Soothe a Jellyfish Sting Fast:

Steadily pour a can of cola overr the affected area. The high acid of the beverage will help to deactivate unfired nematocysts (stingers left by the tentacles) That will prevent further injection of venom into the skin and reduce the severity of symptoms until youa re able to seek medical treatment.

Clean corrosion From Car Battery Terminals:

Harsh cold weather can rust  car battery posts, pouring a can of cola over the terminals will ensure that your car starts right up. After you pour the cola over terminals, let it sit for about 15 minutes, then scrub with a wire brush. To finish, wipe leftover residue with a damp paper towel and tighten the battery cable ends.The fizzing bubbles and acid work together to eat away at the corrosion.

Remove Bloodstains From Clothing:

It is best to do this before the stains set in – pour a generous amount of cola over the spot and let sit for about 5 minutes, then launder as usual. The carbonic acid seeps into the fabric fibres and loosens blood particles so they easily dissolve in the wash.

Pest Proof Your Garden:

Use leftover cola to deter snail and slugs from your garden. Fill wide, shallow jar lids with the cola and place them strategically around your plants. The creepy crawly creatures will be attracted to the sugary scent. And once they slitther into the lid for a sip, the acid content of the cola will poison them.

Keep Drains Running Smoothly:

When you get a drain cleaner from the store, you are not only paying a good dollar for it, it is also containing chemicals (sulfuric acid and lye) that can wear and damage old pipes. A safer, more cost-effective way to reduce clogs is to pour a 2 litre bottle of cola down your drain and let it sit for about an hour. Then run hot water for about 1 minute to flush and repeat this process once a month, As the cola travels through the pipes, the combination of effervescence and phosphoric acid in the it scrubs the residue to prevent blockages.

Make a Great Barbecue Sauce:

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup of ketchup with 1 cup of cola and stir until thick. You can double this recipe of you need alrger quantity of sauce. Brush onto meat , grill and that’s that.

Give Compost Bin an Instant Boost:

If you compost pile looks like it could use a boost, you can give it a jump start. To speed up the breakdown, give your bin a doze of 1 litre flat cola every two weeks. If you have a small bin, reduce the cola to just a can. the cola will enhance the compost’s acidity while the sugar in the beverage will increase organic matter of the soil.

Erase Smudges From Sunglasses:

Do you have sunglasses that have lenses covered with dirty fingerprints? You can simply pour a few drops of cola onto a paper napkin or towel and wipe the lenses. The citric acid in the cola loosens dirt and grime for spotless, finger-print feww eyewear. Then just go over the lenses with a clean napkin dampeped with water to remove any residue.

Make Skunk Odor Disappear:

It can happen to anyone – your dog decides to chase a cute looking creature with white striped on its back – and you end up with a problem. You can always use the proven tomato juice, but what if you don’t have it on hand? Pour a can of cola directly onto your dog and massage it into the fur. Keep him outside for about 30 minutes to allow the cola’s acids to break down mercaptan (the odor-causing substance). Then shampoo and rinser as usual. Just one word of caution – use this method on darker coat dogs since cola colouring can be hard to get out of lighter animal fur.

Turn Wilted Grass Green Fast:

This happens all the time – kid’s pool left sitting on the lawn or any other object that will result in grass under it to wilt. To help the grass blades bounce back to life, combine a can of cola, cup of ammonia and 1/4 cup of dish soap in a spray bottle. Shake well to blend the ingredients and then thoroughly spray the faded spot. The high level of carbon dioxide give the lawn much needed food and water. Meanwhile, the ammonia enriches soil with nitrogen to promote speedy plant growth and the dish soap softens the soil to allow the roots to absorb the nutrients.

For detailed information about Coca-Cola, visit:

Coca-Cola Website

I hope you have enjoyed this information – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and much appreciated

1. To ripen avocados quickly, place them in a wool sock and set in a dark place.
2. To revive limp asparagus, try placing them in a tall pot with ice water in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
3. Pickle juice should be saved and used for making coleslaw, potato salad, etc.
4. When making pickles, cut off ¼ inch from each end. The ends contain enzymes that may cause the pickles to soften.
5. Use a well-greased muffin tins to bake tomatoes, apples or peppers. They will keep their shape better.
6. If you cook your vegetables with a small amount of milk, it will bring out more colour
7. If you sprinkle salt into the water when you are washing vegetables, it will draw out insects.
8. When cooking onions or cabbage, boil a small amount of vinegar in a pan to remove the odours.
9. To prevent soggy salads, place an inverted saucer in the bottom of the salad bowl. The excess liquid will drain off under the saucer and the salad stays fresh and crisp.
10. To ripen a pineapple, cut off top, remove skin and slice. Place in a pot and cover with water, sweeten to taste, boil for 5 minutes, cool and refrigerate.
11. Oranges that need to be peeled for dishes should be soaked in boiling water for at least 5-7 minutes before peeling. This will make it easier to peel and remove all the white pulp.
12. If you sprinkle lemons with water and refrigerate them in a plastic bag, they will last a month or more
13. Salt will make grapefruit taste sweeter.
14. If you allow grapefruit to stand in boiling water for a few minutes, it will be easier to peel.
15. To make ripe olives taste better, soak them overnight in olives, place them in a brown be oil with a clove of garlic added.
16. To ripen fruit, place it in a brown bag in a dark place for a few days.
17. If citrus fruits are warmed in the microwave or warm oven for a few minutes, they will yield more juice.
18. Toss freshly cut fruit in lemon juice and it won’t darken. The juice of half lemon is enough for a quart or two of cut fruit.
19. Cook cranberries only until they “pop”- further cooking will make them bitter. And always use a teaspoon of butter to each pound of cranberries – it will eliminate overboiling and excess foam.
20. To eliminate the smell of broccoli, add a slice of bread to the pot
21. Cabbage odours can be container if you place a piece of bread on top of the cabbage when cooking in a covered pot
22. To keep cabbage red, try adding a tablespoon of white vinegar to the cooking water
23. To slip skins off carrots, drop them in boiling water, let stand for 5 minutes and then drop them into cold water
24. To keep cauliflower white during cooking, add lemon to the water. Overcooking tends to make cauliflower darker and makes it tougher.
25. The best way to remove kernels from an ear of corn is to use shoehorn.
26. A food brush will remove silk from corn.
27. Lettuce will not rust as quickly of you line the bottom of the refrigerator’s vegetable compartment with paper towels or napkins. The paper will absorb the excess moisture.
28. To keep mushrooms white and firm when sautéing them, add a teaspoon of lemon juice to each quarter pound of butter.
29. To shed fewer tears when slicing onions, cut the root off first, refrigerate before slicing and peel under running water,
30. When making stuffed peppers, coat the outside of the pepper with vegetable oil and it will retain its colour
31. Stuffed peppers should be cooked in muffins pans to retain their shape
32. To reharden potatoes, place soft raw potatoes in ice water for half an hour or until they become hard
33. When you store potatoes, place an apple with them and they won’t sprout.

I hope this information was helpful to you – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated!

Depending on where you live in the United States or Cananada water bills can range from $60 per month all the way up to an astounding $180 per month!

You can save quite a bit of money on your monthly water bill and put a bit more money back in your pocket through some very simple day to day actions.

For the record, we all have a responsibility to put forward our best efforts to conserve water. It’s a wonderful natural resource we need not only to survive but for our own health and the health of our kids – that should be everyone’s responsibility and focus.

More Garden Water Saving Tips

Understanding the Weeds:

• Keep in mind that every square inch of your garden has weeds in it – but only those in the top inch or two of soil get enough light to trigger germination. If you decide thsat you want to remove weeds by digging and cultivating, you may actually be making the problem wore by exposing dormant seeds to where they can grow. Do dig only when you have to, plant what you need to and immediately cover unplanted soil with mulch. In your lawn, the best way is to sever roots with a sharp knife – that will take way their food source. It is better then digging them out.
• Mulch, Mulch,Mulch – if you do that, you will be keeping weeds away from light. Organic mulches in particular can actually host crickets and carabid beetles and they love easting away thousands of seeds. Some light will pass through the mulch and it is important to replenish the mulch as needed to keep it at least 2 inches deep.
• Weed your garden when weeding is good – this goes by the old saying: “Pull when wet, hoe when dry”. That simply traslates to putting your gloves on after a nice rain and attacking your weeds. Another helpful tool is an old kitchen fork – that will help you pull out the weeds easily. If you try to do this in dry conditions, all you will be doing is breaking the weeds above their roots and wasting yiour time.
• Deadhead as many weeds as you can and fast! When you can’t completely remove the weeds, take off their blooms before they go into seed. Cutting back the tops of perennial weeds, such as bindweed will force them to use up their energy abd food reserves to supply roots and that will limit their spreading.
• Filling the gaps between plants in your flower beds will go a long way to having a weeds free garden. When planting, I usually reduce the recommended spacing by at least 25% and keep an eye on weeds sprouting out until plants have a chance to fill in the spaces.
• Water the plants that need water and not the weeds. Putting soaker hoses beneath the mulch effectively irrigates the plants, while leaving nearby weeds thirsty. DOin this will reduce weed germination by at least 50%. The one thing you will need to watch out are deeply rooted perennial weeds – especaiily in the areas you are keeping moist – and they can take off really fast on you!
• Quite a few gardeners and also scientists believe that enriching your soil with organic matter is extremely helpful For some reason – weed seeds do not germinate as quickly in organically infused gardens – for example one that keep getting regular additions of compost.

Hope this was helpful to you and I will very much appreciate any other suggestions and tips you may have to share!

Knowing which are the bad bugs in your garden is a good start and here are some tips that will help you control them and get rid of them:

• One of the best ways to control bugs is to do your best to prevent them.Keep everything clean and sealed – stopping everything before it starts.
• Keeping areas clean and free of debris, garbage and especially food particles will prevent pests and bugs being attracted to your area.
• Seal cracks, make sure you have good screens in your windows and doors and if necessary, caulk around all openings to your home.
• Use essential oil – many bugs hate strong odours and will generally stay away from natural essential oils. That means soaking cotton balls in citrus oils like lemon or orange and placing them around your home. You can also use peppermint, mint, cloves, citronella, eucalyptus and tea tree oils.
• Sprinkle garlic and pepper powders around the edge of your home – bugs avoid garlic and hate pepper. It is also a good idea to sprinkle garlic and pepper powders around window sills, around plants and patio to keep the bugs away. Ants especially will not cross powder lines and you can sprinkle powder mixes in cracks and crevices where bugs might hide. Another effective remedy in repelling pests and bugs are hot pepper sauces.
• Good old-fashioned soap is a very effective and natural way to keep bugs off your plants. All natural soaps are an excellent choice for your garden. Mix 3 tablespoons per gallon of water and spray directly on the plants – this will get rid of most bugs. Be careful to not overspray your plants and do not use it on cabbage, lettuce, cucumbers and melons.
• You can also consider traps – especially if you have a stubborn pest problem and before you start thinking about using chemicals. There are glue boards available on the market for everything from fleas to ants and larger pests like mice and rats.
• Do your best to get beneficial bugs, animals and plants. Lady bugs are actually good because they get rid of some of the bad bugs – but too many lady bugs can also create a problem.
• Birds, frogs and toads eat many insects and are great for keeping mosquitos under control. Plant flowers like Chrysanthemums and calendula – they deter bug infestation and chives and catnip will keep Japanese beetles from destroying your plants.

Hope this information was helpful to you – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences – your input is always welcomed!

Beware of this three-leaf vine or low shrub with greenish flowers and white berries. It appears harmless but can cause serious skin irritations. Before you head out for a walk in the woods, learn to identify poison ivy and know how to take care of a skin reaction if you get one.

Here is what you need to know:

1. Each part of the plant – leaves, stems, fruits, flowers and roots contain toxic resin called urushiol. This oil is present in the plant throughout the year, but a skin reaction is most common in the spring and early summer when leaves are tender. Poison Ivy’s cousins – Poison Oak, which grows as high as six feet and Poison Sumac, which grows mainly in the swampy woods or shrub swamps also contain urushiol and can cause the same skin reactions.
2. About 85 per cent of people will react to contact with Poison Ivy. The reaction, which can take a few days to appear, can typically involve redness and itching that quickly  develops into small blisters. Sometimes, a secondary infections can develop. The reactions tend to appear in straight lines because of the way someone has brushed against the plant. The reaction can also appear in different times, depending on what part of the body came in contact with the resin first and it is based on different thickness of the skin.
3. Best treatment is avoidance. Here are a few additional tips:

• Stay clear of any three-leafed plants that have flowers and berries.
• Wear a long sleeves shirt, long plants and closed-toe shoes.
• Watch your family dog – don’t let him run off into the woods. The oils from poison ivy can be transferred from his fur to your skin. Hose him down if you think he might have touched poison ivy.
• If you need to take a break, sit in open areas and avoid brushing your ankles against plants.
• Wash your hands, body and clothes carefully after being outdoors, even if you don’t think you came into contact with poisonous plants. Alkaline soap is better than a pH neutral soap in breaking down toxins.
• Use cold water instead of hot, which tends to open pores and aid in absorption of hte poison oil.
• If you come in contact with poison ivy, try not to touch any other body part because the poison spreads quickly. Wash the affected area of your body within 10 minutes of contact, using lots of cool water and soap to get rid of as much of the poison oil as possible.

1. If you get a rash, soak in lukewarm water and put baggies of ice on the affected area. This will aid the itching. Calamine lotion can also be used to dry the blisters. If you want more effective rash reliever, get a prescription from your doctor for a topical steroid. You will to do this quickly, since it is most effective when applied immediately.
2. If you find poison ivy,poison sumac or poison oak in your backyard, here are tips on what to do:

• Slowly pull out the plants with your hands wrapped in a plastic bag
• Put a stake in the ground before you get the entire root out – this will makr the spot and remind you to return later to finish removing the root.
• Place the plants in a clearly marked heavy-duty garbage bag and put it with your household garbage. Do not throw the plants into your composter!
• Don’t burn the plants, the poison becomes gas that can cause serious reaction to skin and lungs.

Poison Ivy

Hope you enjoyed this information and I will welcome your comments, suggestions and experiences!

Most garden centres and large stores offer beautiful, relatively inexpensive and innovative products that will make building your pond easy.

Before you set out to purchase a build-yourself pond kit, you will need to do a bit of planning first:

Planning Your Pond:

1. Location: Select your location based on how you plan to use your pond – whether you want to be able to see it form your kitchen window or create a setting for outdoor entertaining, etc. Avoid placing your pond under or close to trees that will drop leaves or needles – that would add additional maintenance to your pond. Consider slope, soil,sun, shade, wind and utility lines when planning the location.

2. Slope: Place the pond on a flat area above the lowest spot on the site to avoid overflow by rainwater, causing muddy waters and possibly washing away plants and fish.

3. Soil: Clay soil, although difficult to excavate, hold its shape and flexible liners will conform to whatever configuration you dig out. Create a series of internal ledges that will provide bases for large boulders to gradually incline upward to the pond margins and for marginal plants to be placed in pots and in the pond.

4. Sun,Shade and Wind: Position your pond where your plants will get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight each day. Wind can speed up evaporation and damage plants and shrubs. You can consider windscreens in windy spots.

5. Utilities: Call before you dig to avoid installing over gas, electrical or sewer lines. The closer the pond is to electrical outlets for fountains, lights and a pump, the less expensive it will be to run lines to it. Running a water line is only necessary if you can’t reach the pond with a garden hose to top up the water levels.

Plant Tips:

Plants can make or break the function of an ecosystem. They will provide valuable biological filtration by removing nitrogen, ammonia, nitrates and other nutrients from the water that algae would otherwise feed on. Submerged and marginal plants provide food, shade and protection for fish and other wildlife that live in and around your pond. Some blooming plants will attract beneficial birds, insects,butterflies,frogs and others to your watery paradise. Floating level plants, such as water lilies will shade water surface and absorb dissolved nutrients that contribute to algae proliferation.

1. Submerged Plants: Sometimes referred to as oxygenators, these aquatic plants grow totally submerged underwater. they liberate oxygen that clears water, prevents growth of algae and allows fish to breathe. Good ones are: parrot feather, foxtail and water violet.

2. Floating – Leaved Plants: Floaters drift on the water surface, providing shade to lower water temperatures and protection for fish. The absorb dissolved nutrients that encourage growth of algae and their roots receive and protect fish eggs. The include: water lily, free-floating fairy moss and water hyacinth.

3. Marginal Plants: Marginals are shallow water or bog plants that sit on ledges built along the edge of the pond. Their main function is decorative, but they also provide necessary shade. They include winter hardy arrowhead, yellow water iris and cattail as well as tropical, nonhardy taro, canna and papyrus.

Resources:

1. Pumps and Filters: A pond filter/pump system is the single most important element of any pond. Not only does it function as a water clarifier, but it is also the heart of the fish’s health. Always install a system slightly larger than needed to allow for fish growth.

2. Liners: The liner is one of the most expensive and important items you will purchase. Ethylene propylene diene monometer (EPDM) rubber 45mil is fish-safe and it is what most professionals recommend. Before installing the liner make sure to eliminate all small stones and sticks. All liners require installation of an underlay, a cushion of material between the liner and the soil that helps prevent punctures and tears. The minimum depth of a pond should be about 18 inches and you will need to allow 6 – 12 inches for deep shelves for plants. Use the following formula to determine the size of your liner:

Length of the liner = length of the pond, plus 2 x depth plus 2 feet.

Width of the liner = width of the pond plus 2 x depth plus 2 feet.

3. Deterring Pond Predators: Edge your pond with rocks or flagstones, arranging them to hang out over the water 6 – 8 inches. Place rocks high enough from the water surface so that predators can’t scoop out fish. Another solution is to place predator netting over the pond, or motion=senser sprinklers to spray the predator when it approaches.

Hope this will be helpful to you and please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences. Your input is always very welcomed and much appreciated.

Here are simple. easy steps you can follow:

1. Choose the size of your hanging basket:

In this case – size does matter. The volume of the basket is directly related to the amount of water the basket can retain. If you select a basket that is too small, you will have to water it daily. Larger basket will also make columns or posts look more in scale with your house or landscape.

2. Insert a liner:

To fully cover basket, you will need to overlap two rectangular section of the liner. Remember to allow enough length of each piece to overlap the basket so that when you fill it with soil, you will still have piece that will spill over the edges. overlapping will also add the benefit of slowing water flow out of the bottom.

3. Build a base layer of potting soil:

Use good quality potting soil and press it firmly against the bottom and sides of your basket. You need to do this so that you have a firm background to cut against when you make slits for the first row of plants. Keep the soil level about 4-6 inches above the bottom of your basket to complete this step.

4. Add water reservoir:

Doing this will help aeration and watering – and all you will need is a piece of slotted drainpipe, about 8-10 inches long. Adjust the drainpipe, so taht you have it about 2-3 inches above the final soil level – that will prevent it from filling with soil. You will also want to make sure that the drainpipe doesn’t end up sitting on the bottom of your basket – that would result in water simply draining right out.

5. Start planting:

Frist – trim your liner and using a sharp object, make small incisions just above the current soil level. Carefully poke through the root-balls of the plants from the outside. Small plugs or cell pack-size annuals work the best here, since they minimize the since of openings in your liner. If you make larger hole, you will have a problem with soil spilling out and young plants washing out during watering.

6. Continue planting to the top:

Keep adding layers of potting soil, cutting slits and inserting rows of plants. Using staggered pattern work the best – do this until you readch top of the basket. You can top off your basket with some upright annuals or even some small grasses.

Final step:

Trim the liner, and give your basket a good soaking

Get creative, mix colour and types of plants and enjoy the results! And please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences – your input is always welcomed and much appreciated!

Everyone wants to have a beautiful garden – place where you can relax and enjoy a few moments away from the time-pressed world. By choosing plants and following a few tips that are aimed at curtailing upkeep, you can have a beautiful garden and time left to enjoy it.

Easy Garden Tips:

Magical Mulch:

Cut your watering and weeding time with a 2-3 inch layer of organic mulch (leaf mould, compost, shredded bark) applied over exposed soil. Mulch preserves moisture, suppresses weeds and adds nutrients.

Let Go of Grass:

Loosing lawn to other ground covers such as sweet woodruff, periwinkle or bugleweed, will not only cut mowing time but alos beautify shady spots where grass struggles to grow.

Send in the Shrubs:

A variety of spring, summer and fall-blooming shrubs provide colour throughout the year without the dividing, staking,deadheading and replanting perennicals and annuals. Try Japanese Spireas, Weigelas and Potentillas.

Consolidate Containers:

Use fewer but larger containers, big containers overflowing with plants look great and need watering less often.

Healthy Plants are Happy Plants:

Plants are better equipped to survive weather stresses, pests and diseases if they like where they are growing. When choosing a new plant, make sure that you can provide the right amount of sun, the type of soil it requires and the amount of water it needs. Otherwise, you will constantly be nursing sick plants.

Paint Pizzazz:

Paint a wooden bench bright colour – like fuchsia or coral – or set off a swath of ground cover with a bright object, such as unplanted urn. Adding colour to things you place into garden will give a lift to the overall picture!

These are just a few tips – but they are the very basic ones. Hope you enjoy applied them and will share your experiences and send in your comments and suggestions. Your input is always welcomed!

Here are some composting tips:

• Turn the pile frequently and keep adding coarse, dry material – like straw and shredded leaves. This will prevent bad odours.
• Compost that is too dry will break down slowly – you can avoid it by mixing in a few handfuls of soil and some moist kitchen scraps or coffee grounds. You will want to check weekly to make sure your compost is not too dry.
• Here is a simple hand test for you: a handful of compost should feel like a wrung-out sponge.
• If the pile of too mushy or soggy, add dry materials. You can add things like sawdust or even dryer lint. Keep the pile uncovered (unless it it raining heavily) and keep checking it weekly.
• Create heat: a warm pile not only decomposes quickly, it will also kill weed seeds. the best way to add heat is to add high-nitrogen materials, such as kitchen scraps,fresh grass and grass clippings or manure (but not pet waste)
• If you find that your compost pile is not decomposting, try this: Separate layers of fresh leaves or grass clippings by mixing in straw, hay (without seeds) of dry leaves. If large chunks are not breaking down, sift the pile through a screen or use a soil shredder. The resulting fine materials can be sued for a new compost heap.
• For best results, compost pile should be at least one cubic metre.If yours is smaller, turn the heap more often or mix in more materials.
• To keep pests away, do not ever add any meat to your compost – or fish, bones or fats. Cover food scraps with soil ot other carbon-rich materials and turn the pile weekly.

What is Compostable:

• Autumn Leaves
• Coffee Grounds
• Egg Shells
• Grass Clippings
• Plants and Plant Trimmings
• Shredded, ink free paper
• Vegetable Scraps (chop up corn cobs and other large pieces)

What is Not Compostable:

• Bones
• Diseased Plant Materials
• Grease
• Invasive Plants or Weeds with Persistent Root System
• Lawn Clippings that have been sprayed with chemicals
• Meat
• Pet Waste

Hope you have enjoyed this article and that it will help your gardenning efforts! Please share your experiences and send in your comments or suggestion – your participation is always welcomed!