Home Improvement Editorial

Posts Tagged ‘gardener’

Home Improvement can be the most rewarding experience you can embark on, if you like the do-it-yourself thing. I think maybe it is the accomplishment of doing something that you think you can’t do, so it is very rewarding when you prove to yourself that you can do it. I am getting too old to do many of the things I used to do. I am a Female, now 72 yrs old, and this is why I say that. I have sons that just leave me alone (even now) and let me do my thing. I love remodeling and decorating. I love to change something into something different. I have had people tell me I can’t change this to that, so I have to prove them that it can be done. One such thing was my Oak Kitchen Cabinets. They were stained and old, out of date, and the more I looked at them the more I was determined to do this. I have worked in a cabinet shop (which my Husband and I owned) so many years I can hardly remember when I didn’t, so I have a lot of insight on the Home front.

My Daughter and I live together and I think I scared her with the many things I wanted to do, but she is a trooper and I usually got what I wanted to do. So we talked about painting the cabinets and we decided we would try it. Painting cabinets was the big thing now. Even in our Cabinet shop, most cabinets are painted (though they weren’t Oak cabinets). The grain in the Oak wood is so bold, it is hard to cover it up. We searched around and found the type of paint to use. Prime the cabinets first, then hand sand and start painting. We painted the cabinets white. They were beautiful. My Son put on new Counter tops for us. We also took up the old flooring and put down new vinyl floor tiles, because I am not the kind of person that stays with a look forever. I love change. So I use Materials that can be changed out without breaking the bank. I don’t like slate or granite, Corian or floor tile that is so cold. I don’t like the granite or hard cold Counter tops either. These are costly and you cannot change these out inexpensively. You are stuck with them. I still like the change, so this is not for me,

No, I don’t own a million dollar home but I do own a comfortable beautiful home, that I change, from time to time and I keep it changed to suit me. I love my home! It is similar to the old fashioned southern homes with the big front porch, three sets of beautiful steps, and Gates on all three for my small, great grandchildren, when they visit. My Yards are beautiful and there was no gardener for these either. I have changed my yard, just like I have the House and now I am finally getting satisfied with the way it looks. There is so much Love in my home that even the richest person could envy and wish they were in my Place. I can sit back and enjoy my home, which has been an on-going project for over 20 years, and I have enjoyed every project I have ever done!

Among the many edible-berried plants that have been introduced into gardens during the last one hundred years none is of greater value than the humble Loganberry.

The Loganberry is the result of a cross between the Blackberry plant and the Raspberry plant. It has never been so popular to eat in its raw state as either the Blackberry or the Raspberry; both of these garden berries have a sweet taste, whereas the Loganberry has a somewhat acid flavor, but if used for making Loganberry Jam.

Also the Berries can be mixed with Raspberries and Blackberries and use in cooking mainly in Loganberry Tarts, the combination of all the berries makes it well worth growing.

The Loganberry is probably un-surpassed by any other hardy fruit in the matter of heavy crops. It having the great advantage of being practically unaffected by bad weather; whatever the spring might bring, whether cold and wet, or hot and dry, it never fails to produce a heavy yield.

Those who care to turn an honest penny while enjoying their gardening work will be interested to know that the Loganberry is the most profitable of the small berried fruits; especially if late spring frost have ruined other crops, the Loganberry can be relied upon to fetch high prices.

Loganberry Plants are so vigorous that, if planted into fairly good soil, let’s say your chief garden border it will grow so fast that the gardener will have a grand job trying to keep the Loganberry Plant within bounds.

In the southern hemisphere Countries the Loganberry can be grown on a North facing wall, but in the North a warmer position is necessary. It is most generally useful, to grow your Loganberry Plant against a rough fenced area, or to cover an eyesore such as an outbuilding. The Loganberry Plant can also be trained to grow over a trellis or archway; it seems, in fact, able and willing to grow almost anywhere.

The Loganberry Plants needs are so simple that the merest amateur, never having grown Loganberries before, should not hesitate to plant it.

November is the best time to plant your Loganberry, as soon as planting is complete the growths should be cut back to about half way; in the following Late February or early March they may be cut to within one foot of the ground. During the late spring and summer fresh shoots will make rapid growth and by the end of the season the branches will have reached at least 6 feet high, these shoots will fruit the following year.

The Loganberry shoots should not be bunched up together as some growers have a tendency to do, but should be spread out and tied into a fan shape; the use of a wire frame is very useful.

In the second year and all subsequent years the question of pruning your Loganberry Plants will demand your attention, but this is very simple. All that one has to do is, as soon as the Loganberry Fruits are gathered, to cut out some of the shoots that have produced the Loganberry Fruits.

Weather can either be a friend or foe to the gardener. It can provide warm sunlight and rain showers for growth, but alternatively produce bitter cold and golf ball sized hail, destroying much of your work. Organic or traditional, gardeners can’t escape the temperament and fierceness of the weather.

Dry Heat

Plants need sunlight to grow. Without the sun, plants can’t break down nutrients into absorbable products, making the sun a vital part of the plant’s system.

Too much of a good thing, though, is bad – and too much sun can kill a plant. Intense heat dries up moisture in both the ground and the plant. The leaves then actually crack and wilt. Without the leaves, the plant will die.

It is tough to protect a garden from this kind of weather. Adding a cover over your plants may help deflect the intense rays of the sun, while frequent and light water breaks help keep them hydrated. This may work for a short period of time, but does not permanently fix the issue of too much sunlight.

Rain, Go Away

On the other side of the spectrum is water. Plants obviously need water to thrive and produce. Rain storms that last in burst of thirty minutes provide the ideal amount of water for both plants and the soil.

However, when rain falls for longer stretches of time, it can turn a necessary element into a destructive one. Heavy rainfall can potentially do a lot of damage, washing away soil and critical nutrients in it. When plants are routinely surrounded by water puddles, they drown from the excess.

There are only a few helpful options available that can be done when the rains are falling often. The soil and compost should be replenished as often as possible. This will give the plants access to the nutrients before the rain washes them away.

If possible, plants also should be planted in elevated rows to keep them out of the water build ups. Any standing water around the plants needs to be irrigated out, requiring perhaps some creativity to move the water to a safer part of the garden. Certainly this will help your plants, but it can’t save them if the rain continues to fall non-stop.

Sun and water are vital to the survival of most plants. As with anything else, too much off a good thing can be bad. This is no different with gardening as intense heat and torrential downpours can spell the death of a garden. To avoid this, gardeners need to pay close attention and use some creative measures to protect plants.