Homes & Gardens

How to Protect Your Food from Freezer Burn

The idea behind freezing food is saving time and saving money. Time, because you’ll have ingredients (or fully cooked meals) on hand for when you need them. Money, because you get a better deal by buying in bulk. Believe me, cooking one of our freezer meal recipes is always a smart choice. How frustrating, then, to open your freezer to find your conveniently stored meal dried out, ice-encrusted and far from appetizing. You’ve been hit by the dreaded freezer burn. What Is Freezer Burn? We associate freezer burn with the layer of ice on the surface of the food, but the ice is only a symptom of the problem. The ice crystals come from the food itself; if there’s warmer air next to the food, moisture escapes and then freezes at the surface. Unfortunately, this also dries out the food itself. Though food with freezer burn may be safe to eat, your frozen chicken dinner may not turn out too tasty. 9 ways to stop Protect Your Food from Freezer Burn The key to preventing freezer burn is to prevent the moisture from escaping in the first place. For this to happen, you’ll want to keep two things in mind: …
Your Complete Guide to Buying the Best Water Softener Salt

A whole-house water softener is a fantastic way to keep buildup off faucets, use less detergent and even address certain skin problems. That said, they do require upkeep. The most frequent form of maintenance your system will require is a refill on water softener salt. A quick Google search will show dozens of brands offering salt in pellets, crystals, blocks and even alternate elements like potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride. Where to begin? Why Do Softeners Need Salt? Let’s start with a brief rundown of why your water softener needs salt in the first place. Hard water contains “hardness minerals” — chiefly magnesium and calcium ions — that can cause buildup and other issues. A water softener loads beds of resin beads with sodium ions, and as the hard water flows through the softener media the hardness minerals are replaced by ions from salt. After softening a certain number of gallons, the resin beads will be at capacity for taking on more hardness minerals. Your water softener salt will backflush the beds, clearing them of magnesium and calcium ions, and exchanging for fresh sodium (or potassium) ions from the backflush tank. Salt is the key to continuing the softening …
How To Grow Blueberries in a Container

Shrubs planted with flowers give off an autumn scent. Blueberry shrubs are delicious and can be grown in containers. Blueberries are attractive plants that grow perennially. They produce berries during the summer months when other flowers are blooming. Container gardening makes them easy to maintain. The Best Type of Blueberries to Grow in Containers Blueberries are among the easiest fruits to grow. They are relatively pest and disease free. But they can be finicky about a couple of things. Blueberries love acidic soil and they need moist and well-drained growing medium. A big benefit of growing them in containers is that you can easily control each of these soil conditions. In a container, achieving the acid levels you need is easy. Start with an acid potting soil or a mix of coir, some organic matter – like leaf mold – and condition the mix with an organic soil acidifier. Coir is a good choice for blueberries because coir holds water longer. It’s also good to routinely feed the plants with an acid based fertilizer or organic cottonseed meal or feather meal that will also add acidity to the soil. Fertilizers designed for azaleas, rhododendron, hollies or evergreens will work for …
How To Plant broccoli in pots

This tip is here to just compel you to just shake off any reservations you may have about container gardening. You might also be asking the following questions about growing broccoli in a container. Can Broccoli be grown in a container?Can Broccoli be grown in a small area on my patio?I don’t have enough space, so where can I grow broccoli? Growing Broccoli in a container or most other vegetables has many advantages than growing in a garden bed. You don’t have to feel like growing broccoli will be difficult because it is fairly simple and easy to do. 3 the BEST reasons to grow broccoli Ability to start indoors – You can start your broccoli seedlings indoors much earlier. You can either plant directly in your container if it is not too big to move or in seedling flats to get it started. Less Maintenance – You might be busy, so you may not have time to pick weeds or drag your hose down to a raised bed. Growing broccoli in a container will make these task much easierSmall Spaces – You can place your container of broccoli pretty much anywhere that you get enough sunlight. This flexibility is …
How To Plant tomatoes in pots

When new gardeners consider which vegetable they’d like to grow first, tomatoes are usually the number one answer. Unfortunately, as outdoor spaces shrink and apartment rentals soar, many people don’t have the backyard space to grow this incredibly popular edible garden plant. What Best Time Planting Tomato The month of March is usually the time for gardeners in Southern Nevada to be planting tomatoes. The last frost date for the area is March 15. Planting a few days or several weeks earlier is better because tomatoes need a number of days before they will bloom and produce fruit. It is best to get a head start planting tomatoes because temperatures may get hot earlier than usual. Once temperatures climb above 90°F during the day and fall under 55°F at night, most varieties will not set fruit. Best Type of Tomatos to Planting in pots A wide choice of sizes, shapes and colors are available for the backyard tomato grower. They range in size from the cherry type, like Sweet 100, to the one – two pound giants, such as Big Boy. In between are medium-sized tomatoes such as Early Girl. In addition to round, red tomatoes, there are yellow types shaped …
How to Grow Cucumbers in a Pot

Cucumbers may seem like an unlikely plant to grow in a pot. Yet they can make excellent container plants that produce an abundance of delightfully cool fruit in summer’s hottest months. All you need is a warm and sunny spot and the know-how to choose and grow the right cucumber for containers. Here’s how to do it. The Best Type of Cucumbers to Grow in Pots Like most cucurbits, cucumbers come in two main types: bush and vining. Within each category, there are specific varieties that tend to do well when planted in pots. Bush Cucumbers As you can imagine, bushy cucumbers are best suited for life in a container. These compact plants only grow up to about three feet long. This makes containing them in pots much easier, especially if you have limited floor or vertical space around your container garden. When left to their own devices, these types will cascade down the side of the pots but won’t venture much farther. They can also be trained to grow vertically using a tomato cage or similar setup. Some of our favorite bush cucumber varieties for growing in pots are: Bush Slicer – This robust dwarf cuc produces long, straight …
How to grow strawberries at home

Strawberries can be grown throughout the year. Growing strawberries indoors requires a lot of sunlight. They need full sun, but not direct sunlight. A south-facing window works well. Also, strawberries need high humidity. Watering should be done twice a day, once in the morning and again in the evening. When you water, make sure the soil is damp but not soggy. 7 Tips to grow strawberries at home 1. Select the right types of strawberries Choose everbearing strawberries if you want a longer growing season. The everbearing strawberries can be harvested throughout the growing season. Usually, you can harvest strawberries once in early summer, and again in early autumn. Though these berries are not of high quality as day-neutral strawberries, but they can be a good option if you want to harvest strawberries more than once. 2. Choose June-bearing strawberries if you want a summer crop June-bearing strawberries can bear a lot of strawberries in a short time, so they should not be chosen for a long-term garden. June-bearing crops are ready to harvest in mid-June to early July, depending upon the planting time. They bear the most fruit, though if they do not bloom for a long time. 3. …
Natural building materials

Humans used to build houses using natural materials such as wood, stone, mud etc. Nowadays, most people rely on manufactured materials to build their homes. This has had an adverse impact on the environment. To reduce the negative effects of these manufactured materials, humans are now looking for ways to use natural materials to build homes. Green building techniques are definitely better than traditional ones. Using natural building materials reduces the need for energy and other resources. Some green building techniques are more efficient than others. Here is a list of Natural building materials 1. Wood Wood is a natural building material. It is also a renewable resource. It can be used for both the exterior and interior of the house. 2. Adobe Adobe is an ancient building material that is still used today. It is made up of dirt, water, and other fibers. It gets shaped into bricks, which get stacked together with mud mortar to make a construction. 3. Bamboo Bamboo is a strong, sturdy material that grows quickly. It can be used as a solid substitute for steel or concrete. 4. Cob Cob is an ancient building material that is still used today. It is made from …
Roman chamomile

Roman chamomile is a plant. The flowerheads are used to make medicine. Some people take Roman chamomile by mouth for various digestive disorders including upset stomach (indigestion), nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and intestinal gas (flatulence). What is Roman Chamomile? It is also commonly applied to the skin for pain and swelling (inflammation) and included as a germ-killer in ointments, creams, and gels used to treat cracked nipples, sore gums, and irritation of the skin. Some people put Roman chamomile in a steam bath and inhale it for sinus inflammation, hay fever, and sore throat. But there is limited scientific evidence to support any of these uses. In foods and beverages, the essential oil and extract are used for flavoring. In manufacturing, the volatile oil of Roman chamomile is used as a fragrance in soaps, cosmetics, and perfumes; and to flavor cigarette tobacco. The extract is also used in cosmetics and soaps. Teas have been used as a hair tint and conditioner, and to treat parasitic worm infections. How effective Roman Chamomile? Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database rates effectiveness based on scientific evidence according to the following scale: Effective, Likely Effective, Possibly Effective, Possibly Ineffective, Likely Ineffective, Ineffective, and Insufficient Evidence …