It’s sodisappointing when you realize that the reason your beautiful tomato plant has wilted overnight is because a vole ate its roots. And it’s equally frustrating when small trees and shrubs never really thrive, because their roots are routinely nibbled on by voles and undermined by mole tunnels. The commercial repellent granules we bought definitely … Continue Reading
We have always loved growing and harvesting squash, zucchini, pumkin, and watermelon. But for the past 2 years, by mid-June through July, our beautiful plants would suddenly wilt and die. After learning about the Squash Borer moth (Melittia satyriniformissyn.Melittia cucurbitae) with its bright orange body and black wings and the devastation its larvae cause, we … Continue Reading
I can’t say I’m a huge fan of traditional marigolds. But this larger version with full, delicate foilage and large, showy blooms caught my attention. The seeds I bought were labeled “Alaska”, but are actually “African”. I’ll admit that when I bought this seed, I expected a white or off-white marigold because that what the … Continue Reading
Here are a few variations of Do It Yourself pasta drying racks. The goal of each of these racks is to use as little space as possible, and requiring as little setup time as possible prior to use. Hopefully resulting in one less gadget that needs to be assembled/disassembled and one less thing taking up … Continue Reading
This is definitely one of the quickest and easiest DIY projects we’ve done that provided almost instant gratification. We now no longer have to fumble through a drawer filled with knives looking for a tiny paring knife. Each knife stays in its assigned spot and there’s no more risk of accidentally getting cut. After measuring … Continue Reading
This should get filed under “Why do they let people who don’t clean appliances designappliances?”. You probably have an oven like ours, which has two panes of glass in the door. The vents at the top front of the oven door are there to allow heat/steam to escape, but they also allow any food drippings … Continue Reading
Routine tasks need to be relatively easy if I have to do them “routinely”. That said, I’m not going to degrease the sink with vinegar, halved lemons, hydrogen peroxide, etc. Nor am I going to hand polish it with flour, baking soda, or stainless steel polish. That would take forever and requires too much elbow … Continue Reading
Creeping charlie isn’t our nickname for a creepy neighbor. It’s a lawn weed that can quickly take over your yard. It is also referred to ground ivy because of its vine-like spreading tendency. It has bright green scalloped leaves and pretty little purple flowers in spring. Creeping charlie (Glechoma hederacea) likes moist, shady areasbut, once … Continue Reading
We transplanted Nandina to camoflauge 80 feet of chain link fence of a neighboring property. The dense layers of delicate leaves and clusters of deep red berries are beautiful year round. There are some considerations to keep in mind when growing Nandina, which include invasiveness and toxicity. While researching poisonous plants, we learned that almost … Continue Reading
Over the past decade, we have gradually replaced most of the windows in our home. Half sized window screens weren’t available yet when we installed the first batch of windows. The second set of installed windows had half screens, and the second I washed these windows for the first time I immediately wanted to convert … Continue Reading
Saving seeds from your backyard, flower beds and garden not only saves you money, but it is the best way to grow exactly what you want and what you know grows well on your property. There are certain colors of flowers that I love that aren’t always available at our local nursery each year. And … Continue Reading