How to Fill a Tall Planter

A tall planter used to grow shrubs and trees with deep root systems must be filled with dirt to allow sufficient room for the roots to expand. However, if the planter is used for shallow-rooted plants, such as annuals, that need only approximately 6 inches of dirt, you can use a filler substance at the base to save expensive, heavy potting soil. A lightweight filler material also makes it easy to move the planter when needed.

Determine the soil depth required for the plant you want to grow in the tall container. If you can not find information regarding root depth, which can be available on plant tags, then take into account the minimal size container where you often observe the plant growing. As an example, in the event you commonly grow geraniums (Geranium spp.) In 8-inch- deep pots, allow for 8 inches of dirt in the tall planter.

Measure the entire planter height. Subtract the number of inches of dirt needed from the entire planter height to determine the depth of filler needed. If desired, mark the inside of the container with a chalk line to the appropriate level.

Cut a piece of hardware cloth or landscaping material to match the base of the container. Place the material in the base of the container to cover the drainage holes. If the drainage holes are around the sides at the base of the container, then cut the material large enough to extend up the sides slightly and cover the holes so potting soil does not work its way through the stitch and escape through the holes.

Fill the container around the chalk line with polystyrene foam packaging peanuts. If you don’t have any saved in a recent shipment, purchase them wherever packing and shipping supplies are sold.

Mix equal parts compost, sphagnum peat and perlite or vermiculite to produce your own potting mix. Alternatively, you may buy a potting mix specially blended for various plant types, such as a potting mix for cacti or acid-loving plants.

Fill the planter to within 2 inches of the surface with the potting mix. Plant your selection of plants to the depth of the original container, and pack the potting mix gently round the roots. Add more potting mix, if necessary, to fill the container to the edge. Water the plant with only sufficient water to moisten and settle on the ground.

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Looking to Carpet Grass That Will Grow in the Shade

Carpetgrass (Axonopus affinis) is a perennial turf grass with wide leaves. It’s a light green color, and also, while not considered a high-quality grass, it’s hardy and durable. A warm-season bud, it rises in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 9, and may tolerate some light shade and moist, moist growing conditions. Carpetgrass does not do well in full shade, so you might need to find an alternate turf grass.

Light and Carpetgrass

Carpetgrass can tolerate full sun as well as filtered light — partial shade. It can also grow in areas where it only gets sun for a number of the daytime. It won’t develop in a place that is in deep shade all day. Because it tolerates moist, boggy soils, it’s more tolerant of cooler conditions than more sensitive grasses, such as common Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), that rises in USDA zones 7 through 10.

Establishing Carpetgrass

Carpetgrass isn’t hard to establish, which makes it a smart option for lawns, even though it has a coarse texture and also doesn’t function well if it’s walked or played frequently. When planting carpetgrass, you do not need to fertilize the area.

Carpetgrass Care

Carpetgrass does not like cold weather and it goes into seed easily. It’s also not drought tolerant, so plant it just where the soil remains moist. Mow the carpetgrass regularly — it will tolerate a minimal height of 3/4 inch. Carpet bud will grow well without fertilizer ordinarily.

Carpetgrass Alternatives

Because carpetgrass does not grow well in full shade, it’s just moderately shade tolerant, consider other warm-weather turf grass options. Korean velvetgrass (Zoysia tenuifolia) is a zoysia species which grows well in USDA zone 8. It tolerates full shade. St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphurm secundatum) is just another shade-tolerant, warm-season grass and it rises in USDA zones 8 through 10.

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The way to Use SUPERThrive on Trees

SuperThrive claims to enhance plant growth and vigor. This concentrated, nontoxic liquid multivitamin solution for trees and garden plants isn’t a standard pesticide, so it can be used in addition to your usual fertilizer. SuperThrive was designed in 1939 and has sold continuously since then. For trees, it is advertised as a treatment for transplant shock when trees have been moved to a different place and also a tree health tonic.

Mix SuperThrive focus at a rate of 1 tsp of concentrate per gallon of water for transplanting bare-root trees. Set the tree in the planting hole and fill the hole using the SuperThrive solution. Soak the roots for 15 minutes or until the water stops bubbling, whichever comes last, then fill in the planting hole with soil. Water well with more SuperThrive solution. Do not water again for 24 hours. If your tree includes a wrapped root ball, then go to Step 2.

Set the wrapped root ball of the tree into a solution of 6 teaspoons SuperThrive to 5 gallons of water in a bucket until the ball is well nourished. Move the moist root ball into the planting hole. Remove wrapping if necessary and fill in the hole with soil. Water well with more SuperThrive solution. Do not water again for 24 hours. If yours is an already-established tree, go to Step 3.

Feed established trees using SuperThrive weekly to monthly. Feed trees throughout the origins using a SuperThrive solution made up of 1 teaspoon of SuperThrive per gallon of water. Mix enough solution to guarantee the soil around the tree is well-watered. Use the solution the exact same day you mix it. Supplement groundwater feeding using foliar feeding, which can be feeding trees during their leaves. For foliar feeding, mixture SuperThrive at a rate of 3 ounces per 100 gallons of water. Using a garden sprayer, spray the solution on the tops and undersides of the leaves, wetting them thoroughly.

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Vegetable Gardening Companion Planting List and Gardening Tips

Generations of gardeners passed down observations regarding plants that flourish with specific neighbors. These blossom and vegetable companions seem to match each other in ways that benefit both or one. Some plants provide shade or enhance soil nutrients, but others attract valuable bugs or repel pests. Gardeners often swear by these relationships, but many traditional companion lists disagree on friends and foes. The basis is folklore, not science, but principles behind the pairings ring true.

Acknowledging Ancient Examples

Three vegetables planted together for centuries illustrate the fundamentals behind companion planting. Known as the 3 Sisters, the trio still undergirds planting schemes utilized by indigenous peoples now. The annual crops of corn (Zea mays), beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and squash (Cucurbita spp.) are planted together in a mutually beneficial bond. Cornstalks offer living poles for beans to climb, so pods do not lie on the ground. Beans in turn fix nitrogen, providing nutrition for themselves and heavy-feeding corn. Squash sits in their toes shading the soil. The leaves help retain moisture and reduce weeds. Coexisting in a small space, the three produce ample, high-quality returns. They produce nutritional balance, too.

Enhancing Plant Nutrition and Growth

Several vegetables, herbs and grains enhance soil nutrients and reduce competition from undesirable weeds. This enhances life for them as well as their vegetable partners. Like beans in Three Sisters plantings, peas (Pisum sativum) and other legumes replenish soil nitrogen. Cover crops grown and tilled into the soil benefit the vegetable companions that follow. Tilled rye (Secale cereale), for instance, adds nitrogen as it decomposes, just as grass clippings do in compost. Rye remnants additionally inhibit seed germination, thereby reducing weeds. Just plant vegetable transplants, not seeds, wherever rye has been. Annual sunflower (Helianthus annuus) roots discharge a biochemical with comparable consequences.

Managing Beneficial Insects and Pests

Companion plants handle insects in several neighborly ways. In a plot called trap cropping, early-rising radishes (Raphanus sativus) draw leaf miners and beetles from spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and cole crops that can’t afford above-ground hurt. Annual borage (Borago officinalis) discharges tomato worm moths — and caterpillars that follow — from neighboring tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum). The blue blooms also draw beneficial bees that improve pollination and increase tomato yields. Roots of French marigolds (Tagetes patula) release chemicals that suppress root knot nematodes, enemies to tomatoes and other vegetable plants. The marigolds must be increased the season before and then tilled in. Strong-smelling herbs have been touted as companions to attract, repel or confuse insect pests.

Sharing Space and Shade Wisely

Smart companion plans utilize space by planting vegetables side-by-side or in sequence. Carrot (Daucus carota ssp. Sativa) and radish seeds may be sown together in a single row. Quick-growing radishes have been harvest-ready three weeks following planting, right when bananas require thinning. Rather than throwing out carrot seedlings, you are going to be eating radishes. Various heights and growth rates make for good companions, too. Cool-season crops like lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. Capitata) require ample early-season sun, but they can’t take heat. Plant them north of a taller, slower-growing companion, like corn, and late-arriving shade goes lettuce season.

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How to Soundproof a Drop Ceiling

Soundproofing a ceiling entails preventing the transmission of sound wave vibrations from the bottom of the ceiling to the ground over it and vice versa. By their very design, drop ceilings are somewhat immune to noise transmission, and also the accession of some technical materials could make them even better at blocking sound.

Acoustical Strategies for Ceilings

Two different evaluations measure the soundproofing capabilities of specific ceiling tile materials. The Noise Reduction Coefficient, which ranges from 0 to 1.0, signals how much sound the substance consumes; an NRC of 0 implies that the tile reflects each of the sound that strikes it back in the room, along with an NRC of 1.0 implies that the tile consumes all of the sound that strikes it. The Ceiling Attentuation Class steps how well the ceiling tile stops the transmission of sound through the tile; the CAC is the more important rating if you are concerned about sound passing through the ceiling into the room above. A tile with a CAC more than 35 is regarded as high performance in terms of its sound-blocking capabilities, and one of ceiling tile materials, mineral fiber tiles have a tendency to have higher CAC evaluations.

Decoupling

For sound to move from 1 side of your ceiling to the other, vibrations need to have the ability to pass through the ceiling. Vibrations move easily when there’s a continuous physical path for them to move through, so one of the fundamental ways to soundproof a ceiling would be to “decouple” one facet of the ceiling in the other, meaning that the ceiling material in the room below isn’t directly connected to the ground of the room above. Because drop ceilings are generally constructed with ceiling tiles suspended in a frame below the ceiling joists and the subfloor of the room above, the design of a drop ceiling mechanically provides built-in decoupling along with the first step toward soundproofing.

Adding Mass

Sound transmission through the ceiling additionally requires that the ceiling material be in a position to vibrate so that it can pass the sound vibration into the space over it. 1 approach to decrease a ceiling tile’s ability to vibrate is to increase its mass so that it is immune to the vibrating energy of the sound that strikes it. Some manufacturers offer sound-reducing goods, either dense plates that sit on top of ceiling tiles or especially designed dense shingles, which increase the mass of the ceiling and also create it especially resistant to shaking.

Absorbing Sound

Even when there’s no direct connection between the drop ceiling and the floor above it, sound that manages to pass through the ceiling tile will nonetheless create the atmosphere in the space between the ceiling and the floor above vibrate, and that shaking can pass sound to the room above. Filling the space with a sound-absorbing material such as fiberglass insulation helps absorb the shaking keep it in passing to the ground above. Insulation won’t, nevertheless, offer as a great deal of soundproofing impact as decoupling or adding mass.

Fixtures and Mechanical Systems

Ductwork, light fixtures, vents and other mechanical systems inside a drop ceiling can function as a pathway to sound throughout the ceiling. Sound-blocking covers over lighting fixtures and air circulation can help prevent sound from travel around and during the fixtures. Sound-damping coatings or paint inside ductwork helps to halt the ducts from vibrating, and acoustical baffles interior ducts can help keep sound from moving throughout the atmosphere inside the duct.

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How to Make Outdoor Yard Ornaments Out of Old Dishes

Drought or rainy season, your garden will appear suitably lush and colorful once you plant it using ever-green blooms made of old dishes. It may sound tacky but it’s terrific once you select the “petals” out of pretty, decorative plates and tinted glass. Seed an entire bed using plate perennials; cluster several under a shady tree ; or coax random china blossoms in the ground here and there in your yard.

Petal Picking

Start looking for plates with borders, scalloped or disciplinary borders, cut-out patterns — which have actual holes from the porcelain — coloured clear glass, fluted saucers and candy dishes, and plates of shapes. You will have to layer several plates to make blossoms; the largest on the bottom, graduating to a espresso saucer or a pudding cup in the center. Clear, tinted glass dishes are the best choices because the light shining through them looks just like stained glass or crystalline butterfly wings. It is possible to grab beautiful one-of-a-kind plates inexpensively at flea markets and thrift shops.

The Artwork of the Blossom

Play with the plates you need to see what looks great layered two, three or four deep. Aim for three layers as a perfect — it is only more interesting and “flowery” looking. Build the blossom by setting the largest plate down and putting the next plate onto it. Squeeze a line of epoxy glue around the bottom of the next plate where it touches the bottom plate. Catch the second plate to the bottom plate briefly to leave a glue mark on the plate. Squeeze another layer of epoxy around that glue mark; allow the epoxy set a few minutes, according to the manufacturer’s directions; then press the two plates together. As soon as they dry, then finish each layer exactly the identical way.

Up From the Ground

Planted plate blossoms need stems. Make them in a block of wood or wood hockey puck epoxied to the rear of the plate blossom with a hole drilled in the underside edge for an inserted metal rod or wood dowel, painted green. Metal rods are sturdier and will last more than wood dowels exterior. Poke a row of ornamental flowers up the path to the doorway or via the patches of annuals leading to the gazebo or decorative fountain. Add only a few to this flowerbeds bordering your front porch so you’ll have something “blooming” all winter. Put dish blossoms like sentinels along a fence or plant a group of these, at varied heights, even in a shady spot that will only grow greenery or mildew. Stick them in one of the vegetables on your salad patch to get a floral accent.

Dangling in Mid-Air

Dish flowers are delightful hanging from a tree branch, pergola beam or the eaves of a garden folly. Choose a plate with cutouts across the rim as the foundation and build up a blossom of smaller plates on each side of it. Wrap thin wire through a hole in the dish border and around a hook or tree branch; wire will hold the weight of a double-sided plate greater than twine. Insert some strings of broken pottery pieces or spoons and forks to the lower holes in the rim, to jangle in a breeze, and you own a wind chime, too.

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How Can I Repair the Husqvarna 235 E-Series Chain Tightener?

The Husqvarna chain saw includes a gasoline-powered engine with a oil pump, also accepts 14- and – chains and bars. The chain tightening system includes a tensioning screw to loosen the chain for its elimination, so that it functions properly to the bar without undue wear and to tighten the chain properly. The screw not tighten or loosen the chain and might become stripped after use. The screw can be replaced at a minimum cost.

Put your Husqvarna chain saw and allow the engine to cool if it was in use. Add a Phillips screwdriver into the 3 screws at the upper cover, then turn them and remove them. Pull the top cover the engine off, then remove boot and the spark plug cable from the spark plug to avoid the chain saw beginning accidentally.

Remove the two nuts on the side of the chain saw with an adjustable wrench. The cap off and out the chain saw bar and blade. Put the cover on a level surface with the inner side facing upwards.

Eliminate the tension bracket screw with a Phillips screwdriver and lift the adjustment assembly. The tension screw can be found underneath the adjustment assembly.

Grasp the tension screw with a set of pliers, and pull it straight out and out of the cover. Put a tension screw that is new into the hole.

Replace the adjustment assembly insert the tension bracket screw and twist it clockwise with a Phillips screwdriver.

Put the cap onto the chain saw at the cutout of the holes and the bar with all the adjusting assembly at the cover. Replace the two nuts on the bolts at the cover and twist them with an adjustable wrench. Press on the plug cable and boot firmly. Replace the top engine cover, insert the 3 screws and twist them .

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Filing a Lien for Payment

A lien is a claim on a property for an unpaid debt or other obligation of the operator. If you’re owed money for work on the house, the most appropriate course of action is to negotiate with the proprietor and work out a payment program. If this proves impossible, and you want to place a lien on a house, there are procedures to follow and deadlines to meet. Every state has its lien law, and prior to taking this step you should become knowledgeable about it.

Preliminary Notice

In most states you need to provide a notice to the proprietor of your intention to file a lien. As a notice, this is known in California. It should be furnished no later than 20 days once you begin to provide any advantage to the property in the kind of renovations, improvements or repairs. The notice will maintain your rights to file a lien for no longer than 20 days ahead of the date it’s served and runs through the completion of the contracted work.

Considerations

If you were hired directly by the property owner, the contract used to arrange the work serves as the lien notice. In cases like this, service of a preliminary notice is unnecessary. Back in California, subcontractors who don’t contract directly with the owner, and who don’t file a lien on work worth greater than $400, are subject to disciplinary action by the registrar of contractors.

Recording the Lien

After you have completed work, you have a limited amount of time within which to file your lien with the clerk of court or other public recorder. Back in California, this filing must be done with the county recorder after all the work is completed, or until you’re excused from staying work. The deadline runs in 90 days. If you’re a subcontractor, this time period goes to all work done under the principal contract.

Notice of Completion

If the owner records a notice of completion within 10 days of this work being completed on the property, the 90-day deadline becomes a 30-day deadline (for subcontractors) or 60 days (for main contractors) in the date of the proprietor’s recording.

Foreclosure

After recording the lien, you have to submit a suit in civil court to enforce it. Back in California, this is known as a lien foreclosure, and you have 90 days from the date you’ve recorded the lien with the county recorder to document it. The suit must name all parties holding an interest in the property, to the best of your knowledge. This includes owners, creditors, and anyone else who has recorded a lien. If you fail to file the suit, the lien is considered void.

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Which Are the Housing Standards for an FHA Loan?

Included in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures loans offered by participating lenders. The FHA’s favorite 203(b) mortgage product provides banks with a guarantee: when a homeowner defaults, the federal government pays off his loan balance. To qualify for an FHA loan, properties need to meet criteria set by HUD.

Property Types

The FHA insures one- to four-unit detached and semidetached dwellings in addition to townhouses, row houses and units in certain condominium projects. The FHA won’t cover several kinds of properties, including commercial institutions, motels and hotels and fraternity or sorority houses, based on HUD’s”Mortgage Credit Analysis for Mortgage Insurance on One- to Four-Unit Mortgage Loans” document. According to HUD data, the FHA favors single-family dwellings. As of July 2010, the FHA counts 6.1 million single-family homes and 13,000 multifamily dwellings in its own stable.

Occupancy Requirements

Generally the FHA won’t cover loans on investor-owned properties. In most cases, to be eligible for an FHA loan a borrower must occupy the property as her principal residence. Homeowners need to set occupancy for a period of one year. The FHA does not typically allow an individual to hold more than a FHA loan at a time, though there are a number of exceptions. For instance, if a homeowner relocates or experiences an increase in household size, FHA lenders may approve another FHA mortgage while allowing the borrower to maintain the original home. HUD prohibits the use of FHA-insured loans for secondary residences intended for recreational use. By way of instance, a borrower can’t use an FHA mortgage for a vacation home. The FHA will cover loans on secondary residences acquired for seasonal labour, work-related relocation or other purposes not associated with recreational use of the property when there is a lack of affordable rental units in the target area.

Mortgage Limits

The FHA insures mortgages only up to a certain size. HUD publishes a database which provides updated mortgage limits by place. Normally, the more expensive the housing market, the higher the FHA mortgage threshold. For example, as of February 2009 the maximum FHA mortgage for a single-family house in San Francisco is $729,750. HUD points out, however, that in costly areas lenders can increase this figure to either 95 percent of the area’s median single-family house value or 87 percent of the limitation set by Freddie Mac, whichever is lower.

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Ways to Evict a Tenant

Virtually every landlord eventually faces the need to evict a tenant. It’s almost never an easy task, and it produces a lot of animosity between the tenant and landlord. State laws also make certain the steps that landlords need to follow to evict a tenant. Failure to follow the appropriate processes can prolong a undesirable tenant’s stay and might lead to fines to the landlord. In California, for instance, using unlawful means to evict a tenant can lead to liability and can lead to fines up to $100 per day to the time that the tenant was evicted. In most states, evictions demand the participation of a court. Landlords, however, have choices when it comes to how they evict tenants.

Three-Day Eviction Notice Process

Under certain states, landlords can evict tenants after issuing them a three-day notice of intent to evict. This notice is permitted by state law when a tenant fails to meet the conditions of the rental agreement. Most frequently, the notice comes out of the tenant’s failure to pay rent. The notice can also be issued when a tenant is determined to be engaging in criminal activity, such as drug dealing, that proves harmful to the owners of the property. When the notice is served, the tenant has three times to look after the violation to the rental agreement. By way of instance, the tenant would need to pay the due rent. If payment is not made, the matter goes to another measure, which is a court filing of an official complaint. The court filing causes a summons, which provides the tenant official notice from the local courthouse that he is going to be evicted. This starts the eviction procedure, and the tenant is given the option of accepting the eviction or contesting it through the courts.

30-day Notice Terminating Tenancy

When a landlord wants to evict a tenant, he’s the option to do this even when the tenant doesn’t violate the rental agreement. Certain conditions, however, have to exist. Basically, the rental agreement shouldn’t have a set ending period. The agreement in such cases is from month to month or week to week. When these conditions apply, the landlord must file a 30-day notice that he is terminating the tenant’s rental agreement. This offers the tenant 30 days to proceed. If the tenant fails to maneuver inside the 30 days, then the landlord can file a legal complaint with the courthouse, which then issues a summons to the tenant. This begins the formal eviction procedure, and the tenant can select whether to fight the eviction in court.

Sheriff’s Eviction

When a landlord files a legal complaint, the landlord should answer the summons so as to contest the eviction in court. Failure to reply to the summons within five days leads to a default judgment, and the tenant is called for at this stage to vacate the property. Following a default judgment is attained, a sheriff’s notice is sent notifying the tenant that he must vacate the property. The tenant then has the time to vacate before the sheriff proceeds to force an eviction. Back in California, a sheriff’s notice is sent one to five days after a default judgment and a sheriff’s eviction takes place six to eight times after the sheriff’s notice is sent.

Court Eviction

Sometimes, filing a legal complaint is not enough to evict a tenant. Tenants have the right to file a motion to strike or even a motion to quash the summons. Tenants can also file an answer to the jury or judge stating why the eviction should not occur. At this point, the landlord should continue through the procedure. If the tenant files a response, the case goes to trial. The trial then decides whether an eviction is required. If this is so, the tenant is served with a sheriff’s notice and have to vacate the premises. Attempting to do so causes a sheriff’s eviction. If the tenant wins the situation, the landlord can’t evict the tenant. When the tenant files a motion, the court holds a hearing to determine whether the case should go to trial. If the hearing is determined in favor of the tenant, the landlord should establish new reasons for evicting the tenant. Basically, this implies re-starting the eviction procedure.

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