such as
rocks, bricks, gravel and deck areas.

oCheck your water feature regularly for crack, leaks and
maintenance problems that may lead to water loss.

oConsider using xeriscape (drought tolerant) plants such as
Liriope around your water feature.

oInstall a pond rather than a bird bath - bird baths
evaporate quickly and need constant re-filling. Ponds are
beneficial to more wildlife than just birds.

oArtificial waterfalls will splash less than rock
waterfalls as they have been manufactured to direct water
flow.

oUse preformed ponds in small ponds to reduce the risk of
liner pierce or concrete cracking.

oRemember, aquatic plants don’t need to be watered!

Add some life and soul to your garden!

Water features, rather than wasting water, generally use
less water than any other part of the garden. A well planned
and managed pond can be a haven for troubled wildlife in
times of drought.

One of the nicest, not-to-be-ignored benefits of water
gardening is purely psychological. Just when everything else
seems dried-out and arid, your water garden can be a quiet
haven of relaxation, your own backyard oasis.

About the Author

Danielle Dickinson is an avid water feature enthusiast. She is a regular contributor to Gardening Magazines. Visit her website http://www.waterfeaturesonline.com.au for more information on Buidling and Maintaining any type of Water Feature as well as a huge range of water gardening products.

Copyright © 2005 Tammy Clayton

The end of Februrary already? My how time does fly! The sun has already become more readily available than in the past few months. Perhaps more cold and clear, but those candle-hours are important to the sleeping natural world; it is their built in clock. You cannot lie to a plant, it knows what time it is. Far more intelligent than one gives them credit for.

As you plan what to add to your garden this winter, I am sure you are paying attention to the light and water requirements all good perennial vendors attatch to each entry in their catalog. This is very important to your success with each plant. But it is possible to mix more drought loving plants with those that require more moisture in the same planting with good results. The secret lies in the substructure of each given plant’s area in the bed.

Drought lovers do like some water, they will reward you with a much more beauty with some weekly water…in a drought bed. But what if you want to put say - lavender and phlox in with lobelia and ligularia? Those water requirements can really hamper one’s creativity! So some knowledge of drainage engineering will give you the ability to try mixing them in the same planting area. Lavender and Phlox like drier conditions. Not that the Phlox will die in a spot where daily overhead watering is recieved. It will survive and grow huge, and flower excessively, but be stricken with fungus that makes the lower leaves yellow, icky looking and then become half defoliated. Ground watering is it’s preferred daily moisturizing treatement. One can place it in a corner the sprinkler doesn’t hit and water that section by hand once or twice a week and it will reward you very nicely indeed. Since Phlox is rather tall, this avenue of placing it in the back corner works out well. It likes the moisture but not on its leaves. Roses fare better this way as well, especialy since one cannot control what the heavens will pour down. Less black spot and such other marring problems will occur, if ground water is used vs. overhead.

Lavender on the other hand loves it hot and dry. It doesn’t mind what heaven pours down IF there is a good drainage structure where the roots are. Too much water retention and it will slowly die. To conteract good soil water retention where one would like to plant the ever so beloved lavender row, a blind drain is required. It is called “blind” because on the surface you do not know that it is different from the rest of the area. In a planting area that is scratched once or twice a month some of the substructure will mix into the top surface and change the color of the topping soil. But once the bed fills no one will see this. (Surface scratching, by the way will put much needed air tunnels to roots, create more water availability to roots, and lessen the amount of weeding one must do, if it is done twice a month.)

The smaller the particle size of soil, the moisture it will retain. Clay having the most minute pieces and sand having the largest. Each person’s garden area will have a totally different soil structure. If you are in hard clay, I would advise that either you excavate 6″ of clay and fill with 7 inches of peat/topsoil 50-50 fill OR raise the bed at least 6 inches above the harsh environment of the clay. Raising it is much less labor than excavating! Not too many things will do nicely in clay. The only way around it is correction. Once you have nice workable soil, with good moisture retention, yet good drainage - you can go about planning what goes where and how to amend each area for certain plants.

To get good drainage, you need to go down at least 4-6 inches, depending on the plants requirements. SHARP drainage is engineered with pea gravel in a 2″ layer, followed by 2″ of coarse sand, topped off with 2″ of your rich garden soil. In times of extreme moisture the worst of it will lay in the gravel bed. The gravel there also holds more heat than the moisture retaining soil, therefore using the warmth to do away with excess water faster. Variegated irises planted with a bed of road gravel 4″ beneath the surface will grow three times more lushly than those in average garden soil - they love that heat! Heat and drought loving plants are much happier in that environment when regular water is recieved. It is the retention that causes decline and not what comes from above. More moderate drainage would be created using 3″ of sand and 3″ of soil on top. Since each plant has different needs, your engineering of drainage will require a bit of working on. But it opens doors to what you can put in a planting as happy bedfellows that no drainage field would never allow you to attempt.

Plants such as Ligularia need loads of moisture. To truly enjoy these types of plants you must keep the soil moist at all times. So to plant these in a happy spot, average garden soil (50/50 peat-topsoil mix) must have good composted humus worked in and layed on top as a mulch. This holds water and coolness where it is needed for the roots to stay wet enough. Another neat trick I have seen that might aid in keeping these hungry types lush would be a water reservoir or two at their bases. Using an inverted 20 oz. pop bottle with the cap on and bottom cut off. Then 3/4 of the way up the bottle poke a small hole every inch. The water in the reservoir only leaks out when the water in the soil is depleated. So it slowly oozes moisture where it is needed. Refilling it would depend on the heat index and the amount of rainfall or irrigation in a given spot. To keep the soil from filling the bottle, a peice of landscape fabric, a hunk of old polyester fabric, or even the foot of an old nylon stocking, rubber banded in place allows moisture in while keeping most of the dirt from washing into your reservoir.

If tulip bulbs are rotting in an area due to heavy spring and fall moisture a more aggressive drain system is needed that will carry the water down and out more quickly. Water runs down hill, so an incline to your drain bed is needed. The more water, the more layers of decreasing size fill is needed and the deeper one must go to drain the area. BEWARE! Sometimes you can over do drainge and even daily watering will not keep things moist enough! If that problem occurs, excavate and change your “recipe” to lessen the sharpness of draining. As with all things, experience is good guidance as to what is enough and what is too much. Heavy water problems can be solved with this system. The bigger the area, the bigger your drain field. Using successive layers of 1-2″ roofing stone, pea gravel, coarse sand and topsoil or garden soil. Some drains go down a whole foot or more. The layered field can also be used with slotted tile pipe in a sock, attatched to solid pipe in some severe situations. A one to two inch decline over many feet can take a “pond” in your lawn or garden out to the woods or curb; to an area that it is no longer a detriment to whatever you are trying to grow in that spot. This same system was used repeatedly over the coarse of decades by my father who specialized in “corrective drainage” while in the landscape contracting field in. We employed it in many planting areas of customers yards with much greater success of what we could grow in any given customer’s yard. (It was also used to correct basement flooding.) This will widen the choices of what you can grow together under “normal” garden conditions quite a bit, no matter what your limitations are at the moment.

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Read more great Gardening articles at:
http://www.LostInTheFlowers.com

About the Author

Raised by a highly respected & successful landscape contractor in the metro Detroit area, Clayton wanted a career in anything but landscaping! Now an award-winning landscape designer, Clayton runs Flowerville Farms, a mail-order nursery in Michigan. Read more at LostInTheFlowers.com.

A snow blower, also known as a snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from an area where it is not wanted, such as a sidewalk, driveway, or any other snow laden path. Modern snow blowers use either electric power or a gasoline or diesel engine to throw snow to another location or into a vehicle to be hauled away. This is in contrast with the action of snow plows, which push snow to the front or side (shovels can be similarly used).

Snow blower can range from the very small, capable of removing only several inches (a few cm) of light snow in a 18 to 20 inch (45 to 50 cm) path, to very large, capable of moving 10 foot (3 m) wide swaths of heavy snow up to 6 feet (2 m) deep. Snow blowers can generally be divided into two classes: single stage and two stage.

Single stage snow blowers

Single stage snow throwers use a single high-speed impeller to both move the snow into the machine and force it out the discharge chute. The impeller is commonly in the form of two or more curved plastic paddles that move snow towards the centerline of the machine where the discharge chute is located. Single stage snow throwers usually are light duty machines. Small electric machines can actually be picked up to chew away deep snow banks a layer at a time.

One exception to the rule are the enormous single stage rotary snow throwers used by railroads to clear tracks in mountainous areas. These rotary snowplows use a single large impeller that can span the entire width of the train and typically discharge to the side.

Two stage snow blower

By comparison, two stage snow blowers have one or more low-speed metal augers that break up the snow and move it into a separate high-speed impeller (sometimes called the fan). The impeller ‘blows’ the snow out the discharge chute with considerable force. All but the lightest-duty snow throwers are typically two-stage machines.

Two stage snow blowers range in power from a few horsepower to very large machines powered by diesel engines of over 1000 horsepower (750 kW). The large machines are used for clearing roadways and airport runways. These are capable of removing large amounts of snow quickly. Some municipalities use larger snowblowers to clear snow from streets after a snowfall, blowing the snow into trucks which haul it away.

Two stage snow blowers for home use are often self-propelled, having either large wheels equipped with tire chains or, in some cases, tracks. These are usually single-purpose snow blowers, though some are detachable front ends that can be replaced with other implements, such as a garden tiller.

When choosing a snow blower one must decide whether the area is large or small or if in fact you’ll be using your snow blower frequently or rarely, depending on the region you live in.

Most home snow blower use today are two stage snow blowers.
And are much more advanced than previous models. So usually price is the most important issue today, when buying a snow blower. The internet is a great way to find snow blower reviews and to compare pricing.
Good luck and stay warm!

Vist my Website on Snow Blowers

Long Time Alaskan Fishing / Hunting Guide

I truly believe for most of us, getting the local programming is as important as getting those ‘big’ TV network for our home entertainment system. When it comes to television networks, local programming is an important issue to be considered. Of course you want those national channels for your primetime TV shows, but local programming is what keeps you stay connected with community in your area.

Since the issue is concerned by most of us, lets do some comparisons between cable TV and satellite TV on this local TV channels selection issue.

In United States, cable TV packages normally have some local programming in their services your area. Typically you will get a few local news stations, or maybe a local supply of NBC or CBS channels based on your area. Large cities like L.A. and N.Y. users will also have an independent local channel that showcases local events and community. Such TV channel is great for local publicizing, events sharing as well as staying connected.

For digital cable providers, time shifting can be used for adjusting your show time. This means that one program will be on at several different times. This is a great feature to ensure you never miss your favorite shows or news.

Sounds great? But it can be greater if you are satellite TV users.

Cable TV packages only provide you basic programming packages with very limited local channels choice. If you go with satellite TV services, you can have much more selections as well as the time shifting advantage with around the same monthly cost (or in fact, it’s even cheaper).

Instead of only having your limited local programming choices on your list, you may get local channels from other cities and towns close by as well. Through this, you can keep up with what’s going on not too far around you. Stay connected, stay updates, and stay alert with all those interesting events as well as incidents happening around your city, and city near by.

View more regarding satellite TV deal at: http://www.satellitetvissue.com

About The Author

Teddy L.Cc., a successful freelance internet webmaster/writer. He is currently running 4 internet major websites including http://www.satellitetvissue.com. Frequent writter on issue regarding electronics goods as well as web hosting.