When you planted your garden it is likely you did not think about what you would do if you ended up growing too much. When it comes to harvest time it can be a little tricky to decide what to do with all of those fruits and vegetables. If you've got more green beans than you can eat, fortunately you don't have to let them go to waste. There are many things you can do to use up your garden extras.
Share With Relatives. Your neighbors would likely gladly accept your leftover fruits and vegetables. It is up to you whether you give it to them raw or decide to cook it up into one of their favorite dishes. Either way, they will likely appreciate the gift of food.
Try Freezing It. If you have an extra freezer, you may want to consider freezing your harvest. Make sure you carefully get all of the air out of the bags to help it freeze better longer. You can safely keep your foods in the freezer for at least a few months.
Home Canning. Another thing to do is to preserve your fruits and vegetables. With a pressure canner you can safely preserve all sorts of vegetables. Not only is this a tasty way to store your foods, but it can be very cost effective as well.
Try Drying It. You can make many great snacks with a dehydrator as well that will keep it from going bad. We love making vegetable chips to dip in our favorite yogurt fruit dip recipe. There are countless things you can make with your food dehydrator!
Give to a Food Pantry. Another great idea to consider is to give away to a great cause. Many people cannot afford fresh produce, so it is a great donation to make. This is a great way to give back to the community and share the bounty from your garden.
Now you'll never wonder what to do the next time your garden produces more that you expected. Best of all, all of these ideas are good tasting and fun to do!
July 29th, 2010 | Posted in General Gardening | No Comments
Starting a garden is fantastic. You will be able to give yourself along with family members with fresh grown vegetables that will be straight from your backyard garden. You will not just save money by gardening, but the fruits and vegetables that you produce will be without chemical fertilizers as a result of composting. How you compost can make a huge change in your success.
What is composting? Compost is simply a blend of garden waste, kitchen scraps, plus other natural materials that are completely broken down (decomposed) into a material with the purpose that you will be able to employ to help feed your garden. It is a dark material that is a "food source" meant for your soil because it can be very full of nutrients from all the natural substance it posses. The practical term used for compost is humus. But, for our use here we are going to just label it compost.
Why should you learn how to compost? There are actually two reasons to learn to compost: One, composting can be completely environmentally friendly. It reduces most amount of wastes that which goes into the landfills. Remember that the more composting you employ in, the less you will be contributing for the charge of refuse elimination. Composting critically reduces all your requirement for manufactured along with perhaps dangerous fertilizers. Using fewer chemicals means that there is less ground water pollution from the overuse of fertilizer. Two, because compost is packed of raw nutrients, it is fantastic for the garden. Composting improves the nature of the soil. This will be able to generate healthier vegetation. A healthier plant is further resistant to plant diseases. Compost furthermore is going to make it easier for the soil to embrace along with preserve water. It will improve sandy as well as clay-like soil.
Learning how to compost is essential. What can you use to make compost? You will want to put together some plot in order to accomplish this right. You as well will, nonetheless, want to produce a location close to the plants so that the composting area is easily easy to get to. However you will as well want to create it simple for you to get all the raw materials such as food, leaves, clippings from cut grass, and so on into the compost bin.
What then must you not use in your compost? Remember that you should not employ any meats in the compost mixture. Furthermore, you will have to avoid any animal fats. Also know if you utilize them, you are going to unintentionally attract little "neighbors" from the nearby area wanting to dine out of the composting bin. Do not use newspaper as well as shredded paper. Using this can be a dilemma since they may contain chemicals that may be a bit harmful for the compost. Cat and dog feces will be a problem since they will include tiny parasites in addition they as well have a horrific smell. Your compost pile is not a waste area. However you will be able to utilize manure from chickens, cattle, and horses in small amounts. But they will have an smell too.
How do you get compost? Construct a container or else bin with the purpose that can hold all the materials that you will have to include. You can go on the web for a sketch of your preference. Nevertheless the main point to execute in composting is turning the composting mix again and again. This gets the mix better furthermore gives it necessary air to the composting process.
Composting correctly is going to create a flourishing and healthier garden that you may enjoy while being environmentally and cost conscious. A win-win for everybody.
July 25th, 2010 | Posted in General Gardening | No Comments
Having a yard in which you can relax or take part in weekend pastimes is a nice thing, but it is possible you might be wondering whether you can make it classy, as well. What discourages a lot of individuals from making such enhancements, however, is the suspected financial drain of such an endeavour. Because there is hardly any progress in gazing out at your yard in resignation, you may wish to select a less expensive, less back-breaking choice for augmenting your scene – patio paving slabs. Visit this web page for small patio paving packs.
If you’ve never known they existed prior to reading this article, patio paving slabs are selected quantities of concrete, or some other building material, that can readily be settled into your yard to give you an elegant patio space. The most obvious benefit of using patio paving slabs is their price, as kits of the materials will not drain your financial reserves with each purchase. If you aren’t the most talented individual when it comes to do-it-yourself projects, there is no need to run, as patio paving kits come pre-assembled and are rather easy to build. Another great advantage is the great quantity of advice free for the taking out there, online or from the makers of the patio paving slab kits, that can train you how to assemble your patio successfully. It is useful to realize that you don’t have to content yourself with any one make of kit, as there are so many types from which you can select. Check out this blog for circle paving kits.
Concrete provides the most typical material for patio slab kits, a fine alternative that is also the least expensive. Slate, by way of alternative, is for individuals who want something slightly more lavish, providing you with a location that is not as prone to water hazard. Granite is another interesting upgraded selection, and is produced in colours that will cater to any inclination. Sandstone and limestone are not so renowned but no less outstanding alternatives, with exclusive textures and designs that will definitely make your patio stand out.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to lay out a patio paving slab kit, just some sweat and tears and a small amount of advance planning. Initially, tidy the patio site of all vegetation and place your markers according to your general idea. Excavate the underlying soil to a height of about 6 inches, and ascertain that the soil is solidly compressed under that. The hole should then be crammed in with some hardcore, which will provide a barrier between the soil and the patio paving slabs. After that, set your patio paving slabs into the area, affixing them with a rubber mallet and locking them together in a tough mortar base. Finally, you should allow the structure to dry, filling in joints as you see the need to do so, and then giving about a week for your patio to become ready to use. The relative ease of patio paving slab laying, and the amazing improvement, should encourage any individual to think about a substantial boost to what would otherwise be a boring yard.
July 24th, 2010 | Posted in General Gardening | No Comments