Newspaper before Mulch
My most favorite tip is to use two layers of newspaper before adding mulch to your flower/plant beds. The last time I did this, it was four years before weeds started growing. It's cheap, long lasting and easy to dig a hole through, whiich are the reasons why I like it much better than landscape cloth.
Submitted by Patty Cartwright
Hot Water Cut Flowers!
Cut flowers will last longer if you put them in hot water first. They will absorb lots of water and then stay happy!
Submitted by Cheri Donohue
Getting Christmas Cactus to bloom
Like Mama said - a little dose will do you good! If you put 2 tablespoons of caster oil around the roots of your Christmas cactus in October, it will bloom in December.
Submitted by Cheri Donohue
Home Remedy for Insect Pest Recommended by the University of Florida IFAS
3 tablespoons cooking oil / 3 tablespoons liquid dishwashing soap (degreaser free) / 1-gallon water. Spray early in the morning.
Submitted by Al Latina, Aug. 19, 2010
Control Insects with Coffee Grounds
Coffee Grounds have been found to be a great insecticide for scale, mealeybugs and aphids. They are also great for your plants, expecially the acid lovers. Another use is for improving soil, especially areas with hard pan. Coffee grounds contain at least 50 known alkaloids and possibly more. So don't throw out those coffee grounds, put them to good use in your yard.
Info provided by Patty Cartwright and Cliff Brown, June 2012.
Fertilzer Alternative
1/2 cup Epson Salts / 1/4 cup fish meal / 1 banana peel
Apply to each plant in spring and fall.
Submitted by Al Latina, Aug 19, 2010
Keep Squirrels Away
To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.
To keep them away from your bird feeder, make sure the feeder is six feet away from anything a squirrel can jump from, leave at least four feet of open space under the feeder and six feet of open space above it. If your feeder is hung from a pole, grease the pole with vaselline once a month. Your bird feeder will now be enjoyed only by the birds.
Submitted by Patty Cartwright
Recommended Recipe for Enriched soil.
1/3 top soil / 1/3 peat / 1/3 native soil / 1 cup bone meal. Mix well.
Submitted by Al Latina, Aug. 19, 2010
DRYER LINT
Finally a use for dryer lint : Place the lint into the bottom of a flower pot - the water will drain and the dirt stays in the pot ! Info provided by Tom Boy Tools - One of our trusted vendors of Spring Market