The stringing nettle can be used for food as well, but at the spring time only as a chemical change occurs in nettles around midsummer which makes them particularly bitter.

Also it helps to get rid of dandruff.

Stinging nettles are an important habitat for rare butterflies species so please leave some nettles  in your garden.

My wife, Jenny and I haven’t been gardening for long but the desire has been there for many years. We have been married for 27 years and now we finally have our very own backyard big enough for both flowers, trees, shrubs and as of 2009, a vegetable garden as well.

It’s about -27 here today and the wind is pretty strong making it bitter cold so I am staying in my office and planning my garden season for 2010. Nice and toasty in here with my coffee and music.

We started gardening here the year we purchased the property. We even purchased the lot next door so we could have room for a vegetable garden. We didn’t start with a vegetable garden because my health was pretty poor when we bought this home. So we started with a few flowers and then moved on to a few containers for strawberries and tomatoes.

After that we were hooked and I managed to dig up a vegetable garden plot, 4×16 feet and started square foot gardening in 2009. We had a great experience, learned a bunch of things NOT to repeat and some things that will help us do better in 2010.

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Although many people have not heard about this type of growing system, the truth of the matter is that it has been around since ancient times when the herbs were used to treat injuries and illness. In more recent years the idea caught on with everyone from the common household to larger corporations who supply many people with fresh produce during the winter months.

Getting started

Like anything else, there are several methods for getting your garden set up. However, no matter which way you choose to set it up you will need the same types of materials to get started. The central items that you need to get started are a couple of pans with one being a little bit bigger than the other, herb plants, plant food, water, small scaled plumbing pipes, and some sort of sterile medium.

The first thing that needs to be done is to punch small holes into the smaller of the two pans. Make the holes small enough to fit the pipes in tightly. Once you do this put the pans together and insert a pipe into each opening. Put your medium on top leaving each hole open for the plants. If you can’t find this type of planting surface you can use such things as small garden rocks or even plant moss. Just make sure that they are sterile.

Take a container and mix up the recommended amounts of plant food and water. Be careful to break up any lumps if you are using a powder treatment. Cover the entire pan with the mixture being careful to get it down into all of the holes. All that needs to be done now is the planting.

You will need to take great care in rinsing all of the soil that is on the roots of your plants. It may be better to soak them in a small tub as opposed to rinsing them off with running water. Take some type of cloth and blot all the water away or simply tap them lightly on the side of your tub. Place each plant into its own tube and all that will be left is to tend to their daily care.

How to care for your herbs

After you have your garden set up find a bright area in your home to place the container in. If your house is not lit up enough you can always find a plant light to put over your pans. The ideal environment for your herbs would be cool and moist and there are many cooled air humidity machines that will provide the perfect solution for homes where the air is dry.

The best thing about hydroponic herb growing is that you can add a fresh taste to all of your dishes all year long. They will add a wonderful aroma to your home and it is an effort that your family is bound to appreciate.

Springtime lawn care and maintenance varies depending on your region, but there are some things that are common whether you live in a warm or cold climate. These standard jobs are the following:

Pulling weeds out
Applying some compost tea
Trimming with low blade
Aerating and de thatching.

These simple jobs play an important role in lawn care, so be sure to take your time.

With summer comes our favourite lawn care and maintenance job – regular lawn trimming!
Many people remove the lawn clippings after mowing. It is better to leave them – lawn clippings are a great source of nutrients for your soil. Instead of bagging grass clippings when you mow, recycle clippings back into the soil.

There is no perfect advice of what type of lawnmower to use – a rotary mower, a riding mower, a reel mower, or a walk behind. And it is up to you to decide whether to use a petrol lawnmower, gas, electric, battery, or manual powered. The choice depends of your financial situation and the amount of comfort you want to have during a lawn mowing. I know that very popular choice is bosch rotak lawnmower because it is easy to use.

Another summer lawn care and maintenance job is watering. Now, watering is a tricky task. You have to avoid over or under watering your lawn. The perfect solution is a slow steady water once a week. Grass lawns require a minimum of 1 inch per week of water (or as much as your local water restrictions allow). It can be achieved in about 30 minutes of watering. Don’t water your lawn in the heat of the day as you will just waste water to evaporation. Water early in the morning instead, to maximize the moisture on your lawn.

Also you have to do jobs such as monitoring the insects (some good, some bad), attentive weed control, watching for lawn disease, and applying a calcium rich fertilizer.

This vapor genie is a great help for smokers as by using it, they can get all the flavour and active ingredients in a clean vapor without the tar and other toxins found in smoke.

But apart from that it is also a herbal vaporizer. So even non-smokers can use it  for releasing aroma’s and aromatic flavouring from spices or incenses. It is great to use it for relaxation after a busy day and you can use sices and herbs from your own garden.

Volcano Vaporiser was designed and manufactured by Storz & Bickel of Germany and has received the prestigious Dr.-Rudolf-Eberle-Prize for outstanding technical innovation.

A lot of people around the world have selected the Volcano Vaporizer because it is so easy to use, safe, and almost totally exterminates chances of passive smoking. This is a great way of releasing aroma-inducing materials from any given herb, powder, or oil, and infuse it successfully with other blends.

According to manuals, the device is really easy to use. You just have to add herbs or oils in aroma-inducing base inside a removable chamber, and then install the vapor collecting bag on top of the device, and turn it on. The work is normally done in a matter of minutes. There are a few models available on the market. You can either buy the original, classic version, or digital version which is more accurate, because of the electronic controls which promise to control the temperature of the base within given limits.

Thank you for reading

The company has been helping people with their home remodeling for over 30 years. They provide home remodeling estimates and a lot of services to their customers.

Their friendly staff help people to select right siding, dors, windows and help to lover heating and cooling bills. Also they can give an advice for people who want to sell their house and would like to increase the re-sale value. Apart from that they offer a roof repair service.

Builders Service Company realy help people to save money. They have trained, full time remodeling professionals who will ensure your home improvement project is executed perfectly every time. They also provide top quality materials from the finest manufacturers in the industry.

If you visit their website, you will see that they also can help with custom replacement windows.

The company offers so called “Premium Preservation Windows” that encompass all of the hallmarks of exceptional window design — great quality, beauty and easy maintenance. These windows help cut heating and cooling costs and make your house more comfortable.

A few days ago I gave an advice about vinyl sliding installation. If you don’t want to do that yourself, than Builders Service Company is the place you need.

Company can help with wide and narrow width vinyl siding, scalloped siding, board and batten, and even Shaker shingle vinyl siding. The decorative possibilities they offer are virtually endless.

Preservation Siding adds an important bonus to your home’s exterior walls – energy efficiency. Our home will be warm and cosy.

The company also offers free consultations on their website, so you can get an estimate for work that has to be done.

So if you plan to renovate your home – visit their website!

• Prepare the space so that you can work comfortably. Tie back branches from trees, shrubs etc, away from the property. Remove all things that can potentially interfere with the installation. In order to make the vinyl accessories fit properly, scrape the old sealant out of the junctions between the previous sliding windows/doors.
• Nail 1×3 furring strips 16″ on center from the foundation to the eaves, just in case the walls of the house are not leveled properly.
• Now you must find the lowest corner of the house: use a mason’s line and neatly line the level of the property. Make a level chalk line all around the property, by measuring the distance as specified by the Vinyl installation guidebook.
• Nail starter strip all around the base of the property, by using the chalk line you made as a guide. You must leave 1/4″ space between the ends where two pieces bump into each other.
• The next step is to install the inside and outside corner posts. Allow the post to extend below the bottom of the old siding for around 1/4″ and also leave a 1/4″ gap at the eaves.
• You need to install J-channel, first on the sides. After that, install them across the tops of all windows and doors. Notch the J-channel to allow a drip edge at the corners. Next, install the J-channel along the sloped eaves at all gable end walls.
• Install the siding panels, working from the starter strip up. Stagger the joints 4” apart.
• The panels should be overlapped  1″ at each joint. Keep the overlap away from the entrances in order to reduce its visibility. You should leave 1/4″ gap wherever the ends of panels bump into J-channel or corner posts.
• You should not force the panels up against the previous row. Let them hang loose.  And check every fifth or sixth course, to ensure that the run is level.
• After that, mark the section you are about to cut to notch a panel, where it will fit under the window. Then take a tin snip and cut from the top of the panel. Score the panel horizontally and cut it apart using a utility knife.
• Hollow the cut edge 16″ on the center, using a snap-lock punch (make sure that lugs are on the outside of the panel), then push the siding panel into place.
• With the help of a circular saw, rip the panel to width at the horizontal eaves, punch the cut edge 16″ on center (with the snap-lock punch). Then, push the panel into place.
• After the work is done, don’t forget about gutter protection and a glass of beer!

Next time I will try to write about soffit and fascia. Keep your finger on the pulse!

I’ve found a very nice tutorial on Youtube, that you might find useful. You may also want to visit backyardchickens.com for free chicken coops plans.

Today my grandmother made me a wonderful gift: chilli pepper’s tree. With about 50 chilli peppers hanging on it. I wanted to have it for a long time but could not find seeds (in my country they are rare) or plants. My granny was luckier – she found it on the market and bought it straight away knowing that I am searching for one. There was three red ones already, – others are still green.  I cut one and took a small piece of it. It was very spicy.  While I was eating my dinner, I created a spice recipe which I want to share with you.

Chilli spice recipe – my own invention

There are only two components: dried chilly and dried leafs of sage.  Melt them together and… That’s all! I think the flavour will be fantastic and you can use it for pizza, soups, meat and so on. I haven’t tried it yet – first of all I will have to have some more chillies on my tree.

There is also another thing you can do with chilli peppers: take 2-3 of them and add them into 0.5 lit of olive oil. After 1-2 weeks you’ll get spicy olive oil. I used such oil in one Chinese restaurant with prawns soup and it was delicious!

Read also:
Growing peppers