Greenhouse Gardening - Getting A Jump Start

It's never too early to start planning ahead for next season's garden. Some people use greenhouse gardens as a year-round hobby but it is also a great way to get started on next season's crop.

For people who would like to do more gardening but live in a short growing season area, a hobby greenhouse is the answer. A hobby greenhouse is not large enough to produce vegetables or flowers on a commercial basis. It will, however, give you a place for a tomato plant or two and some fresh greens even if you live in the northern regions.

Greenhouse enthusiasts even have their own association, called the Hobby Greenhouse Association, which publishes a quarterly magazine. The organization also sponsers events and helps individuals connect to get help with the aspect of gardening that they are interested in, whether it's growing cacti or saving seeds.

If you are in the market for a hobby greenhouse, there are several types on the market. The smallest type is not large enough to walk into and must be accessed from the outside. It resembles an old-fashioned phone booth made all of glass and outfitted with shelves. This type is designed to fit as many plants as possible in as small a place as possible. The shelves are made of glass to allow as much light as possible to reach plants on the lower shelves. Another inexpensive version of this sort of hobby greenhouse is shelving covered with a zippered tent of clear plastic. This sort of arrangement is great for the small-scale hobby gardener wanting a place to keep her flowers or houseplant starts.

There are a variety of designs of hobby greenhouse that are large enough to walk into but made entirely of clear glass or plastic. They are often about the same size as a small storage building. Some independent builders have started making these to sell locally. Among national brands, one of the nicest is called the "Solar Prism." It is called this because of it's unique construction. This hobby greenhouse is made of a single piece of durable clear plastic which is designed to work like tiny prisms side by side. They trap the rays of the sun and shoot them back into the greenhouse at all angles. For this reason, these little greenhouses are said to glow when the weather is cloudy.

Better hobby greenhouses are equipped with automatic sensors that open vents which allow ventilation and keep the interior temperatures from getting too high. These are a great labor saver, but can get expensive. Another benefit sometimes found in nicer greenhouses is a built in irrigation or misting system. Members of the Hobby Greenhouse Association, or HGA, have invented many interesting designs of greenhouses.

If gardening is your hobby, greenhouse growing will interest you. With a greenhouse, you can have the earliest tomatoes and salad greens all year. You can also start seedlings for the main garden early in the spring when outdoor temperatures would kill them. A hobby greenhouse can be a good investment.

Fall Garden Cleanup

Fall garden cleanup can be a sad time for many gardeners. Why? It marks an end to the growing season and all the spectacular bursts of color they've enjoyed since that first sprig of green peeked into their gardens last spring.

Yet for other gardeners though, fall cleanup signals a time of preparation and anticipation. That's right. Garden preparation in anticipation of the growing season to come NEXT year!

Fall is the time to cut back, almost to the ground, most of your perennials. Do remember to leave some of those tall ornamental grass stalks or maybe some of that sedum 'Autum Joy' standing though to give your garden a little winter appeal.

Think back. Remember how some of those flowers and plants seemed out of place or didn't look quite right where you planted them. And what about your garden items that were just plain unproductive this year? Fall is the time to move or remove those particular flowers and plants in preparation for next spring.

As most of your flowers and plants are dying back and will soon become decaying matter themselves, now is the time to supplement your garden with some good organic nourishment in preparation for the growing season next year. Fall is a good time to treat your garden to a nice 1-2" layer of compost all over it. Next spring your flowers and plants will surely thank you for it!

Have you been thinking of adding a new bed to your garden area? Fall is the perfect time to set up an easy in-ground bed that will be ready for you to fill with flowers and plants next spring.

Also, remember those garden workhorses ... your tools. Fall garden cleanup includes caring for those handy helpers that assist you with your gardening chores all season long. Give them a little extra attention before putting them to rest until next year. Wipe off any residual soil or dirt, sharpen any items that have become dull with use, and oil or lube any that may need it. Hang them up or put them in a dry place so they'll be easy to find when you need them next year.

Now grab those gardening catalogs from off the shelf where you set them after the planting was all done this year. There are so many gorgeous blooms out there just waiting to be chosen to be planted next season by some gardener. Use this gardening "down time" that's available in the fall and winter to decide which beautiful flowers and plants will be among those you plant in your garden areas next spring.

If you keep these things in mind, rather than being one of those gardeners who is sad that another growing season has ended, you'll be one of the gardeners who make fall garden cleanup a time of anticipation. Use this time to prepare for those spectacular areas of bloom that await you in the coming spring!

About the Author:
Robin Monarch, a gardening enthusiast, published and manages a website for people wanting to get their flower garden set up quickly 'n easily. Check out her website to find out how to set up an easy in-ground bed and get a head start for next spring's planting. http://www.gardening-quick-n-easy.com/garden_beds.html

Types Of Home Repair Every Homeowner Should Be Aware Of

Many responsibilities come with be a homeowner. Not only are you financially responsible to support your home but youre also responsible for the upkeep, aesthetics and overall maintenance of every aspect of your home, its structure and your yard.

Unexpected problems can cause significant stress especially if youre already struggling to make ends meet. When it comes to owning a home, there are 4 areas of home repair every homeowner should be aware of. If something breaks, you should have knowledge on the subject so you can take appropriate precautions to fix the problem.

Below are 4 areas of home repair every homeowner should become abreast of:

Plumbing Repairs. Plumbing problems can be some of the most expensive things to fix especially if you dont know a professional plumber who can help fix your problem for free. Plumbing repairs include anything from pipe leaks to toilets that wont flush to sinks that wont drain.

Electrical Repairs. Electrical repairs can be costly, depending on the specific problem. If youve encountered a small problem with broken appliances, it might not be as big of a deal as it would be if youre experiencing difficulties with the electrical wiring of your home. Talk to a professional about what the problem is and the best steps to take to fix it.

Heating Repairs. Every homeowner has probably faced heating problems in the home. Whether youre dealing with furnace problems or fireplace problems, heating challenges are important issues to address especially for individuals and families in colder climates. Likewise, air conditioning problems should be addressed immediately for homeowners living in warmer climates.

Window Repair. Window repair can also be costly, depending on the extent of the damage. If youre simply repairing one or two windows in your home, overall costs should be minimal (under a few hundred dollars). On the other hand, if you have to replace all of the windows in your home, it can end up costing you a lot more (were talking thousands). Its important to make sure your windows are in good condition and functional especially if you plan to resell your home in the future.

Its hard to predict whats going to happen in your home. If youre fortunate enough to live in the same home for years without having to make any major repairs then youre extremely lucky. If we could leave you with a piece of advice, it would be this: If something is broke, dont fix it. But if something is broke, fix it as soon as possible. Waiting will only make things worse and will end up costing you more money in the end.

We hope our tips have helped

About the Author:
Caroline Marvin is a single mom learning all about home repair. She recently took classes in plumbing repair and electrical repair so she can fix these problems in her home. In her spare time, she contributes to HomeScapeImprovement.com.

Top Home Gardening Tips: Keep These in Mind

There are tons of different home gardening tips, indoor gardening tips, organic gardening tips, vegetable gardening tips - no wonder the average gardener finds it so overwhelming to figure out just which specific tips are going to be most useful to them. If this is your situation, you should know that out of all of these, there are a few home gardening tips in particular that are going to be useful for you to learn.

Before you can properly or fully understand these tips however you are going to need to learn a bit more about home gardening and what it is all about.

What it is

Home gardening is a type of gardening that continues to grow in popularity. Home gardeners can product tasty, nutritious vegetables and beautiful flowers, and to be a successful gardener you really need to take advantage of the different home gardening tips that are out there.

Home Gardening Tips

One of the best home gardening tips is to choose the right garden site. This will depend on the particular type of plant that you are working with of course, but most plants need an area that is exposed to full or near-full sunlight, with deep, well-drained, fertile soil. The location should also be near a water outlet and free of competition from existing shrubs or trees.

Of course this is one of the most important tips of all because if you do not choose the right location for planting, you are not going to have any success.

Another of the most important home gardening tips is to select the right crops. As a home gardener, this is going to be one of the most important processes that you are going to have to worry about, and so one of your first major decisions is going to be deciding what vegetables you should grow.

Vine crops such as watermelon, winter squash and cucumbers are going to require larger amounts of space and more work, while if you want to take an easier route you should stick to vegetable plants such as tomatoes and potatoes.

It really all depends on your skill level and the amount of time and effort that you are going to be willing and able to put into this, which will determine how serious you can get into your gardening. Regardless, these tips are going to come in very handy and help get you started.

About author: Scott Goodman
You can find many more Garden Design related articles at Flower Garden Design For all your Garden Design needs, please visit http://www.garden-design-news.info

Let Billy Mays Rest In Peace!

Alright, already! It's been several months since drug user Billy Mays passed away, yet we are suddenly being bombarded with his annoying sales pitch from the grave. I think it's time for the advertisers who paid money for his promotional spots to write off the expense and let our poor ears have a break.

While he was alive, he certainly kept my clicker and thousands of others busy switching channels to avoid hearing him screaming at us through our TV sets. I thought that once he was in his grave, we would no longer be bothered by his annying pitch but advertisers seem to feel differently. They don't want to put him to rest with the amount of money they invested and his family must be profiting from it as well. Did anyone see his son on TV? For a young man, he's the spitting image of Billy Mays, even an identical beard. Maybe the plan is to keep the name 'alive' so that Junior can step into his shoes (with a little training first).