When to Fertilize & Plant Grass With Dogs

Planting and maintaining your yard can quickly develop into a lost cause when you have dogs which often play and remove in the areas you’ve planted. New grass demands a window of time free of damaging aspects like playful pups running around on it. Fertilizer, on the other hand, can be a danger to your furry family members.

Seed Vs. Sod

The one major advantage of seeding your new yard above buying sod is cost. Another advantage is the various hybrid mixtures available in seed. But when you have puppies, seeding can pose problems, as you want to keep your pooches off of the young tender grass for a period of time. Sod, on the other hand, is slightly more hardy against foot traffic, although you and your dogs should steer clear of the new sod for the first 4 to 6 weeks. Planting from seed should always be done in the spring or fall, waiting until the danger of frost has passed in the spring as well as you allow plenty of time for the roots to develop until cold temperatures hit in the fall. Generally speaking, warm-season species should be planted in spring and cool-season grasses should be planted in fall. Plant sod anytime throughout the calendar year, except during very cold temperatures or extreme heat.

Protecting New Grass

Once you’ve sown the seeds for planting, cover them with 1 inch of a medium layer of straw to help maintain the required moisture and provide a little protection to the seed from the dog’s paws. While the grass is sprouting, take your dog out on a leash or give him a tie-out which will keep him off from the germinating grass or new sod. You can also put up a temporary fence made from poultry wire and stakes, much like you would do to keep animals from a vegetable garden.

Fertilizing

Generally speaking, lawns are fertilized while the grass is growing. To get cool-season grasses, this is during the spring and fall. Warm-season grasses tend to develop during the summertime. You can generally use a pesticide specifically intended for new lawns, but a soil test will tell you exactly how much and what types of fertilizer to use. The fertilizing time does not change because of your dog, however you will have to keep your dog safe from the potentially hazardous side effects of the fertilizer.

Security Factors

Some fertilizers are completely safe for the dog, even when he eats it. Others, however, can cause mild to serious side effects and deaths have happened from fertilizer exposure. The fertilizer you choose will most likely mention the level of security to pets around the label. The package should also record how long to keep your dog away from the fertilized area. Even though you do not see your dog eating the fertilizer off the ground, it may get stuck on his paws or coat and ingested during cleaning.

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List of Aquatic Plants

Aquatic plants include more than just aesthetic value to bodies of water; they all play a vital role in creating a balanced ecosystem. Aquatic plants help keep the water cool and function as a food source for wildlife. Aquatic plants may typically be split into classes based on their specific feature: submersible, emergent and floating.

Submersible Plants

The plants which grow entirely under the water are known as submersible plants. Their leaves generally float through the water but might develop long leaf that goes to the surface. A few examples of submersible crops are Canadian waterweed (Elodea canadensis) and hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum) both growing in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 10. Canadian waterweed creates dropping lanced shaped foliage that acts as a cover for insect larvae, fish and other aquatic wildlife. Hornwort has feather-like leaf and also is often used as a aquarium plant for its oxygenating properties.

Emergent Plants

Emergent plants are rooted in the bottom of bodies of water but grow well over the water. Many of these aquatic plants grow in several inches of standing water with soggy soil such as the conditions located at the edge of ponds, lakes and streams. These aquatic plants help prevent erosion and stabilize banks while providing food and cover for aquatic wildlife, beneficial insects and amphibians. Cattails (Typha spp.) , rushes (Juncus spp.) and sedges (Carex spp.) Are a couple of plants that are emergent. Depending on the species, these grass-like aquatic plants grow in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 10.

Floating Acids

Floating aquatic plants have foliage that floats on the surface of the water. All these vital plants supply food, shelter and cover to amphibians, turtles and aquatic life. Among the most popular aquatic plants is waterlilles (Nymphaea spp.) , which grow in USDA zones 3 through 11. They create large lily pad foliage that floats on the water surface and magnificent flowers. Floating hearts (Nymphoides spp.) — located in USDA zones 5 through 11 — appear like a smaller version of the waterlily and create blooms which are not as impressive. Water shield (Brasenia schreberi) creates broad foliage which has a shield-like shape and delicate purple blooms sitting just above the water surface. This floating aquatic plant grows in USDA zones 6 through 9.

Undesirable Plants

Not all aquatic plants have been desired; a few species are thought to be unwanted due to their aggressive nature. Among the most popular undesirable aquatic plants is algae, which grows rapidly and produces the water appear dirty. Algae are really not a plant but also a plant-like organism which covers the surface of the water. Algae can grow in such abundance that it kills desirable aquatic plants and also threatens the life of aquatic wildlife such as fish. Duckweed (Lemna minor) has both positive and negative facets. This small free-floating aquatic plant acts as a food source for ducks but multiplies quickly and can protect the entire surface of slopes. It grows in USDA zones 4 through 10 and can be found in ponds, mud puddles and slow-moving streams.

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The way to Give Privacy to Metal Fences

Metal fences can vary from the cheap chain-link into the pricey, complex work of wrought iron. No matter what kind you have, metal fences ordinarily do not supply as much privacy as wood or vinyl fences. Entering into a more private fence would probably be a pricey and labor-intensive endeavor. Therefore, if you opt to keep your current metal fence, use different steps to provide the privacy you desire.

Install a fencing material or pliers. Fencing fabrics, sometimes called displays, are offered in many different colors and visibility. They’re generally manufactured from polypropylene or vinyl. Buy rolls of fabric depending on the dimensions of your fence. They’re rolled out, stretched and secured into the fence with cable ties. Slats, on the other hand, are embedded separately from top to bottom of a chain-link fence. Slats can be vinyl, aluminum or a mesh material and are usually self-locking for easy installment.

Grow shrubs and plants in front of a metal fence. Evergreen shrubs, like privet, oleander, rockrose, junipers and euonymus, supply the maximum privacy year round and work well in a Mediterranean climate. In this climate, you can also develop large perennials, like cannas and elephant ears, which unlike annuals are long-lived.

Plant a vine in front of your own fence, spacing several plants in the minimal recommended distance. Clematis, jasmine, kiwi and honeysuckle are perennial vines that, depending on the vine, are hardy at U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 11. For seasonal coverage, develop vegetables, like summer squash or legumes, along with your fence.

Display potted plants in front of a fence. Use containers of varying heights, like a wine barrel and a watering can, with the tallest containers closest to the fence. You can also use a tiered shelving unit that makes it possible to obtain the vertical height necessary for privacy. Metal garden stakes with hooks can be used to hang trailing plants. Some plant pots are designed to hang directly on a fence, and if you grow a trailing plant, like trailing petunias, you can gain some privacy, especially with good care.

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How to Propagate Lemon Verbena

Lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla), some small species of perennial shrub, is grown for its slender, aromatic foliage and dainty flower clusters, that include ornamental appeal in the summer. It rises in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 to 10, where it will reach a rise of 1 to 3 feet using an 18-inch spread. Lemon verbena propagates best from semi-hardwood cuttings taken in midsummer, which will root in a couple of weeks — with or without rooting hormone — if kept under warm, humid conditions.

Fill a 4-inch plastic or terra cotta pot using a mixture of equal parts perlite, coarse sand and coir. Saturate the mixture with water and let it drain.

Collect a 4- to 6-inch-long semi-hardwood cutting out of a mature, healthy lemon verbena plant. Pick one with lots of leaf, no busy flowers along with a stem diameter of about 1/4 inch.

Sever the cutting edge 1/16 inch under a set of leaves with sharp pruning shears or a utility blade. Strip off all the leaves out of along the lower one-half of the cutting edge to expose the nodes.

Dust the severed end and exposed nodes using rooting hormone powder to accelerate root manufacturing, if wanted. Apply the powder using a clean cotton swab. Gently tap or visualize the stem to knock off excess powder.

Poke a hole in the center of this perlite mixture. Be sure the hole deep enough to hold the defoliated portion of this lemon verbena stem. Insert the stem and then push the perlite mix snugly against it. Drizzle water around the stem to settle on the mix.

Place the potted lemon verbena cutting within a 1-gallon clear plastic bag. Secure the bag around the underside of the pot using a rubber band. Make a 1-inch cut in the cover of the bag to allow any trapped moisture to escape.

Set the pot on a lightly shaded garden seat outside or indoors on an east-facing windowsill. Warm the pot to 70 degrees Fahrenheit using a propagation mat if daytime temperatures remain below 65 F. Shield the cutting from direct sunlight to keep it from wilting.

Remove the plastic bag every other day and test the moisture level in the perlite mix. Add water when it feels mostly dry under the surface. Mist the lemon verbena cutting with water to keep the leaves hydrated.

Check for roots in three to four weeks by gently pulling the base of the stem. Feel whether the cutting has anchored to the perlite mixture by roots. Remove the plastic bag one week after rooting.

Transplant the lemon verbena into a 4-inch container full of potting soil fourteen days after it roots. Grow it under gently shaded conditions. Acclimate it to direct sunlight within several days in early fall, then transplant it into a permanent bed.

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Household Products That Will Kill Crab Grasses and Weeds

Go no farther than your cupboard for herbicides that kill perennial weeds and annual weeds such as crab grass (Digitaria spp.) . Common household products could be combined to make short work of pesky weeds, or used alone. They may also be added to water and sprayed on the weeds, and hot water alone sometimes functions.

A Potent Mixture

Combine 4 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 4 tablespoons of baby shampoo and 4 tbsp of gin at a sealable 1-gallon container. Fill the container with warm water. If you don’t have gin, use 4 tablespoons of table salt instead. Seal the container and shake well. Pour the solution into a spray bottle or hand-pump pressure sprayer. Spray the weeds until they’re covered as well as the liquid begins to drip. The vinegar dissolves the outer leaf layer so that the leaves can’t retain moisture; the gin or salt dries out the plant faster, and the infant shampoo causes the solution to remain on the leaves.

Alcohol and Water

Isopropyl rubbing alcohol mixed with water will kill weeds. Start out with 4 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol each gallon of water. Pour the solution into a spray bottle, and spray the weeds using a thin spray until they’re moist but not dripping. Spray when there is no wind. Don’t enable the spray for on other plants across the weeds — it’ll kill them also. Protect neighboring plants using plastic or cardboard while spraying. If the weeds do not perish every day or two, try 5 or 6 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol each gallon of water.

Vinegar Alone

Straight vinegar will kill annual weeds such as crab grass. It dissolves the leaf layer that holds in moisture, and the weed dies from lack of moisture. It doesn’t work well on perennial weeds, however. There might be damage to the leaves and stems of perennial weeds, but they will simply grow new stems from beneath the soil. Pour any kind of vinegar into a spray bottle and spray the leaves until it begins to drip away.

Hot Water

Boiling water and hot steam kill weeds. According to the University of California, “The result is very similar to that of a nonselective, postemergent herbicide.” It is most effective on broadleaf weeds and young annual and perennial weeds. There are in fact hot steam and water machines used by professionals for this use. The water must be at least 200 degrees Fahrenheit to kill the plants. Pour the hot water over the weed until it is dripping wet. Use oven mitts; wear protective clothing and exercise extreme caution when employing this method.

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How Does Hay Affect the Growth of New Grass?

Seeding a lawn requires time and effort, and element of this process is ensuring that the bud seeds have the best chance for success. Including a mulch enables the seeds grow into a thick, lush lawn, but it needs to be the right sort of mulch so that the seeds get the right quantity of sunlight and moisture while being protected. Using hay for a grass seed mulch has pros and cons. It provides the right kind of protection, but you could end up with unwanted weeds and grasses mixed in with the growing seeds.

How Hay Helps

Hay helps grass seed grow in several ways. The main role of using a sulfur over grass seed is to maintain moisture, plus hay efficiently does that. Grass seed needs to remain constantly moist to germinate, and spreading hay over the area helps maintain moisture without allowing the ground get too wet, which might make the seeds moldy. The hay helps maintain the newly turned soil in place, preventing sediment so the seeds remain contact with the soil. Also, it adds nutrients to the soil as it decomposes, helping feed your grass as it grows.

Hay’s Downside

Although hay offers several advantages to grass seed, it can result in problems that outweigh the perks. Hay is cut while the bud is flourishing and full of nutrition so that it may be dried and used as livestock food. Unfortunately, that usually means the hay contains seeds from both the forage grasses and weeds. Even though hay is dried until it is offered, the dormant seeds may germinate given the right conditions — often the exact same conditions your grass seed requirements. Using hay as a mulching material for your seeded lawn might cause weeds and unwanted grasses sprouting from the seeds at the hay. These sprouts take nutrients and moisture from the grass seed.

Types of Hay

Hay isn’t the most typical kind of mulch for newly seeded grass — straw is the mulch of choice. Straw is produced from the stalks leftover grain seeds heads are picked, meaning it doesn’t have as many weed or grass seeds. Standard hay fodder comprises these seeds, but salt marsh hay gives an alternate. Salt marsh hay has strong stalks that provide protection for the grass seed longer than standard hay or straw, and many seeds hidden in the bundles thrive only in marshy, salty conditions which aren’t located on your lawn.

Proper Use

Getting the most from this hay mulch — rather the salt marsh hay — means locating the proper coverage balance. The hay should maintain moisture without keeping the ground wet; some water has to be permitted to evaporate to keep the seeds from rotting. Expand the hay at a layer thin enough which it is possible to observe the soil in spots involving the stems so sunlight can penetrate and moisture can escape. Sloped areas might need up to 80 to 100 pounds of hay per 1,000 square feet, while level areas require 30 to 50 pounds within the same place.

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The way to Get the Cover Off the Light in My Hallway

No matter what type of lighting fixture illuminates your hall, sooner or later the bulb must be replaced. Even though not all lighting covers or shades come off the exact same way, they typically require no gear, or, at most, a screwdriver.

Removing the Glass Shade or Cover

Stand to a sturdy stepladder if the fixture is mounted on the ceiling to scrutinize how the glass shade is secured. Do this during daylight so you’ve got ample lighting. If the shade or cover has a metal finial or decoration at the bottom, this is how to take out the shade. Hold the glass colour securely while turning the metal nub or finial counterclockwise to remove it, like a screw. Some models may require a screwdriver. Catch the metal components on your hand; there may be a washer as well. Gently pull the glass shade down off the metal post holding it in position. If no alloy is holding up the shade from the center of the bottom, feel the region between the top of the shade and the ceiling. Small thumb screws hold up the shade on this fashion fixture. Turn one or 2 of these counterclockwise several times while holding the glass colour securely together with another hand. If the screws are loose enough, the shade will come off. For wall sconces, remove screws or tip screws holding the colour set, if it does not slip up and out vertically by hand.

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My Pumpkins Stopped Growing

Pumpkins, in all their variety, are the harbingers of autumn. Variegated orange and green, bright orange and even ivory, the sight of pumpkins signal cooler weather, harvest time and Halloween. The common field pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) rises well in United States Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 11. Despite their simplicity in growing, pumpkins require some basic services to generate the best harvest. Sometimes pumpkins may stop growing, which may be caused by different problems.

Lack of Water

Because they’re 90 percent water, pumpkins require daily watering. As soon as their source of water is diminished, their growth becomes stunted, resulting in smaller-than-expected pumpkins. To avoid this, ensure that your pumpkin vines get water daily. The ideal way of watering is a drip method or a soaker hose, which will keep the soil moist without demanding the vine’s foliage. Keep on watering until the ground is thoroughly moist, but not muddy. It’s common for pumpkin leaves to wilt in hot afternoon sunlight. If the foliage wilts before 11 a.m., the plant is too dry.

Not Enough Nutrients

Another reason for diminished size in pumpkins is a lack of appropriate nutrients in the ground. If pumpkins are grown in the same place every year, the soil becomes disconnected from the specific nutrients pumpkins need to live. Moreover, if the fertilizer used is not balanced — for instance, if there’s a greater proportion of nitrogen to phosphorous and potassium — the plant’s roots will grow at the cost of the vine, leaves and fruit. If fertilizer you’ve used in your own tonsils is of an unbalanced formula, then change to a fertilizer which has equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.

Disease Pathogens

Pumpkins are subject to diseases such as powdery mildew, a fungus which develops on leaves which are too wet. The fungus will kill the leaves and gradually kill the vine until its fruit can grow properly. Powdery mildew is readily avoided by watering the vines early in the morning, giving any water that might come in contact with the leaves plenty of time to dry before evening. Improve atmosphere circulation by ensuring enough space between plants, typically 5 to 6 feet.

Too Many Pumpkins per Vine

Each pumpkin vine can handle just a lot of fruit. If too many blossoms develop into pumpkins, each one will necessarily be smaller. To ensure larger fruit, pinch off female blossoms on vines that have fruit already.

Pollination Issues

A pumpkin plant’s first blossoms are of the male selection. Female blooms emerge later. For fruit to grow, pollen from the male blossom must come in contact, typically through pollinating insects, together with female blossoms. If female blossoms emerge before male blossoms, the consequent fruit will be underdeveloped, eventually drying. Female blossoms vary from male counterparts they have a swollen area at their foundation; male blossoms do not. To ensure that pumpkins are pollinating properly, examine the blossoms and make sure that there are both male and female blossoms at the same moment. Stressed pumpkin vines produce more male than female flowers. To avoid this, evaluate the growing environment and ensure that the plants have been watered and nourished well.

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What Kind of Paint Color Goes Good With Navy Bedding?

Color expert Max Luscher saysin”The Luscher Color Test,” that dark blue is related to peace, making navy bedding an suitable colour for a calm and tranquil area. Comparison is provided by a tone on the walls and keeps the room from feeling dark and closed-in because navy is deep. As a neutral, navy enhances a number of palettes. Choose your paint color to complement your navy bedclothes dependent on the dimensions of your individual preferences, the style of the furnishings and the space.

Keep It Simple

All white walls and woodwork balance navy bedding’s color. A high-gloss white enamel over the trim increases reflected light, as does an effective combination in a room that was smaller, a ceiling. White cloth and printed navy on drapes and cushions helps the color scheme. White furniture increases the impact and the soul of the space, or you’ll be able to introduce a third accent color through painted furniture. By way of example, accentuate the navy with a red rocking chair, a trunk that is green or chartreuse bedside tables.

Natural Neutrals

Navy that is neutral and other neutrals for a color scheme combine. They key is to keep the companion colors mild in tone, like khaki tan or camel walls. Pale walls in combination with navy create a cool, silent effect. Throw window treatments and pillows support and complement the scheme created walls and by bed. Employing the colour of the wall color on the ceiling subtly aids the colors in the area link. To call attention utilize a paler tint of the wall color to create a contrast that is slight.

Monochromatic Magic

A color scheme utilizes tints of a single color. Navy blue may seem to have a violet tone or a tint that is deep, so start. Pale tints of the navy bedding color on the walls help create a area. The ceiling and woodwork might be painted to match a wider tint of the wall color or the walls. Painting a navy accent wall behind the bed is possible in the event the room size is ample and helps produce a more”built-in” effect.

Intelligent Ideas

Navy personality allows it and contemporary colors like lime green, gold or even an orange-red to blend. The amount of bright color must be limited to keep it from getting overwhelming. Painting one wall the accent color and the walls that are remaining white generates an exciting space with trendy verve, a place.

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