Homemade Hummingbird Nectar Recipe Attracting Wild Birds No need to buy the powdered Hummingbird Nectar mix from the store for this rewarding hobby. Instead, make your with this simple hummingbird nectar recipe. You only need water and white sugar – super simple and easy to make. Use the following proportion: 1 part regular white sugar to 4 parts water. Example: 1 cup sugar, 4 cups water 1. 2. 3. 4. Using a microwave works too. Nothing extra: There is no need to add anything extra to the mixture, i.e. coloring, honey, etc. Storing hummingbird nectar: I store all varieties of my wild bird (Orioles, Hummingbirds, Butterflies, etc) “juice” up to two weeks in the fridge, but generally need to make it more often than that. Tip: I use a Rubbermaid container or a clean milk carton, clearly marked, to store my hummingbird juice in the refrigerator. Discard: If the juice in the feeder(s) becomes cloudy, or mucky, empty, clean and refill. Cleaning: Make sure bird feeders are cleaned every few days to a week to prevent any ickies.
Ways To Create More Growing Space By Cindy Naas The biggest challenge any urban gardener faces is that of finding enough room to grow everything. Here are some suggestions to help you use every available inch of space. 1. Container gardens are the backbone of many city gardens. 2. Trellising can nearly double the amount of gardening space and is a city gardener’s best friend. 3. Do you have an existing garden? 4. You can fit a head or two of lettuce into even a fairly small nook in your garden. 5. Using the ‘Square Foot Gardening’ method works really well for urban gardeners.
Dr. Tina Jones dedicates life to spreading awareness of the benefits of fruits and vegetables for a healthier life The loss of her mother to heart disease drives Dr. Tina Jones to help others live a healthier life. She shares Juice Plus+ whole food based nutrition with patients because of the benefits of fruits and vegetables for a healthy lifestyle. Dr. “I wanted to be a doctor as far back as I can remember,” she says. Dr. “We had to take her to three different hospitals in a 24-hour period before anyone realized that this young woman had had a heart attack,” she says. “Over the years, she was in and out of the hospital many times,” Jones continues. Her mother's failing health was not the only problem Dr. “Growing up in the ‘60s as a young African-American girl was challenging,” she admits. Dr. “I started medical school in the early ‘70s,” she recalls. Like most medical students of her era, Dr. “My mother was a wonderful cook but she was a Southern cook,” Dr. So when did Dr. As a young mother, Dr. “When they were babies, I would fix their fruits and vegetables from scratch myself,” she says.
5 Secrets To A ‘No-Work’ Garden It took over 20 years of gardening to realize that I didn’t have to work so hard to achieve a fruitful harvest. As the limitless energy of my youth gradually gave way to the physical realities of mid-life, the slow accretion of experience eventually led to an awareness that less work can result in greater crop yields. Inspired in part by Masanobu Fukuoka’s book, One Straw Revolution, my family experimented with gardening methods which could increase yields with less effort. Here are the strategies we used which enabled us to greatly increase our garden yield, while requiring less time and less work. 1. ‘No-till’ gardening is a series of methods in which the soil is never disturbed, thereby protecting the complex subsoil environment for the benefit of growing plants. With ‘no-till’ gardening, weeding is largely eliminated. By switching to ‘no-till’ methods, you won’t have to do the heavy tilling or shovel work which so many gardeners suffer through each spring. 2. 3. Displaces weeds. 4.
How To Build A Vertical Aquaponic System You can turn a small yard, a corner in a community garden or an unused space in your home into a thriving vertical farm for vegetables and fish. A household-sized vertical aquaponic system can fit into a 3ft by 5ft (1m x 2m) area and feed a family year-round. Sean Brady, the aquaponics projects coordinator at the Center for Sustainable Aquaponics and Nourish the Planet in Loveland, Colo., showed us how to build a system from scrap he found around the greenhouse. See how to make this below: How To Build A Vertical Aquaponic System
No-till Gardening Gardeners traditionally dig, or turn over the top layer of soil before planting to get rid of weeds, and make it easier to use fertilizers and to plant crops. This also speeds up the decomposition of crop residue, weeds and other organic matter. Tilling the soil is often the most strenuous of a gardener’s tasks. A complex, symbiotic relationship exists between the soil surface and the underlying micro-organisms, however, which contributes to a natural, healthy soil structure. With ‘no-till’ gardening, once the bed is established the surface is never disturbed. Benefits of no-till gardening Promotes natural aeration and drainage. Worms and other soil life are important to healthy soil structure, their tunnels providing aeration and drainage, and their excretions bind together soil crumbs. Saves water. Thick layers of mulch allow water to pass through easily while shading the soil. Reduces or eliminates the need to weed. Saves time and energy. No-till gardening helps soil retain carbon.
Why I Use Epsom Salt in the Garden *Why I Use Epsom Salt in the Garden*By: LL4e14 June 2004 I wanted to show everyone what a difference it makes with and without with only water being added all of these plants was planted on the same day and time. I am showing you ones I am growing with the sq. ft. method. All of these photo's were just taken today. I do have several baby tomatoes now. However now the non Epsom salt plants will be fed it also this was only to show those what a difference it makes. In the Garden House Plants Mix one teaspoon per gallon of water and feed to the plants every two to four weeks. Garden startup Sprinkle approximately one cup per 100 square feet. (10’x10’) and mix into soil before planting. Tomatoes Apply one tablespoon per foot of height for each plant every two weeks. Roses Apply one teaspoon per foot of height for each plant every two weeks. Evergreens, Azaleas, Rhododendrons Apply one tablespoon per nine square feet (3’x3’) over the root zone every two to four weeks.
5 Easy To Grow Mosquito-Repelling Plants As the outdoor season approaches, many homeowners and outdoor enthusiasts look for ways to control mosquitoes. With all the publicity about the West Nile virus, mosquito repelling products are gaining in popularity. But many commercial insect repellents contain from 5% to 25% DEET. There are concerns about the potential toxic effects of DEET, especially when used by children. Children who absorb high amounts of DEET through insect repellents have developed seizures, slurred speech, hypotension and bradycardia. There are new DEET-free mosquito repellents on the market today which offer some relief to those venturing outdoors in mosquito season. Here are five of the most effective mosquito repelling plants which are easy to grow in most regions of the US: 1. Citronella is the most common natural ingredient used in formulating mosquito repellents. Citronella is a perennial ‘clumping’ grass which grows to a height of 5 – 6 feet. 2. Horsemint leaves can be dried and used to make herbal tea.
15 most effective medicinal herbs that you can plant in your garden space | The Self-Sufficient Living The medicines that we see today, including the heavy antibiotics and the normal syrups, never existed century ago. However, people since inception have been taking a different form of medications for illness and other health problems. The power of herbal medicines cannot be overlooked at point time – prior to all the modern medicines, these herbal medicines even cured deadly diseases. Once again, pharmacy is going into the herbal era to explore and bring out the human health benefits. Unfortunately, we lack medicinal plant information and that is why never think of having some quick doctors (medicinal plants) at home. Are herbal remedies safe? This excerpt deals with the most common medicinal plants and their uses – moreover, you would get to know about the list of medicinal plants which can easily been grown at home. 1) Aloe Vera: It can be gown under normal conditions because it just needs moist soil and sun exposure. BurnsWounds and cutsEczemaSkin allergies 2) Marsh Mallow: 5) Tea tree:
Lasagna Gardening 101 There's no hard and fast rules about what to use for your layers, just so long as it's organic and doesn't contain any protein (fat, meat, or bone). Before I go any further, let me just say that the basics of making garden lasagnas are simple: Don't remove the sod or do any extra work, like removing weeds or rocks. Mark the area for your garden using a water hose or a long rope to get the desired shape. Cover the area you've marked with wet newspapers, overlapping the edges (5 or more sheets per layer). You need less loose material to plant in than you might think. First, we covered the area with lime, then laid whole sections of wet newspaper on top of the pine needles and covered the paper with peat moss. We pulled the layers apart and planted 31 tomato plants, four squash, six cucumber, four basil, two rosemary, four parsley, and twelve cosmos. Once the harvest was finished, I pulled the stems and disturbed the layers for the first time. Site and soil. Planting and harvest.
Top Ten Reasons Everyone Should Plant a Fall Vegetable Garden – And the Time Is Now! by Patti O'Neal This year we had a scorching June and many people are just beginning to see production on their tomatoes. So it may be hard to think about what you will eat in October and November when your tomatoes are gone, but now is the time to think about that. Colorado is well suited to fall gardening and winter harvest and it can be done successfully almost anywhere. Fall crops are primarily greens and root crops, so they are very well adapted to container gardening, table top raised beds, raised beds of all kinds. Beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, kale and chard can all be planted now. All these vegetables actually develop their prime flavors when the ambient temperatures are cooler. Although all these crops still require sun to photosynthesize – they are mostly leafy – most of these crops are designed to thrive in less than 8 hours of full sun. 6. You plant it in the spring, it bolts in June and you wonder how you will ever have a great homemade salsa. {*style:<b> Need More Help?
How To Grow An Organic Straw Bale Garden Easily This is actually the easy part! Once your bales are prepped and ready to go you can begin planting. I recommend planting fairly well established young plants. Before planting in the straw bales acclimate your plants be setting them outside on top of the bales during the day and bringing them in at night. Once you plant your garden you should soak your plants at the base of the plants very thoroughly. Every few weeks you will want to feed your plants. Weed your garden as needed, however you will find that very little weeding is required and when it is it is very easy since your plants are so high up off of the ground. That's it – easy, inexpensive, and a lot of fun!