How to Prepare a Spring Garden on a Budget

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

If you’re a keen gardener when spring arrives, you’re probably aware just how easy it is to spend a lot on new plants, possibly way more than what you’d bargained for. Yet, if you do a lot of the work yourself, getting ready for a spring garden can be a wonderful weekly activity from planting to blooming, and is a pleasant way to welcome in the new season without having to spend a fortune.

Steps

1. Start with a budget. If you know what your budget allowance for the garden is from the very beginning, you will have something to stick to and if there is anything left over, you can reward yourself with something extra. If you don’t have a budget, you will probably overspend, so don’t skip this essential step.
2. Use your own seed. Keep seeds back from the previous season from flowers and vegetables that grew in your garden. Allow the seeds to dry (to prevent mildew over winter) and place in separate bags, well labeled. Store somewhere that is warm and dry over winter. As spring gets closer, plant the seeds in seedling trays and keep indoors near a window that gets a lot of sunshine. Water and tend to them regularly and you will get a head start on the new season’s plantings.
   • If you haven’t managed to do this from last season, ask your neighbors or family members who garden for spare seeds that they saved from their gardens.
   • Look for discount days at your local garden center or hardware store to get seeds at a very good price.
3. Strike cuttings. If you fancy the plants that are growing in someone else’s garden, ask if you can take cuttings from them to strike your own. Many gardeners are very pleased to be asked this and will let you collect a few cuttings.
   • Botanical gardens often have mid-winter to early spring pruning clear outs in rose gardens, etc. Phone up to ask when this happening and to see whether members of the public can get cuttings from these tidy-ups (just avoid picking out anything that is diseased or rotten).
   • Read How to grow cuttings from established plants for more details.
4. Wait until frost season has cleared. Once the likelihood of frost has cleared, take the seedlings outdoors and continue watering them in their trays. Do this for a week or two, to help them transition from the indoor environment to the outdoor one.
   • The budget-conscious gardener won’t rush this step, otherwise you’ll have to find more seedlings to replace the ones you’ve lost.
   • Read How to grow seedlings, How to thin out seedlings and How to keep birds off your seedlings for more ideas.
5. Create a garden plan on paper. In the same way that a shopping list helps you to curtail overspending in the store, a garden plan helps you to avoid over-purchasing of whims when you go to the garden center. Draw in the flowers, the vegetables, the ornamentals, the decorations, etc. that you’d like in your garden this year, in their exact places. This plan will guide you on buying “just enough” and no more. And don’t forget to take account of plants that you’re already growing yourself.
6. Keep an eye on garden sales in catalogs. When the sales are on, this is an excellent time to buy the garden sale items in bulk. Naturally, only buy what you will use but have an eye for a good bargain, including for updating/replacing, and so forth of new garden tools, hoses, netting, and other essentials.
   • Only buy in bulk if it will be used and is a good price.
   • Don’t go overboard on gimmicky things like plastic garden decorations. They clutter the garden and may not be made from very good materials. Put your money toward plants and gardening tools you really need instead.
7. Buy plants that have been reduced due to lack of adequate attention or overstocking. In some garden centers, there will be a section of plants that haven’t been adequately cared for, or that have not been selling as well as the store owner would like, going for a song. If you’ve a green thumb and you can identify the likelihood of successfully salvaging any of the poorer plants back to health, these finds can make incredible bargains.
   • Be sure to tend to the weaker plants from the moment you arrive home. Give them better soil, keep them away from wind and heat to begin with, give them a tidy up and a nutritious feed. Remember to water them regularly until they start to thrive again.
8. Make your own garden decorations. Rather than buying decorative items for the garden, recycle and reuse household items to create new and amazing garden sculptures, feature pieces, water features, etc. Be as imaginative as you’d like and rope the kids in to help too. They can have great fun making a dinosaur garden with their toys, a fairy garden with their fairies, an animal garden for their pets, etc.
   • Make a bird feeder
   • Make a mini Zen garden
   • Make a rhododendron decoration
   • Make a faerie garden.
9. Keep it simple. A budget conscious garden is a simple one that is pretty, effective, useful, and pleasant all at once. If you can’t afford a greenhouse to keep tropical flowers, don’t aim for that. Visit the local gardens instead and see theirs and think about how much extra work is involved anyway! And there is nothing more appealing than a well-weeded, well tended garden, whatever your budget.

Video

This video describes how to make a cheap and easy sprouts greenhouse for someone with a tight budget.

click here for: spring garden on budget – video

Tips

• Note that some plants are best placed direct into the soil that they will grow in; research each plant’s needs first.

Warnings

• Be careful of cheap garden items, from tools to decorations. They may seem like a bargain but if they break they need replacing and they can also become hazards if they break when working with them. Also, cheap decorations may contain hazardous parts for pets and infants, and they might be made from toxic paint or other dangerous components that your family and your garden can do without being exposed to.
• Wait for the soil temperature to be right. If you plant too early, the seeds and/or seedlings won’t succeed and you’ll have wasted your money.

Things You’ll Need

• Budget
• Own seed
• Garden space readied for planting
• Garden tools
• Affordable plants
• Homemade decorative elements
• Springtime

Relateds

• How to Create a Household Budget
• How to Set up an Inexpensive Irrigation System
• How to Make a Bottle Watering Can
• How to Build a Greenhouse out of Old Storm Windows
• How to Choose the Best Time for Watering the Garden
• Turn Clay Into Growing Soil

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Prepare a Spring Garden on a Budget. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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Once again the chore of mowing comes to pass and if you’re like many people we know, there’s plenty of it to be mowed.

That’s when a rough cut mower can come in extremely handy and a serious time saver.

But before you run down to your local equipment rental center in town, take a moment to read this post we found for you over at the Wiki!

How to Use a Rough Cut Mower

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

For those who live in an agricultural or rural area where wide open spaces abound, keeping the weeds, brush, and high-growing grasses under control can become too large of a task for an ordinary mower. Many who live in this type area will eventually invest in a small farm tractor and rotary mower (also known as a brush hog or "bushhog" - although the latter is actually a brand name). There is also a type of rough mower called a "flail mower". This type uses many very short blades on a horizontal drum. Strongly consider a flail mower if there are rocks or you may encounter debris. The short knives avoid throwing projectiles, which when thrown from a rotary mower could kill those within a great distance. Here are some steps and tips in understanding how to operate one safely and efficiently.

Steps

1. Make sure your tractor is in good operating condition. Since rough mowing may require going into brushy or bushy areas, you may want to modify the tractor to protect the front end components, such as the steering linkages and radiator screen to protect these from limbs or other hazards.
2. Use a mower that is the correct size and configuration for your tractor. The manufacturers of rough cut mowers build and rate them according to two criteria, explained here:
   • Gearbox Horsepower(torque). A 50 horsepower tractor will likely damage a 25 horsepower mower gearbox under heavy load, and a 30 horsepower tractor cannot operate a large mower equipped with a 90 horsepower gearbox. A good fit is no more than 10% difference in tractor/mower horsepower rating.
   • Cutting width. Smaller tractors, obviously, will handle only smaller sized mowers. For a typical 25 horsepower tractor, a 5 foot mower is recommended, where a 40 horesepower tractor should be able to handle a 6 foot mower, and larger tractors can handle proportionally larger mowers.
3. Adjust the sway chains/implement stabilizers so the mower cannot swing too far when turning corners. A mower deck can swing far enough, in certain cornering situations, to hit the rear tires of the tractor, possibly ruining it.
4. Check the condition of your mower. Making sure the mower is in good condition will decrease the chance of a breakdown while you are mowing. Some things that may need attention are these:
   • Gearbox lubrication. Typical gear boxes have two pipe thread type plugs built into their housing. One, at the top, is the fill hole, another, on the side, is the fill level. Remove both plugs, and pour oil in the upper hole until it begins to trickle out the lower one, then replace both plugs.
   • Ground wheel condition. The ground wheel supports the rear of the mower to keep it from digging into the dirt if the mower is operated in unlevel conditions. It should swivel easily so the mower follows when the tractor turns, and the wheel should turn freely on its axle. Lubricate the grease fittings on this assembly, and make sure no debris is tangled around the wheel hub or axle.
   • Power take-off connector. Usually, this is a splined connection with a pin or spring-loaded locking mechanism to hold it in place. There are several sizes of PTO shafts, if you have the correct tractor/mower combination, you will be able to slide the mower drive shaft onto the tractor PTO shaft without trouble. Lubricating the splines on this assembly will keep it easy to slide on and off when changing out equipment.
   • Universal joints. These are similar to the u-joints on a car or truck, and allow the drive shaft to travel without bending while it is rotating. Make sure the universal joints are tight, and grease them if they are equipped with grease fittings.
   • Top-link connection. The top link on a rough cut mower is not a fixed length, as are most other farm implements. This is because the ground wheel can raise and lower the rear of the mower to follow ground contours, and the top link would bind in this situation. Make sure the top link adaptor on your mower allows several inches of free travel, while still allowing the mower to be lifted clear of the ground while turning.
   • Mower blades. A 5 foot rough cut mower is usually equipped with two 24 inch blades, attached to the blade mounting plate under the mower deck. These should be balanced and sharp for good, clean, and vibration free service.
   • The blade mounting plate. Make sure the bolts or studs that attach the blades are tight. This should also be equipped with a stump jumper, to lift the bottom of the gearbox/blade assembly clear of stumps or other obstacles.
5. Hook up your mower and connect the PTO shaft. Make sure the shaft locking mechanism engages, to prevent the shaft from vibrating loose while operating. Check any shaft guards to be sure they are in safe operating condition.
6. Crank your tractor, engage the clutch fully (tractors usually have two stage clutches, so the clutch must be fully depressed to disengage the PTO), and engage your PTO. Make sure your engine is at minimum RPMs, then let out the clutch. The mower blades should begin turning, but if there is any problem, disengage the PTO immediately.
7. Use the three point hitch hydraulics to raise the mower to the desired cutting height, and select a gear appropriate for the cutting job you are doing. For light weeds/grass, you may choose to operate in a gear that gives a groundspeed of about 7 MPH. In the tractor in the photos, this would be 6th gear. For heavy weeds, brush, or mowing crops after they are finished, a 4 MPH speed may give better results, so 5th gear may be used.
8. Begin mowing. Keep the wheel aligned with the direction you want to travel. This may seem obvious, but in a large field with no rows or other features to guide a tractor operator, the machine may drift.
9. Select your mowing route in the field or area you are mowing, and follow it either in return row or circular configuration, which ever is more efficient. Since return row mowing requires stopping at each end, raising the mower deck, and turning around, a circular mowing path is usually more efficient.
10. Listen to the tractor engine, and observe the exhaust, if your tractor has a diesel engine. Black smoke may mean you are overloading the engine, as will a reduction in RPMs. You should not exceed the limits of your tractor when mowing, doing so can cause premature failure of drive train components. If the tractor is lugging, losing power, or otherwise struggling with its load, either reduce the mower cut by raising the mower, or drop to a lower gear to reduce the tractor speed.
11. Watch for obstacles in the vegetation you are mowing. Stumps, holes, or large rocks can ruin a mower, and hitting a large hole with a tractor wheel can cause the driver to be thrown from the machine. Each pass gives you an opportunity to look at the next cutting path as you pass it.
12. Keep an eye on the gauges. Watch the engine temperature, oil pressure, and fuel gauges to ensure these stay in their appropriate ranges. Mowing large vegetation can put a considerable strain on a tractor's cooling system, and debris falling from the vegetation can stop up the radiator screen.
13. Keep the mower deck ground rails from plowing, or digging into the earth. Even when properly adjusted for level ground, occasionally, a skid plate will dig into the soil when crossing a small contour, and earth and vegetation can accumulate at the corner of the mower deck. These accumulations can quickly snowball into huge masses, and cause a mess. Glancing back at the mower deck frequently will allow you to observe this before it becomes a real problem.
14. Use care if mowing under tree limbs or other overhead hazards. Not only can these obstructions break off a muffler or bend the sheet metal of your tractor, you can actually be swept off the machine. Slow down when approaching any obstacle, and be prepared to stop.
15. Understand the limits of what your mower can cut effectively. Because people refer to rough cut mowers as Brush Hogs, they often assume the mower is capable of cutting bushes. To some extent, this is true, but if you are inexperienced or doubt the tractor/mower's ability to handle large, thick bushes, avoid them.
16. Keep an eye out for insects. When mowing under trees, it is common to find yourself wrapped up in spider webs, and not too unusual to find a spider stuck on your hat or glasses. Ground bees (yellow jackets), wasps, and hornets are other hazards, and tractors are not the fastest escape vehicles for avoiding these painful pests if your encounter them. In the unusual event you have to leave your tractor suddenly to avoid these pests, make sure you pause long enough to pull the kill switch or at least take it out of gear.
17. Enjoy your mowing job. Nothing beats the smell of fresh mowed grass under a clear blue sky. Remember, some jobs are hustle and bustle, but that is not the tradition of agricultural life.

Video

How-To-Use-A-Rough-Cut-Mower

Tips

• Keep your mower blades sharp. Sharp blades wear much more slowly than dull ones.
• Don't try to mow a field early in the mornings or after a rain. The added moisture will cause your exhaust to clump up and the results will be less than you want.
• If you are mowing to reduce small-fuel fire hazard, rather than for lawn-like appearance, do mow when it is cool and damp. This will reduce the chance of sparks caused by the blades against rocks starting a fire. Some jurisdictions prohibit mowing after noon.
• Mow only at a speed you are comfortable with. Many tractors have no operator restraint devices or roll-over protection.
• Avoid scalping while mowing. If your mower blades hit the dirt, they are likely to become dull very quickly.
• For irregular shaped lots, you will find it more efficient to first mow the border of the area you wish to mow, once you have circled the entire area with the mower, square up your work by fixing your vision on a distant object that you can mow towards. Then go back over the irregular shape you have created to square up your work and mow all of area before you proceed to mowing the large square you have defined. Then as you mow the large square or rectangle you have created, be sure to have the discharge of the mower deck to the outside of your work, or with each pass you will find the tractor and mower working harder and harder.
• Mowing with the tractor wheels at their narrowest setting will allow you to mow much closer to obstacles.

Warnings

• Never operate a tractor or other equipment if you are not in good condition, alert, and well-rested. Fatigue or the influence of medications, alcohol, or drugs may impair your ability to do so safely.
• Avoid drop-offs, embankments, or other obstacles when mowing.
• Be especially careful of obstacles when backing the tractor with the mower attached.
• Observe all warnings posted on the mower.
• There are times to use an iPod and times not to. Mowing with a tractor is not one of the times. Even with the expensive noise canceling ear phones because in order to hear your music, you'll have to turn the volume up so loud you will damage your ears. You won't notice the damage until it is too late.
• Check the fuel and be sure you have enough to complete the job. Running out of fuel may require you to go through a painful and time consuming priming process.
• Wear a bandanna or some sort of protection for your nose and lungs. A simple bandanna around your neck can be effective, when your mowing kicks up the dust, pull up the bandanna to cover your nose and mouth just like Roudy Yates did on Rawhide.
• Wear the proper clothing. A long sleeve shirt, jeans, and a cap can protect you from critters you disturb mowing, like ground wasps. Their stingers won't penetrate jeans, caps or thick cotton shirts, so if you do get attacked, you can avoid most of the stings. And, don't jump off the tractor if you do get stung, it wont help things. If you are sensitive to stings, keep a bottle of Benadryl or other over-the-counter antihistamine in your tool box. It might save your life. Furthermore, a good pair of sunglasses will protect the health of your eyes; you may want to ask for the kind of sunglasses that have a dual-purpose function as safety glasses, they will come in handy for many outdoor projects.
• Don't mow a large area with your cell phone in a case clipped to your belt. The movements you make and the constant bumping around and jostling can dislodge your phone. So, either leave your phone in the house or at least put in in your pocket.
• Understand that a rough cut mower can discharge debris at a high speed anywhere around the mower deck while it is cutting. A stone or limb can quickly become a dangerous projectile.

Things You'll Need

• Tractor
• Mower
• Personal protective equipment, including gloves and safety glasses

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Use a Rough Cut Mower. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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Lately it seems that more and more dial-a-flower companies are letting their customers down!

From this point on…

Don’t throw your money away with any of them!

Here’s something you may have never considered.

Next time your want to give a meaningful gift that can last possibly a lifetime, why not consider a Bonsai Tree as a gift?

It will cost you about the same price as flowers that will just die. Besides the fact that you have no guarantee as to what your loved one will receive when sending flowers!

With this referred distributor, the person you are sending to will get what you see in the photos and they will be very pleased and you won’t have to go as far as having to deal with your C.C. company to take care of a mis-order in the un-likely event that that should ever happen.

I haven’t heard of any problems like that with these warm and happy to serve people.

A+ on the Bonsai Jade Tree!

I’ll be back to feature some others really soon so I really hope you’ll consider stopping back again.

DS

 

Why not give a gift that will keep on giving?

The Baby Jade

This succulent bonsai, also known as the ““Elephant Bush”", is native to South Africa and has pale green leaves that are almost round and about one-third the size of the common Jade plant. The fleshy trunk, branches and leaves are used to store water. An excellent indoor bonsai tree, great for home or office.  Makes a GREAT GIFT! Order this one or choose from a large selection HERE!

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So you’re thinking about picking out the perfect garden furniture! We know it can be a difficult endeavor.
After all, there are so many choices that you could make.

With outdoor patio furniture, there are the positives and some drawbacks to every decision. A lot of people getting their first garden furniture go this route:

They buy buy cheap stuff. They usually get durable plastic outdoor furniture. The great thing about plastic furniture is that it is inexpensive, fairly comfortable, and very replaceable. If a wind storm come along blows it down the street and breaks it, it is no big deal. You can also easily move it around by hand without having anyone help you. You can realize the placement and size and get a feel for the layout. Cheap outdoor furniture is easy to experiment with.

 

 

 

Once you are a little bit more settled and have your garden designs really down, you might want to invest in something a little bit nicer. When you are designing your garden, it is nice to have furniture that you can experiment with and replace if necessary, but it is amazing how much nicer cast iron furniture is than the plastic stuff. I have always loved cast iron benches and tables. They are very durable, but they are also quite beautiful. The only problem is that they are extremely heavy, and they can sink into the ground If they are not correctly placed.

A really popular option where I live is outdoor teak furniture. This is an expensive wood and it can be a little bit difficult to find, but it is worth it. It has this rich, deep color that is out of this world, and it weathers very well. You need to have it properly varnished and finished, of course, or else it won’t hold up to the seasons. If you do that, it will last you forever.

 

Consider this when you are picking out your garden furniture, don’t just think about what you like. Think about things like: What plants you will be including in your backyard oasis, the environment outdoors, and things like that. After all, when you see garden furniture that is really well matched to its surroundings, you can tell. It creates this harmonious effect that is quite breathtaking. Every plant, every creative stone arrangement, the secret footpath to a secluded area, and that special piece of outdoor furniture are in their place, and it feels as if the world is at peace with itself when you are sitting among all that beauty in your special place.

HHealth

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