Home Gardening Guides

No Place Like Home Hearst Castle Gardens and Vistas Tour

Since Hearst Castle began it’s first public tour more than 50 years ago, some 33-million people have paid a visit. If you live on the Central Coast, you should be one of them. But whether you are or aren’t, you now have another good reason to get it on the calendar. There’s now a whole new way to see La Cuesta Encantada, or The Enchanted Hill, like never before. And it offers spectacular proof, there’s no place like home. It really is one of those places anyone who lives here should visit. It is the home that William Randolph Hearst built on one of the most beautiful pieces of property anywhere. “250000 acres. 50 miles of beach front property…” Dan Eller points out as we stand on the balcony of Casa Del Mar, the home Mr. Hearst lived in first and last before he died. “Casa Del Mar, House of the Sea.” The castle is amazing. It takes a few trips and tours to even begin to see all that’s inside. It’s construction, décor and the 22000-plus pieces of art it holds make it worthy of the journey. And the story of the man who built it makes it all the more fascinating. It’s why the new tour now being offered at the castle is so special. The Gardens and Vistas tour allows you to enjoy the thing Mr. Hearst appreciated most….the views. “People have been telling us that on this tour they feel like this must have been what it was like back in the 1930s when Mr. Hearst was here and they were guests,” says Eller. You can now wander the estate’s picturesque grounds, on your own, at
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Georgia Guidestones Mystery Solved: Poplar Forest Jefferson’s Axis Mundi geomancy ley lines

For Book sales go to Amazon.com: www.amazon.com This video describes how Thomas Jefferson designed his summer home, Poplar Forest, as an Axis Mundi in the Roman tradition. The angles inferred by the construction of Poplar Forest point to the Georgia Guide Stones as well as the International Peace Garden. The Georgia Guide Stones point to the International Peace Garden as well. Jefferson’s Home is also part of an alignment of Jefferson architecture based on the same angle that leads to the Georgia Guide Stones. Jefferson created ley lines using his home as a datum and the directions inferred by its octagonal shape from plan view. Poplar Forest may be a veneration of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.. Jefferson may have been a Knights Templar that valued the Dome and the Temple Mount. Jefferson may have collaborated with another Templar Alexander Von Humboldt Prussian Royal Court Geographer.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

AWESOME Beginners Guide to Setting Up a Garden! (Part 4 of 4)

■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ www.getyoursfreetoday.com ▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲ Click link above to get your FREE 0 Dollar Home Depot Gift Card! You can use it to buy supplies! ;) ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ ◘ ■ Planting Warm season vegetables, such as tomatoes, squashes and peppers, are best bought from a local nursery (at least until you become more skilled at sowing seeds and creating indoor growing space). These are best planted in late May and early June. Other vegetables can also be purchased from the nursery and planted earlier. In the early stages of gardening I recommend this to help with the success of your garden. Another time of year for planting is August. This is when your winter vegetables would go in. Unfortunately, nurseries don’t seem to carry vegetables at this time of year, so you would have to sow your own in July or purchase plants earlier and plant then. Garden Maintenance Weeding * Weeds rob moisture and nutrients from vegetable plants, therefore you are helping to increase harvests by eliminating competition. Weeds also block sunlight. * Have a positive attitude toward the task. It provides exercise, helps make compost and produces better veggies. * Hoe regularly, even when you don’t see a lot of weeds. This helps to kill germinating seeds and cultivates the soil. * Avoid walking on newly cultivated beds. The soil compaction helps weeds to germinate and
Video Rating: 4 / 5

How to make a vertical garden

www.livingwallart.com Guide to easily create your own living wall using a woolly pocket. This modular vertical garden system allows you to build a vertical garden quickly and easily without too much hassle. You can make the living wall as big or as small as you want which makes it easily adaptable to your home and many offices and retail locations. This type of greenwall is one of the best ways to green up your home and make it more eco-friendly. It’s an easy to use vertical container gardening planter system.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Garden Offices as a source of investment


Investing your money in garden offices can be one of the most lucrative activities for you! It indeed is very helpful in spinning money for you during the time when you plan to sell your property. Whilst many people see it as a home away from home, his construction in your office can be a very good source of investment.

It is usually said and analyzed by the real estate experts that investing in garden office in your own property can enhance its value by 5%. This means that while you create this structure in your office for whatever reason, it would also add value of your property. You might have constructed an office in your garden irrespective of the knowledge about value addition to your property, but it started giving you profit the day you constructed it!

Today, garden offices are seen as very committing and promising source of investment for one and all. It is good investment; especially if you belong to working family since later you can easily sell your property at a grand price! Garden office is indeed an opportunity for any person to increase the value and worth of a property. Besides being a very useful source of investment, it gives ample other benefits which can be very fruitful for you.

The reason for growing popularity of this construction in garden areas is primarily to find a comfortable place in the natural surroundings, but another reason is definitely investment. You might decide to buy another piece of property, a small one may be. So why not garden offices? It would remain on your own property and will add worth to your estate.

Lighting Design Guide

This guide is designed to help you successfully design and choose the lights for your home and garden.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

How to Plant a Vegetable Garden

Expand the description and view the text of the steps for this how-to video. Check out Howcast for other do-it-yourself videos from TreehouseFlicks and more videos in the Vegetable Gardening category. You can contribute too! Create your own DIY guide at www.howcast.com or produce your own Howcast spots with the Howcast Filmmakers Program at www.howcast.com Grow some of your own food by starting a vegetable garden. You’ll eat better and save money. To complete this How-To you will need: A sunny garden spot A wire mesh fence Seeds or seedlings Flowers A soil test A sunny garden spot A wire mesh fence Seeds or seedlings Flowers A soil test Step 1: Decide on a garden type Decide between a raised-bed garden or an in-ground one. Raised beds, which consist of purchased topsoil that sits within a wooden frame, are ideal if your soil is stony or sandy. The main advantage of an in-ground garden is that it needs less watering. Tip: For an in-ground garden, test your soil to find out what nutrients it needs. Garden centers sell do-it-yourself kits, or you can arrange a test through the Cooperative Extension System, a national agricultural network. Find a nearby office on the USDA web site. Step 2: Pick a good spot Pick a spot that gets a lot of sun and isn’t obscured by tree or hedge shade. Step 3: Prep the land Prepare the land by building your raised bed or clearing and tilling a patch of land to a depth of about one foot. A 10 foot by 10 foot parcel is a good size for a beginner

How to fit your own Garden Log Cabin, Summer House or Garden building

If you are capable of good DIY you will be able to build your own Log Cabin or Sumerhouse – or we can build it for you. This video guides you through the basic steps for how to install a 45mm traditional Log Cabin in your Garden. Our Log Cabins are used as Garden Offices, Summerhouses, Games Rooms, Art Studios, Music Rooms. An Ecohome Logcabin is mostly used as a place to relax away from the family home. If you need peace, quiet and tranquility a Garden Room Log Cabin is a great place to enjoy. Visit www.ecohome-logcabin.co.uk
Video Rating: 5 / 5

A Home Herb Garden Guide For Beginners

When starting a home herb garden, you may find it difficult to decide which herbs to grow considering the array of herbs from which to select. A first approach would be to consult your supermarket for the herbs you usually buy for your cooking needs.

Another good source is a cooking book that contains a chart of various herbs and their appropriate use for flavoring food.

Here is a list of the herbs that are commonly used and can be considered as a good starting point for a beginner.

Herbs with a strong taste – rosemary, sage, winter savory Herbs strong enough to accent food – tarragon, thyme, sweet basil, dill, mint, sweet marjoram Blending herbs – chives, parsley, summer savory
As time goes by, you might wish to start adding new plants to your selection. When selecting your choice of additional herbs, take note that herbs can be annuals, biennials, or perennials. Annuals (herbs that bloom one season then die) – anise, basil, dill, summer savory, chervil, coriander Biennials (herbs that lives two seasons, bloom on the second season only) – caraway, parsley Perennials (herbs that ”sleep” during the winter season and bloom each season) – chives, fennel, mint, tarragon, thyme, lovage, marjoram, winter savory.

Most herbs can be grown indoors and can be enjoyed all year round. These plants are as easy to grow inside as they would outside and have the same basic needs that you need to provide them with – a lot of sunlight, well-drained soil and,of course, water.
When preparing the planting soil, use 2 parts sterilized potting soil for 1 part coarse sand. Put 1 inch of gravel of each pot to insure proper drainage of excess water. Add 1 teaspoon of lime for a 5 inch pot.

Make yourself a list of every plant you will be growing and their individual water need. Growing plant tends to need more water, however, it is important to keep the soil moist. Avoid drenching the plant at all time for too much water can easily rot the roots. Misting the plants is a good way to keep them humid between watering.

South or west facing windows are always the best choice for growing herbs indoors. Though there are different requirements to each variety of herbs, most need a sunny location to grow well. If you lack light during the winter months, you can supplement that need with ”grow lights” or fluorescent lamps.

Annual herbs will be happy spending their full life cycle inside the home while perennial herbs will give you better results if they are placed outdoors during the warm season. Fill the pot with soil all the way to the rim and place them in a protected area on the porch or patio.

Always bring the plants inside before frost to avoid plant damage or loss of foliage. However a light frost is beneficial on mint, chives, and tarragon.This will result in a rest period making the new growth fresher and firmer.

Home herb gardens can be kept productive all year long and for a good number of years by doing the following: maintain a periodic light feeding, renewing the annuals, moving the perennials in and out of the home and pruning the plants occasionally.

Basic Indoor hydroponics Gardening Guide – Indoor Grow Lights for Hydroponics Systems

A great indoor garden requires a good grow light. It could mean the difference between success and failure. Having the right hydroponic light is the single-most important and costly decision in setting up your garden.

 Hydroponic grow lights come in three main types:

 

Incandescent lights

These are the usual lights found in homes. They are generally a poor choice for garden grown lights because of their limited light spectrum and inefficiency.

HID (High Intensity Discharge) grow lights

Producing more light (up to 10x more lumens/watt than an incandescent light),are more efficient. Drawbacks would be, they produce more heat, generally more expensive than incandescent lights and requires the additional expense and maintenance with ballast. It takes around 100 hours before hydroponic HID grow lights reach their optimum working conditions, or until they reach light intensity and color stability. 

Natural Sunlight

Expense for acquiring artificial lights can be skipped by using sunlight. This is done with the use of solar room, greenhouse or large windows which allows plenty of sunlight. Or you can do this outdoors; hydroponics does not necessarily mean the cultivation of plants indoors but it growing plants without the use of soil.

Basic setup for an indoor garden is 1000w of lighting for and area of 16-25 square feet of plant area. Reflectors and/or light movers should also be considered as they improve efficiency of the indoor hydroponic gardening system. Ballast may also be needed as numerous hydroponic grow lighting require igniting.

 Some Basic Facts

Before plugging in your grow light

Different plants require different levels or types of lighting, this paragraph would deal on some simple know-how on how to make an effective lighting setup. In setting up your garden, it is essential that you determine your growing area in order to determine the best lighting setup for you. Light is an essential factor in the growth of plants, it is important that the lighting solution you chose for your garden is adequate for its size. A poor or ill advised decision would certainly reflect on the quality of plants you produced. Inappropriate budgeting like cost cutting specially on lighting would just prove to be uneconomical and inefficient in the long run.

A general rule for lighting that area coverage is determined by a light wattage output. Reflectors might be used to increase the light area and reach corners but effectiveness is still determined by this formula.

Day and Night Cycles

The type of plant and its stage of growth generally determine the amount of light needed. A common cycle is that with 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness which is recommended for its vegetative growth phase.

For seedlings, a continuous light source is needed until the first real leaves appear. When the leaves appear, the regular 18/6 light cycle is used. Fluorescent or incandescent lights are best for seedling because of the low heat and soft light they generate. Automated timers maybe used to ensure consistent light cycles. Inexpensive timers are also available; this can be found any hardware or Home Depot/ Lowe’s type store.

Light and Photosynthesis

The plants exposure to light intensity, duration and light color directly affects the amount of energy needed for photosynthesis. The color of the light, Blue simulates the summer sun, Orange for autumn seem to stimulate photosynthesis best. The light spectrum produced by metal halide bulbs (Blue lights) and high pressure sodium bulbs (red/ orange lights) produce this effects. HID grow lights produce these effects owing to their popularity to hobbyist and professionals. Combination of metal halide and high pressure sodium bulbs provides the complete spectrum of light produced by the sun.

Use Caution When Working with Lights

The combination of water, electricity and chemicals in such a closed-in space makes the grow room one of the most dangerous places in your house. Keep in mind to separate your ballast by elevating it from the water-containing areas of your hydroponic growing system. 

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