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Building a Home Additon
Besides providing your home with more living space, a home addition can be a terrific investment. However, before embarking on such a project the homeowner should first consider several important items. These items include: home market values in the...
Building a Raised Garden Bed
You can save money by building your own raised garden bed. These can be used for flowers and even for vegetables. They are gaining in popularity because they are easy and inexpensive to build, making them practical parts of the landscape....
Building Your Own Grandfather Clock -
Timeless and elegant, classic and stately—grandfather clocks are all of those things. They are also rather expensive, with heirloom-quality grandfather clocks costing upwards of $10,000, making them inaccessible to much of the population. However,...
Caring for your Hardwood and Hardwood Laminate is easier than you think!
Just Vacuum and you are done!
Finished hardwood and hardwood laminate are the among
the simplest types of flooring to care for. In most cases just a quick sweep
and you are done. The occasional wipe with a damp cloth or mop will renew the...
Cozy Nooks: Creating a Secret Outdoor Place
Everyone seems to love a secret -- and when the secret is a nook in your outdoor space, all the better. A nook is defined as a private or secluded quiet inner place. Any outside space, from a balcony to an acre estate can benefit from including a...
Home Improvement Tips
There are thousands of home improvement tips available from
friends, family, books, television and even the internet. Tips
are a great way to find out what way to re decorate your home if
you have decided on some home improvement. Many magazines...
Installing Ceramic Tile
Ceramic Tile brings a texture, richness and color to a room that Linoleum has yet to truly mimic. Tile floors can be installed in any room, however they are most frequently seen in Bathrooms and Kitchens. I particularly like them in entryways,...
Metal Prefab Buildings Offer A Number Of Benefits Over Building With Wood
When considering a building project, one might hear the term ‘prefab’ or metal prefab buildings as a possible option. But what exactly does ‘prefab’ mean? ‘Prefab’ is simply a shorter way of saying prefabrication, which is the making of the parts...
Solar Power How It Works
Solar power
How it works seems like a mystery to some, but we've all seen it used to power everyday things like calculators. It is also used to supply electricity to the appliances and lights we use in our homes.
Even utility companies use...
The Benefits of Patio Gazebos
A patio gazebo is a gazebo that sits on or is built into your patio and is very easy and affordable to do. Prices range is $3000 to several thousand or more, depending on size, material, or quality and is comparable to other gazebo styles. You can...
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Vegetable Gardens & Organic Matter
Organic matter improves soil as a growing medium for plants. It helps release nitrogen, minerals, and other nutrients for plant use when it decays. A mulch of partially rotted straw, compost, or undecomposed crop residue on the soil helps keep the soil surface from crusting, retards water loss from the soil, and keeps weeds from growing.Practically any plant material can be composted for use in the garden. Leaves, old sod, lawn clippings, straw, and plant refuse from the garden or kitchen can be used. Often, leaves can be obtained from neighbors who do not use them or from street sweepings.
The purpose of composting plant refuse or debris is to decay it so that it can be easily worked into the soil and will not be unsightly when used in the garden. Composting material should be kept moist and supplied with commercial fertilizer, particularly nitrogen, to make it decay faster and more thoroughly.
The usual practice in building a compost pile is to accumulate the organic material in some out-of-the-way place in the garden. It can be built on open ground or in a bin made of cinder blocks, rough boards, or wire fence. The sides of the bin should not be airtight or watertight. A convenient time to make a compost pile is in the fall when leaves are plentiful.
In building the compost
pile, spread out a layer of plant refuse about 6 inches deep and add one-half pound or one cupful of 10-10-10, 10-20-10, or 10-6-4 fertilizer to each 10 square feet of surface. Then add 1 inch of soil and enough water to moisten but not soak it. This process is repeated until the pile is 4 to 5 feet high. Make the top of the pile concave to catch rainwater.
If alkaline compost is wanted, ground limestone can be spread in the pile at the same rate as the fertilizer.
The compost pile will not decay rapidly until the weather warms up in spring and summer. In midsummer, decay can be hastened by forking over the pile so moisture can get to parts that have remained dry. The compost should be ready for use by the end of the first summer.
For a continuing supply of compost, a new pile should be built every year. Compost can be used as a mulch, or worked into flower beds and the vegetable garden.
When properly prepared and thoroughly decayed, compost is not likely to harbor diseases or insects. If the compost is used in soil where an attempt is made to control plant diseases, or if it is mixed with soil used for raising seedlings, the soil should be disinfected with chemicals recommended by your local Extension agent or State agricultural college.
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