Gardening Question of the Day for Monday, January 19, 2009
(Via Gardening Question of the Day (from The Old Farmer's Almanac))
When I bring my houseplants into the house at the end of summer, they seem to sprout bugs, whereas they were bug-free outside. What's up? (answer).
When I bring my houseplants into the house at the end of summer, they seem to sprout bugs, whereas they were bug-free outside. What's up? (answer).
From The Old Farmer's Almanac.
Heated Car Blanket
(Via Aaron’s Home and Garden)
A heated car blanket is great for cold trips, and long nights in the car. This Trillium heated blanket throw is big enough to comfortably fit over two people. They can be in the front seat or back seat, the blanket and 12v power cord are designed for both.
The blanket warms up very well on a small charge. The small amount of current wont take energy away from other vital car functions, in anyway that impedes them in an adequately charged car.
The polyester and fleece composite of the heated travel blanket is designed to be considered totally soft in order to give any user restful sleep should an emergency arise while traveling.
The heated travel blanket conveniently plugs into the lighter port.
The cord is 8 (feet) long. It has an LED lighted indicator, so you can see if it is on or off.
The travel blanket is designed to automatically shut off after forty minutes or so if it begins to get too hot. The low setting for this feature is thirty minutes.
This LED indicator is the general shape of a Zeus and Nano fused into one. Like the two stars of Benjamin Button. The view screen is large and easy for just about anyone, at any age to read.
A Heated Travel Blanket is a must have for families rolling about in the American countryside season in and season out.
21 Landscape Tools That You Need
(Via Gardening Tips 'n' Ideas)
Great gardens usually require more than just plants. Take a stroll through your local botanical garden and you will soon notice the pathways, raised garden beds, pergolas, arbours, gazebos, steps, bridges and a myriad of other structures that give the garden its framework.
Great gardens usually require more than just plants. Take a stroll through your local botanical garden and you will soon notice the pathways, raised garden beds, pergolas, arbours, gazebos, steps, bridges and a myriad of other structures that give the garden its framework.
Now consider what landscape tools were used to create this garden architecture and it's obvious that the typical garden shed probably doesn't hold most of what you need. In fact, there are probably a heap of specialty tools that may need to be sourced elsewhere. But, for most home gardens, and the gardeners who create them, there are only 21 essential tools that you need.
- Sledgehammer - usually weighing between 10-20lb these tools are no lightweight and definitely need some strength behind them. If you're not up to it maybe you could hire a bodybuilder or weightlifter for an afternoon. Great for demolishing walls and anything that's been bound by concrete or mortar.
- Crowbar - a crowbar, or colloquially known as a jimmy bar, is great for levering rocks or bricks and even large slabs of word. They can even be used to dismantle most wood structures, plying timbers apart and removing nails. Hopefully not yours!
- Spirit Level - this is essential if you're keen to have structures look straight and remain consistent. Spirit levels come in a range of sizes but the basic principle consists of a metal bar inset with a fluid level. In the fluid is a bubble and the inset is marked with two lines which the bubble should remain between demonstrating that whatever is being measured is level.
- Set Square - another essential tool for setting out is the set square. It allows you to keep a 90° angle between two surfaces.
- Tape Measure - try landscaping without one of these. They are an important tool for measuring lengths, widths, depths of your structures and your resources.
- String Line - a string line will help you mark out where your structures need to be built. They keep a straight line between Point A and B and are required if laying bricks or paving. They can even be used for setting out and one great tip is to use them as a giant set square. Over long distances a set square becomes inaccurate so a rule-of-thumb is the 5-4-3 using a string line. It works by measuring one side to 4m, the adjacent to 3m and then the hypotenuse of that triangle should be 5m. If it is then you know that your setting out is square.
- Garden Hose - a length of garden hose is a great way to measure curved lines for ponds, paths and even garden beds. It holds it shape well and once you're happy with the design you can outline the soil with some spray paint and remove the hose.
- Chalk Line - finally, the chalk line is just a glorified string line although it's had chalk added to it. Once the line is straight and taut you flick it with your fingers and it produces a chalk line ready to cut, dig or do whatever you wish.
- Wheelbarrow - the humble wheelbarrow is one of the most important landscape tools and is used for multiple tasks; carting rubbish and resources and mixing cement are its main uses. TIP: buy with a pneumatic tyre rather than a solid type and always keep the tyre pumped up with air.
- Shovel/Spade - for digging and shovelling soil, dirt, refuse etc
- Rake - a rake is one of the more important landscape tools as it helps to level surfaces and remove objects that could hinder your construction progress. Plus, depending what style garden you are creating can even be employed for some of the finishing work.
- Blower Vacuum - one of the few power tools needed for the home garden, a blower vac makes light work of cleaning up and dispersing dust made from your cutting tools.
- Mallet - the mallet is a great tool when completing stone or brick work. Shaped like a hammer but with a rubber head it gently eases bricks, rocks and paving into place without breaking them.
- Trowel - when dealing with mortar the trowel, in its varying sizes, is a much required landscape tool. It's very similar in use to the garden trowel but with a triangular-pointed metal head is much easier to movel and shape mortar.
- Float - floats can usually be sourced in either plastic or metal with the plastic variety unlikely to rust but often easier to wear away. A float is a great tool to smooth concrete and to help render brickwork.
- Brick Chisel - a brick chisel, or bolster as some call it, is required when bricks or pavers need to be broken. Placed on the face of a brick and worked around a line constantly with a hammer these tools are very helpful when you don't have large quantities of cuts to be made.
Timber and Metal Tools
- Circular Saw - another power tool that's essential in your arsenal if you have lots of timber to cut is the circular saw. Incredibly mobile, this tool is great for cutting lengths of wood quickly and in most cases does it quite accurately. Circular saws are also great for trimming wooden decks.
- Hammer - using nails, you need a hammer. Not very good at hitting nails - get a claw hammer.
- Drill - sometimes nails are just not the correct fastener for your timber and you may require screws. This is when a drill becomes an important tool or when you're need holes cut into your steel or timber.
- Angle Grinder - in some ways the angle grinder is the counterpart to the circular saw but for metal. It's great at cutting steel, aluminium, tin or a variety of other metals. With differing types of blades they can also be useful to cut bricks, tiles and any type of masonry.
Design Tools
Site Map Drawing - obvious - but worth mentioning. Without a plan, no matter how sketchy it is, your garden is likely to become a menagerie of ideas and structures that may not work together all that well. It's always best to start with a plan that, at the very least, outlines the main structures and offers some congruity to the landscape.Demolition Tools
If you're starting your garden from scratch then these demolition tools may not be needed for a while. However, if you've inherited a garden with a plethora of landscaping sins, or some structures are just in the wrong place then these will come in very handy.Measuring Tools
Once your garden has been prepared and now ready to start some landscape construction your next group of landscape tools will help you measure out the site.
Ground Tools
Now that all your set out work has been completed it's time to start construction.
Stone and BrickworkTools
And there you have it, 21 landscape tools that should help you get most of your jobs done around your home garden.
Heated Seat Cushion
(Via Aaron’s Home and Garden)
A heated seat cushion is a great way to ride comfortably in the cooler months of the year. This seat cushion is needed by anyone who wants to stay warm while driving and cover a cold seat.
The pad evenly distributes heat along the driver or passengers back and legs. This heat does not affect anyone else other than the person sitting in the seat. So, if one passenger cant bare to have more heat warming them from the heater, this heated seat will keep each as warmed as they desire.
This item is a great cheap alternative for work trucks that have no heat. Or work vehicles that are opened and closed often while driving members of a work crew around to different job sites.
The seat has been designed to quickly heat cold icy seats. This is great for curbing the initial chill of jumping in the car to take off to work in winter months. Especially when the driver hasn’t had time to let the car warm up first.
The thermostat on the heated seat cushion can be manually adjusted. This feature is controlled though an on, off, hi, and low setting control switch.
It also shuts off automatically when the heat is presumed to be too much for the user to bare.
The cushion has various hooks and elastic straps to hold it securely in various types of bucket seats. For the more than reasonable price of the product these fasteners work functionally.
The heated seat cushion will get your touch heated fast, and hold it with a warm embrace, year after year.
Gardening Question of the Day for Sunday, January 18, 2009
(Via Gardening Question of the Day (from The Old Farmer's Almanac))
What's the best way to keep pigweed from coming back in our garden in Michigan? (answer).
What's the best way to keep pigweed from coming back in our garden in Michigan? (answer).
From The Old Farmer's Almanac.
