HOMESTEAD CANNING – Preserving Lemons

Benefits of Long Leaf Pine Straw in your landscaping: It provides the best level of acidity for your plants to absorb maximum soil nutrients It doesn't float and wash away and breaks down more slowly, so it doesn't have to be reapplied as regularly as other mulches It is easier to manage and lighter per cubic foot than other mulches: one big bale can cover as much area as 30 cubic feet of a lot of mulches the cost per square foot is competitive with other mulches It breathes better, does not compact, and enables better water seepage It is easy to use: simply unroll the bales and scatter by hand It does not draw in termites It adds natural product and nutrients to soil and decreases weeds The consistent color and fine texture of pine straw draws out the color, contrast, and texture of your landscape You can use it for disintegration control where lawn won't grow to hold soil, even on hillsides and courses

FAQ

I Have A Couple Of Rabbit And Now They Are 6. Four Children. I Think Some Of Children Are Died In (Cave?)?
I Want To Ask How To Take Dead One'S Out From Cave? I Come Up With This Becoz Every Time I See Flies Are Going Into Cave. I Don'T Want Other'S Effected. Help

Ricardo,
Yeah, you better take out any dead ones. If the mother rabbit is comfortable with you, there won't be any problem. Here's what you can do:
--Remove the mother rabbit to a different cage, or room, or dog carrier.
--Pull out the living bunnies and make sure they're okay.
--Explore the nest and remove any dead bunnies or placentas.
--Put clean bedding in the nest--straw, pine shavings, hay.
--You said 'cave.' You mean hole in ground? If so, just see if you can clean out the hole a bit.
--Put the mother rabbit's fur back into the nest.
--Replace the live bunnies back into the nest.
--Put the mother rabbit back where you found her.
--Give her a treat to distract her from the nest.

The reason this plan should work fine is that the mother rabbit only feeds the babies at night. So if you check the nest and clean it out in the morning, by evening there will be no more smell of humans in the nest. Besides, if the mother rabbit is familiar with you, then your smell will likely be no problem if she can smell it on the babies.

Good luck! You can go to http://www.raising-rabbits.com/breeding-rabbits.html for lots more information.

Question About Grass Seed For Clay Soil And Lots Of Shade?
We Recently Bought A House And We Have A Lot Of Trees On Our Property. However With Our Home Owners Association, We Need Permission To Do Just About Anything In Our Yard. So Cutting Down Trees Is Impossible Unless Our Home Insurance Company Says The Tress Must Go. So For Years The Yard Had Been Neglected. Previous Owners Had Put Layers Of Pine Straw Over The Entire Yard So They Wouldn'T Have To Mow It. So I Raked Up All Of The Pine Straw (95 Bags Worth Using 33 Gallon Bags) Put Down Some Lawn Fertilizer And Used Pennington'S Sun & Shade Grass Seed. I Can'T Complain About The Grass Seed. It Sprouted Within 4-5 Days Of Application And It Seems To Be Doing Well. However, Since Our Property Has A Lot Of Sand And Clay, The Blades Of Grass Seem Thin And Stringy. So My Question Is, What Is The Best Grass Seed For Clay/Sandy Soil In An Area With Lots Of Shade Trees?

It takes a while for grass to thicken up, so without knowing where you live and knowing what your winters are like, its kind of hard to say how fast this will go. However usually within a growing season or two, it will slowly keep thickening up.
Don't mow too short obviously, to start, 3-4 inches long is good. Try and mow towards evening, so any sun doesnt dry out exposed grass. If you can, start raking organic material into the lawn, like compost later in the fall and spring, to start improving the soil a little. In the long run your grass will thank you.
Good luck, sounds like a lot of work, but it will be nice in the end.

Landscaping Bark?
Do Any Of You Have Any Ideas Of What To Use In Flower Beds Besides Landscaping Bark? It Looks Ok For A While But Loses Its Appeal At The End Of The Summer. Are There Any Other Products That Give The Garden That &Quot;Finished Look&Quot; As Well As Helping The Flowers Retain Moisture? I Will Be Having Landscaping &Quot;Fabric&Quot; Put Down First To Kill The Weeds And Grass, All New Topsoil And Mulch. Any Ideas?

Down south where I live pine straw is the mulch of choice. Everyone uses it for that finished look. Everyone from the richest to the not so rich because even if you don't have money someone always has pine straw!

It looks good and is easy to manage.

Pine straw has been a popular landscape ground cover throughout the South for the last 25 years. In fact, it is one of the most widely used mulches for all size projects ranging from residential flower beds to industrial complexes and highway landscapes. Landscapers, building contractors, and homeowners have discovered that pine straw has superior properties over other mulches. Unlike other dry organic mulches such as pine bark, leaves, grass clippings, and peat moss, pine straw helps provide favorable growing conditions and stimulates healthy plant development because it:

Insulates tender roots from temperature extremes keeping the soil warm during cold spells and cool during warm spells,
Conserves soil moisture by reducing water evaporation rates and moisture loss, encourages water infiltration into the soil and reduces runoff, eliminates erosion caused by wind and rain-splash impact, protects against soil compaction by reducing the rain impact directly on the surface, and aids in promoting favorable soil tilth for healthy root growth. Pine straw may also hinder the establishment of weeds and soil-borne diseases. Since pine needles interlock even on landscapes with considerable slope, pine straw will not wash out of beds like some other mulches. Pine straw also remains loose and friable and does not form a top crust like grass clippings, leaves, and some wood mulches. Loose mulch allows water to infiltrate readily into the soil for plant availability and avoids wasteful irrigation runoff. The large air pockets, however, help prevent it from remaining excessively wet and damaging roots. Lastly, the fine texture and uniform color of pine straw is simply more aesthetically pleasing to some users. The attractive, earthy facade brings out the color, contrast and texture of landscapes.

nfd♥

Live Christmas Tree Help?
Last Year My Boyfriend And I Had A Fake Christmas Tree...This Year I Promised Him We'd Get A Real One. I Like Putting Up My Tree Before Thanksgiving Though..Its Kind Of Like A Tradition... How Long Would A Real Christmas Tree Last For? When Should I Put It Up And What Would Be The Best Way To Go About Taking Care Of It?? Also What Kind Of Tree Would Be The Best Tree To Get..? Thanks In Advance For The Help!

First off, where do you live? Climate can determine a lot in this situation. I live in Maine and can get away with putting up a live tree just before Thanksgiving if it's coming down right after Christmas. However, that is by picking an extremely fresh tree and doing just the "right" things. As I live in Maine we get the freshest cut trees, the farther you get from where the tree was chopped down the longer it's been "dying" before you even see it.
Some ways to take care of it are this: check the freshness by removing one needle and bending it. If it snaps, it is not fresh, don't buy the tree. A fresh needle will bend easily without breaking. Then, before bringing inside, make a fresh cut on the bottom of the trunk a few inches up from the current cut point. This will allow the tree to get the water easier as it won't be trying to suck water up through an already sealed trunk. This ideally could be done again at least once a couple weeks later, but I've never bothered. Also, water frequently! Don't allow the tree stand basin to dry out at all. In the first 24-48 hours that tree will suck up a LOT of water- probably two basin's full.
As for the kind of tree, that's personal preference, really. In general any type of Fir would last longest. (Fraser, Balsam, or Douglas being all good options.) But Pines and Spruces are options as well. There are MANY types out there and availability will depend on your location.

ETA: As you're in Michigan, you can manage with having it up before Thanksgiving. Also, another poster mentioned "water and sunshine" but that's not true- avoid direct sunlight. This tree is already chopped down and dying, sunlight will speed that process along. Also, avoid putting it directly in front of a heat source (radiator, floor vent, etc) as that too will cause the tree to dry out and fully die much faster.

How To Winter My Wisteria?
I Live In Pittsburgh, Pa, Zone 5 And Finally Successfully Planted A New Wisteria Last Spring. In Two Growing Seasons It Has Now Climbed To The Roof Of My Second Story Porch. 2 Questions. (1) Do I Need To Wrap The Entire Climbing Vine In Burlap As I Did Last Winter When It Was A Baby ? (2) I Would Like To Propagate A Cutting From The Plant For My Brother And I Need To Know What Is The Best Time Of Year To Do So, And Does Anyone Any Suggestions For How To Go About It ?....Thanks...Wysteria Lover In Pittsburgh

Cut the canes back to within 1' of the root. Mulch heavily - preferably pine straw or shredded cypress bark. After the last spring frost give it a shot of all purpose water soluble fertilizer according to the label directions. 2 months later - or after you get good leaf and stem production give it water soluble super bloom or bloom booster. You can try hard wood propagation from the cut canes but it is not the right time and it is much easier to harvest the seeds after the bloom.

LOL

HOMESTEAD CANNING – Preserving Lemons

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