How to Care for Indoor Plants During the Winter

Indoor plants are one of the most used indoor decorations. They give special additional beauty to one's home. The colors help to bring out the beauty of the home. What else could make a perfect indoor decoration? But not all indoor plants find it easy to survive during the wintertime. 

Wintertime is the most dangerous season of the year for indoor plants. With lighting dropping, colder temperatures, and dry air, causes more harm to houseplants. Here are things that can be done to help indoor plants survive the winter season:

Allow for better lighting:

During wintertime, the light intensity dropped to around 50%. Plants need light to survive. When plants are moved to the window, it allows for better light. Clean windows frequently for better results. In addition to this, the dust of the plants so they can get better light. You can also add artificial lights as bulbs. Place them around 4-12 inches away from the plants for better results.

Warm up the temperature:

Any temperature less than 50°F is dangerous for most plants. Most indoor plants adapt to a temperature between 65-75°F.  Adjust your thermostat to A more suitable level. Avoid placing your plants in areas that are most likely to give a cooler temperature such as exterior windows or cold drafts. If Windows frost at night, move the plants away before night.

Change the watering schedule:

One of the most common problems faced by indoor plants is overwatering. Most plants do not need to be watered until their soil is almost dried. You know when your plant needs water by putting your hand deep through the soil to around 2 inches. If the soil is dry, then water is needed. Or you can raise your plant's pot to check the weight. It is usually lighter when dry than when wet. Then you will know if your plant needs water. If your room is humidified, plants would not need water. 

Improve humidity:

Homes during winter offer 5% to 10% of humidity. Plants however need 40% to 50% humidity. When they don't get the right humidity, they might end up getting brown leaves. Improve humidity to a more suitable position for your plants.

Take note of pests:

Pests such as mealybugs, spider mites, fungus gnats, and likes tend to appear more as a result of lack of sunlight. Try to always check out for them and do not hesitate to get rid of them as soon as possible.

Having indoor plants is beautiful. We always enjoy the beauty that comes along with it. It is often used to beautify the home. However, taking care of it is a different task. It is easier to do so in other seasons that support the atmosphere of their habitat. However, it becomes more difficult to be taken care of in winter. Following the above procedures, it would help taking care of the plants in the winter season easier with better effects.

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Best Essential Oils for Respiratory Health

At some times in life, most especially during the winter season, we end up getting coughs or the flu. Fortunately, there are numerous natural remedies to go for, including the best essential oils for respiratory health. 

Essential oils are extracted from plants along with their flavor and scent. Essential oils have been used for years for skin care, hair care, reducing stress and tension, and more. They can also be used to solve some respiratory issues such as coughing. Most essential oils have compounds clear the way for better breathing and also help fight against bacteria and viruses. These are some essential oils that have been proven helpful for respiratory health.

Peppermint essential oil:

This is a good oil that helps ease breathing for people with coughs. It helps to relax the windpipe muscles. Most products for helping with respiration contain this oil. Menthol is made from peppermint and helps to create a clearer pathway through the throat, giving a cool sensation for easier breathing and eliminating a scratchy throat.

Frankincense essential oil:

It is traditionally known as a good oil for easing people's cough, asthma, and bronchitis. It is made from the Boswellia tree and is used in perfumes and incense.

Nutmeg oil:

This oil contains camphene which is a compound that is like camphor. It sends a cooling sensation through the lungs when inhaled. It also has antioxidant properties that can help in the protection against cell damage and germs.

Thyme oil:

This contains a large amount of carvacrol. This oil may help in the protection against bacteria and viruses or even in getting rid of them.

Oregano essential oil:

This also contains a large amount of carvacrol which works as an antimicrobial agent, which helps to eliminate germs. In turn, it can be used as a treatment for bacteria that cause coughing.

Eucalyptus essential oil:

This oil can be used to calm a cough. It also works as an antimicrobial agent, which fights against bacteria that cause illness. It may also help in relieving pain, muscle tension, or reducing inflammation that resulted from cough or flu.

Out of the many possible remedies to solve respiratory issues, essential oils have been one of the most effective methods. They serve many purposes, and supporting good respiratory health is one of them. They also fight against such illness. 

You can try some out and notice the relief you get from making use of them. NHC provides some of the best essential oils for respiratory health. Whenever you have such respiratory health challenges, give essential oils a chance and see their potential effect on you.

Daily Detox Tips to Support Your Health

This article will talk about some daily detoxification tips you could use to support your health. 

What is Detoxification? 

Detoxification means the process you can use to clean and clear out your system and get rid of annoying toxins that are harmful or have the potential to cause some form of damage to your body. 

List of Daily Detox Tips to Support Your Health

You can support your health using the following daily detox tips.

You can reduce the amount of alcohol you consume.

Alcohol on its own, irrespective of every other thing, has a lot of toxins. It, in itself, is toxic to the human body. There are high parts of it that aren't good for you. Now we're not saying you should quit alcohol altogether. But drink it or take it responsibly. This way, you get to protect and guard that active liver of yours, and you’ll end up living for a more extended period of time. 

Don't forget about sleeping correctly. 

We don't know if you know this, but our minds and the health of our brains are correlated with the amount of sleep we get. That is one of the only ways the cognitive part of our brains can get some rest, you know. So please, to support your health, do well to sleep a lot. The responsible time you should sleep is around 8 hours every day. 

Drink a lot of water. 

This is very important. Think about a cup that you used to drink soda. Then think about how it is going to look if you don’t wash it or rinse it. That's how the insides of one body are when we don't drink enough water. You need to help your kidneys by taking a lot of water. Kidneys aren’t an affordable thing to purchase if anything goes wrong with yours. By drinking a lot of water, you end up intentionally helping your kidneys. It would, in turn, help you back at the end of the day. 

Reduce the amount of sugar and processed food you’re taking in.

You could get consuming meals that have high amounts of antioxidants. Foods that have a lot of sugar are simply tasty to your tongue. But to the rest of your body, they make you gather weight, and they’re not healthy. Consume minor amounts of it, and trust that you'll be fine. Home cooked meals are always the best. 

Try detox supplements like glutathione.

Glutathione detoxifies the body of heavy metals and fat-soluble toxins from the liver, lungs, intestines, and kidneys.  Try Liposomal Glutathione Softgels by Core Med Science, if you’re interested in starting a healthier regimen.

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Easy Ways to Practice Recycling at Home

I'm sure you would want to recycle things you use from home. This article would show you some simple ways you could easily practice recycling at home. 

Recycling products at home doesn't need a lot of effort if you spend a lot of time creating a comprehensive recycling system. The system begins with creating places you could store your recycled materials in your apartment. This could be either in a bag or a bin or a box. You could keep your recycling container next or close to the trash can, and you could remind everyone around you to recycle as much as possible. 

How to Recycle at Home

Flatten boxes. You could flatten your cardboard boxes, which would help fit in more recyclables inside the bin. 

Recycle plastic bottles. All types of plastic bottles could get recycled. These include things from water bottles to other things like salad dressing. You could put them all inside your container for recycling. 

Recycle paper and cardboard. Apart from newspapers, you could recycle phone books, birthday cards, envelopes, and wrapping paper. Every type of cardboard can get recycled too. You could even recycle paper towel tubes and toilet paper. 

Recycle cans and metal. There are metallic items you could recycle at home. These things include tin foil and empty spray cans. You could also recycle empty soda food cans, vegetable cans, and fruit cans if you desire. 

Recycle glass. It never wears out or breaks down. Make sure you always recycle your containers and your glass bottles. 

Next Steps

If you want to go out, you could stop at your local center for recycling and then drop anything that your curbside service didn't pick. This would allow you to fit all of your recycling correctly and teach the kids all they need to know about recycling. 

If you are not sure about the things you want to recycle, you could check the website of your refuse provider. They have more than enough comprehensive information about what you can recycle and what you shouldn't. There are also Android and Apple apps you could use to check the things you want to recycle and the things you want to leave. 

If you want to help, your recycling center keeps away foul odors, ensures you wash off waste on the things you want to recycle, and keeps away glass food or plastic before putting them in recycling bins. 

For people with many used things in their homes, it would be nice to recycle. It’s great for you and for the Earth.

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How to Clean Makeup Brushes DIY

Your makeup brushes are things you use almost everyday. So many things are applied on your face with these brushes, such as blush, powder, and eyeshadow. Toxins such as sweat and bacteria, along with this makeup residue get stuck within the bristles of your brush, causing breakouts on your skin when not cleaned.

Once you pay more attention to your brushes, cleaning them at least once or twice a week with a product like Botanical Brush Cleaner by Jane Iredale, or the other natural alternatives we’ve listed below, your brush bristles will be bacteria-free making your brushes last longer. Here are some easy to do DIY tricks you can use to get this done.

Lemon with Vinegar

Lemon and vinegar are considered to be natural cleaning agents in the household thereby making them the perfect combination to clean your makeup brushes. Get a cup of hot water and then mix two tablespoons into it. Dip your brushes into it, wash and rinse it off with lukewarm water. You may not like the vinegar smell your brushes are left with, so you can rub them against a lemon to get a better scent from it.

Dish Soap

Dish soap is already a trusted and well-used cleaning agent in the household used to get your kitchen wares clean so this DIY is a no-brainer. Use warm water to get your brushes wet, add a considerable amount of dish soap and then massage your brushes, removing any residue on them. Use a clean sponge to get this done easier. Rinse your brushes afterward and let them dry. Concentrate mainly on the bristles of the brushes

Baby Shampoo

Baby shampoo can also work efficiently as a cleaning agent for your makeup brushes. Use lukewarm water to wet your brushes, add a little bit of your baby shampoo then rub it in a circular motion in order to get rid of any makeup residue. Rinse and air dry properly.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar can be used for several things such as detoxing, salad dressings, and so on. It also serves as a cleaning agent in the household which you can conveniently use to clean your makeup brushes as well. Mix a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar into a cup of warm water and then use this mixture to clean your brushes properly then rinse and dry.

Olive Oil

Olive Oil can be used for so many things in the household from conditioner to hair moisturizer. It can also serve as a cleaning agent for your makeup brushes. Put your brushes in a bowl of olive oil then use a sponge and gently rub it against it or you can also use your fingers. Let the water you use be running. Rinse and dry afterward.

When you have clean brushes, applying your makeup becomes much easier reducing patchy stains on your makeup. It also keeps your brush bristles soft and lasts longer removing the thought of you going out to buy new brushes within a short time. Application of makeup becomes smoother and better for you.

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How to Plant in the Fall

There are a lot of crops that can thrive when planted in the fall, regardless of the crisp weather. They may need more time to grow and mature due to the little source of light they receive because of the windy nature of fall. These crops are usually able to be harvested during September and October. In order for you to have a successful fall harvest, there are a few guidelines you need to follow.

Start Early

A lot of people make the mistake of not thinking about planting in the fall early enough for the crops to yield fruits on time. For you to have a successful harvest, you need to start planting at the peak of summer. August is a perfect time to start planting so that your plants will be able to get some of the warmth that comes with the sun at the time. During this period, your plants will start to mature in proper growing conditions.

Know How Long Fall Crops Take to Grow

Every crop has a lifespan, predictable in some cases meaning that you can calculate how long a plant will reach its size for harvest. This lifespan is often called “days to maturity” although this can be affected by environmental factors sometimes causing it to differ or fluctuate; the accuracy shouldn’t be far-fetched.

Harvest Your Fall Crops on Time

You should go out there and harvest your crops. managing your fall crops also entails you knowing the exact time to go harvest in order not to defeat the whole purpose of your planting. as soon as you’re able to harvest your crops, you’d now be able to start preparing for your next fall planting. This also gives space for the new fall plants. Crops that may be finishing up in your garden midsummer include:

·    Cabbage

·    Spinach

·    Broccoli

Crops Last Longer in the Fall

Crops like cabbage, broccoli can live for months even after maturity. A whole lot of other vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, and kale have a long lifespan when planted for fall harvest. This is possible due to the cool weather that comes with the fall which helps preserve these plants.

Best Plants for Fall

Beets: Beets are great plants to grow during the fall. Beets should be planted 10-12 weeks before fall is over. It is also advisable to get seedlings to assist with the whole timing. You do not have to wait for beets to get too large before you harvest.

Broccoli: Broccoli needs to be planted on time for it to mature at the right time. This vegetable should be planted in late summer or early September. When harvesting, leaving the remaining plant in the ground can cause further yield.

Cabbage: Cabbage is another vegetable that can be planted in the fall. It should be planted in early fall and germination will most likely start in about 6-7 days. You should also know that a smaller heading size yields way faster.

Take note that these plants thrive in cool temperatures not cold temperatures.

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Safety & Health Tips for Women in Agriculture

Women in agriculture need to remain safe and healthy too. Agriculture these days is not just for men. And because of this, this article is here to talk about safety and health tips for awesome women who are working hard in agriculture these days. 

These days, the difference between urban and rural women is that there is a different shift of labor when they are on the farm. This provides labor used in farms. There are a variety of operations that take place on the farm. You need to look at the type of available help, the season/weather, and the specific operation the women are doing. 

These are all referred to as the phenomenon of the third shift. These have been recognized as what contributes to the stress that many women in agriculture feel. 

Every farm has its values set, which influences the labor division on farms—the potential of women that exposes them to different roles. Women try to handle a lot, and they need to fill out several roles. 

Risks which are Specific to Women in Agriculture 

Women can handle things just like men in any part of agricultural operations. Some simple health and safety risks are specific to just women. These are particular for only female farmers. 

The National Occupational Safety Institute for Health lists a lot of issues which women suffer from in agriculture. These include depression, risks from cancer, fatigue, work-related injuries, risks related to pregnancy, exposures to pesticides, and chronic bronchitis. 

Combining all these risks and being in a location that isn't urban means these women suffer from health disparities when one compares them with the entire population. Generally, women who live and grow in these rural health areas have inferior health outcomes. They also have reduced access to health care than women that live in urban areas. 

List of Safety and Health Tips for Women in Agriculture 

As a woman, you need to comply and read the safety manual as assigned for the farm. 

You need to keep up and follow the state and federal laws.

You need to properly mount your vehicles and keep your tools and vehicles clean and visible. This way, everyone knows you're driving the vehicle, and you can keep everyone around you safe. 

You need to make sure you dress correctly. Dress like someone that's working on the farm. Don't wear clothes meant for parties or dinners to the farm. If you do that, you will get hurt. 

Make sure you rest properly. Make sure you don't stay on the farm for too long. When you are tired, please rest. You are not Wonder Woman, and even she needs rest too. 

Don't drink alcohol while working. You could end up in a horrible fatal accident if you take alcohol as you work. Please avoid that and be careful.

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How to Keep Squirrels (and Other Animals) Out of Your Garden

Some people have gardens where annoying little squirrels can cause some damage. This article discusses safe ways you could keep squirrels and a variety of other animals from disturbing your beautiful plants. Here we go!

How You Can Keep Squirrels Out of Your Garden

You could get a dog: Lots of dogs enjoy chasing squirrels around. You could put your dogs to patrol for squirrels and scare them away.

Attack their sense of smell: Squirrels are consistently offended by the things that deer find offensive. Make use of repellents like deer repellent. This works very well. You could try out little coffee grounds layers. You might tuck in a bit of dog hair and keep this under some of your plants.

Surprise them: Squirrels are very active and fast, but no one likes to be surprised. You could shop at them or startle them away. You could spray them with water using a motion-activated sprinkler or use a motion-activated air that can blast them with some air.

Employ natural predators: You could make use of attracting owls or hawks, which are the natural predators of squirrels. If you have small animals in your yard that you like, then this method isn't recommended.

You could create a barrier: You do this by shielding ground crops using row covers. This creates an enclosure using chicken wire. You could even create your greenhouse, which would protect the plants in your garden from these squirrels. You should create any fence form and place it afoot through the ground. This would reduce the rate squirrels would try to dig underneath to get into your garden.

Try making use of companion plants: Plant mustard, nasturtiums, marigolds, and mint. This discourages squirrels.

You could make use of crowned imperial bulbs, also known as Fritillaria. These are recommended that you always plant them away from areas that are inhibited. These areas include porches or patios as a result of their strong smell of skunk.

How do you safely deter squirrels from destroying your garden?

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DIY Cleaning Hacks for Baking Soda

It's DIY time, everybody. I'm sure you're here because you want to learn all the cleaning hacks using baking soda to clean different spots in your home. 

Whenever it comes to a cleaner that's natural that gets rid of grime and grease, you should make use of baking soda. So here are some DIY cleaning hacks for baking soda.

List of Cleaning Hacks for Baking Soda 

Use Baking Soda to Unclog Slow Drains

Before you use household chemicals to clean drains that aren't moving quickly, try vinegar and baking soda? To do this, you should pour a cup of baking soda on the slow drain. Heat your vinegar and then pour everything on the baking soda. After around ten minutes, flush your entire pot using boiling water. Don't try this technique on fully clogged drains, though.

Use Baking Soda as an Oven Scrub 

You could make use of baking soda to clean filthy ovens. These ovens could have horrible odors, which could have chemicals that might end up being corrosive. You could get some salt paste and baking soda and mix with some vinegar and water. Then spread your paste all over the walls, floor, and the door of your oven using a brush. 

You need to wear some gloves. It would be best if you allowed the mixture to sit appropriately for a day. Keep everything moist using vinegar or water over time. Your paste would reduce the oven parts that have burnt food and help you scrub things easier. 

You could wipe your paste away using a cloth or sponge. Then turn your oven to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. You should keep everything on for about an hour to reduce any residue that decides to linger. You should turn your oven off, and when it is cool again, spray all stubborn dirty areas using your mixture and wipe everything clean.

Use Baking Soda to Clean Ceramic Stovetop. 

There is food residue that gathers at the top of the stove. You could use baking soda and a paste of warm water to clean your ceramic stovetop. Spoon your mixture and put it on the dirty surface. This would help you reduce the strength of the dirty residue. Allow it all to sit for 20 minutes. Scrub it and get rid of the dirty gunk. After scrubbing, you could spray glass cleaners and then wipe everything dry after you’re done. 

Use Baking Soda to Clean Stainless Steel

No one enjoys making use of dirty stainless-steel products. They are not attractive or beautiful to the eye. They end up looking dull too. You could spray some baking soda and bring your stainless-steel back to the land of the living. 

What DIY cleaning hacks for baking soda will you use?

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The Healing Power of Flower Essences

There has been scientific research on the healing power of flower essences. This research explains these potential benefits of flowers, and they include the following.

Potential Healing Powers of Flower Essences

Flower essences are used for anxiety.

Flower essences such as lavender and eucalyptus essential oils have several benefits for people that suffer from anxiety. Some studies have shown that flower essence therapy (or aromatherapy) may help reduce anxiety for adults and kids.

Flower essences are used for pain.

Various studies report that flower essence therapy (when used topically) helps to ease pain, such as the minor chronic pain found in people that suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. These participants applied flower essence cream (or diluted essential oil drops into a carrier oil such as jojoba oil) onto external parts of their body suffering from this pain and ended up feeling better. (Note: Keep oil away from the eyes and open wounds.)

From this study, these essences could have properties biologically that aid in making that part of the body feel better. However, further research is needed.

Possible Side Effects and Risks

Because flower essences are solutions that are diluted, they are relatively safe when used properly. Just like every type of remedy, these essences could still have unwanted side effects.

List of Possible Side Effects

Practitioners say that these could cause:

1. Headache

2. Skin rashes

3. Fatigue

Different practitioners state that these are pretty safe, but you should be careful, especially when you are breastfeeding or pregnant. Always check in with your doctor or medical health care professional before using flower essences to reduce anxiety, pain, or stress.

So, there we have it, flower essences may have a lot of healing powers and may have some disadvantages too.

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How to Make a DIY Fire Pit

There are several ways to make a DIY fire pit. One way is to use a fire brick. This can be combined with a natural fieldstone or landscape pavers to create your unique look. Below is a list of tools and materials that you will need to get started.

Tools

1. Tape measure.

2. Stake.

3. Trowel.

4. Wheelbarrow.

5. Hand tamper.

6. Shovel.

Materials 

1. Strings.

2. Gravel.

3. Spray paint.

4. Ready-mix concrete.

5. Capstones.

6. 6” x 12” x 2-3/8” paver stones.

7. 9” x 4” x 2-1/2” firebrick. 

8. 2x4 screed board.

Plan your fire pit design

A backyard fire pit is a common landscape feature. They are not only attractive but provide an outdoor gathering place. 

A firepit is normally constructed from fireproof material on a flat, level area at least 25 meters from the house or any tree. They are also governed by strict local building codes, so therefore, before you start construction of your fireplace, know the codes of your area.

Step 1: Build the foundation

You first pound the rebar stake into the ground at the center of the fire pit and mark the circumference. Attach a string to the stake, measure half of the circumference then tie the other end of the string to a spray paint can. Pull on the string lightly and walk around the stake, using spray paint to paint the boundaries of the circumference. 

Then dig the space out to a depth of 6” and using the same method as above, mark an inner circle. This will be the inner edge of the fire pit wall.

Make a foundation by mixing concrete and water and then laying the wet concrete between the two circles so that it is level with the ground. Press rebar towards the concrete for reinforcement and then allow the wet concrete to dry.

Step 2: Build outer wall

This is the time to lay the stones. First, mix the mortar and then shovel about 2" into the concrete base. Lay the stones in the mortar. If you decide to use natural stone it better for you to mix the sizes and colors. You should also choose stone faces that are attractive and match your outline. A chipping hammer can also be used to shape individual stones.

As the first wall takes shape along the outside edge of the fire pit, lay down the fire brick from the inner wall of the structure.

Step 3: Build the inner fire brick wall

It is important that as you fill in the gaps in between the mortar you also scrape away the excess and periodically measure its edges. This is to ensure that the inside and the outside of the wall maintain thickness and its circular shape.

Continue to raise both the fire bricks on the inside and the stones on the outside and filling gaps between them with mortar. Finish the structure by laying a cap of vetted flat fieldstones on the top wall. Make sure that the top is flat by added mortar to make an even surface.

Step 4: Finish the fire pit

The finishing touches will include painting using a standard paintbrush, brushing the exterior of the stone to remove debris. You can spray-paint the inside brick with black to have a uniform finish.

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How to Make Gardening Boxes

Building a gardening box (also called a raised garden bed) is a lot simpler than it looks. First, you need to decide on the materials to use, such as the wood. You will also have to decide how tall your box will be and whether you want to use pre-made corner braces. 

Common Questions on How to Make Gardening Boxes

What kind of wood should I use?

When looking for way on how to make gardening boxes, the most common and widely used is cedar wood. This is because the cedar is naturally resistant to rot. How long will the wood last? That depends on the type of cedar. For example, red cedar used to build boxes has lasted up to 15 years in some cases.

How tall should the box be?

You can build your box to your desired height, but the most common height is 11”. This requires a height of two stacked 2” x 6” boards. If you want a taller box, it is vital to remember that the weight of the added soil will put pressure on the sides and force them to bow outwards. Therefore, you include cross-supports to prevent that in boxes that are higher than 18” or longer than 6”. You must also take note of the soil depth requirement for the plant you want to have.

How wide should the box be?

The best course of action will be for the box to have a width no wider than 4”. In other to be able to reach the center of the box from all sides. This measure measurement will also prevent you from stepping on the soil bed because that will compress the soil.

Tools and Materials 

• Lumber: Use of cedar wood is most recommended using "2 x" boards for the sides like; 2" x 6" etc.

• Fastenings: 3.5” #10 coated deck screws are the most typical to use. You will need six for each corner and two for each mid-span post.

• Cross supports: Get variable lengths of ½” aluminum flat stock. It is easy to cut and screw.

• Tools: You’ll need a hand saw, square, screwdriver, carpenters level, hacksaw, drill, etc.

Construction

Step one:

First cut then assemble the basic frame, block it up to level. Clear the area where you plan to build your box. Mark the ends and saw your boards to the desired length. After that is done, screw the ends of the wood together to make a box.

Step two:

Drive in the corner poles and fasten the boards into them. Cut and set the first post into the corner of the frame and drive it a few inches into the ground.

Step three:

Seal in the boards to the ground then saw the post top flush to the sides. Then add the bottom row of boards to the ground level. This might mean that you will have to dig into the ground. Using a hand saw, cut the post that sticks up, so that they are flush at all sides.

Step four:

This step includes the addition of cross-bracing. If you have a box 8” longer, use cross-bracing to prevent the bed from bowing outwards in the center of the span. Cut the aluminum flat stock with your hacksaw to the width of the bed and then drill a hole across each end attach the cross-brace to the opposite side.

Step five:

Cover the bed with soil and start gardening. You can do this with your garden soil. Pull off any rock you may find. Add soil amendments like fertilizer and manure.

Gardening boxes are great for growing small plots of veggies and flowers while keeping pathway weed from your garden soil. They preventing soil compaction and provide the necessary drainage, serving as a barrier for pests. These are just some of the reasons you should learn how to make gardening boxes for yourself.

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How to Build a DIY Bird House

Lots of people enjoy watching birds. You could also find yourself enjoying listening to the sounds birds make when they’re eating. These are a few of the reasons you might want to learn how to build a DIY bird house for your backyard. Well, that's the essence of creating this piece. Are you ready? Let's learn how to make a DIY bird house, shall we?

These DIY bird houses are enjoyable to make. The funds you would have used in buying a bird house outside now can be used to purchase a bird feeder or some bird seeds, don't you think? 

4 DIY Bird Houses 

1. Basic Wooden Bird House

For beginners in this arena, these basic bird houses could be one of the first you would make. It is effortless. You should also get your kids to help you out with this project. 

2. Change an Old Drawer or Teapot into a Bird House

You could create a DIY bird house from your old teapots or drawers. You can hang the pot using twine from the drawer handles. Then you can glue the thrifted teapot to the drawer’s back. In the end, you can glue the top of the teapot to the bottom part of the drawer. This would end up acting as a proper perch they could use to land. 

3. Modern Bird House 

You could use these bird house plans for enthusiasts that like birds coming to nest on their property. These are quite ideal for people that are not full-time working DIYers. It would be best if you had a few tools to complete your project. Then when you're done, you could have a mid-century modern bird house. This would be a proper piece to give your friends and family. 

4. DIY Bird House Using Pennies 

This is a creative way to make your bird house. First, pick up a bird house from your craft-store, or build it by using an elementary bird house building kit. Then gather lots of pennies that would serve as the roof of your bird house. Use adhesive, add bird feed, hang it in your backyard, and enjoy your DIY bird house. 

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How Do You Select Flowers for Your Garden?

It’s almost National Gardening Week (June 6-12)! The presence of garden flowers helps in making your home beautiful. That's why I love planting a flower bed. You should make use of these tips. They would help you create your very own extraordinary spring landscape. 

What the Best Designs Include

The best flower bed designs include lots of flowering plants. These include annuals, perennials, seasonal bulbs, and vines too. Before you get started officially, you can adequately research the textures and colors you prefer. You should also check for climate limitations and special care they may need. These are all important for your flowers to grow very well, and for them to look beautiful too as they grow. 

After choosing your flower garden’s size, shape, and design, it is now time for you to put your plant research into action. It would be best if you also thought about adding gorgeous show stopping plants to increase your home’s curbside appeal. These plants have fantastic color combinations. They look awesome all through the year with epic flower sizes and colors as great focal points. 

All garden beds, it does not matter how small or big, require focal points, which give the garden a personality. This could mean that you could anchor your large bed using shrubs on the corners. You could put a flowering shrub in the center. You could also plant a mass of a single flower type in between a skinny border. 

Don't forget about the height of the plants when you make your selections. If you have a garden that's a border along your house, the plants would need to be toward the back. They should not be so high, though. If they are relatively high, they will end up blocking your doors and windows. If you have tall plants, they should stay in the middle part. Make sure you take flowers individually into consideration as you organize and select flowers for your beautiful garden. 

Select Flowers for Your Garden 

Have you ever heard of the queen of the night?

Growing up, we didn't have a garden in our home. But my Dad loves flowers, so he got us some queen of the night plants and planted them around our place. At night, they release this grand aroma. This made us enjoy sitting outside the porch with him. We would stay outside, and he would give us tales about these lovely flowers. 

Too bad I'll have to be ending this piece here. It's nice for you to plant great flowers in your garden. Keep that place alive and well! 

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Photo by Ruslan Keba on Unsplash 

How to Keep Birds Out of a Garden

Everyone that has a vegetable garden would honestly not want birds eating their poor plants. Different gardeners typically plant certain shrubs and beautiful flowers using the intention of getting birds into their gardens. Birds add music and color to your garden. They also aid in controlling pests and assist in pollination, which are wonderful for gardeners. Birdscaping or arranging your garden to support or attract local birds is a movement that’s growing in the gardening world. Not all gardeners are in favor of bringing several different birds into their space used for gardening. 

What is Garden Netting? 

For one to create barriers available in your garden, you could make use of garden netting. This is an effective way to stop birds from entering your garden and spoiling all the hard work and energy you have put into growing those beautiful plants. Butterfly netting protects the plants available in your garden, but it lets in small insects like bees and butterflies, which need to gain access to your plants for cross-pollination purposes. For you to avoid injuries to other wildlife and other birds, you need to put a lot of thinking into your netting type. You could make use of netting that has holes that are smaller than a centimeter. 

It is really important for you to invest in very high quality netting. Make use of UV-resistant materials for netting. Some could serve as hazards for small wildlife, especially when they start to deteriorate and fray. So be careful.

Try Chicken Wire 

You could put some chicken wire on the ground. This would serve as a guard to the seeds you just planted or your bee tubers from getting damaged from birds or chickens, which peck and scratch the soil. These seedlings would soon start growing, the wires get lifted off the ground using stakes for your plants to get more protection. 

Guard Crops using Garden Fleece 

Garden fleece is usually installed and it guards crops against colds during their months. It could also serve and get used all through the year. You could make use of white materials to cover your lettuce. Use bok choy, chard, and salad greens too. These are all awesome to keep the birds in your neighborhood from harvesting in your greens before you might have a chance. You could weigh the sides down using pegs or rocks, and then you could roll back the fleece when it is time to harvest. 

So now you know the thing you can do to prevent birds from destroying your beautiful garden. Using the ways listed above, you’re good to go.

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Photo by Zane Lee on Unsplash 

How to Compost Food for Your Garden

The amount of compost available makes the drainage of soil and water retention abilities increase. If you’re new to composting, you could wonder how to compost the scraps of food. You could start saving cramps and join me, let's begin. 

Composting from the kitchen can be done in several different ways. One could save old food and then trim the kitchen counter. One could call all of that garbage. Brand new efforts are being done for the entire public to gain an education. These have all trained us in reducing waste and making use of organic items again. 

How to Compost Food Scraps 

Gathering the waste from the kitchen could be very simple. It could be like burying food scraps into the dirt or making use of a three-stage tumbler or a composting bin. The end parts of these have soil additives that have more than enough nutrients that aid in increasing the rate of porosity, which helps to hold valuable moisture in the soil. These items which break down the fastest in the kitchen would get composted and turn into leafy greens. Pieces that are smaller get compost faster than others. 

The technique you could use to compost these kitchen scraps would not need you to stretch using the truth to tell you that you would need things like a patch of dirt and a shovel for kitchen waste composting. You could dig the scraps for at least eight inches down and then cover them using dirt so animals wouldn't want to eat them. 

You could also chop up these scraps using a spade or a shovel. Smaller pieces have surfaces that are open for anaerobic bacteria to strike. This makes the entire composting thing increase in speed. 

You could also invest in a three-bin system where the first bin is made out of nothing but raw compost very fresh or kitchen scraps. The second bin would be broken down partially and then turned properly. The third bin could fully get composted which would make these ready for your garden. You could also simply just make a pile using a location that’s quite sunny. You could also layer the scraps using soil, grass clippings, and leaf litter too. You could convert the compost material weekly using water mist as you compost your kitchen waste. 

More on Composting

Well, composting needs warm temperatures of about 160 degrees Fahrenheit, moisture that's moderate, and more than enough space to turn the pile into compost. 

The results at the end are way better using bins that make use of a rotating tumbler. Piles available on the ground used for mixing into garden beds would yield chunkier and more robust compost. 

So there we have it. Now you know how you can compost food for your garden. It is fast, easy, and eco-friendly.

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Photo by Neslihan Gunaydin on Unsplash 

Equipment You Need if You Own Land with Trees

The application of land clearing has proven to be a very essential process when owning a piece of land whether commercial or residential. There are several occasions where you find your backyard unoccupied and covered with trees, bushes, shrubs, and undergrowth. This is why the use of land clearing is important and having the right equipment is also essential, these types of equipment would clear the trees, shrubs, and undergrowth, making it easier for you to perform other activities on the land such as gardening or any form of construction. Below is the list of essential tools that are needed whenever you need to clear your land. 

Wood Chipper

Wood chippers are helpful when you want trees and spread them through a large area. PTO wood chippers are used whenever you find it difficult to manage the trees that grow on your land,  they help in disposing of worthless branches and bushes without loitering the land. They are very easy to use whether for both residential or commercial purposes, and it saves you time from moving up and down trying to get rid of the bushes and trees. 

Hand Tools

These are important tools for individuals who prefer to get their hands dirty and do necessary clearing themselves. The tools are essential for gardening and any form of lawn work. Some examples of some hand tools include hand saws, pruners, pickaxes, shovel, hoe, and rake. Each of these tools has its importance, so before you begin clearing your land, you would need to know the right tool for the job. 

Mowers

This piece of equipment is vital in clearing a large area of land filled with undergrowth. For the walkable areas, you can use the self-propelled version. For the areas that are covered with large bushes, it is recommended that you use the brush hog. The brush hogs help clear tough grasses and weeds, which would make the job easier for you. 

Grubber

This equipment is famous for the effective removal of grasses, it is used in some specific areas where you would need to remove a small section of saplings, for this process, there is no need for a mower but you would need something powerful that the lawnmower, that is where the grubber comes in, it has spikes that pierce into tress. 

Bulldozer

This piece of equipment is very important if you need to clear a huge amount of land. When it comes to clearing lands, some attachments are needed to make the job easier. Some of the attachments include a root plow to remove the bushes and shrubs and the heavy-duty rake, which helps clear small trees and rocks. 

Excavators

The use of this machine is for larger applications. Just like the bulldozer, the excavators also have attachments such as the Grapplers which helps in the machine reach and grab small trees, logs, and brushes, stump pullers are used for removing stumps, and the heavy-duty rake, which helps in gathering rocks and loading them onto the trucks.

Skidsteer

This piece of equipment has some similarities with a bulldozer except that the tracks are rubber. The tracks of the skidsteer are designed to applying less pressure rather than walking on it. There are several skidsteers out there and not all of them are created equally. The attachments for a skidsteer can easily be changed in a matter of minutes. They mostly come in small sizes, therefore are not designed to handle big trees and forestry work.

The best method used to clear trees is not removing the trees and taking them to a separate location but by chipping the tree from its original location, which would cause less damage.

Is Your Water Making You Sick?

It is true that the only way we can get sick is if germs get into our system. Our bodies have a natural way of fighting some of these germs, but sometimes it could be overpowered, leaving us sick. Water is one of the essentials of life, and whether you like it or not, you cannot do without it, which is why you have to ensure that it is always safe for drinking.

This article will show you why you need to try out some home water quality tests and what testing kits you can use. Note that aside from getting sick from the water you drink, your skin health can also be affected by the water you bathe with. You need to pay proper attention to this article.

Why It is Important to Test Your Water

There are one thousand and one reasons why you must always test your water before drinking or bathing, especially if you have kids. Some of these reasons include helping you to know what you can do to keep it clean. Water can be from different sources, and even if your own doesn’t contain germs, it could contain some other harmful properties like lead. 

If you have a child that drinks from your home water, you want to ensure that the water is very healthy and pure enough for consumption. It is more difficult to tell when a baby is experiencing stomach upsets, so you have to keep the things that can cause it away.

Home Water Testing Kits

Below are some of the best home water testing kits you can find. Some of them are specific to some water effects, which makes them even more useful.

1. Heavy Metals Test Kit by Health Metrics 

This product is used mainly to test for lead in the water. Lead is one of the major causes of harm to internal organs like the kidney and bladder. The lead will not appear clearly to your eyes, but with the use of this testing kit, you can know if the water you have been consuming contains even the tiniest amount of lead because even the tiniest amount can cause bladder and kidney stones.

2. Well Water Test Kit by Watersafe

Well water is one of the most dangerously unhealthy water to drink, especially when it is not properly taken care of. You want to ensure that you know what the well contains so that you know the best way to disinfect it before drinking or any other use. This testing kit by Watersafe is one of the best in the market.

3. 5-way Swimming Pool Chemistry Test by Poolmaster 22260

You must always test your pool to know the chemical content in the water and to see if it is safe for swimmers and their skin.

Home water testing is a good step in the right direction when you are trying to live a much healthier life, and investing in one or more of the above kits will help you keep your home water safe.

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Photo by Sohaib Al Kharsa on Unsplash

How to Improve Soil Health to Improve the Crops in Your Home Garden

One of the most exciting things to have in your home is a beautiful garden, because it doesn’t only give you something to eat, but it also gives you a sense of responsibility. Ensuring that this garden is fertile for your crops is another essential part of this process, which is why you should consider your soil health.

This article will show you all that you need to know about your soil health and how you can improve it for a more productive garden. Follow me through this article; there’s so much to learn.

How to Improve Your Soil Health

Below are some trusted ways to care for the physical, chemical, and biological properties of your soil and improve your soil health in no time.

1. Reduce tillage or don’t till at all

Yes, tillage helps to loosen the soil for preparation for planting; however, there are side effects to that. Using the tillage tools might make the job quite easier for you, but it also makes your soil a little unhealthy. Tillage is favorably used in large farms where tilling with your hands may be impossible. In your home garden, tillage can result in your soil being blown away by wind or washed off by the rain.

2. Always add organic matter

Don’t be in the habit of planting on your soil immediately after clearing the garden. You cannot make healthy crops from unhealthy soil. Ensure always that you apply some organic matter that can help to boost the health of the soil. Aside from having to harvest only a little, unhealthy soil is easily infested by pests.

3. Tap into the benefit of cover crops

Cover crops do more than just cover up your garden during the no-planting seasons. They also help to keep your soil fertile, hydrated, and provide some helpful nutrients. They will also help to keep you constantly aware of your garden. Most cover crops die during winter, giving you some space to plant your crops for the springtime.

4. Create a pathway in your garden

One of the major challenges that face your garden is you constantly stepping on the soil. Stepping on the soil makes it easier to get compacted, thereby reducing tilth. Create special and permanent beds for planting and never walk on them. A pathway will also help visitors stay away from the beds.

5. Add some aged animal manure

Manure is one of the most important things that your garden will need for your crops to come out healthy. Note that you have to start adding manure to your soil even before the planting season comes to prepare the soil for planting.

Every one of the methods listed above has its specific advantage on your soil, which is why you have to use a combination of some or all of them to keep your soil always active and healthy for planting. Also, note that it is safer to apply these methods prior to planting. 

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Photo by elizabeth lies on Unsplash

Spring Gardening Checklist

It is said that the greatest joys in life are found in the simplest things. Simple things like a well-mowed lawn, a beautifully lit room, and a tenderly nurtured garden. Depending on the mood and season, these beautiful additions can leave you with a big smile that'll extend from ear to ear. Hence, the subject of this article – a spring gardening checklist.

A spring garden is one of the most remarkable additions you can have in your yard. Not just for the aesthetics it provides, but also for its health benefits. With a spring garden in your yard, you can breathe in fresher and richer air. Also, you can get fresh crops and fruits to make your neighbors jealous. For the best spring gardening project, make sure to have the following on your checklist.

4 Must-Haves on Your Spring Gardening Checklist

If you are looking for a great time to invest in a gardening project, there is no better time than spring. Springtime is the season of new beginnings. By this time of the year, the snow of winter has melted away with fresh buds blossoming all over. Depending on your location, the temperature would have started to rise and the animals that promote pollination would have awakened to begin a new season.

Considering all the aforementioned factors, springtime is the perfect season for your gardening project. However, if you are going to commit to a gardening project this spring, you'll need to tick the following items off of your to-do list.

1. Checkout the planting site

The first thing to do, as regards, your checklist for your spring gardening project, is to survey the proposed planting site. Through this process, you can understand the needs of your planting site and what to do to make it better. It will also help you understand the best layout for your flower beds and garden crops. Check the planting site for trees, branches, and other hanging structures that may affect the wellbeing of your gardening and its living ecosystem. Also, make sure your proposed planting site has enough sunlight.

2. Tune-up the gardening tools

If you have gardening tools that you have used in the past, this is the time to give them the attention they deserve. Go to your shed and bring out your gardening tools. Then inspect the tools for rust and damage. Cutting tools should be honed and wooden handles sanded or brushed with oil. Don't forget to itemize tools that are missing so you can order replacements before planting begins.

3. Trim shrubs

Weeding is important to the overall health of your spring garden. Left unchecked, weeds can inhibit the growth of your crops. So make it a point to prune the shrubs on your planting site for the season.

4. Start the fertilization process

Fertilization can come in different stages when planting begins. But, it is recommended that you fertilize your planting site before sowing seeds in your yard. By doing this, you will improve growth and wellness in your garden.

Spring gardening is a big commitment but it doesn't have to be a stressful one. To avoid the stress that comes with gardening, make sure to include the aforementioned items on your spring garden checklist.

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Can Pet Owners Detect Illness Use Special Cat Litter?

Are you a cat owner looking to identify the health issues of your cat before the problem festers? Don't worry, with the cat litter solution that Pretty Litter offers, you can detect some illnesses in your cat before it worsens. 

Having a furry little friend that you can call your own is one of the best feelings you can get as a pet owner. But, trouble comes knocking when your furry little friend falls sick, and you can't help but feeling bummed out. It’s even worse when you can't figure out what the problem is, because your furry friend cannot communicate the problem to you. But, no more.

Pretty Litter Solution for Cat Owners

If you are looking for ways to detect minor illness in your kittens, Pretty Litter offers the best solution. This cat litter subscription service provider offers a special cat litter solution that can help you detect certain illnesses in cats. Though this special litter subscription does not substitute for a vet, it can help you ward off minor illnesses before they become fatal to your pet. Unlike your traditional litter, this litter changes color to indicate anomalies in your cat's system. 

How does it do this, you may ask? Well, the special cat litter is produced with a crystal-like substance that is capable of changing color based on the pH level of your cat's urine. Also, the cat litter comes with several color codes and each one represents an infection or group of infections that can affect your cat's wellbeing. 

If the pH level of your cat's urine is low, the cat litter will change to dark orange. In Pretty Litter's subscription guide the dark orange color code represents infections relating to kidney tubular and metabolic acidosis. Thus, if your cat litter changes to dark orange, you'll know it is time to visit your vet.

Similarly, if your cat's urinary pH is high, the cat litter will change to blue, thus, indicating that your cat has a urinary tract infection (UTI). High urinary pH has also been associated with other infections in the past, so you might find it helpful to consult with your vet when you notice these changes. 

More Information

Based on the results provided by Pretty Litter, your pet is in optimal condition when its urinal pH turns the cat litter yellow or olive green. This implies that your cat's pH level is normal, and as such, has no urine-related illness.

Keep in mind that the Pretty Litter subscription service is not a substitute for a veterinary doctor. So make it a point to visit your vet for regular check-ups, lest you expose your pet to sickness and diseases.

It is worth mentioning that your pet is vulnerable to other infections that may not be easily detected by urine tests. For instance, illnesses like depression and pain may not be detected by Pretty Litter's subscription service. Thus, the best way to detect a problem in your furry little friend is through regular visits to a certified vet. 

Also keep your pet healthy with a well-balanced diet. Try Flora Cat Probiotic 20 Billion CFU Powder by Vital Planet to help maintain a healthy digestive system in your cat.

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How to Make Your Own Self Sustainable Terrarium with Tiny Plants

Creating a terrarium using little plants is a very simple easy thing to do. Don't let the word terrarium scare you. What this simply means is creating a space for all those plants like succulents and cacti that can last a lot of years without much water. This article is going to give us a breakdown of how this works. So stay tuned.

Ingredients to Make Your Own Sustainable Terrarium Using Tiny Plants

You need the following things:

● A bottle

● The tiny plant

● A little bit of pea soil

● A space you know wouldn’t be touched in a long time

Steps to Make Your Own Sustainable Terrarium Using Tiny Plants

The general idea is to create a plant that is going to stand the test of time.

Step 1

Get the plants you would like to use. Make sure they’re small plants. They need to be small plants, because they’ll need to source nutrients, grow, and could become bigger than the bottle you plan to use. So after getting these little plants, make sure they would fit the bottle you have in mind to use. Then keep the plants in a place on their own.

Step 2

Get the bottle. Make sure you make use of a bottle that you can put a cork to. Don't just go and take any type of bottle. That wouldn't work at all. That would just make you waste the entire plant. So get a small bottle, make sure it matches the plant you would like to use, and then get the cork or cover of the bottle. Keep these on another side.

Step 3

Organize or arrange the place where you would like to plant these beautiful tiny plants that could last for decades to come. These terrarium plants will make the entire place so beautiful. Well, you could do that in time. But for right now, let's learn how to make a single one first. When you want to make the remaining, you can use the same process.

So after you've got the place all cleaned up, you should put the succulents and cacti inside the bottle and then put a little bit of pea soil at the edge. Make sure the plants are in between the soil as you cork them together with the bottle. At this point, you can now take the bottle with your plants inside and keep them in that spot that you just cleaned up. Sit back and watch your plants thrive for years. Be sure to water and feed the plants about once a month, and mist them on occasion if they look dry too.

Enjoy watching your beautiful terrarium.

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Photo by Nielsen Ramon on Unsplash

Should I Feed My Pet Probiotics?

If you are wondering, “Should I feed my pets probiotics,” you’ll need more information first. The answer is sometimes. Let me explain.

What are Pet Probiotics?

Pet probiotics refer to natural supplements that are used by pets in situations when they look dull, fatigued, and tired. Pet probiotics are believed to be useful to dogs when they have digestive issues. They help shift the issues that are stressing your pets and assist in getting the pet’s digestive system regular again. In the correct circumstance, you can give your pets these probiotics. 

The Essence of Pet Probiotics

Pet probiotics can be important in the life of your pet. Most times you’ll notice that 70% of pets at the vet are there because their bellies are stressing them out, making these lovely beautiful pets seem extremely unhappy. This not only affects the pet themselves but also affects the owners of these pets. 

Do you understand? So imagine if these pets were always happy and didn’t have any problems with their digestive tract. That’s why pet probiotics may help.

What are the Features of Pet Probiotics? 

Pet probiotics have antioxidants and healthy bacteria that help dogs feel better, especially at times when they feel indigestion issues, or seem dull, sad, or unhappy. Without these probiotics as a powder, you could add a pinch to your dog’s food to help them digest and absorb food better.

How Can I Feed My Pet These Probiotics? 

This is very easy. Let me tell you how one of my friends normally does it. My friend has a dog that at times has a stressed digestive tract. In those instances, he would give the dog these pet probiotics. On a good day, none of us likes medications, as is the same thing with pets. After they went to the vet, the vet told my friend that whenever my friend notices these symptoms, he should simply put some probiotics into the food of the dog. 

Since then, whenever my friend noticed his dog feeling queasy, he would put some powdered probiotics into ham or a piece of meat and feed it to his dog. After some hours, his dog was back to being his old happy self. Pet probiotics like PRO-Pets Probiotic 3 Billion CFU by Hyperbiotics can work wonders, if used correctly.

So there we have it, you now know all you need to know about pet probiotics. Here's hoping you’ve got very healthy pets.

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Photo by Victor Grabarczyk on Unsplash

Frozen Cooking Tips for Beef, Chicken, and Pork

“Oh no, I didn't thaw the chicken! What will I make for family dinner?” If this has been you, calm your mind. This article will show you what you need to do when you've got something frozen (such as pork, beef, or chicken) and you need to cook it for an important meal that night. 

We all know you love juicy chicken, tasty pork, and delicious beef. Don't stress about your meat sources being frozen. Using these techniques properly, you'll get to have the type of meal you would have had, even if the meat sources were unfrozen from the beginning.  

Tips for Beef

You might have wanted to prepare steak, but your beef is completely frozen. Don’t stress your mind. Just get it out of the fridge. Put it in a bowl and then put it under running water. That’s the trick for beef. After it is no longer frozen, then you can carry on and use it for whichever purposes you had in mind before. Like I stated earlier, these are just tips. 

Tips for Chicken 

When you have frozen chicken that you would like to use to make a meal, just remove it from the freezer and put it inside a stock. Relax, I’ll explain what I mean by a stock. A stock refers to a combination of different ingredients like peppers, chili, seasoning, salt, and others ingredients you prefer. After you put your frozen chicken inside the stock, you start turning and turning. Make sure the amount of water you made use of for your stock is not so much. This is because the chicken itself has its water, which is frozen. 

After it unfreezes, it'll add to the amount of water available for you to keep cooking. This way you've got what you wanted and you'll get a very tasty juicy chicken. You could also take the meat out of the freezer in the morning and place it in a crockpot to cook on low for 8 hours. You’ll have tender chicken ready, just in time for dinner.

Tips for Pork 

For pork, you can just continue cooking it as you would have done if it was not frozen. Make sure the amount of water you'll be using isn't too much, because the frozen pork has frozen water, which would add to whatever you're cooking.

These are the tips you need to cook your delicious, juicy, and epic pork, chicken, and beef. I hope you enjoy your meal!

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Photo by Benjamin Faust on Unsplash

 

Indoor Palm Tree Gardening Tips

I would like to have some palm trees in my apartment. That would be quite nice, whenever I think about it. But enough of that. This article aims to talk about indoor palm tree gardening tips. So, I'll be talking about how you can garden and take care of your palm trees in your apartment.

Where Can You Get Indoor Palm Trees?

Well, you can get these indoor palm trees by going shopping for them at your local gardening center or plant shop. Try Lowe’s, Home Depot, or even Kroger’s plant department.

Tips to Take Care Of and Garden Your Palm Trees

Palm trees used or grown indoors are quite special trees when you think of them. They are lovely great trees, which need special  care. When you water them, do so every 5-7 days. Touch the soil, and when it feels dry, be sure to water it. Use about a cup of water for a large 4-6 feet tall tree. Do not overwater the tree. Check under the pot and empty and water that drains out, so as to not drown the tree. 

Then when you trim the tree’s brown leaves off, make sure you don’t cut off the green parts. Be specific and make sure you only cut the part of the tree that’s brown or yellow. These parts are the dead parts of the palm tree.

Whenever the leaves of these indoor palm trees fall, simply pick them off the ground gently. Don’t use rakes to pick them off; just use your hand. But make sure you wear gloves too.

If there are other trees you’ve planted in your apartment, like climbers probably, make sure they both don’t merge with the indoor palm trees. If they mistakenly merge, then you can simply with ease remove them from each other.

The thing people don’t understand with merging trees or merging plants is that when you want to reap from one of these plants, it becomes a problem. This is why you need to separate the plants from the onset before the problem becomes too much or before they merge and become one plant.

Be sure to feed your palm trees about every one or two months, depending on the season. Trees need less care during the winter months.

Get Rid of Weeds

This is very important. There’s no plant that likes the presence of weeds. It always ends in a parasitic relationship. The weeds would be sucking all the essential nutrients that the tree is supposed to be enjoying. For this reason, you need to cut off all weeds as soon as you notice any one of them. You could have days specifically set for getting rid of weeds.

Don’t Let Your Kids or Pets Mess with Palm Trees

I’ve seen some houses with lovely palm trees that have been destroyed by pets or kids. They have injured the poor trees, and they don’t look attractive anymore. So please you have to consciously stop your kids or anyone from using anything to rub on your precious trees. Keep in mind that not all indoor palm trees are pet-safe. If you have pets, stick to buying a pet-safe palm tree, such as majestic palm, ponytail palm, parlor palm, or cat palm.

The essence of these palm trees is to make your indoor apartment look beautiful. Bringing the outdoors inside is one way to beautiful your home and add to its relaxing, welcoming vibe.

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