AH Crafts Home Improvement And Interior Design Site

If your customers don’t have the thick, lush lawns they’ve imagined, you can rack your brain trying to figure out the cause. While you interrogate them about their watering practices and second guess yourself on fertilization, the problem might be a lot simpler. It might be time to aerate.

Are there tracks in the lawn? Are there tons of weeds despite a good fertilizer with weed prevention? Are pests becoming a problem? Is water pooling in the lawn after heavy rains? Are there bare spots that you haven’t been able to help? The soil might have compacted, and it might just take a little aerating to make the lawn thrive. If the customer has clay soil or it’s a dry area, you’ll need to aerate more frequently. There’s a simple and pretty unscientific way to tell when it’s time to aerate. Grab a stick. If the soil is difficult to penetrate with the stick, you should aerate.

You should choose a nice, clear day to aerate. If the soil is wet, you will have a huge mess and a lot of explaining to do to customers. You’re also going to get compacted soil much more quickly if it’s wet. If it’s too dry, you won’t be able to penetrate the soil with an aerator. Pay attention to the weather. You should have nice weather for as long as possible (a week at least) after you aerate for maximum benefits.

If you don’t yet have an aerator attachment for your mowers, you can rent one. I recommend renting them before you buy one anyway. There are different types of aerators with different features, and the best way to determine which you prefer is to try them out. Aerators with spreaders allow the plugs (or cores) of soil to be spread throughout the lawn. It’s fine to leave them, but they should be raked to make the lawn look better right away. If you have a lot of clay soil yards or live in a dry area, you want longer spikes on your aerator. You also want more spikes to play the odds. The more spikes you have, the more likely at least some will penetrate harder, dryer soils. In particularly dry areas, it’s a good idea to water a day or two before aeration, just to promote penetration. Then simply mow in the same pattern you were going to mow anyway, with the aerator attached.

Aerating a lawn allows air, water, and nutrients to get to the roots of the grass. It allows earthworms to move about. Other good little organisms that take care of pests and naturally fertilize the lawn will thrive. You’ll also break through some weed roots, and the healthier lawn will have a better fighting chance against the weeds. You’ll have fewer problems with flooding, and the lawn will be more drought-tolerant. Bare spots will fill in much better.

Right after aerating is the perfect time to overseed if you are trying to repair bare spots or filling in during fall for a green winter lawn. By core aerating the lawn, you’ve perfectly prepared the soil to thrive on the seeds. This should be done as soon as possible after aerating, and it’s best to remove the pulled plugs from the lawn if you’re going to seed. It’s also a great time for water to get deep into the soil in dry areas, so watering after aeration is preferable. If it’s fertilization time, it’s also a good idea to aerate first if it’s needed.

In hot, dry climates, you might need to aerate in summer, fall, and at the beginning of spring, depending on how dry the winter was. Cooler weather grasses are better aerated early in fall. They are too fragile and will recover more slowly if aerated in the summer, and fall is the perfect time to prepare them for winter. If the soil is heavy with clay, you might need to aerate more often. It’s a good idea to keep your stick (knife, screwdriver, etc) handy to check if the soil has compacted.

Aerating will save your customers time and money watering in the summer as their lawns will be better able to withstand drought, and they will be thrilled with their healthier, fuller lawns. It’s well worth investing in a good aerator.

If you feel that your backyard is lacking a certain something, a water feature might be just the thing to bring new life to your outdoors. There are many different types of water features to consider, such as a pond or a waterfall. Flowing or still water has a peaceful relaxing quality to it, and water features allow you to bring this natural beauty right into your own yard. You may be thinking that the care and upkeep of a water feature may not be worth the hassle, but they are much less labor intensive as you may think. By following a few simple guidelines and understanding how your water feature lives and breathes, you can enjoy this natural work of art for as long as you own your home.

Water fountains are considerably easier to deal with then a water garden. Fountains must be regularly cleaned, but really require little upkeep. If you want a successful water garden you will probably need to invest a little more time, especially when you’re first trying to get it established. When creating a water garden, it is vital that you understand the relationships between the plants and animals coexisting in this environment. If you want your water garden to thrive, you’ll need to take special care to choose the right fauna and flora.

Many new pond owners have problem with algae. If you don’t want to be cleaning out your pond every few weeks, adding a few fish can greatly help as can floating plants which help to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the algae. Ensure you don’t have an excessive amount of chlorine in your water, especially if you have fish. You may want to install a pump and/or a filter along with regularly checking the pH level of water (should be between six and eight).

If you’re having your pond installed for you, ask the professionals for advice on getting started. If you are still unsure about where to start you can also buy one of several books which can guide you step-by-step through the process of creating your own water garden. Once your pond is established you will likely find the upkeep to be quite minimal.

Many people find that adding a water feature to their yard can literally transform their entire surroundings. Ponds, fountains, and waterfalls add a natural beauty and serenity to any outdoor area, no matter how small or modest.

Despite what you may read in the trendiest kitchen design magazines, updating the look of your kitchen really does not require that your spend a lot of time and money. There are some simple and inexpensive ways to give your kitchen a brand new look.

Some small change here and there that you can make in your kitchen can still create a big effect on how your kitchen looks. You can get ideas about what you would like incorporate into your kitchen decorating and remodeling project from books, magazines, and internet sites dealing with kitchen design ideas.

There are 7 relatively low cost kitchen-decorating ideas to create a beautiful kitchen:

1. Replacing the cabinet doors and fronts. Then you can reface the remaining fixtures. This will greatly change the whole look and feel of your kitchen.

2. Painting your cabinets white and changing the hardware, such as knobs, handles, or pulls.

3. Using solid core MFD doors, which are medium density fiberboard or timber. They can be fitted to a solid door base. This type of door can be painted to create any look you may want.

4. Using color to renovate the kitchen is another example of inexpensive kitchen decorating. You can paint your walls and cabinets. When it comes to painting your existing cabinetry, you can use decorative finishes. Some examples are creating a distressed finish to add an aged look, and faux and glazed finishes. These are all simple to do and cost effective.

5. Another area of the kitchen you can easily update is the faucet and sink. It is possible to locate moderately priced sinks that can cost from $50 $300. They are also available in many colors, and styles. Porcelain, stainless steel, and acrylic are the materials that are available for sinks. For faucets, you will find that they are available in many styles and finishes, and depending on the type of faucet can range in price from $50 to$750.

6. Another great affordable idea in kitchen decorating is to add a kitchen island. Kitchen islands are great for adding more counter space to the kitchen and provide a gathering place. If you do not have enough money or space to add a permanent kitchen island, but would like to have the advantages of one, you might consider as an alternative getting a kitchen cart. A kitchen cart can have wheels for rolling around, as well as have drawers, shelves, and places to hang utensils. Because they are on wheels they can be cleared out the way.

7. If your kitchen-decorating budget is so small that you can only afford to remodel a small area of your kitchen you might consider adding a kitchen backsplash. A new kitchen backsplash can really dress up a drab, uninspiring kitchen. Kitchen backsplashes are available in so many different styles, colors, and materials. The materials used for backsplashes can include, wood, porcelain, natural stone, glass, stainless steel, and even wallpaper. The costs vary depending on the material you select.

So you can see that redecorating your kitchen can be a simple thing like changing the hardware on your existing cabinetry or painting the walls. Just one small change can do a lot to make your kitchen look brand new.