Home & Garden: Page 43

In this episode of Southwest Yard and Garden Curtis Smith shows you how to turn a steep slope into a usable garden. By building walls along the slope using serpentine designs he shows you how to obtain a compromise of both strength and artistic design. Starting with a good concrete footer and rebar you can construct a retaining wall strong enough to hold the weight of the slope. Materials such as wood and railroad ties can be used but may not stand the test of time as the weight of the soil can...

Rosalee de la Foret shows how to achieve this by adding five ingredients. First you'll need airflow. To achieve this choose large sticks of branches that normally fall from trees. Cross them while placing them on the ground. The second ingredient is water. You'll need to keep it watered, but not to the point of muddy but not dried out. The third ingredient is heat. If layered appropriately with the components, you'll have a warm pile. You'll also need nitrogen. Anything green in the pile equals...

sumaps2 describes how to sharpen a knife using a triple oil stone. The stone itself consists of three stones: a coarse stone, a medium coarse stone, and a fine stone. First, you must place the stone in a reservoir which has been filled with oil. In this example, transmission fluid is used because of its ability to keep metal from binding to the stone. However, you must be extra careful in washing the knives afterwards. All your knives can be sharpened with the triple oil stone, from your paring...

This video explains how to build a shaded vegetable garden. The instructor begins the video my explaining the benefits using a shaded garden as it offers protection from hail, heavy rains and gives you the ability to control the outdoor temperature better. The simplest way to build your shaded building is to place large wood forms into the ground and place wood planks over the top of each and nailing them into place. The entire frame is then covered with a plexiglass roofing to keep out rain...

After receiving your dahlia tuber in the mail, dig a hole where you want the flowers to bloom in your garden. It should be big enough to place the whole tuber into and be completely covered by dirt. Before planting your tuber, you need to find where the head is. Find where the stalk was last year. When placing it in the ground, make sure the stalk is pointing up. After planting, your tuber should be flowering in about 4 weeks. Because the wind and rain can be tough on your flowers, it's a good...

This video demonstrates how to caulk a sink. For this project, you will need a tube of caulk, a towel, and an X-acto knife. Cut off the tip of the tube with the knife. Cut it at an angle, which will make it easier to make a smooth and even line. Make sure the area is clean and dry. Slowly make a ridge around the sink. Dap brand caulk comes with a cap, which will help to keep it fresh for the next time that you use it. When you are done, seal your tube and put it away. Use your fingers, a towel,...

Marble your home decorationsItems needed: Marobu easy marbling kit with 6 paints, a bucket of water and items to decorate.Make sure the water in the bucket is deep enough to submerse the jar. Add 6 or 7 drops of green, blue and black paint into the water. Stir. Put your hand in the jar and dip it into the bucket of water. Clear the paint from the water for the next project. Place red, yellow and white in the bucket of water and stir. Add the candle. Place it on the side to dry. Clear the paint...

snow mold occurs in round patches of grass in the lawn. The patches contain a fussy substance (the mold), that appears in grey or pink; the most dangerous of the two. Mold is formed whenever a lot of snow is left on the lawn for a long period of time, this causes the mold to grow underneath. Late fertilization with a lot of nitrogen promotes mold. Dead grass or thatch can cause mold to develop. Gently raking allows airflow into the grass and promotes new grass growth. The putting down of grass...

Master Gardener Rosamarie Maddox asks John White, Doña Ana County Extension Agent, about problems facing her pecans, grapevines, and native shrubs. An unidentified insect found on her pecan tree is identified by John White as a Twice Stabbed Ladybug. This ladybug is a useful insect that often over-winters on the tree and helps takes care of the aphid problems faced by pecans. Pink fuzzy coating on pecan nuts is also brought up. The coating is normal for pecan and contains bitter tannin. Too...

This will illustrate us how to Patch budding pecans . Here are the following steps.Step 1: First of all we have to see whether the right season is there or not that is spring or late summer.Step 2 :Selecta smooth, convenient location on the stock. Make a double cut approximately 11/2 inches long, by rotating a double  bladed budding knifeStep 3: Connect the double cut on the right side with one perpendicular cut. This can be done with one of the budding knife blades.Step 4: Raise the bark on...

This video gives you tips on how to treat Lawn Grubs. The infestation of grubs is fairly easy to detect. The grass will die off in patches. The grubs will be visible. There are about 8 different species of white grubs that can infest your lawn. To treat your lawn for grubs, you have to do it by the first week of August or it is too late. There are various pesticides that can be used: e.g. oxynol. They lay their eggs in June, when they emerge. They feed off the root systems. You have to detect...

This five part series shows you everything you need to do build a mousetrap from beginning to end. An extensive, and thorough explanation on building this fun and classic toy. This is a great tutorial for the entire family to enjoy. It's also fun to build your own toy from you own hands on a budget and using things you can find right in your home.

Great video by Southwest Yard & Garden. tutorial on how to identify garden pests on your plants & shrubs. Went into detail on the Salvia plants - always be careful spittle bugs, they produce spittle commonly on Salvia plants. Whiteflies and aphids are known to take residence in Ash trees. Aphids commonly take on the look of mildew. Ways to manage moths for apples, you can use insecticide spray but be conservative. Took a look at signs of Cochineal Scale on a Prickly Pear. Went over ways to take...

In this segment of Southwest Yard and Garden, John White and Bill Alford are going to be talking about fruit production and how to harvest figs in southern New Mexico. Bill starts off by talking about his nine year old Black Turkey tree. He says he digs holes and arbor each spring, then uses half a cup of fertilizer per hole. The roots of a fig tree usually grow out past the outer parts of the tree so it's important to make sure you plant has adequate room to grow correctly. A person can maybe...

Blue corn is a special variety of corn which can be differentiated by the majority of the corn species by looking at the unusual top growth of the corn. It is a hybrid and grows very uniformly throughout. Now take a corn from the field and peel it off. You shall notice that it has a blue color corns. Blue color corns are hard from outside but they are very soft and tender in the middle. You can use these blue corns in making commercial products like blue corn chips, tortillas, and atole ','...

John White is an expert horticulturist. He thinks you need to make sure to add zinc to the proper care of your pecan trees. White advises to buy zinc at your local gardening store and use a garden sprayer to put it on your trees. Older trees and younger trees need to have zinc at different times. When you are spraying make sure to hit all the limbs and leaves. Without proper care your trees will not be as healthy as they would if you follow White's simple instructions. Make sure to follow his...

First of all whenever there is low rainfall and higher heat then there are problems.You shall notice that there are brown colored needles which dry up and then drop of. Sometimes they start at the tip and then move towards the branch. This shows drought and you need to soak in lots of water to overcome. However if you notice the brown needles going from the middle to the tip then these are due to natural process. Another problem is the presence of spider mite. Take a white sheet of paper and...

In this how-to video, you will learn how to identify and control problems with Ash and Golden Rain Trees. If there are discolorations in the tree branch, there may be a few problems. If you see a severe orange color, this will damage the tree. You can paint the tree with a white paint to avoid this problem. Pruning cuts that have been executed poorly will also cause discoloration and rot. If the leaves have tip burn, this may mean that the air is dry and arid. If twigs on Junipers look dirty...

This video illustrate us how to identify problems with the rubber plant and the pomegranate. Here are the following steps:Step 1:First of all look whether both the plant leaves are in right shape that is they are not deformed, in case if it is then look for any bacterial or fungal infection.Step 2: Look whether there is any yellowing of the leaves. If so this may be due to over watering.Step 3: Look for whether there in any latex blocking in the rubber plant, if so then remove it or latex won't...

In this how-to video, you will learn how to trim rose bushes. You will need a pair of shears and roses. Cut anything growing from the summer. You should also cut any old wood as well. This will leave new growth for the rose bushes. The best way to remove this is to go in and cut it with almost an inch of cane left. Continue to cut the dead wood. Next, prune above the buds on the top. Do this all around the bush. Make sure they are all about the same height. Look for a good outside bud before...