Posts Tagged ‘soil’

Super Lawn Watering Tips

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

The dawning of springtime beckons you to enjoy the outdoors. At last you aren’t forced to resign to the stuffy living room. Even though spring is a couple months away it is time to start thinking about the yard. What can you do to make it prettier this year than last? How can you better take advantage of your yard for get togethers’ and parties? Well in order to enjoy the yard at all it is important to focus on the largest piece: your lawn. Nothing can make a yard more beautiful or more repulsing than attentive or inattentive lawn care. Watering, mowing, trimming, weeding, poop scooping, and the like. Well as we say ‘first things first’. Watering… When should I water my lawn? What should I do when it rains? Can I over water my lawn? Let’s walk through these questions one by one so that this summer you feel confident enough to have all the neighborhood barbeques at your house.

1- When do I water my lawn? The worst thing that a person can do is water the lawn in the middle of a hot summer day. Because of evaporation you end up watering much more than necessary. The best time to water the lawn is early in the morning. This will keep you from over watering. Experts say that the appropriate amount of water per week is 1 inch for a vibrant and healthy lawn. Watering in the morning allows you to make efficient use of each drop.

2- What should I do when it rains? It is good for the environment and your wallet to turn the sprinklers off the day that it rains. All Orbit Sprinkler Timers can have rain sensors connected to them that will automatically turn your sprinklers off on rainy days. That way you can take full advantage of Mother Nature.

3- Can I over water my lawn? Sure can! Without careful timing and attention to your sprinkler system you can definitely spray too much H2O on the grass. Overwatering can cause diseases in the lawn and the spread of more weeds. It is also more prone to get torn up if there is too much moisture in it. Watering your lawn is a balance and the correct amount of water can be measured by your sprinkler timer.

It is not too early to start thinking about how to make your yard a masterpiece this summer. Time to enjoy a summer day on your bench outside and not be pestered by your perfectionist conscience. These watering techniques will ensure that your lawn stays looking nice in 2010. We have teamed up with OnlySprinklerTimers.com to give you a 15% discount on all purchases made from their site. They sell a wide variety of Orbit sprinkler timers and accessories. Use the discount code below to get 15% off.

Discount Code: myhomelawn15

Orbit Sprinkler Timers

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What Makes Composting Worthwhile?

Monday, January 4th, 2010

If you’re into organic gardening you probably know by know about compost and how it works wonders to your garden patch. But for the first timers, creating a compost pile is not really on the top of their to-do-list. The question of is composting worthwhile usually comes up and not knowing enough they usually arrive at the easiest answer and course of action. And that’s a nope, I don’t have time for making my own compost. I will settle with the commercially available organic fertilizers and stuff.

First things first, composting is the process of decomposing organic wastes, which can be household wastes or plant remains or a mixture of both, and making them into a dark, earthy, and loose or crumbly substance. Because compost is rich in minerals which most plants need, compost can be made to replace your garden soil.

Most often, however, gardeners use compost to enrich their garden soil. When compost is added the soil, the overall structure of the soil improved allowing it to hold more water and letting air circulate within the soil.

Contrary to some of your perceptions, compost is quite easy to make and is especially easy to use. There are several methods that could be used when creating compost. The following guide shows how easy it is to create it on your own backyard.

I would suggest making your own compost bin to make everything confined to one place. You will avoid making a mess in your backyard if you do so. Plus, temperature and moisture can also be regulated if you construct a compost bin but allow the organic materials to be composted touch the soil. You need to allow your earthworm buddies and other organic microbes help out in the decomposing process.

Although, almost all organic materials could go into your compost pile, a good combination of “greens” and “browns” would be better. The “greens” refer to nitrogen-rich organic matter like fresh grass, leaves, and your scraps in your kitchen. The “browns”, on the other hand refer to organic matter tat contains a lot of carbon such as those dried leaves on your backyard, straw and, of course, wood chips or shavings.

A good combination of “greens” and “browns” can dictate how fast you will have a finished compost. Admittedly, you will have an edge in this area if you have piled up your experience in compost making. Why? Well, for starters you would probably have timed how fast the final compost is created from the different proportions of “greens” and “browns”.

Some, however, would suggest that the best proportion would be 25 percent of your compost pile is made of “browns” and 1 percent is made of “greens.” Take note that if you have a large part made up of “browns” the compost pile will decompose rather slowly. On the other hand, having too much “greens” on the pile could cause some serious smell.

Other elements that you should always consider when making compost are the air and the amount of water your pile will need. It is best to keep your compost pile damp. This will help in the decomposing process. Air is also needed so make sure your pile is properly aerated. If you do observe that no air is coming in, just turn over your pile. Observe and continuously aerate your pile every until you can already “harvest” the fruits of your labor.

It takes some effort in creating compost, that part I have to agree. But the results of composting are really worthwhile.

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