Gardening and
home improvement
What's bloomin' now
Okay, this year I promised I was going to stay composed and not start gardening until the "acceptable" Mother's Day holiday had passed. Then March happened. A 90-something degree stretch made me itchy so I poked and prodded around but managed to remain in control - almost... I stuck in some more lily of the valley bulbs - which are now doing something - not quite like the already established group that I have - more like their attempting to grow. I guess I'll just be patient and wait (yeah right).
noreply@blogger.com (sjohnson)
Last Year's Blight
Hi! Don't know how many of you suffered from last year's tomato blight but I know I did! There were very few BLT's served at my house and that made me suffer!
Anyhow, I was speaking with the nice pickle lady and she told me that in order to have a successful crop this year you can't plant in the same area. Now if you are like me you don't have too many areas to plant in so I am doing patio plants and yes, the
Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter. Just wanted to pass that info on since the pickle lady has a huge garden and knows what she is talking about.
noreply@blogger.com (Melissa)
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is always a little strange around my house, since I use it as the date to begin work on my vegetable garden. When my kids would ask me, "what do you want for Mother's Day?," my answer was: Peat moss! Compost! Fertilizer!
I don't recommend that you get these for your mom. But do remember, by or around Mother's Day (May 9 this year!), to have the soil prepared so you can begin planting around May 15, which is usually the last frost in the Hudson Valley.
noreply@blogger.com (Marie)
Mosquitos in May
The biting, buzzing
villains are back. The combination of warm weather and long rainy periods is perfect for insect hatching. Check your yard after each rain for standing water in empty flower pots, children's toys and play equipment and other places where
mosquitoes like to breed. For more information go to
www.mosquito.org.
noreply@blogger.com (Suz)
The Best Decking Stain ever
Our cedar deck is being replaced after 22 years of faithful service. I took a chance, decided to replace the cedar with
Trex's new product "transcend". The sample looked a little plasticy in my hand - but the idea of NO MORE power washing(well maybe a little) or staining ever again, won me over. All the decking is down now and it looks GREAT.
So what does this have to do with decking stain you might ask.
Well, we learned quickly, when the cedar deck was new, that
Cabot's stain is the best. It's even better now. It comes in many colors.Semi-transparent, semi-solid and solid color stains. Our cedar pergola is being replace with pressure-treated wood. It's ugly. So I just finished painting all the pieces with
Cabot's solid color stain. It is beautiful now.
It also matches the Trex decking, and the wood siding on the house!
Did I mention that it cleans up with WATER?
It does!
Now - the gardens that have been trampled due to construction - that's another story.
I'll keep you posted.
noreply@blogger.com (jbhyman)
on the player to watch them full-screen. 
