Gardening Soil Preparation Basics

                       Before getting started on planting, you will need to take some time and prepare your garden soil. Clay, silt, and sand will all need to be mixed perfectly in order to prepare your soil to provide the best possible environment for your plants. The ideal soil conditions that will promote excellent plant growth will be 20% clay, 40% silt, and 40% sand. There are many different tests that are used by gardeners that will provide the information you need to know about perfect soil composition. The first of many tests that can be used is to simply put the dirt in your hand and compress it. The soil will need to hold its shape because if it doesn't, the sand ratio is probably off. While you still have the compressed dirt in your hand try to poke it, and if it doesn't fall apart chances are the soil has too much clay.

If you're still confused about the type of soil you have, there is another technique that you can use that will separate each ingredient. Dump a couple of cups of dirt into a bucket of water. If you take the bucket and shake it around for a while, you'll see that the dirt will separate. Let it settle for a little while and you will actually see it separate into three different layers. From the bottom to the top you will see, sand, silt, and clay. At this point you'll be able to determine which of the three you have too much of.

After you've checked, and double-check, and you have found that your soil is low on a certain ingredient, it's time to do something about it. Sand or silt is probably the easiest to deal with because if there is too much, you can always add a little bit of Peat Moss. Also, Peat Moss and sand are an excellent combination if you have too much clay. Peat Moss works really well because when it gets moist it allows the other ingredients to combine a lot easier. If you've played around with the soil to the point where you can't get the right mix, head over to your house improvement center or your hardware store and find a product that can help you determine the quality of your soil. There should be several different products available that can help you.

                    When working with your garden soil, you'll also want to make note of the water content because this is also important. Water poses the biggest problem if your garden is located in the lowest area of your yard, where all the water drains too. If you have a garden in this area, the best thing to do is raise the garden at least 5 to 7 inches above grade. This will prevent saturation and provide a maximum amount of drainage.
                      Mixing nutrients with your soil is extremely important at this point, and the reason is many different soils found in urban areas do not contain many of the good nutrients your plans will require. So, at least one to two weeks before planning your garden, you should begin to mix in some fertilizer in your soil. Ensure to mix it in extremely well, and then allowed to sit for a few days. After this is done the soil will be prepped and ready for whatever type of seeds you plan to grow.
The job is not done because even after your seeds have been planted, you will still want to pay attention to what's going on with your soil. You will notice that in the first couple of weeks your seedlings will be using up a lot of the different nutrients around them. This will slowly but surely allow them to sprout into unique plants.

                 You don't want them to run out of food so about a week or two after the initial planting, you'll want to ensure you add at least the same amount of fertilizer as you did before planting your seeds. You want to use your fertilizer sporadically, but you don't want to use it all the time. Rule of thumb for adding fertilizer will typically be every couple of weeks, because this will be plenty to keep your garden green and growing.

                   When preparing your garden soil the procedure can be done quite simply by enssure that the soil is more than adequate, if you have a problem with the drainage take care of it, and make sure you have plenty of fertilizer but you don't want to add it all the time. If you follow the directions in this article you will have a wealth of plants that will provide greenery, beauty, or food to eat, in no time at all. If you're having a problem with any of these steps you can always talk to your local nursery, and let them know exactly what you've done so they can help. You'll find that many of the people that work at the plant nursery are very knowledgeable, and willing to help you prepare your garden soil so you can begin to grow some plants.

10 Easy Ways Energy Tips in Your Home to Save Money

                           Drastic reductions in heating, cooling and electricity costs can be accomplished through very simple changes, most of which homeowners can do themselves. Of course, for homeowners who want to take advantage of the most up-to-date knowledge and systems in house energy efficiency energy auditors can perform in-depth testing to find the best energy solutions for your  house.
Why make your house more energy efficient? Here are a few good reasons:
Federal, state, utility and local jurisdictions' financial incentives, such as tax breaks, are very advantageous for homeowners in most parts of the U.S.
It saves money. It costs less to power a house that has been converted to be more energy-efficient.
It increases the comfort in indoors.
It reduces our impact on climate change. Many scientists now believe that excessive energy consumption contributes significantly to global warming.
It reduces pollution. Conventional power production introduces pollutants that find their way into the air, soil and water supplies.

1. Find better ways to heat and cool your house. 

As much as half of the energy used in homes goes toward heating and cooling. The following are a few ways that energy bills can be reduced through adjustments to the heating and cooling systems:
 Use a ceiling fan. Ceiling fans can be used in place of air conditioners, which require a large amount of energy.
Periodically replace air filters in air conditioners and heaters.
Set thermostats to an appropriate temperature. Specifically, they should be turned down at night and when no one is house. In most homes, about 2% of the heating bill will be saved for each degree that the thermostat is lowered for at least eight hours each day. Turning down the thermostat from 75° F to 70° F, for example, saves about 10% on heating costs.
use a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat saves money by allowing heating and cooling appliances to be automatically turned down during times that no one is in house and at night. Programmable thermostats contain no mercury and, in some climate zones, can save up to $150 per year in energy costs.
                 Use a wood stove or a pellet stove. These are more efficient sources of heat than furnaces.
At night, curtains drawn over windows will better insulate the room.

2. Use a tank less water heater.

                                    Demand-type water heaters (tank less or instantaneous) provide hot water only as it is required time only. They don't produce the standby energy losses associated with traditional storage water heaters, which will save on energy costs. Tank less water heaters heat water directly without the use of a storage tank. When a hot water tap is turned on, cold water travels through a pipe into the unit. A gas burner or an electric element heats the water. As a result, demand water heaters deliver a constant supply of hot water. You don't need to wait for a storage tank to fill up with enough hot water.

3. Replace incandescent lights.

The average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Traditional incandescent lights convert approximately only 10% of the energy they consume into light, while the rest becomes heat. The use of new lighting technologies, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), can reduce the energy use required by lighting by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls for further energy savings by reducing the amount of time that lights are on but not being used. Here are some facts about CFLs and LEDs:
CFLs use 75% less energy and last about 10 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.
LEDs last even longer than CFLs and consume less energy.
LEDs have no moving parts and, unlike CFLs, they contain no mercury.

USE CFL LAMPS

4. Seal and insulate your House.

Sealing and insulating your house is one of the most cost-effective ways to make a house more comfortable and energy-efficient, and you can do it yourself. A tightly sealed house can improve comfort and indoor air quality while reducing utility bills. An energy auditor can assess  leakage in the building envelope and recommend fixes that will dramatically increase comfort and energy savings.
The following are some common places where leakage may occur:
electrical receptacles/outlets;
around pipes and wires;
wall- or window-mounted air conditioners;
attic hatches;
fireplace dampers;
inadequate weather stripping around doors;
baseboards;
window frames  and
switch plates.
Because hot air rises, air leaks are most likely to occur in the attic. House owners can perform a variety of repairs and maintenance to their attics that save them money on cooling and heating, such as:
Plug the large holes. Locations in the attic where leakage is most likely to be the greatest are where walls meet the attic floor, behind and under attic knee walls, and in dropped-ceiling areas.
Seal the small holes. You can easily do this by looking for areas where the insulation is darkened. Darkened insulation is a result of dusty interior air being filtered by insulation before leaking through small holes in the building envelope. In cold weather, you may see frosty areas in the insulation caused by warm, moist air condensing and then freezing as it hits the cold attic air. In warmer weather, you’ll find water staining in these same areas. Use expanding foam or caulk to seal the openings around plumbing vent pipes and electrical wires. Cover the areas with insulation after the caulk is dry.
Seal up the attic access panel with weather stripping. You can cut a piece of fiberglass or rigid foam board insulation in the same size as the attic hatch and glue it to the back of the attic access panel. If you have pull-down attic stairs or an attic door, these should be sealed in a similar manner.

5. Use efficient shower heads and toilets.

The following systems can be installed to conserve water usage in houses:
low-flow shower heads. They are available in different flow rates, and some have a pause button which shuts off the water while the bather lathers up;
low-flow toilets. Toilets consume 30% to 40% of the total water used in homes, making them the biggest water users. Replacing an older 3.5-gallon toilet with a modern, low-flow 1.6-gallon toilet can reduce usage an average of 2 gallons-per-flush (GPF), saving 12,000 gallons of water per year. Low-flow toilets usually have "1.6 GPF" marked on the bowl behind the seat or inside the tank;
vacuum-assist toilets. This type of toilet has a vacuum chamber that uses a siphon action to suck air from the trap beneath the bowl, allowing it to quickly fill with water to clear waste. Vacuum-assist toilets are relatively quiet; and
dual-flush toilets. Dual-flush toilets have been used in Europe and Australia for years and are now gaining in popularity in the U.S. Dual-flush toilets let you choose between a 1-gallon (or less) flush for liquid waste, and a 1.6-gallon flush for solid waste. Dual-flush 1.6-GPF toilets reduce water consumption by an additional 30%.

6. Use appliances and electronics responsibly.

Appliances and electrical account for about 20% of household energy bills in a typical U.S. house. The following are tips that will reduce the required energy of electronics and appliances:
Refrigerators and freezers should not be located near the stove, dishwasher or heat vents, or exposed to direct sunlight. Exposure to warm areas will force them to use more energy to remain cool.
Computers should be shut off when not in use. If unattended computers must be left on, their monitors should be shut off. According to some studies, computers account for approximately 3% of all energy consumption in the United States.
Use efficient ENERGY STAR-rated appliances and electronics. These devices, approved by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Program, include TVs, home theater systems, DVD players, CD players, receivers, speakers, and more. According to the EPA, if just 10% of homes used energy-efficient appliances, it would reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of 1.7 million acres of trees.
Chargers, such as those used for laptops and cell phones, consume energy when they are plugged in. When they are not connected to electronics, chargers should be unplugged.
Laptop computers consume considerably less electricity than desktop computers.

7. Install day lighting as an alternative to electrical lighting.

Day lighting is the practice of using natural light to illuminate the home's interior. It can be achieved using the following approaches:
skylights. It’s important that they be double-pane or they may not be cost-effective. Flashing skylights correctly is key to avoiding leaks;
light shelves. Light shelves are passive devices designed to bounce light deep into a building. They may be interior or exterior. Light shelves can introduce light into a space up to 2½ times the distance from the floor to the top of the window, and advanced light shelves may introduce four times that amount;
clerestory windows.  Clerestory windows are short, wide windows set high on the wall. Protected from the summer sun by the roof overhang, they allow winter sun to shine through for natural lighting and warmth; and
light tubes.  Light tubes use a special lens designed to amplify low-level light and reduce light intensity from the midday sun. Sunlight is channeled through a tube coated with a highly reflective material, and then enters the living space through a diffuse designed to distribute light evenly.

8. Insulate windows and doors.
About one-third of the home's total heat loss usually occurs through windows and doors. The following are ways to reduce energy lost through windows and doors:
Seal all window edges and cracks with rope caulk. This is the cheapest and simplest option.
Windows can be weather stripped with a special lining that is inserted between the window and the frame. For doors, apply weather stripping around the whole perimeter to ensure a tight seal when they're closed. Install quality door sweeps on the bottom of the doors, if they aren't already in place.
Fix storm windows at windows with only single panes. A removable glass frame can be installed over an existing window.
If existing windows have rotted or damaged wood, cracked glass, missing putty, poorly fitting sashes, or locks that don't work, they should be repaired or replaced.

9. Cook smart.

An enormous amount of energy is wasted while cooking. The following recommendations and statistics illustrate less wasteful ways of cooking:
Convection ovens are more efficient that conventional ovens. They use fans to force hot air to circulate more evenly, thereby allowing food to be cooked at a lower temperature. Convection ovens use approximately 20% less electricity than conventional ovens.
Microwave ovens consume approximately 80% less energy than conventional ovens.
Pans should be placed on the matching heating element or flame.
Using lids on pots and pans will heat food more quickly than cooking in uncovered pots and pans.
Pressure cookers reduce cooking time dramatically.
When using conventional ovens, food should be placed on the top rack. The top rack is hotter and will cook food faster.

10. Change the way you do laundry.

Do not use the medium setting on your washer. Wait until you have a full load of clothes, as the medium setting saves less than half of the water and energy used for a full load.
Avoid using high-temperature settings when clothes are not very soiled. Water that is 140° F uses far more energy than 103° F for the warm-water setting, but 140° F isn’t that much more effective for getting clothes clean.
Clean the lint trap every time before you use the dryer. Not only is excess lint a fire hazard, but it will prolong the amount of time required for your clothes to dry.
If possible, air-dry your clothes on lines and racks.
Spin-dry or wring clothes out before putting them into a dryer.
Homeowners who take the initiative to make these changes usually discover that the energy savings are more than worth the effort. 

Roof and the Ceiling Maintenance

                   If your house is experiencing leaks from above, it is therefore time to consider home improvement tips for your roof and ceiling. The roof provides the house with shelter therefore it is very essential to protect and maintain it. Constant leaks can cause damage to the house as the moisture from water will eventually affect its structure and material. Homeowners get scared at the thought that their abode will fall apart. So to prevent this from happening, it is necessary to protect the roof and the ceiling as a home improvement technique.

                 When you see signs of leaks in your roof, do something about it immediately. Check out what needs to be done and what repairs should be made. It is better not to procrastinate as this will further damage the structure of the house and costs become higher with delay. People usually use metal roof for their home improvement because they find this more sturdy and simple to set up. Other people choose tiles for their roofing made of clay, concrete or tin as these are also durable.

                         While you are fixing your roof, it is equally important to put roofing insulation as this helps the house ward off the climate temperature. Insulation wards off heat during summer and controls the coldness of winter. This will make you feel more relaxed and at ease in the comfort of your own dwelling. During summer, you are therefore not tempted to use air conditioning. When winter arrives, the warmth caused by the insulation will not make you want to use the heater. This home improvement tip will prevent your electric bills from spiraling up.

               When your roof leaks, this affects your ceiling because moisture sets in there as well. You should also fix this because if you just ignore this, it might fall on you when you are least aware of it thus causing harm to you and your family. You can replace your old one with the new and popular acoustic ceilings which people utilize nowadays because they do not make any sound when they are stepped on from the top. Others go for suspended ceilings placed inches under the real ceiling using a grid made of metal. This gives your house a new and modern look.



               The roof and the ceiling are very important aspects of the house aside from the walls because it helps give shelter and fends off danger. When your old roof and ceiling are to retire, better remove them and substitute them with a modern one. It will make your family safer and will give your house a fresher appearance. Make sure your roof and ceiling conforms to the interior and exterior color of your home. Choose the color that you like most so that after you arrive from work, you will feel good seeing how your house looks.

                

Home Painting The Right Color for the Right Room

So, you've just bought the house and wish to repaint all the walls in each of its rooms. That would be fantastic. Just make sure you don't choose the wrong color.

So, let's get it started:

1.Your Bedroom.

It's bedtime. You need a room that can make you feel comfortable, warm, and peaceful yet can cheer you up in the morning while you wake up. So, what you need is balancing the colors. One thing for sure, don't use dark colors for the walls. Instead, choose warm ones like buttery yellow, misty peach, or sweet, delicate pink. These colors might be soft and can help you sleep better but they can also be inspiring in the morning. Note this: don't use red or yellow for the walls.

2.Your Living Room

When you go home from work, you'd like to sit down and watch some TV. To relax. Yes, that's what a living room is for. Green is considered the most restful color for the eye. Blue is also good to add calming effects. Both can relieve your stress and get you relaxed.

3.Your Kitchen

The first impression of your kitchen should be 'clean.' Blue or light yellow would be great. Plus, these colors give you the sense of calming and relaxing so when you have to cook, you won't easily get tired.

4.Your Kids' Room

Boys relate to blue while girls to pink. Some people are getting bored with those colors. Why don't you try light green combined with yellow or you can combine purple, light blue and pink. Be imaginative with colors in your kids' room. Their favorite color should be added as well.

5.Your Bathroom

Wish to be different? Forget blue. Aren't you bored to see blue in every bathroom in this country? So, try other colors. Play with bright ones. Try Yellow or Orange. They will surely brighten your day in a cozy morning while you wish you were still in bed.

Before choosing the right colors for your house, it is better for you to learn about the essence of colors. That way, you will know which colors to choose and how it affects your rooms.

Painting Guide

                     There are many ways to decorate and redecorate the rooms in your home. Painting is one of the cheapest and easiest home improvement solutions. At the same time, the walls, ceilings, doors and window frames are the background of the decor and their look and appeal are extremely important. That is why you need to make sure that you will get the work done well.

Start by choosing the paint colors you want for your home. You should consider as many chips as possible, as a start. Learn more about the different shades and their undertones. Put different chips together to come out with the best paint color combinations for the different fittings. More importantly, the shades have to match the furniture and fixtures in the room. Check out the latest trends in paint colors to make sure your interior will be in style.

The next step of your painting home improvement project is to choose the types of paints and additional materials. The modern water-based paints are quite good for walls, but the latex ones seem to have more beneficial qualities. They are easy to apply as well as to clean and to maintain. The oil-based paints are better for trims. Consider using painting materials that are specifically made for ceilings. You have to choose the right paint finish as well. The glossy ones give the room extra brightness, while the flat matte ones cover imperfections and create a more intimate atmosphere.

                Consider getting all the painting tools you will need in advance. Make a choice in line with the surface you will be redecorating. You will find it easier to use foam rollers for larger surfaces and pads and brushes for smaller ones as well as for making applications. You should use brushes with synthetic bristles with water-based and latex paints and natural bristle ones to apply oil-based paint.

                Choose the painting technique that you want to use. Some of the most popular ones include color washing, combing, sponging and lathering. Check out samples to see how the results look and to make up your mind. Study the chosen technique carefully and prepare ready instructions that you can follow easily.

                Before you begin the painting home improvement project, you have to make all the necessary preparations. Move furniture, carpets and rugs away from the surfaces you will paint. Cover the floors with nylon or study cloth covers. Get yourself ready as well. Consider using painter's blue tape to prevent paint seeping.

Prepare the paint and start painting.

Best Home Painting

                     One of the best ways to improve the look of the exterior of your home is through home improvement painting. This is something you choose to do when the outside of your home is starting to look so drab and run down that even your neighbors are complaining. Happily, unless you have some truly serious structural damage, a coat of good paint will have your home looking great and fitting right in with the neighborhood again in no time.

                                            A lot of times home owners are interested in selling their houses and want things to look as eye-cat chingly perfect as possible. This is another time that home improvement painting is used. The color of the paint is not always so important to the owners at this time because they do not plan to be the ones staying in the house to enjoy it. More of a concern in this instance is that the overall end result looks beautiful enough to attract home buyers.

                                              Obviously, if you have a need for this type of exterior painting, you will want to consult with a professional painting contractor. This is the person with the experience it takes to look over your house as well as those around it in your neighborhood so that the best paint colors for home improvement painting are chosen to fit in while also appearing a bit unique. It is also the person who will be able to answer any questions you may have regarding having your house painted.

                                  In just a few years, traditional paint will flake and chip, then its time again to go through the hassle and expense of repainting your home. While putting home improvement task into play, if you are a home or a property owner, then you are forced to repaint homes every couple of years to keep up the new look which creates a lot of confusion when choosing among the options available.

                                                        The exterior of your home is the first view that people notice which should not be left outdated. Interior remodeling and adding accessories is beneficial to increase the value of your home but first, people should feel to walk through your door. Currently, warm earth tones are replacing the plain white or pastels of the 80's and 90's. Repainting your home interior with new fun filled fashion colors can be done by picking a floor dominant color in the room, like a piece of furniture or artwork that you want to keep as a focal point and blend other colors around it. For exterior match the color to the existing brick, stone or trim it accordingly. This will tell potential buyers that your home isn't as old as its built date, but would surely give a fascinating look, increasing their interest to buy.

                                            The color scheme in a room can dramatically turn your mood positive when you have good color combination of roof with flooring as you walk in. Colors are not just about change of ambiance, it would be a good idea to flavor your room colors according to the type of mood you would like to create when in the room. Bright colors like red and orange will energize your room, so better to choose these colors for your social and activity rooms. Yellow is another active color that stirs up your thoughts and brings out the creativity in you. Choose softer colors like blue, purple and green if you are going for a calm and quiet environment like in your bedrooms or bathrooms.

                              Getting people's advice about what suits your home is important but it is you who would ultimately be living in your home, not them, so it's important to go with colors you like while making the home remodeling. Make sure you listen to yourself more than them and follow your instincts to build your dream home.

                               Also, keep it simple, because too many colors will spoil the vibe. Think about sticking with one color and varying the shade of that color, and pick a color or shade that can blend in with almost anything. This is your piece of art, and you can use your furniture and drapery as accents.

                  Before you decide to hire a painting contractor be sure that he or she is the best one for the job. This can be done by arranging a free consultation with one or more painting contractors of your choice. During these consultations, you can ask all of your questions, find out what sort of paint should be used and what color choices are best for your home, as well as how much it will all cost and how long the job will take to complete

Toilet Do's and Don'ts

                           Home owners with septic systems are accustomed to being cautious about what goes down their toilets. These folks know that you don't want things like sanitary napkins, harsh chemicals, or an excessive amount of toilet paper going into a septic tank. Along those same lines, homeowners with composting toilets must also be careful about what goes their toilet, too. In this article, we'll cover some basic do's and don'ts when it comes to what goes in your compost toilet.

                   To premise this discussion, we'll begin with a brief explanation of what a composting toilet is and how it works. These Eco friendly fixtures are a water-saving alternative to a traditional toilet. Rather than being hooked up to a sewer and flushing waste away with water, they are designed with a composting drum where waste is broken down by tiny microbes and oxygen. Special venting systems ensure that compost toilets operate 100% odorless Toilet , and after several months, you are left with ordinary compost, a non-offensive substance that looks and smells just like garden soil.

                                  One of the first and most important considerations with a composting toilet is not to add anything that might affect the microbes' ability to do their job of breaking down the waste. This means no harsh chemicals or cleaning agents such as bleach or ammonia products, as these will kill the beneficial bacteria. A good alternative cleaning solution is a mixture of baking soda and water.

                                           Another potentially harmful substance is antibiotic medicine. Some people like to dispose of old medications by flushing them down their toilets. This is not a good idea with a composting toilet, because any medicines designed to kill bacteria will harm the microbes in your compost. Furthermore, if you or someone in your home has a chronic illness for which they must take antibiotics over an extended period of time (for example, 6 months at a time, or longer), it might be a good idea for that person not to use the composting system, because that antibiotic medicine will be present in their waste.

                                               It's also important to understand that composting toilets vary in size based on the number of people who will be using the fixture on a daily basis. For example, a single adult would not require nearly as large a unit as would a family of six people. The capacity of the toilet, based on the number of people using it, takes into account waste and toilet paper. It does not factor in additional capacity or space for things like feminine sanitary products, paper towels, baby wipes, diapers, or facial tissue. Adding these items not only affects the capacity of your system, but many of these items will also be slow to biodegrade, meaning you may end up with finished compost that still contains part of a sanitary napkin in it-not something you want to deal with. Educate all members of the family that the only items to go in the composting toilet are waste and toilet paper; everything else belongs in the garbage can.

                                              When it comes to composting toilets, a little common sense and thoroughly reading the manufacturer's instructions will go a long way toward protecting your investment and keeping the unit working properly. Just as with a septic system, taking good care of your composting toilet and keeping certain items out that don't belong will ensure that it performs as it should and lasts as long as possible.