5 Old Foods To Throw In The Garden Instead Of The Garbage About two months ago, we were FINALLY getting our seedlings put into the garden. (It snows in May in Colorado, so we get started later than most folks.) On one of the many trips inside the house to fetch a tool I’d forgotten, I noticed an old potato sporting many eyes in the pantry. Normally this all-seeing potato would probably have ended up in the trash, but since we were in the process of gardening anyway, this time I decided to plant it. I didn’t read any books or how-to guides for growing potatoes from, well, other potatoes. I just cut it into five sections, dug five holes and plopped ‘em in. And now we have 5 healthy potato plants growing away in our garden! This got me thinking about other “spoiled” or “unusable parts” plants that can be re-born in the garden. Love This? Thanks for subscribing! Read on to discover more foods that should be planted, not tossed, when they begin to sprout because of age. 1. Image credit: energyandintensity via Flickr 2. 3. 4. Image credit: slgc via Flickr
DIY Laundry Soap Detergent: Images & Recipes Homemade laundry soap is quick, easy and cheap. What other reasons do you need to make either a laundry powder or soap for your front loader or top loader washing machines? I will teach you how to make laundry detergent and a laundry soap liquid with step-by-step instructions, and you will never want to buy another box of expensive, commercial washing powder again. I don't know about you, but when the children were still at home I had a mountain of washing to do each week. And when they became teenagers the washing pile got bigger still. As a result, one of the most expensive part of my fortnightly shop was buying laundry detergent. If only I knew then what I know now! A country washing day So What is inside Commercial Laundry Soap? Basically 2 Things: A surfactant that removes dirtA builder that softens hard water There are of course a lot more ingredients in commercial washing detergents but a lot of them are just fillers which is basically what you are paying for. 1 bowl 1 wooden spoon
The 9 Rarest Plants in the World We've all heard about the most endangered animals. Creatures like the critically endangered black rhinoceros are famous, and in some cases have been reduced to just a handful of individuals. But what are the most endangered plants? Here are nine of the most threatened plants today. Attenborough's pitcher plant is known only from the relatively inaccessible summit of Mount Victoria in Palawan in the Philippines. Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that trap animals in liquid-filled bowls called pitchers. It was only discovered in 2007 when a team of botanists, tipped off by two Christian missionaries, scaled Mount Victoria. The suicide palm is a gigantic palm found only in remote parts of north-west Madagascar. Suicide palms were discovered in 2005, by a cashew plantation manager during a family outing, and formally described in 2008. This unusual orchid spends its entire life underground. It only lives in the Broom bush shrubland in western Australia.
9 Easy Garden Plants For Hardworking People It’s a common dilemma … you love the looks of a flourishing garden, but don’t have a lot of time or energy to put into keeping it up. You’re too busy with the demands of job, caretaking, and just plain living. The good news is that gardening can be a lot simpler than you think. It’s mainly a question of choosing the right type of plants. Here are 9 shrubs, flowers, and vegetables that will require minimal care. Green Plants Image credit: katerha via Flickr Shrubs Busy people tend to be impatient people, so you may wonder why we mention shrubs. Vines Vines are another choice which will provide you with both privacy and beauty. Succulents Love This? Thanks for subscribing! Succulents are beloved of busy indoor gardeners, due to their appealing appearance, low maintenance, and limited need for water. Flowers Image credit: botheredbybees via Flickr Bulbs Plant bulbs in the fall and fugeddabout ‘em. Perennials (Day Lilies) If you’re looking for a hardy perennial, the day lily is for you. Edibles Herbs
Making Homemade Laundry Soap This page is my own personal writings and is copyright protected. NO PART OF THIS PAGE MAY BE COPIED AND PASTED ONTO WEBSITES, BLOGS OR MESSAGE BOARD FORUMS! Making Homemade Laundry Soap By Crystal Miller Making your own laundry soap is very easy! No longer do you need to rely on store bought detergents. ~If after reading through this you have a question PLEASE read the "Questions Answered" at the bottom of this page. What Ingredients Do You Need? You will need 3 basic ingredients; a soap of some sort, washing soda and borax. The Soap: The most typical type of soap to use is Fels Naptha. Washing Soda: This is not to be confused with baking soda. Borax: Borax is a naturally occurring mineral: Sodium Borate. The Recipe Now that you have assembled all the needed ingredients here is the recipe: Homemade Laundry Soap 1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above ½ cup washing soda ½ cup borax powder ~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~ ~The soap is a low sudsing soap.
List of superlative trees Wikimedia list article The world's superlative trees can be ranked by any factor. Records have been kept for trees with superlative height, trunk diameter or girth, canopy coverage, airspace volume, wood volume, estimated mass, and age. Tallest[edit] The heights of the tallest trees in the world have been the subject of considerable dispute and much exaggeration. Modern verified measurements with laser rangefinders or with tape drop measurements made by tree climbers (such as those carried out by canopy researchers), have shown that some older tree height measurement methods are often unreliable, sometimes producing exaggerations of 5% to 15% or more above the real height.[1] Historical claims of trees growing to 130 m (430 ft), and even 150 m (490 ft), are now largely disregarded as unreliable, and attributed to human error. The following are the tallest reliably measured specimens from the top 10 species. Largest[edit] All 12 of the world's largest trees are Giant sequoias. Stoutest[edit]
20 Houseplants To Clear Toxins From The Air In Your Home! Bringing a bit of nature into your home does more than brighten the atmosphere. Introducing houseplants into various rooms in the house can help reduce the chance of getting seasonal sicknesses (such as the common cold), remove airborne contaminants (volatile organic compounds, or VOCs), reduce the chance of headaches, lift your mood, decrease your blood pressure, reduce allergies, improve sleep and much more. The 20 plants listed below are specifically known for their air purifying properties. And while an open window may feel like all the fresh air you need, did you know that everything from toilet paper to common household cleaners can contain chemicals and release toxins like formaldehyde? Or that VOCs like benzene can be released into the air by everything from the paint on your walls, to the printed material found in your home? So why not breathe a bit easier and enjoy the beauty of a new houseplant at the same time! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Love This? Thanks for subscribing! 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Haitian Vodou Vodou altar during a celebration for Papa Guédé in Boston. This altar has offerings to three nations (nanchons) of loa: at top right are offerings to Rada spirits; at top left are those for the Petwo family; and those at bottom are for Guédé. Haitian Vodou[3] (/ˈvoʊduː/, French: [vodu], also written as Voodoo /ˈvuːduː/; Vodun,[4] or Vodoun[4] /ˈvoʊduːn/, etc.) is a syncretic religion practiced chiefly in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. Practitioners are called "vodouists" (French: vodouisants [voduisɑ̃]) or "servants of the spirits" (Haitian Creole: sèvitè). Vodouists believe in a distant and unknowable creator god, Bondye (likely derived from the French language term Bon Dieu, or Good Lord). Vodou originated in the French slave colony of Haiti in the 18th century, when African religious practice was actively suppressed, and enslaved Africans were forced to convert to Christianity. Names and etymology[edit] Beliefs[edit] Deities[edit] Loa[edit] Morality[edit] Soul[edit] Practices[edit]
Functioning ‘mechanical gears’ seen in nature for the first time The juvenile Issus - a plant-hopping insect found in gardens across Europe - has hind-leg joints with curved cog-like strips of opposing ‘teeth’ that intermesh, rotating like mechanical gears to synchronise the animal’s legs when it launches into a jump. The finding demonstrates that gear mechanisms previously thought to be solely man-made have an evolutionary precedent. Scientists say this is the “first observation of mechanical gearing in a biological structure”. Through a combination of anatomical analysis and high-speed video capture of normal Issus movements, scientists from the University of Cambridge have been able to reveal these functioning natural gears for the first time. The gears in the Issus hind-leg bear remarkable engineering resemblance to those found on every bicycle and inside every car gear-box. “In Issus, the skeleton is used to solve a complex problem that the brain and nervous system can’t,” said Burrows. Inset image: an Issus nymph
NASA Has Compiled a List of the Best Air-Cleaning Plants for Your Home Many of us spend most of our time indoors, so it’s important to cultivate a space that’s a healthy one. A simple—and beautiful—way to do this is through houseplants; they add some green to your home while being an effective way to purify the air. NASA hardly seems like the organization that would give us insight into these types of plants, but in the late 1980s, the US government agency collaborated with the Associated Contractors of America (ALCA) to come up with a list of the most beneficial flora for your home. Their informative Clean Air study found that some plants, more than others, could naturally filter harmful chemicals and help mitigate the effects they have on humans. So, what are the best air-cleaning plants? The Florist’s Mum and Peace Lily took the top spot. Love the Garden created a helpful infographic that will tell you which house plants are best and what chemicals they filter: With some help from these plants, your air can be cleaner and healthier: