Archive for the ‘conservation agriculture’ category

3 Things To Think About When Growing Grapes

August 2nd, 2011

If you’re going to grow grape vines on a small to medium scale, it may be helpful to read this. For the enthusiastic future vintners, you may find this post to not meet your needs. You’re going to have to think about what you’re going to with your vines after you get them established. You also may think a little about what you’re going to do with them period. We all want luscious plants that are going to give us plenty of fruit. I know I want that. I also know that your eyes can be bigger than your gardening skills.

Where do you want to put your vines?

Plant placement is all but too important wen think of where to pout your vines. I don’t think that you could contain a producing vine anywhere near a porch or patio. There’s no doubt that anything can be done and you may be able to get creative and pull from on vine to decorate part of your house.

Many people use arbors or a trellis of some kind for smaller operations. You want to make sure that your vines get plenty of sun and have soil that will drain easily. You don’t need to hear this from me, but these requirements will be very important to you tiny jungle’s success.

What are you going to use your vines for?

Some vines start off a dream to create a very tasty fruit supply for the family. This will require a bit more work, but you can achieve this. Be mindful, and very careful about managing the size of your vines because they cab get up to 30′ long in some cases and you’ll get much more fruit that you may have bargained for. learning how can your good will be helpful. You can also give away your crops. There’s never enough goodwill in the world.

How much work do you really want to do?

The world is filled with thing that are going to fight for your attention. Knowing how much work you really want to do when you grow grapes will help you out so much in the long run. If you don’t wan to do much work then start very simple. The plant will do much of the work as long as you provide its basic needs. I’ve gone the route of having plants to tend that get out of control. The great thing about a plant or vine is that it doesn’t move! It can’t run into the street. You will have to deal with it one way or another. Keep it within your span of control.

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Dare to Repair: Can You Handle Your Water Leak Repairs After Reading This?

August 1st, 2011

Want to learn how to handle water leak repairs without calling a plumbing service, or just want to put your new Apollo Precision Tools to good use for small home repairs needed around the house when your husband handyman isn’t around? If you’re interested in putting your ladies’ tool set to good use, then pick up a copy of Dare to Repair : A Do-it-Herself Guide to Fixing (Almost) Anything in the Home.

Written by two CIA wives who’ve had to make do and learn household repairs while their husbands were away on business, this book is an excellent reference to handling small home projects by yourself or with a homegirl.

Give Me the Specs: How is Dare to Repair Organized?

Dare to Repair is approximately 246 pages of content (the index starts on page 247) broken down into several chapters, as follows: Plumbing, Electricity, Major Appliances, Windows, Walls and Doors and Home Safety. Each chapter discusses the most common home repairs you may need to handle in your home, or learn about through a friend’s experience in their own residence.

  • Repair Name: Each repair is a subsection within the chapters, sans fancy names that confuse you. In other words, you know what the name of the project is or aims to accomplish, because it is clearly labeled at the top of the page on which the project begins.
  • General Introduction & Story: Small paragraphs about the authors’ experiences with the home project help ease you into getting the gist of what the project will entail.
  • Introductory Information: Articulate information about the repair and how it will help improve the quality of life (comfort level) of your home are provided as you transition into getting down to the nitty gritty of getting the job done accurately.
  • Directions & Illustrations: The directions are written in second-person format with basic illustrations to assist you in identifying key tasks. The narrative guides you through each step so that you don’t get lost, and the pictures include captions that allow you to understand the step(s) it references.
  • Tools Needed: Usually on the second page under the directions, you’ll see a small, approximately inch-long section that’s sectioned off. This section of the tutorial tells you what tools you’ll need – and includes a nifty illustration of the tool as well.
  • Sidebar Tips: Several tutorials have sidebars which provide an extra helpful tip that can help you get the job done more efficiently.

Who Should Dare to Repair?

Dare to Repair is a great book for any woman equipped with the right combination of spunk, guts and wit to take on almost anything that needs to be fixed in her home. This book makes a great gift and cute pick-me-up for the independent lady in your life.