Category: home improvement

Tips to Choose the Right Fertilizer for Your Lawn

Tips to Choose the Right Fertilizer for Your Lawn

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Selecting a quality fertilizer and knowing the right way to apply it is essential to ensuring your house plants’ well-being and garden. However, selecting the right fertilizer can be confusing. Some plants require fertilizer in the spring, which is when many people wonder – what fertilizer is right for your lawn and garden.  

When it comes to selecting a landscape fertilizer Fond Du Lac WI, the tips and information found below can help.

Ingredients to Look For

There are some ingredients that you should look for in the fertilizer that you choose. Some of these ingredient options are listed here.

Nitrogen

Of the most important elements, this is the most important one. It gives your grass the rich, green color desired and helps create sturdy plants, dense and thick leaves. Strong plants will be able to protect themselves against pests and bugs.

Potassium

This ingredient works with nitrogen. Its job is to help make the foliage and roots stronger. Potassium will also help to enhance the plant’s ability to resist issues like cold weather, diseases, wear and tear, and drought.

Phosphorous

This is an ingredient that works beneath the surface. It helps to promote strong root growth.

Tips for Buying a Fertilizer

Every fertilizer you find and purchase from a nursery or a garden center will include the three ingredients above. The amount of each element varies from one fertilizer to another. This is why most fertilizers will list their main elements in three digital number formats.

When it comes time to find the right fertilizer, the tips and information here will provide a great starting point. Keep the information here in mind to know what to look for and what you need to ensure that your plants grow healthy and strong. Being informed is the best way to find the right fertilizer for your needs.… Read More..

Are Stepover Apple Trees Worth the Extra Maintenance?

Are Stepover Apple Trees Worth the Extra Maintenance?

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If you are looking to buy apple trees, growing stepover apple trees is a great solution to having only a small amount of space for growing apple trees. Not only are they a great solution because of their size, but they can also be used as a great decorative accent, since they are low to the ground like a small hedge.

After seeing fully grown stepover apple trees, you might be interested in them equally for their beauty and their practicality. While they look like they could be complicated, it’s actually not too hard to learn how to properly maintain a stepover apple tree.

How Much Do Stepover Apple Trees Produce?

One of the most important things to consider when thinking about whether or not you should buy stepover apple trees is what you’re looking for out of your trees. While they are pretty and can be used as a kind of accent decoration in your garden, they are also practical.

Even though these trees are small, they produce a good amount of apples each year. Stepover apple trees might produce about six to 10 apples per season, and possibly even more. Planting several stepover apple trees would give you a good amount of apples per year to use in your household.

While they might not be great for commercial use, growing your own stepover apple trees is a great way to provide just enough apples for the amount that your household needs.

Stepover Apple Tree Maintenance

The most important thing about stepover apple tree maintenance is pruning. To a beginner, this might seem a little challenging. However, it’s actually very easy, and once you’ve learned how to properly prune a stepover apple tree, you’ll have learned most of the required maintenance.

Each year, you should reduce the arms of stepover apple trees by a third. If you don’t reduce them, they will keep growing out but not grow more fruit. It’s better to have several smaller stepover apple trees, rather than one or two with long arms.

Buying Stepover Apple Trees

CRJ Fruit Trees is a good company to buy apple trees from. Depending on how much space you have for your trees, you will probably want to purchase at least two stepover apple trees.

When you buy stepover apple trees, you will also need to buy the short wire fence that they require to rest their arms on. Make sure you do some calculations before you buy the fence or the trees.… Read More..

4 Lawn Care Mistakes To Avoid This Fall

4 Lawn Care Mistakes To Avoid This Fall

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Everyone knows the neighbors with the impeccable yard. After a harsh winter, their lawn returns in all its lush, emerald glory. Yours appears brittle and barren. These neighbors don’t experience different weather; they simply know how to prepare their grass for the cold. How you treat your lawn during the fall determines how it regrows when the weather gets warm. Avoid these four lawn care mistakes this autumn to achieve beautiful grass in the spring.  

1. Mowing the Grass Too Short

Don’t give your lawn a buzz cut. Your grass should stand 2 to 3 inches tall. Anything shorter could damage the root system, making it tougher for your lawn to survive the cold. Grass that’s longer than 3 inches isn’t better, as it can become susceptible to fungus or matting. 

2. Neglecting Your Soil 

Nutrient-rich soil yields healthy grass. Lawn aeration and overseeding Arlington VA prepare your lawn for the cold. Soil becomes compact over time, preventing nutrients from permeating your lawn’s roots. Aeration loosens the soil, promoting nutrient absorption that helps your grass survive the winter. It also maximizes your overseeding efforts, allowing your new grass seed to sink into the ground away from harsh weather. 

3. Letting Leaves Lie 

Don’t take on a raking marathon after your trees have completely shed their leaves. Instead, opt for shorter, more frequent raking sprints as soon as the first leaves have fallen. It’s less strenuous for you, and your grass will appreciate it. Your lawn needs sunshine and air circulation for optimal health. A build-up of fallen leaves smothers your grass and breeds fungi.

4. Forgetting To Add Water 

While fall weather can generate lots of moisture for your lawn, you still should occasionally water the grass yourself, especially after overseeding. Your new grass seed needs hydration to take root and germinate. 

By avoiding these four lawn care mistakes this fall, you can prime your grass for a triumphant return when the weather gets warm. When spring has sprung, your neighbors won’t be the only ones with a perfect yard. … Read More..

Tips on Preventing Foundation Failure

Tips on Preventing Foundation Failure

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Foundation failure undermines your house’s integrity, presenting a severe safety hazard for your family. Turning to local foundation repair services is vital, but so is knowing when you need help. Learning to spot early signs of damage lets you respond as soon as possible, preventing the situation from growing worse.

A Sinking Feeling

It’s not uncommon for houses to “settle” over time, typically early on in its life. However, too much settling is a bad sign, as your house sinks into insufficiently backfilled soil underneath it, straining the foundation in the process. This is one of the most common causes behind foundation failure. Telltale signs that house settling is a serious issue include:

  • Stair-step cracks form in walls and siding
  • Doors and windows jam and fail to close
  • Floors and roof slope or sag noticeably
  • Chimneys lean away from the house
  • Water damage, often from cracked pipes

Depending on soil and foundation conditions, the foundation may sink uniformly or one section may sink more than the rest. The latter is a more serious situation, causing even more strain on the house and forming larger cracks and fractures as a result.

Common Foundation Threats

In many cases, foundational damage stems from problems during construction, when the underlying soil isn’t packed enough or the concrete is poor quality. Sometimes, though, the damage begins to set in some time later. Soil that was stable at first can be compromised by prolonged drought or excessive moisture, causing the soil to—depending on its composition—shrink or expand. Tree roots draining soil moisture, or poor drainage causing excess water to seep into the soil, exacerbate these conditions. If your house is on a slope or hill, gradual soil movement can, over years, cause the house to settle similarly. Such a house is also at risk of the underlying soil eroding during heavy rain.

When something feels off in your home and you suspect a weakened foundation is to blame, performing an inspection, or hiring professionals to do so, can be critical in preventing damage from worsening and costing more to repair.… Read More..

Getting Your House Ready to Welcome Your Parents

Getting Your House Ready to Welcome Your Parents

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Taking care of your aging parents is a privilege, but it is also an enormous responsibility. You must decide when to bring your parents to your home, find a new hospital for them if you live far away, and make any necessary changes to their insurance policy. As you work on these details, don’t forget to make adjustments to the following rooms so your parents can be comfortable.

Bathrooms

Your parents may need help in the bathroom, but you should still make its use as easy as possible for them. Purchase a shower chair and hire a professional to perform a nonslip bathtub treatment Chicago IL. Install a railing inside the shower so that your parents can stabilize themselves. Be prepared to make more drastic renovations such as adding a walk-in bathtub if your parents lose more of their mobility.

Bedrooms

Give your parents a bedroom that is near yours in case they need something at night, and use a downstairs room so that they do not have to climb the stairs. If this is not possible with your house’s layout, purchase a stairlift. Inside the bedroom, make sure the bed is not too high or soft for them. Ask their opinion on whether the furniture works and replace it if they need different chairs.

Kitchen

Depending on how mobile your parents are, they may still want to cook. Put everything essential in a cupboard that can be reached without using a step stool or bending over too far. It’s a good idea to invest in a nonslip treatment for this room, too, if you have tile.

Before your parents come to live with you, make these simple adjustments to the rooms they will use. After they arrive, monitor their needs and see if you should make adjustments so that your living arrangement works well for all involved.… Read More..