Lavender projects | Dried Lavender Tempted to do something with the lavender growing in your yard? Letting such a fragrant herb go to waste would be…well, a waste! Gathering, drying and using lavender is really simple. Dried flowers, lavender sugar and potpourri satchels are all quick and easy to make. Photo Credit: Amy Dee Stephens Cut flower stems about 6 inches long. Just one lavender plant produces enough flowers for a nice harvest. After flowers are dry, strip them by hand into a bowl. Attach your drying lavender to a hanger with ribbon, string or clips. Harvesting First, decide how you want to use your lavender. The individual flower stalks shoot up 6 or more inches above the leafy part of the plant. Drying Drying lavender can be done in a number of ways, and each offers pros and cons. Hang Drying Pros: Requires few materials and can be decorative. Bundle approximately 20 lavender stalks together and secure with a rubber band. Oven Drying Pros: Prevents mold growth, no hang space needed and faster processing time. Processing
Lawn Seeding: How to Plant Grass Seed - Greenview 5 steps for planting grass seed Planting (or seeding) a lawn is not difficult and can be done successfully by anyone. If you are planting grass seed, follow these five simple steps for best results. Step 1 – Buy the best grass seed A great lawn can only be grown from great grass seeds. The price of grass seed is small compared to the time that will be invested in building a great lawn. Get Greenview Fairway Formula top rated NTEP grass seed today »2 Step 2 – Prepare the soil Step 3 – Plant grass seed Spread the seed evenly by hand in small areas.Use a hand or lawn spreader or a mechanical seeder in large areas.Apply approximately 16 seeds per square inch. Step 4 – Cover Seeds Lightly drag the grass seed bed so no more than ¼-inch of soil covers the grass seed.Cover the grass seed bed with Greenview Grass Seed Accelerator4 to hold seeds in place and retain moisture. Step 5 – Water often When to plant grass seed Grass seed can be planted in the spring and fall with good results. Helpful links
Don't Bag Those Clippings! An Easy Answer It's a question we all face when mowing: Should I bag my clippings or leave them on the lawn? In most cases, the answer is easy: Leave the clippings on the lawn! Leaving the clippings will save you time and energy, and it will return valuable nutrients to the lawn. Like Free Fertilizer The most important thing you can do for your lawn is to feed it regularly, and grass clippings contain the same beneficial nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium nutrients as fertilizer. Less Work for You In addition to recycling nutrients back into the soil, leaving the clippings will cut down your mowing time and relieve you of the chores of emptying the grasscatcher and hauling bags of clippings out to the curb. Some Simple Guidelines There are a few things you can do to help keep your grass strong and looking good when you leave the clippings. Not a Thatch Problem The Exception: when Bagging is Okay There are some circumstances when collecting your grass clippings is warranted.
Tous les champignons sauvages, le portail du champignon : Champyves.fr Tulostoma brumale Tulostome des brumes Tulostome d'hiver Une tête globuleuse ou légèrement applatie d'environ 1 cm de diamètre, un stype cylindrique de 4 cm de haut pour quelques 0,3 de diamètre ... un champignon bien discret, souvent qualifié de rare, qui plus est ne pointe son nez, heu ! Voir la suite ... Volucella pellucens Volucelle transparente Une grosse mouche, un syrphe pour être plus précis, presque totalement noir sauf un segment de l'abdomen blanc transparent (origine du binôme) et, comme tous les représentants de cette famille des Syrphidaes, une impressionnante facilité en vol, notamment en vol stationnaire... Voir la suite ... Phlebia radiata Phlebia merismoides Phlébie rayonnante Voir la suite ... Phlebia tremellosa Mérule tremblante Avant, on disait : Merulius tremellosus, mais c'était avant ! Voir la suite ... Lenzites betulina Lenzite du bouleau Tramète du bouleau Encore un polypore, mais tout de même un peu particulier. Voir la suite ... Polypore souple Polypore de Forquignon
10 Killer DIY Garden Hacks Gardening is one of the most rewarding home hobbies you can do. It's fun, sustainable and you get healthy, tasty results. A lot of people like the idea of gardening but find excuses like it's too time consuming, it's too expensive, they don't have enough space, blah blah blah. 1. Vertical Gutter Garden When Suzanne Forsling moved to Juneau Alaska from Iowa, she found that it was a little bit harder to get her garden to grow. 2. Reclaimed Tire Garden If you have some old tires laying around that you don't know what to do with, you could burn them... if you hate the environment, or you could put them to work as cool looking raised garden beds. 3. DIY Earth Box An Earth Box is more than just a box with soil. Check out this post on Crafster.org that will show you how it's done (via Crafting a Greener World). 4. Self-Watering Garden Instructable user AskJerry discovered that his central air conditioning system disposed of approximately 350 gallons of water down the drain each year. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Natural Pools or Swimming Ponds Natural Pools or Natural Swimming Ponds (NSPs) Let nature clean the water... Chemical-free water garden and swimming pool. The plant portion, or regeneration zone, is separated from the swimming area by the wall seen a few inches below the water’s surface. www.naturalswimmingpools.com The pools have skimmers and pumps that circulate the water through the regeneration zone and back into the swimming area. There are many options as to design. A gradual slope contains the plants, gravel and loamy sand, a wall keeps them separate from the swimming area. Vacuum but twice a year and tend to the plants as needed. The regeneration zone can be along the perimeter of a natural pool or a pond unto itself but connected to the swimming area. www.gartenart.co.uk For a true natural pool with no help from ultraviolet light or other such technology, the requirement is half swimming area, half regeneration area. www.biotop-natural-pool.com Plants steel the nutrients away from algae. www.gartenart.co.uk
Lemongrass: A Thrifty, Edible Grass for the Garden Lemongrass ( Cymbopogon citratus ) has been making a yearly appearance in my garden in some way or another for some time now, but never like this. My new yard’s sun and sandy, well-draining soil turned out to be the perfect place to grow the sort of plant I have only seen in the tropics. Until now. Despite my predilection for tropicals this year, this particular planting wasn’t inspired by Thailand , although it is the country with which this grassy herb is probably most closely associated. Instead, it was inspired by an empty wallet. Growing: I grew this plant from a few healthy stalks purchased at the supermarket and set in a glass of water until they formed roots. The only other trick to keeping a healthy plant worth mentioning is that it likes a great deal of moisture. Harvesting: Now that the killing frost is approaching, I will be harvesting the entire plant.
8 Vegetables That You Can Regrow Again And Again Have you ever wondered which vegetables you can regrow or how to regrow them? Below are eight vegetables that you can regrow again and again. Scallions You can regrow scallions by leaving an inch attached to the roots and place them in a small glass with a little water in a well-lit room. wearenotfoodies.com Garlic When garlic begins to sprout, you can put them in a glass with a little water and grow garlic sprouts. nancyengedesign.wordpress.com Bok Choy Bok choy can be regrown by placing the root end in water in a well-lit area. makesmemine.blogspot.com Carrots Put carrot tops in a dish with a little water. projectfidgetyfingers.blogspot.com Basil Put clippings from basil with 3 to 4-inch stems in a glass of water and place it in direct sunlight. thateverydaygirl.com Celery Cut off the base of the celery and place it in a saucer or shallow bowl of warm water in the sun. infusionfibers.wordpress.com Romaine Lettuce Put romaine lettuce stumps in a 1/2 inch of water. fastcheapandgood.blogspot.com
How to Keep Water Clear in Fountains and Ponds, Barley: Gardener's Supply To keep ponds clear, it's best to begin treatment early in the season before problems arise. All gardeners want to be green — except when it comes to water. Whether you have a fountain, pond or a small reflecting pool, chances are good that at some point you'll have to deal with nuisance algae. Mother Nature has a way of colonizing just about any watery habitat with algae — even a birdbath. The best method for reducing algae growth depends on the size and type of the water feature, the time of year and the extent of the problem, as well as aesthetics and convenience. Fountains Here are a few options for keeping water clear: Container Water Gardens and Small Ponds Small-scale water features can be havens for unchecked algae growth. Large Ponds Ideally, large ponds contain a variety of plant and animal life that can help keep algae in check, but you might need to take steps to prevent murky water. Product Details