How to Make Your Own Compost

Compost is nature’s finest fertilizer and you can start your own compost pile easily in the backyard. By making your own compost, you’ll be taking care of your plants while properly disposing of household and backyard waste. If you’re ready to start your own compost pile and need composting tips, here’s enough to get you started.

Make a Compost Area

You must make your compost in a certain area, so section off a plot of land that is three feet square. You can make your compost heap larger, but smaller may prove tricky. Build a simple box if you’d like or you can purchase a compost box from your neighborhood gardening center.

Give Compost a Good Start

The best way to start a compost pile is by using someone else’s compost. Look for compost donations from neighbors or friends and make a small pile. You can also buy compost if you’d like. Make a small pile with your new compost and then you’re ready to start adding your own ingredients.

Adding Compost

Adding to the compost pile is simple. You’ll want to add twenty brown items for every green. The green items, such as fresh leaves, are wetter than dead, or brown, leaves. You’ll want to limit the amount of wet on your pile. Add a variety of items to your compost pile to avoid burying it with too many leaves and their carbon or making your compost too acidic with pine needles.

You can add both of those things in large amounts, but be sure your amounts are balanced. You can also add fresh manure from pets in the yard, but you would do well to let the manure age first as it may burn plants if used too soon as it is so rich while fresh. Go ahead and add household trash as well including shredded paper, eggshells, and food remains from plants, but not meats or fats.

Using Compost

Soon your compost pile will be a beautiful collection of leaves, pine needles, weeds, grass clippings, orange peels, old vegetables and more. Stir it once and a while to let it oxygenate, and then pull the richest compost from the bottom and middle to use on your garden and plants. Your plants will be thriving in no time.

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How to Attract Birds

If you’d like nothing better than to gaze out into your garden and see birds frolicking about, you’d do well to actively recruit them. Here’s how to attract birds to your garden.

Plant a Food Supply

If you want birds to stay in your garden without the help of bird feeders, you should plant a variety of shrubs, trees and flowers that actually provide food for birds year-round. Start with a good mix of deciduous and evergreen trees. Deciduous trees produce fruit and nuts while evergreens provide pinecones and berries. Both plant types offer a place for birds to nest and visit.

Reduce Lawn

You’ll want to reduce the amount of space the lawn takes up in your yard. Bare expanses of grass have little or no attraction for birds. Build up your garden with a collection of plants in close quarters. Consider a path and arbor through a variety of blooms and fruit trees. Give the bird something to hide and nest in.

Provide Water

You’ll also want to provide your feathered friends with a source of water. A bird bath makes an attractive addition to a garden or you can install a small pond or fountain for appeal as well as a location for birds to drink and bathe.

Bird Feeders

While waiting for your garden to grow, or if you’re simply unable to build the kind of garden to attract birds, you can also install a bird feeder in your backyard. Be sure the feeder is well stocked with birdseed on a daily basis and hung far enough away from the house and action that birds feel safe. Then, sit back and enjoy the birds that come by for a quick snack.

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How to Replace a Window Screen

A torn window screen is a simple fix provided you have the right tools. When you’re ready to replace a window screen, a quick trip to the local hardware store and a free hour will be it takes to get the job done right.

Head to the Hardware Store

Get the dimensions of your torn window screen and then head to the hardware store. You’ll need a roll of netting, the rubber casing to hold the netting in place, a roller to work the rubber casing and a utility knife to make the cuts. A Craft Lite Cutter or similar product can handle a window screen and be an excellent investment for other household chores as well.

Remove the Old Screen

Take the screen off of the window and lay it flat in the grass. Find a corner of the rubber casing inside the edges of the screen and gently pull it out. As you pull off the old casing, the torn screen will loosen and you can remove it. You should be left with a window screen frame.

Install the New Screen

Unroll your new netting and use your knife to cut a section of screen slightly longer and wider than your window frame. Measure out a new section of tubing and cut this as well. Place the netting over the screen and hold the end of the rubber tubing. Very carefully push the tubing into the recessed area of the screen being sure you are securing the netting in place at the same time. Getting one corner started is the trickest part of replacing a window screen, so don’t be surprised if it takes a few attempts or an extra set of hands.

Once you have the corner installed correctly, use the special roller to gently roll the rest of the rubber tubing into place. As you roll, be sure you’re pulling the screen taut without stretching it or causing the window screen to bow. Again, it may take a few attempts. Finally, when all the tubing is in place, trim away the excess screen and tubing. Your window screen is ready to be put back in place.

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How To Clean Leather

One of the first fabrics that man fashioned to wear or use, leather has been a popular material from its beginnings. Leather is a beautiful, longwearing, breathable, natural fabric that has multiple uses, i.e., clothing, shoes, furniture, luggage, and vehicle interiors. This valuable fabric is an investment that will last for years if it is treated with care. Owners want to know how to correctly clean leather products because leather can be quickly ruined if handled incorrectly.

Leather hides can be categorized as belonging to several types, depending on the process to preserve the hides. The piece of leather can be smooth, suede, dyed in a variety of ways, coated, or tanned naturally. The dye used to color the fabric can be of different types that demand different handling. A product that works beautifully on one type of leather can permanently stain a different type. It is important to read any manufacturer’s instructions to understand what type of finish was used to create the item.

There are general rules for how to clean leather, however. These rules apply to how to clean car upholstery, belts, purses, jackets or other clothing, as well as furniture, luggage, and leather shoes. All leather needs an environment that is not too wet, not too dry, not too hot, or not too cold. Any extremes in the atmosphere can cause irreparable harm to the hides.

Let’s start off by identifying two types of leather. There is finished leather and there is unfinished leather. It is very good to know what type of leather you have so that you may treat it properly. Finished leather consists of the finer leather on coats or purses. Luggage and leather furniture is usually finished as well.

On the other hand, you have unfinished leather items as well. Unfinished leather consists of work gloves, garden gloves, boots that you use for work, biker bandannas, horse saddles, any type of saddle, basketballs and footballs.

Let’s start with cleaning finished leather. To clean finished leather, you must get a lightly dampened cloth with a dab of moisturizing bath soap (dove) on the cloth. Rub the leather in a circular motion and make sure that there is not too much water on the cloth. You don’t want to stain the leather more because of an access of water. After wiping the leather until the stain is gone, you can then take another dampened cloth to wipe off any soap residue. Remember, DO NOT us water to wipe the leather clean. After cleaning the leather with the second dampened cloth, you can now wipe it clean with a dry cloth and hang the leather product to air dry. It’s a good idea to apply a leather conditioner to the leather once it is dry.

To clean unfinished leather, you will follow the same steps stated above. However, you must use “Saddle soap” instead of moisturizing soap.

Remember when removing spots from leather, always test any cleaning method on an out-of-the-way spot first.

One tip for removing spots from leather is to dip a cotton swab into rubbing alcohol and rub the spot. This can work for removing ink spots (figure B) as well. If this doesn’t work, you can use non-oily cuticle remover. (Note: That is "cuticle" remover, not nail-polish remover.) Leave it on overnight and wipe it off with a damp cloth.

To remove normal spots from leather, use the following Royal homemade recipe:

1 part lemon juice
1 part cream of tartar

Simply work the paste into the spot with a soft cloth, and if soils remain after working it in, let it sit for a few hours. Come back and apply a little more paste, work it in and wipe clean.

Instructions for more targeted stains

Grass Stain:

1. Mix 1 cup of water with moisturizing soap.

2. Moisten a cloth with the mixture.

3. Apply cloth with a circular motion on the stained area

4. Wipe clean with another cloth dampened by water only

5. Let air dry

Mildew stain:

1. Mix 1 cup rubbing alcohol with 1 cup water.

2. Moisten a cloth with the mixture and wipe the affected area.

3. Let air dry.

Ink stain:

1. Spray the affected area with hair spray.

2. Then wipe it off with a clean cloth.

3. If a leather garment has been soaked in water, let it air dry

slowly and naturally.

4. Keep it away from heat sources.

5. Once it is dry, restore its softness with a leather conditioner.

6. If leather shoes have been soaked, insert shoe trees to restore their shape and let them air dry.

Grease stains:

1. These can be removed by blotting the excess grease with a clean cloth.

2. Second, sprinkle talcum powder or cornstarch on the affected area.

3. Let the item sit for at least 4 hours before wiping off the powder.

Blood and urine spills:

These can be removed by blotting off excess moisture with a clean, damp cloth. Let the item dry slowly away from heat.

Gum that has become stuck to the leather:

1. You can remove it by rubbing a plastic bag full of ice cubes over it to harden the gum. The gum will then be easy to pull off.

2. If there is any residual, heat the area with a hair dryer and rub off the gum with a clean cloth.

Salt stain:

1. Make a solution of 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water.

2. Moisten a cloth with the vinegar solution and dab it on the affected area.

We have outlined how to properly take care of your leather possessions in this article. Leather is a delicate item and can last forever if taken care of properly. We understand that some stains might entail more than just a cleaning. Do not hesitate to hire professional leather cleaner to help you. Remember to ask that professional for a guarantee that your leather will come back that way that you would like it. They need to be legit. They need to return your article back with the same color that the item was in the beginning. If they cannot help with these simple items, then you might need to get a second opinion.

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How to Water a Yard Evenly

In dry conditions watering your yard can help keep your grass soft and green, but it can be tricky to water all of your grass at the same time. Watering a yard evenly doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does need a bit of planning.

Install a Sprinkler System

Your first consideration to watering a yard evenly is to install a sprinkler system. A sprinkler system has a series of nozzles distributed throughout the yard that spray a fine mist over the entire surface area. This means your yard gets a nice coverage with a consistent amount of water. Sprinkler systems are rather expensive, however.

Create Your Own Sprinkler System

It is far more economical to create your own sprinkler system using a series of stationary sprinklers and hoses. Sprinklers that have three or more nozzles attached to a short hose are now available. Buying a system of these and distributing them about your yard will help you to get water distributed evenly.

A flat garden hose will allow you to leave your system set up without fear of kinks – at least until it is time to mow. But even then, you can simply pull the sprinkler system to one side, mow, and replace it for another round of watering.

Low Sprinklers and Seepers

Another way to water a yard evenly is to use a hose with perforations or holes along its length. Simply unroll the hose along the yard and turn on the water. Every twenty minutes or so, move the hose rather along the yard to water a new line. If you have a small yard, you may be able to use a seeper hose to distribute water evenly, although these are better for flowerbeds and trees.

Move Your Sprinkler

If all else fails, invest in an oscillating sprinkler, set it in the middle of the yard and turn it on so that the spray reaches the far edges. This will allow the water to distribute evenly over the span of the sprinkler at least. To water the entire yard evenly, simple move the sprinkler to a new section of yard, preferably not overlapping an old section and turn it on again. Water each section for a set amount of time, thirty minutes or so, and your yard will give you the kind of results you’re hoping for.

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How to Sod a Lawn

If you’ve recently moved into a new home or have decided to build up your backyard, the fasted way to get grass into the yard is to sod your lawn. Sodding is simply taking large rectangles of cut grass complete with about an inch of dirt, and placing them onto the ground. Sodding requires a bit of preparation and can also be backbreaking labor if you’re not used to being outside moving heavy items, so sod your lawn on a day when you’re ready to break a serious sweat.

Prepare the Lawn

Before you sod, you need to prepare your lawn by raking and removing all stones and rubble. If your lawn is not smooth, a tiller can help to break up the soil so that you can flatten your yard prior to sodding. Then, once you have a level surface free of obstacles, you should prepare the earth by fertilizing it and waiting a week.

After a week’s wait, till the yard again and fertilize. At this point, you can order your sod online or arrange delivery through a local vendor. You might buy rolls of sod, or squares of sod. Either will work for your project. Immediately prior to the sod’s arrival, you should water your yard to provide moist dirt. You want the dirt moist, but not muddy. So watering a day before laying sod is the perfect time. This will also let you check for any drainage issues you can correct before laying sod.

Lay Sod

Once your lawn is prepared and your sod has arrived, it’s time to plant your lawn. Begin along a straight line and arrange the sod in careful rows. You should press each piece of sod firmly against its neighbor to minimize spacing. Create long rows of sod careful to stagger the joints. You don’t want all the seams running alongside each other both vertically and horizontally.

A carpet knife or utility knife will allow you to cut the sod to fit in the odd shaped portions of your yard to give you a perfect fit. As you lay the sod, avoid walking on it. Work from the outside corner in.

Final Steps

The final step to finish your new sod is to roll over it with a lawn roller. This helps the roots to get established more quickly in the yard. A lawn roller can often be rented, much like a tiller, from a local hardware store. Continue to avoid walking on the lawn if possible until roots become established.

Water the sod daily for the first week and water it deeply. Then, unless it is very hot, begin to water every other day and then every three days until you’re watering only as frequently as necessary. This helps the roots to grow deeply into the soil to reach moisture. Do not cut the lawn until 3-4 weeks after the sod was laid.

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How to Mow a Yard

Moving from an apartment to a house is exciting. Not only do you now have your own garage, you also have your very own front and backyard to care for. Your yard is very exciting, at least until its time to mow it for the first time. Here’s how to mow a yard.

Locate a Mower

Your first step in a successful mowing experience is to actually locate a mower to use. You may already own one in anticipation of this very day. You might be able to borrow one from a friend, family member or new neighbor, but don’t plan on making a habit of it. The old owners might have left one behind, but most likely your mowing needs are the cause of one of many trips to the home improvement store.

Buy a Mower

If you’re going to buy a mower, be sure you know what sort of yard you are working with – especially if this mowing experience is completely new to you. An average yard can be cut with a gas powered push mower. A self propelled mower helps with a yard that has hills or dips, or a larger yard, but is not required. Electric lawn mowers work best on smaller yards, and very large yards might be best cut with a riding or heavy duty propelled mower.

Buy Accessories

You’ll also need at least one additional piece of lawn equipment. A mower will cut 95% of the grass in the yard, but you need a weed eater or edger to go around sidewalks and objects in the yard such as metal yard art. A leaf blower and separate edger can supplement a weed whacker, but are not required.

Start the Mower

When you’ve assembled your supplies, read the instructions for your new mower or get help from its owner as to what fuel it requires. It’s likely it takes a combination of gas and oil, but read to be sure. Different mowers turn on different ways, but the most common push lawn mowers require a pull start. Push the prep button three to ten times to prime the mower. Then hold the handle down while pulling up quickly on the start cord.

It is common that a mower requires a few attempts at starting before the engine catches. If the engine doesn’t catch right away, don’t despair. Prime the engine again and pull. If the mower doesn’t catch in a few tries, consult with a friend or neighbor to see if you’ve missed a step.

Mow!

Once you get the mower going, hold down the handle and begin pushing it in rows over the yard. Overlap your rows slightly to avoid leaving a path between each pass. Go in straight lines to make your lawn appear manicured. If you are bagging your grass clipping you may have to stop to put the clipping in trash bags. If you’re mulching, you can mow your entire yard without stopping.

Trim

When the moving is complete, use your weed whacker to cut in on the edges you were unable to reach with the mower. Be sure to trim the grass along the flower beds, house walls, driveway, sidewalk and any other lawn objects. Then, put your equipment away, relax, and enjoy your manicured yard.

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How to Plant a Vegetable Garden

A backyard vegetable garden can satisfy your craving for fresh vegetables as well as sate your thirst for the feel of achievement as you grow your own food in the ways of our forefathers. Growing peppers, tomatoes and other vegetable in a backyard garden is simple enough if you are dedicated to establishing the garden and maintaining your plants carefully.

Till the Soil

Your first step to plant a vegetable garden is to find the proper patch of soil and remove all grass, rocks, and other obstacles. The ideal patch of ground should have at least six full hours of sunlight a day. The ground should be well drained with no chance of puddles after a rainstorm. You should also have good air circulation around the garden, but reduce the chances of strong wind that can break or dry out tender stalks.

Design the shape and size of the garden to suit your own preferences and abilities. Prepare the soil by breaking up chucks, adding compost and fertilizer, and removing debris before beginning. Consider surrounding your vegetable garden with a tall fence to keep out dogs, rabbits and other animals. The fence will also act as a trellis for tomatoes, beans or peas.

Plant the Vegetables

There are many options for what to plant in your vegetable garden, but the obvious choices will be vegetables enjoyed by your family. Water your garden thoroughly the day before you plant to give young plants the best shot at healthy development. Map out the locations of each plant in rows with tallest plants on the north side to avoid shade over small plants.

Plant each vegetable plant leaving space around it for future growth. Avoid overcrowding plants, and keep plants with similar growing seasons together. Plant bedding plants in holes slightly deeper than the plants had been growing in containers. Water before and after transplanting to ease the process.

Water, Weed, and Grow

As your vegetable garden grows, be sure to allow your plants at least one inch of water per week. You may have to give your garden extra water during dry spells. Mulch between rows to keep moisture in and to help eliminate weeds. Check your vegetable garden regularly to eliminate weeds and to spot pest problems. The earlier a problem is detected, the faster it can be dealt with. Enjoy your efforts!

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How To Build an Outdoor Fireplace

Your patio or deck is a special place, and perhaps it’s time to add the most impressive piece of garden décor, an outdoor fireplace. An outdoor fireplace offers warmth and comfort in all seasons, but is obviously used most in the fall and winter. Regardless of climate or personal use, here’s how to build an outdoor fireplace. There are many styles of outdoor fireplaces.

Portable Outdoor Fireplaces

The most simple (and least expensive) options are self contained fire pits or chimneys. A clay chimenea available from most garden centers or design centers can make a festive addition to a small patio, especially if it won’t get much use. A portable fire pit or brazier is another option perfect for smaller budgets or small patios.

Built-in Fire Pits and Ovens

The most simple built-in options are permanent fire pits, which are essentially a ring of well laid stones perhaps with built-in seating, or a cooking fireplace that closely resembles a brick oven.

Elaborate Outdoor Fireplaces

Custom outdoor fireplaces can rival indoor fireplaces with gas logs, mantles and designs. These are best designed and built by professionals or with careful study and design research.

Create a Layout

If you’re opting for a portable fireplace, you simply need to purchase one and find it a good home on your patio. You might also consider new seating or an appropriate (nonflammable) patio cover to complete your new outdoor lounge.

Elaborate designs are best left to professionals, but it is possible to build the more simply designed fire pits or ovens. Fire pits are the least expensive design and can be used for basic cooking. Ovens are more complex, but can be used for many forms of entertainment and baking.

In your layout, select a location for your fireplace. Be sure to keep it a good distance away from existing buildings, wooden structures and other garden elements. Also be sure there is enough room for guests about three feet away from the fire. Circular fire pits are best for entertaining, so be sure to leave room for seating all the way around.

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Buy Materials

If you’re interested in an oven, consider buying a prefabricated unit to install yourself or get the assistance of an experienced contractor. Fireplaces must draw correctly and regulations in your area may be strict on outdoor fire structures.

If you’re creating a fire pit, purchase bricks suitable for flames or use stones to create a fire circle.

Create the Fireplace

Assemble the oven style fireplace exactly according to instructions to ensure it works properly. To create a fire pit, dig a pit at your desired depth. Line it with stones, brick or gravel as you see fit. You can also leave it bare dirt.

Line the perimeter of your pit with closely laid rocks or bricks. Clear away any surrounding grass or overhanging limbs. Arrange seating, or build custom seating around the fire pit and your work is done! Sit back and enjoy.

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