Students Of Success

An easy, proven way to save you money while providing good
nutrition for your family!

You don’t think you have a green thumb? That’s OK–you don’t
really need one! Just a little knowledge and info to get you
started!!

Those of us who live in rural areas have a decided advantage
over city and apartment dwellers. We can nearly always find room
for a vegetable garden even if it’s a small one!

But even if you don’t have an acre or two of land to play with,
don’t despair! You can still supplement your grocery budget with
fresh veggies grown in a container garden–even if the only
space you have is on your patio!

Tomatoes are about the easiest vegetables to grow. They come in
all sizes: from bite-size cherry tomatoes to great big beefsteak
tomatoes. And tastewise, store-bought tomatoes just can’t
compare to vine-ripened!

The first step to starting a container garden is to locate your
container. You can use almost anything. A half-barrel, the kind
you see for sale at garden centers, works great. You may have
plastic buckets already on hand and these can work, too.

If you use buckets, usually one plant to each bucket is enough.
And keep in mind, one plant can produce a lot of tomatoes!

Just put a layer of rocks in the bottom of your chosen container
for drainage. Then fill with quality potting soil about 2/3
thirds of the way full.

Tomatoes are best grown from seedlings. Most garden centers,
discount stores, and even some grocery stores have these in
stock in the spring.

Remove the plant from the plastic pot it comes in by squeezing
the bottom of the pot to loosen the soil and gently lift it from
the pot. Carefully loosen the roots a little as sometimes they
tend to be a little root-bound in the small pots.

Dig a hole a little bigger than your plant ball and just set
your tomato into the hole right up to the leaves and fill all
around with more potting soil.

Of course, you must water the plants to make them grow! Your
tomato plants will respond well to regular feeding. Apply a
liquid fertilizer once a week.

Once your plants are larger, you may need to stake them;
however, if you are growing the “bush” variety, they won’t need
to be staked.

Once your plants are bearing, you may find yourself with a
surplus. Whole tomatoes can be frozen for use later on in soups
and casseroles. Just wash and put in sealed plastic bags and
place in freezer. When you’re ready to use them, let them thaw
partway so the skin can come off and they’re ready to go in the
soup pot!

If you prefer to freeze your tomatoes already chopped, just dip
each tomato in boiling water for about 10 seconds. Then the peel
will pull right off. Chop the tomato, put in bags and freeze.

Here’s a good vegetable soup recipe for using frozen tomatoes.

Combine 1 1/2 cups frozen chopped tomatoes 1 can new potatoes,
drained and chopped 1 can sliced carrots, drained 1 large can
tomato sauce 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning 1 3/4 cups beef
broth

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes, to let flavors
mingle. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Who would have thought that a small water garden could be anything but safe? However, a couple of measures of precaution can help ensure that your magical water garden stays safe for everyone, including your goldfish! Remember, that if your water garden is deep enough for goldfish or koi, then its more than deep enough to be dangerous for toddlers.

Here are a couple of things to consider:

Depth of Your Pond:

The ponds edges provide you an opportunity to increase safety around the water pond. Put a shelf or ledge around the sides of your pond that is at least 1 foot deep to provide an easier escape for a child that has fallen in. You may also want to consider placing boulders around the side, which will provide some added leverage for the child to pull themselves out.

Watch Your Children:

Just like you wouldnt let your children swim without a lifeguard or adult supervision, never leave young children unattended around your water garden pond. While the fish will provide enough curiosity, remember that same curiosity may tempt them to get too close to the edge to get a closer look, raising the risk of them falling in, hitting their heads on the edge of the pond, or even drown. A child can drown in less than 6inches of water.

Reduce The Slippage Factor

Just like your local pool takes preventative action (such as enforcing a no running rule), you can also take action to ensure pond safety. Consider using a slip resistant material to ensure that smooth edges around your water pond are not a hazzard. You may also want to look at creating railings along walk ways. Ask your local building authority on suggestions on how to lower the risk of someone slipping on the edge of your water garden.

Local Building Codes

During the planning stages of building your water pond, you should have contacted your municipal building authority to ensure that your plans abide by the local building codes. Do you have to build a fence around your water pond (ponds built with a certain depth require fences). How large of an area can your water garden pond be, and what other legal considerations should you make?

Safety is something that normally doesn’t immediately pop into your mind when building a water garden pond, however, it should. Its impossible to ensure that your water garden will be completely safe, however, will that be any consolation for your inaction if something were to happen? Plan ahead and you’ll ensure that your water garden is accessible and a joy for friends and family alike.

We can help you with your water garden ponds supply needs.

Although push lawn mowers are wonderful machines that do a great job in keeping the lawn looking lush and well groomed, sometimes you need something with a bit more power to get the job done.

Ride on mowers can turn an all day chore into an enjoyable job that lasts only a few hours. Instead of pushing your mower back and forth over several acres of lawn, you can sit on your ride on mower and relax as it does all the work. You can choose a rear sweeping model, that pushes long grass away to prevent clogging or you can choose to have the grass bagged so that you can use the clippings in another area of the garden. If you add a mulching kit, you can leave the grass clippings on the lawn to provide valuable nourishment.

These mowers are also useful for many other yard tasks. Hitch a wagon to your ride on mower and haul brush to the refuse pile or drive mulch across the garden so you can spread it more quickly. Since these are available as electric lawn mowers and petrol lawn mowers, you can choose a ride on mower that uses the energy source you prefer.

After you mow the lawn, you will want to tidy the edges and trim around trees and shrubs. Luckily, there are several great tools that can help you get the job done right. Grass strimmers are perfect for getting into tight spaces or cutting back weeds and grass by the fence line. You can choose one of the handheld models that are powered by electric or petrol for this type of job. If you need to do some serious brush cutting, you may want to look at the heavy duty wheeled strimmer model. This strimmer can take on some serious brambles.

Next, tackle overgrown shrubs with electric or petrol powered hedge trimmers. These trimmers can help you tidy hedges in just an hour or so.

To tidy the lawn after you are finished your yard work, you may want to add just a few more pieces of lawn equipment. If you don’t have a bagger on your lawn mower, take a look at leaf blowers and vacuums. These hand held petrol or electric powered tools help you make short work of leaf covered lawns. If you are a serious gardener, you may want to turn your leaves into leaf mold for the garden by using a free standing electric or petrol shredder to shred the leaves.

With the right equipment, you will have a lawn that fills you with pride in no time.

Matthew Anthony writes for garden and home improvement sites such as garden furniture and lawn mowers.

Gardening has a certain amount of rules, but with pruning there are even more rules and it’s this complexity that gets new gardeners running for cover. Most gardening books give you all the rules at once, and, if you are anything like me, you end up with overload and gardening indigestion!

Therefore I plan to divide up the subject of pruning into small bite size pieces, covering the most basic pruning information you will need - and in this way, make it more digestible for you! And the first question is:

What Tools do we Need?

There are three basic pruning tools a beginner gardener needs:

- secateurs - these vary in price, so buy the one you feel you can afford and that feels comfortable in your hands
- loppers - secateurs on long arms, the longer the arms and the heavier the loppers, the more effective they are. Try them out before buying as if they are too heavy, you won’t use them!
- saws - a curved pruning saw is invaluable in cutting small branches or stems too large for secateurs

Whatever you use, an important point to remember is to keep your tools clean and sharp: clean, so that you don’t pass diseases from one plant to another, and sharp, so that you don’t tear and damage the plant you are pruning. Additionally, the sharper you keep your tools, the easier and quicker it is to prune your plants.

Why do we Prune our Plants?

Apart from the human need to be neat and tidy, and to keep our plants a manageable size, there are good reasons for pruning.

- to cut out dead or diseased wood from trees and shrubs
- to cut back branches that have become tangled or crossed over to prevent damage
- and to promote new and strong growth

And now for the big questions: what, when and how to prune?

What Plants need Pruning?

There really are a lot of plants that do not need pruning, but if you have trees, shrubs, roses or clematis, then these are the most likely candidates for pruning on an annual basis. This will be covered in more detail in Part II.

When is the Best Time to Prune?

This is where a lot of gardeners become confused, especially with flowering shrubs. It’s useful to remember the rhyme: “If it flowers before June, do not prune”.

The reason for this is that if you prune a spring-flowering shrub in winter or early spring, you cut off all the flowering stems, which have put on growth during the previous year, so you wait and prune immediately after flowering.

If the plant flowers later in the year - late summer or early autumn - then prune in late winter or early spring as new growth starts, as the plant has the spring and summer to put on the growth needed for flowering.

How do we Prune our Plants?

The one important rule to learn here is that when you cut back a stem or branch, always cut back to just above - about 5mm (a quarter inch) - a leaf joint or bud. This is where the new stem will grow from. If you make the cut too high above the bud, the stem will suffer “die-back” - a self-explanatory term - and apart from looking unsightly, may affect and kill the shoot that you want to grow. Make the cut at a slight slope away from the bud to help prevent rainwater draining into the new growth. If there are a pair of buds, immediately opposite each other on the stem, then just cut straight across.

These are the very basic general principles of pruning, but in the next article I will move on to more specific guidelines for dealing with the more common plants and their pruning needs.

Fran Barnwell is a self-taught gardener, learning through experience in her own garden. Fran understands the difficulties that face new gardeners, and has written The Ultimate Guide to Gardening for Beginners, a successful eBook that helps anyone new to gardening to get started, explaining the basics in easy to understand terms. To find out more and to sign up to receive a free series of articles, go to http://www.NewToGardening.com.

The warmer months of spring and summer are well on their way and the cry of the outdoors is calling. There are many ways to enjoy seating outdoors. No matter the setting, a patio umbrella is a perfect choice and an essential element. A quality patio umbrella improves enjoyment and safety in a patio or beach setting.

Home Patio. For a home patio or outdoor seating area, a patio umbrella is an excellent addition to the overall design of the patio. When a patio umbrella is added to a patio furniture set, such as an aluminum cushion patio furniture set, it creates an intimate ambiance. Most patio furniture tables are equipped with an umbrella hole ready for the addition of a complimentary patio umbrella.

Beach Patio. An umbrella is a necessity for beach goers. Beach umbrellas are designed with beach safety and durability in mind. Beach umbrellas are manufactured with UV repelling fibers in the fabric to protect from the suns rays. Beach umbrellas are also constructed with aerodynamic engineering technology to provide ultimate wind resistance. A quality beach umbrella can resist the strongest of wind gusts that come off the coast. Beach umbrella fabric is also resistant to fading and harsh salt water air. These resistance qualities keep the beach umbrella for ripping or tattering and keep the umbrella looking beautiful.

Patio umbrellas are available for any type of outdoor setting at any level of design. Whether it is casual patio or a luxury resort, there are patio umbrellas and beach umbrellas for any budget. Patio umbrellas can be purchased in either aluminum, fiberglass or wooden components. They can be free standing or be added to an existing patio furniture set. Most patio and beach umbrellas come with replaceable parts so they are easy to maintain with prolonged outdoor use. Umbrella fabrics can always be ordered to coordinate with any decor.

Patio Umbrellas are a beautiful and elegant way to enhance a patio or beach setting. They are also especially practical to protect from any outdoor elements which might otherwise ruin a patio gathering. If you want your guests to enjoy their visit outdoors, a patio umbrella is an accessory that should be included in any patio furniture collection.

This article was written by Dawn Rowlett for EttFlorida.com. PatioStuff is a full service provider of patio furniture,commercial patio furniture and accessories. Visit the site for a full selection of discounted patio umbrellas or beach umbrellas to furnish your patio or beach side setting.

There’s nothing better than relaxing on a hot summer day on the
back yard patio with a few friends while you prepare your
infamous barbeque. What makes the get-together and the taste of
the food oh! so much better is having that perfect set of patio
furniture to relax on and enjoying the slow summertime lazy
days. Lazing around with your friends in the comfort of your
stylish patio furniture while your meal cooks on the grill
couldn’t be better. In the past, recognizing the difference
between indoor and outdoor furnishings was fairly easy. Outdoor
furniture was more rugged and looked as though it belonged
outside, and indoor furniture was easy to recognize as “indoor”
furnishings. Today’s furniture, though, has changed, and some
indoor and outdoor furniture is almost interchangeable from
outdoors to indoors and visa versa. Now you can find outdoor
furniture that resembles some of the finest looking indoor
furniture, from full dining tables and chairs to outdoor sofas
with beautiful cushions. And, if you want, you can extend your
style from indoors to outdoors. There are so many types and
styles of patio furniture to choose from that it’s almost
impossible to not be able to find that “just-right” set to
compliment and show off your back yard. Even if you’re working
with a tight budget, the choices are almost endless, and you can
find a patio set or patio furniture to enhance your style. And
if your concerns are mainly about the usefulness of your patio
furniture, you can decorate your patio at a great savings. There
is such a wide variety of patio furniture utilizing many
different materials, these days. Some of the most common types
of patio furniture you’ll find are Rattan or wicker, Teak,
Aluminum, Plastic, Cedar or pine, and Iron furniture. You can
also frequently find patio furniture made of a combination of
these and other materials, and you can find some very beautiful
and elegant patio furniture sets. Some are made with a
combination of glass or tile with any of these or other
materials. And if your tastes run more on the simple and useful
side, you’ll find an endless number of different styles to
choose from that will fit your budget needs. With so many
choices available there’s no need to settle for less than what
you want. When purchasing patio furniture, remember to find a
set that will suit your needs, not only your style. If you
entertain a lot, you may want to consider buying a bar with bar
seating, and if you’re active and don’t like to lounge around,
then you may not want to spend a lot of money on a lounger. No
matter what your choice is, with the wide variety of options
available, there is something for everyone, and something to fit
almost every style. To help you out, we’ve done some research on
our own and found some great online suppliers of furniture
designed specifically for outdoors. We chose these stores for
their variety, product availability, and reasonable prices. We
feel these suppliers will be the perfect choice to satisfy every
shopper’s needs. So, shop around and be selective. Look for that
“just-right” set of patio furniture that will mean enjoyment for
years to come.

The Sedona, Arizona real estate market is a small market but full of beautiful, luxury houses

Being a first time visitor in Sedona, Arizona is quite a glorious experience as the beautiful sites and mild weather of Sedona can easily make a strong impression on everyone who has never visited Sedona before. In time, many of these visitors will want to settle their primary residence here or maybe they will think to buy a beautiful second home for their families here in Sedona.

Houses are available here for every need and even for the most luxurious tastes. Sedona real estate market is an excellent market for investments; no matter if you invest in a single family home, in a rental or retirement property, or in a commercial area, you will be making a good investment.

If you think of buying a luxury house here in Sedona, Arizona all you have to do is search for a Sedona real estate broker that will show you all he has available on his listing at a certain moment.

If you like a particular house don’t bargain too much as you might loose it as the number of houses available for sale is small. Also, you should know that not the looks of the house will set its price but the land it is sitting on; if a house sits on a beautiful lot with a breathtaking view the price of the house will automatically be higher even if the house is average.

So, before deciding what you want to buy in Sedona, check out any listing on your broker’s portfolio in order to be sure you’re not missing a perfect lot of Sedona land. Even though Sedona real estate market is small it can sometimes hide few beautiful surprises for the investors.

About The Author

John R. Barker

Turn to Real-Estate-in-Sedona.com for the latest information regarding Sedona, Arizona Real Estate.

For years you have dreamed of a quiet place to rest and
meditate. A place that is beautiful and calm, where you hear the
soothing sounds of fish gliding to and fro in the water. You
have finally built the fish pond of your dreams and now you need
a fish pond bridge. When choosing fish pond bridges you will
need to make sure the size is appropriate for the pond. Fish
pond bridges need to be long enough to span the pond but they do
not need to be much longer than the pond. If you built the pond
yourself and plan to build the fish pond bridge also, make sure
you have all the materials you need. There are many places to
find fish pond bridges information and kits. A really good place
to start is online. Check out the sites that feature landscaping
bridges. You will discover that there are all kinds of choices
when it comes to fish pond bridges. There are many styles and
fish pond bridges can be made from cedar, pine or redwood. There
are also fish pond bridges that are made from galvanized
materials. Many fish pond bridges come in kits that even the
beginner will be able to put together. Some of these fish pond
bridges do not require footings or foundations. They can be
bolted together for easy installation. You will be able to find
fish pond bridges in varied price ranges. If you want to pay
less, check out several online sites and compare prices. Take
shipping costs into consideration too, because some companies
offer free shipping. Put a fish pond bridge over your untroubled
waters!

Trees and shrubs can have many different forms, for example many conifers are conical, pyramidal, or powerfully vertical. Some are prostrate and spreading. To some degree these are scented and everyone is familiar with the scent of pine, but it is only if you rub or brush against the tree, which can be a prickly experience! Weeping trees have a very attractive romantic form and scented varieties include weeping Cercidiphyllum (Katsura Tree) Pendulum, which is quite spectacular. It has thrilling color in the fall and is scented like caramel. Also the weeping Silver Lime is an attractive choice for scented gardening. A shrub that looks like a small tree is Buddleja Alternifolia, and it has lovely flowers with the scent of honey in early summer.

Trees can affect the character of a garden and all gardens, however small, should have at least one. They make such a strong outline against the background and the sky. A number of conifers have scented needles, such as juniper and cypresses. Some of them have slender columnar forms which are used in gardening to create a formal or contemporary feel. The more spreading, horizontal conifers like Cedar of Lebanon, (scented of blackcurrant in summer weather), Blue Atlas Cedar or Scots Pine, create a less formal look for a gardening design, but still have a distinct aura of grandeur about them.

Primarily we tend to choose trees and shrubs as gardening subjects because they fit architecturally into a given space. Scent is often the last criterion we would use to select a large feature such as this. Trees and shrubs are such significant gardening features that eventual size and the shade cast may be of more importance than scent. Shade is desirable to some degree, but if trees and shrubs are so big and planted on the southern side of a garden they may cast everything into gloom! Scented blossoms may be considered a bonus in gardening terms once the other considerations have been met.

For low, formal hedging you really can’t beat the neatness of Box. It is not as fast growing as privet. If your idea of gardening is about clipped topiary, Box is ideal for designs such as Box Balls or Pyramids on the simpler level up to Elephant, Peacock and Teddy Bear shapes for the more experienced topiarist. Low box hedging can bring a formal look to your gardening, even if other areas are less so: it can bring the garden “into line” so to speak, by creating straight lines of dense green. Of course you can make a curved hedge from it too. One of its less attractive features is its smell, but that is a matter of personal taste. For me it smells too strongly of cat’s urine! I experience this pungent odour every time I walk by it, but many people learn to live with or even love it simply by associating it with happy summer days pottering around gardening. If you really can’t handle the smell then consider using Lonicera Nitida instead. This shrubby honeysuckle has sweet, fruity cream-colored flowers.

Trees and shrubs can of course be used to make a windbreak screen. In order to create the still, sheltered micro climate in which other scented plants can thrive, this may be essential, depending on the situation of your plot. Trees and shrubs can make better windbreaks than walls, as they don’t offer the wind a “full stop” barrier which the wind can then leap over and cause problems due to eddying on the other side. If your region is reasonably mild for gardening, Eucalyptus can grow very fast to create an instant hedge or tree in a selected spot. They have beautifully minty-scented foliage, flowers with the scent of honey, and are fast growers. They can be hard pruned if you don’t mind a modicum of gardening, especially if you don’t want them to grow so big and if you want to keep the prettier, juvenile blue leaves coming back year on year.

A number of gardening writers seem to ignore trees and shrubs when they write about scented gardening; perhaps small and pretty annuals spring to mind or of course roses. In fact a huge amount of scent can be generated from gardening with trees and shrubs. Trees and shrubs can give such a variety of powerful scents that it is a shame that most of us don’t have the space to use more of them in our gardens. The architectural effect of trees and shrubs is undeniable.

Dianne Davies is a keen gardener who likes to share her knowledge. She runs her own half acre garden in Norfolk as well as websites which include - http://www.gardening-world.com and http://www.gardening-notebook.blogspot.com

My Grandfather was an old school farmer from way back who depended on his crops for his living. He, like farmers then and now, knew that the secret to optimum yield and plant health begins in the soil. If the soil was just right and other conditions were favorable, his yields were higher and he could make a descent living that would get his family through the rest of the year.

My grandfather also knew that the condition and health of the soil directly influenced the plants ability to resist disease and insects. Having to use any type of insecticide on his farm was virtually unheard of. And yet, he had no insect problem.

So the question of what is the secret to healthier and more beautiful plants should really begin with the question of what is the secret to healthy soil.

Many factors will influence the quality and condition of your soil. And at the top of the list is the ph (acidity or alkalinity) of soil. Most folks have heard about soil ph but very few know how important it is and the difference it makes in color, yield, flavor, heath, etc.

If the ph of soil is incorrect, nutrient uptake is limited or restricted altogether. It doesn’t matter how much fertilizer you add, the plants won’t be able to use it efficiently. Iron, for instance, becomes locked into soil that is too alkaline. It won’t matter how much iron you add, the plant won’t be able to pick it up and use it.

If growing is not optimal, plants start to yellow or look sickly, and there is no obvious signs of insects, the first place to start is by testing the soil. In granddads day, folks would actually taste the soil to test the ph. If it was sweet, it was acid. If it was sour, it was alkaline. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to go out to our gardens and eat dirt. Modern test kits are available at garden centers, they’re inexpensive and easy to use.

Most plants prefer a slightly acid to neutral soil. Neutral is a 7 on the scale while slightly acid is a 6 on the scale. And I did say most plants. Some plants do prefer more acid soil and some do like alkaline. It’s a good idea to know a little bit about what you’re growing.

Now, my grandfather had a magic ingredient that he continually added to the soil. This magic ingredient would actually create healthy soil, buffer perfect ph, and facilitate proper nutrient uptake. It also made plants not so tasty to insects.

A magic ingredient? Not hardly. A lost art and science. Definitely. His magic ingredient was that he dutifully returned everything back into the soil. Everything from plant wastes to manure to kitchen scraps. His magic ingredient was nothing more than pure natural organics. If a soil was found to be out of balance, it was a matter of a simple adjustment. A little bit of sulfur to buffer alkalinity or a little bit of lime to buffer acid and also tilling in more bulk organics.

Farmers and gardeners back then couldn’t rely on a lot of chemical fertilizers because they were either unavailable or they simply couldn’t afford them. Oh I’m sure they would have liked to have had them since it would have made life much easier. However, what we didn’t use then that we do use now is why they had healthier plants, higher yields, better tasting food, more nutritional food, and even more colorful flowers. Again, the difference is organics.

Organically prepared soil eventually becomes stable and naturally balance in ph. All necessary plant nutrients become available and plants are able to use what they need and only when they need it. An excesses of individual nutrients in organic soil will actually be buffered and not do the plants any harm.

Plants grown in organic soils are naturally more resistant to insects and disease. They’re simply healthier and insects and disease generally attacks plants that are already unhealthy to begin with.

Chemical fertilizers are like a quick shot in the arm and plants will greedily take in more than they need. This weakens a plants ability to resist disease and insects. Then, of course, you’re going to need insecticides. However, healthy organic soil is also full of millions of beneficial bacteria and micro-organisms. Chemical fertilizers and insecticides will kill these very necessary elements and weaken plants immune systems even further. And so in using chemicals, we create a never ending no win cycle.

Creating organic soil will take a little effort and won’t happen overnight. It will take a few seasons. However, the rewards will far outweigh the effort. And eventually you’ll find that you spend less time taking care of your garden and more time enjoying it.

To begin with, start saving those leaves and grass clippings. This is a wonderful no cost resource. If you don’t have any of your own, I’m sure your neighbors will give you some of theirs. You can compost them or shred them as top dressing that will eventually break down into the soil.

I’ll also suggest two books to you. Rodales Complete Book Of Composting and Rodales Encyclopedia Of Organic Gardening. These two books alone will give you all the knowledge you need for composting and organic gardening.

Other secret ingredients are all around you, are usually free, and are often found right in your own trash can. Kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, and even some papers can be composted.

Have a friend with a stable? Some folks will let you clean out their stable just for doing it. This is a very inexpensive way to add a lot of bulk organics very quickly. Keep in mind though that manure is better composted as it is extremely alkaline due to a high content of urea.

On top of all of this there is an endless list of organic materials, mineral dusts, and rock fertilizers available through organic gardening stores and sites.

So there you have it. I did learn something from my grandfather. And so did you.

Written by Steve Boulden. Steve is the creator of The Landscape Design Site which offers free landscaping advice, plans, and tips to do it yourselfers and homeowners. For more free information on landscaping and growing plants, visit his site at: www.the-landscape-design-site.com