Expert Advice on Home Improvement

This eco-friendly home makes use of green landscaping techniques, including native plants, a permeable flagstone patio to allow it to absorb the runoff from the roof, and a water saving irrigation system. Watch the video to learn more. Watch this video.

Danny and Allen discuss mosquitoes and how to repel them with 98% effectiveness. Watch this video.

If your home has gutters, it’s easy to collect rainwater for use in your garden. Simply modify the downspouts so they direct water into a rain barrel, then use the water in the barrel to water your garden or houseplants. This not only conserves water but reduces the energy needed to process and pump it to your home. Watch this video.

A hedge is a great way to enclose a space or create a backdrop in your yard. When selecting the plants for a hedge, be sure to choose ones that are suitable for your area. Also take into account the size, spacing, maintenance required, and disease resistance of the plants you select. Watch this video.

To secure a plastic bag to the rim of a garbage can when bagging leaves, cut the center out of the garbage can lid then snap it on the can over the bag. Remove the lid when the bag is full to dispose of the leaves. Watch this video.

It’s important to test the soil in your lawn and garden and correct it if it’s too acidic by adding lime. This will provide the optimum growing conditions for grass and other plants. Soiling testing kits are available at home centers, garden supply stores, as well as through your local extension service. Watch this video.

Dispensing tiny seeds for planting can be a tedious task. Watch this video to see out how to pick up and plant small seeds individually. Watch this video.

You don’t have to buy expensive herbicides to kill weeds in the cracks of a driveway or sidewalk. Simply pouring boiling water on the weeds will do the trick without toxic side effects. Watch this video.

When landscaping your yard, start by drawing a simple, color coded, aerial plan to scale with the important dimensions and permanent features of the yard included on it. Then use layers of tracing paper to experiment with the placement of new elements you would like to add. Watch this video.

Drip irrigation is one of the most efficient methods of watering, since it is delivered gradually and targets plants directly. This conserves water by minimizing waste through evaporation and overspray. Watch this video.

The Ames True Temper 7 in 1 Planter’s Buddy is a multipurpose tool with a stainless steel blade that’s designed to make fast work of your gardening jobs. The trowel has a serrated edge on one side, which is great for cutting open bags of fertilizer, and a sharpened straight edge on the other side for cutting sod. It also incorporates a twine cutter and notched trowel for prying up weeds. Watch this video.

Adding compost to your soil is one of the best ways to improve your garden. Make a compost pile from a mixture of organic matter—such as leaves, grass clippings, vegetable scraps, eggshells, and coffee grounds. Turn the pile once a week with a pitchfork to introduce oxygen, and keep it covered with plastic to hold in moisture and heat. Adding red worms to the pile will speed up the process, since they digest and process their body weight in organic matter every day. Watch this video.

After having drawn a detailed plan of the layout, Tommy Martiniere of Martiniere Landscaping turned a neglected corner of this yard into a secluded retreat by adding a stone walkway that leads to a patio. Plants added include Japanese yew, African iris, yellow anise, oakleaf hydrangea, camellias, and ferns. Watch this video.

House plants in containers depend on us for food and water, so it’s important to recognize the warning signs indicating that they have received either too much or too little water. Watch this video.

Grapefruit rinds can serve as nutrient rich, biodegradable pots. After eating, clean out the interior of the rind, cut slits in the bottom for drainage, fill with soil, and add seeds or seedlings. When the rind start to decompose, dig a hole, and plant it in the ground. Watch this video.

There are several options when choosing a pool for your backyard including concrete, vinyl, or fiberglass. Each has advantages and disadvantages in terms of cost, ease of installation, and durability. Watch this video.

Using heavy equipment to dig the hole for a backyard pool can be a challenge in tight quarters. Once the hole has been dug, steel reinforcement is laid and specially modified concrete is sprayed and shaped to form the sides and bottom of the pool. Watch this video.

Installing a pool in your backyard can take quite a lot of planning and preparation, from removing trees and shrubs to dealing with building codes and access for heavy equipment. Watch this video.

To grow new African violets, use a sterile knife and cut off a healthy leaf as near the base as possible. Dip the stem in rooting hormone then push it through a piece of paper and place the stem in water until it develops roots. Watch this video.

If you spend a lot of time gardening, you know how handy a potting bench can be. Not only does it give you a convenient place to work with your plants, it also keeps the inevitable mess that goes with it confined to one spot. Watch this video.

There are several reasons when you need to know exactly where your property lines are located, such as putting up a fence, or creating new landscaping. You’ll want to find out what the local building codes are in relation to any construction, and you must locate your property line. Watch this video.

Creating great soil is like making good lasagna according to Florida landscaper Rachel DeToro. It’s all about layers. Not pasta and cheese. Organic material on top of organic material. Watch this video.

Starting your own plants from seed is a great idea and here’s a trick for simplifying the process of transplanting them to the garden. Save your old eggshells and situate the empty half shells in an egg carton. Watch this video.

We’re all interested in making our money go farther, and the money we spend on landscaping is no exception. The first and most obvious idea is to not waste your money. Lots of homeowners spend huge amounts on plants that end up in the wrong locations. Watch this video.

A bare spot in the lawn can be unsightly and annoying. You can pamper the area and wait for the surrounding grass to fill in, but this takes time and patience. Watch this video.

We all know our lawns need water. But “how much”, “how often” and “when” are the questions. Turf expert Dr. Trey Rogers explains that early morning is the best time to water (between 4am and 9am) because the rising sun will dry off grass leaves. Watch this video.

Many fuzzy leafed plants, such as African violets, don’t like water on their foliage because it leaves spots and can cause fungus. Deliver water past the leaves and directly to the roots with a simple funnel made from the handle of a plastic milk jug. Watch this video.

The potassium in wood ashes encourages strong stems in plants while the phosphorus in the ashes encourages root growth. Soils low in potassium often benefits from wood ash but be careful with acid-loving plants such as blueberries, rhododendrons and azaleas. To use wood ash safely, add a small amount to your compost pile. Watch this video.

Organic Landscaper Rachel DeToro offers these tips for natural pest management. Nesting boxes and food sources will keep birds nearby and they in turn will keep insects under control. Watch this video.

Tomatoes are one the most popular fruits grown by homeowners, but many of us aren’t really sure what the best method is to insure we have healthy plants and good fruit. First, protect the plants from cutworms. Watch this video.

A lazy susan comes in handy when potting or trimming a plant. Partially fill the pot with soil and set it on the lazy susan. Position your plants and slowly spin the lazy susan as you finish topping off the soil. When trimming plants, you can easily cut with one hand while carefully turning with the other. This technique would also work when decorating or painting pots. Watch this video.

Keeping your lawn and garden watered is a chore that can be greatly benefited by sprinklers. Unfortunately, the options have been dragging around a portable sprinkler and guessing at the right location, or spending large amounts of money on an in-ground irrigation system. The Naan Undercover Sprinkler may be the compromise you’re looking for. Watch this video.

Even the most novice gardeners know the benefits of using compost in their gardens, but nobody wants to look at a compost pile. One solution is a pre-fab compost bin made of plastic. Watch this video.

These days we hear a lot about mosquitoes and there are some great organic methods to control these pests. An aquarium filled with water and Gamboozia (a type of fish) will help eliminate mosquitoes. Watch this video.

Strange as it may seem, shaking your fruit trees will help them produce more fruit. This is because it loosens the vessels that carry sap to the leaves and buds. Some people even opt to “whip” their fruit trees with a rolled up newspaper. Watch this video.

Raised vegetable beds are an excellent way to manage your produce patch, especially if your home is on a hilly lot. Here are a few tips if you’re considering building one. Watch this video.

Removing buds (or debudding) is sort of like thinning a fruit tree. You hate to do it because every bud you take off will eventually bloom. However, for the biggest flowers, or in the case of fruit trees the biggest fruits, you should debud or thin out. Watch this video.

For many of you, fire ants are a familiar foe, and for many more they soon will be. These little reddish/brown insects came into the U.S. along the Gulf Coast from South America earlier this century and are rapidly spreading North and Westward. Watch this video.

Gardens require maintenance, there’s no getting around that fact. Most of us, however, don’t have very much time to dedicate to those chores, so we’re looking for ways to at least reduce the amount of maintenance our gardens require. One solution is to begin with good soil. Watch this video.

Choosing the right fertilizer for your lawn can be a confusing proposition. The Turf Expert Dr. Trey Rogers tells us it doesn’t actually have to be that way. According to Trey, your local garden center usually selects only what you need in your area for that given time of year. Watch this video.

For a quick and easy way to paint clay pots give them a spin! Before you begin, you’ll need to cut a wooden disk with a hole saw. Place a carriage bolt in a drill (one with a speed adjustment knob works best) and attach the wooden disk on top of the bolt. Watch this video.

Spray individual weeds without catching your favorite plants in the crossfire. Cut the bottom off of a plastic 2-liter soda bottle. Set the bottle over the trouble-making weed, stick the sprayer nozzle in the mouth of the soda bottle, and spray away. Let the chemicals soak in for a few seconds before lifting the bottle. For larger problem areas consider using a cardboard box. Watch this video.

Dr. Trey Rogers, Briggs and Stratton Yard Doctor, gives us some great tips for applying fertilizer. If possible, use a broadcast spreader instead of a drop spreader. This minimizes the chances of leaving lines in the lawns. Watch this video.

A good way to increase humidity around potted seedlings is to set a couple of seedling pots in a larger container of pebbles. The pebbles should be about fingernail size, and there should be just a small amount of water in the pebble container- enough to create humid conditions but not enough to touch the bottom of the pots. Watch this video.

Here’s a handy tip to help you clean out the gutters without having to climb onto your roof or a ladder. Create a long spray-wand from PVC pipe (1/2″ works well) with a “U” shape at one end. Watch this video.

All of our landscapes need rain, and yet often it creates as many problems as it solves. The runoff from our roofs often destroys our flowerbeds. Instead of simply letting downspouts dump water into the garden, consider installing drainage grates underground to receive the runoff and carry it away to safer areas. The grates can be removed for cleaning from time to time. Watch this video.

Helping your plants make the transition from the pots or containers you buy them in to the garden is an important step to developing a healthy landscape. Begin by digging a hole large enough to accommodate the plant, its root ball and some additional material. Watch this video.

Making seed tapes can save future planting and thinning time. Cut newspaper into 1-inch wide strips and then glue your seeds to the paper. We used a paste of water and flour, about the consistency of thick gravy. Add a pinch of water-soluble fertilizer to each half cup of paste. Mark the appropriate seed spacing on the paper strip. Watch this video.

Moss covered planting pots can give your garden an old world charm. But if you live in a dry climate you may be out of luck. Here’s a trick to help out Mother Nature. Watch this video.

Where houses are close together, privacy fences become a “must have” on every homeowner’s wish list. Before you build, however, pause for a moment and consider whether a planted screen would do the trick for you. Screening plants generally have a softer appearance than a fence or wall. Watch this video.

As a gardener, mulch can be one of your greatest allies. This often-neglected stuff maintains soil moisture and temperature while blocking the growth of weeds around plants you do not want. Watch this video.

Everyone knows that their gardens need water, but how much and how often can be a mystery. The key thing to be aware of is that fewer waterings for longer periods of time are better than many brief waterings. Watch this video.

If you waste time and energy running back and forth from the garden to the shed for tools and garden supplies, use an old golf bag and cart to “caddy” both long- and short-handled garden tools. Watch this video.

Weeds popping up through paving stones or cracks in sidewalks can be a huge annoyance. Here’s a solution to stop them without back breaking work or toxic pesticides. Fill a spray bottle with household vinegar and spray it liberally on the offending weeds. Watch this video.

Provide a casual but sophisticated look to your groundcover by planting bunches of daffodils or tulips amidst low-growing green foliage, such as pachysandra or ivy. Another option is to outline an existing bed of ground cover or other plantings. Watch this video.

Spring means spending time outdoors and for many of us that means our own little backyard paradise. However a suitable surface for the barbecue grill, table, and chairs is a must. Here are some tips for creating your own custom paver patio. Watch this video.

If you’re looking for low maintenance plants for your garden you don’t need to look any further than your own backyard. Organic Landscaper Rachel DeToro tells us that native plants are a great addition to the landscape because they are readily available and they require little special care since they occur naturally in the wild. Watch this video.

Roses that you purchase at a nursery are grafted onto rootstock. They’re sold that way so that they’ll grow faster and bloom more quickly. To avoid suckers that form from rootstock take your own cutting from year old stems of your favorite roses in autumn. Watch this video.

Removing limbs from trees and shrubs is a necessary part of gardening, but you must do the job correctly. To avoid splintering the cut, make a relief cut a foot or so outside the branch collar. Watch this video.

One of the easiest mistakes homeowners can make in their lawn or garden is not anticipating the eventual size of a plant. Most of the plants you buy at the nursery will be labeled to tell you what their mature size will be. Watch this video.

If you look hard enough you can find solutions to many of your lawn and garden problems “naturally.” The pungent aroma of many herbs acts as a natural insect repellent. Planting herbs like parsley or basil among your vegetables will offer them some protection from bugs and simplify harvesting a salad. Watch this video.

To keep seedlings healthy and growing feed them gelatin. Any flavor is okay as long as it’s sweetened with sugar - not artificial sweeteners. The gelatin contains the nutrient nitrogen, which helps plants form green leaves. The sugar actually feeds beneficial microbes already in the soil that help young plants defend against disease causing organisms. Watch this video.

A trellis is great for a wall or even a fence that needs a little something more. To build one simply take pressure treated 1×2’s (we used 8-foot pieces) and secure one end of all the boards together at one end using screws. Fan the pieces out and attach them to horizontal pieces using galvanized nails so that they do not rust. Watch this video.

Adding a border to your planting beds is both practical and attractive. Almost any border material will serve as a barricade to prevent grass from intruding on the planting area or running plants from escaping into the lawn. Watch this video.

Roses love banana peels. They rot quickly, releasing minerals roses need such as calcium, sulfur, magnesium, and phosphates. Just cut them up and mix them in the soil at planting time or anytime you want to give your roses a boost. You can also make a banana peel tonic for use after the plants are established. Watch this video.

Usually the only solution for managing a hilly lot is the construction of a retaining wall. While these walls can be constructed from many materials, by far the most durable are masonry (brick, block, or stone). Watch this video.

Transplanting roses is a little trickier than transplanting other plant varieties. Start by thoroughly soaking the rose bush so that you can remove it without disturbing any of the roots. Watch this video.

For an economic alternative to buying plants for the garden, consider raising annuals from seed. While many perennials take lots of time to mature, there are plenty of annuals that will come up quickly and give lots of color through the season. Watch this video.

Trees add a lot to any landscape but choosing the right one at the garden center or nursery makes all the difference in it’s success in the yard. Begin by looking for a straight center trunk with fairly symmetrical branch structure. Watch this video.

Mulching is a natural way to build up soil and add nutrients, but if you let your leaves stay where they fall they can create a natural habitat for pests and some diseases. If you put your leaves in a compost pile you may notice that many are still intact while the vegetable matter is broken down. Watch this video.

Staking and tying off a leaning tree is a fairly common practice, but it can be avoided by properly planting the tree in the first place. Often times trees lean because of limited access to sunshine. Watch this video.

Ground layering is an easy way to propagate hydrangeas. First, cut a notch in one of the branches of the main plant or scrape a little bark off the underside. Take the same branch, bend it over, and bury it in the ground. Make sure at least one leaf node will be underground. Watch this video.

Adequate moisture is essential for healthy plants. Before you plant your pots, try putting used wet tea bags in the bottom of the container. They will absorb water and release it slowly each time you water your plants. Tea bags and leaves are also reported to be good for your roses. Watch this video.

Turf expert Dr. Trey Rogers tells us the best way to insure good lawn health is to mow properly. That begins with a sharp mower blade and mowing more often. Watch this video.

Dr. Trey Rogers has a few tips for establishing a lawn from seed. Trimming is crucial for planting. Plant in late fall or early spring for cool season grasses. Warm season grasses should be planted in late spring or early summer. For new construction homes consider a soil test to determine if the soil is sub-soil instead of topsoil. Watch this video.

Strawberry pots may be attractive, but they’re inefficient for the growth and health of the plants. To make sure the plant is properly watered, take a section of PVC pipe and put it in the center of the planter. Watch this video.

Lawns by nature require some work, but you can reduce the amount of work and time spent by following a few simple guidelines. Good soil is the start, so aerate the lawn. Watch this video.

Tulips and Daffodils are great for early spring color, but to see them you’ll have to plant your bulbs in the fall. A great way to plant these is to dig a trench the depth your bulbs need (about 6″ for Daffodils) and as long as you want. Watch this video.

Groundcovers are a great solution for hard-to-grow areas of the yard, but they are often hard to contain once they take off. Many of these plants spread by runners and roots, so you have to create a barrier both above and below the soil to adequately control them. Watch this video.

More and more people are using raised beds in their gardens. The main advantage is you can completely control the quality of the soil you have to work with. It is suggested you scar the existing ground before you build a raised bed. Watch this video.

Looking for a place to start your seeds? How about in 2-liter plastic bottles? To keep the roots from being exposed to direct sunlight use colored bottles. Measure up 6-inches from the bottom of a 2-liter bottle and make a mark. Watch this video.

A birdbath makes a great addition to your landscape, but the debris and algae they collect are far less than attractive. Here’s a tip for getting the bath clean and keeping it clean. Watch this video.

Whether you’re creating a brick landing for a new set of steps or forming a small brick path, the trick is to get a nice sub surface to support the bricks. You’ll need a nice smooth surface but also one with a consistent depth, otherwise some bricks may be higher or lower than others creating a tripping hazard. To create a smooth surface create a screed (the same tool concrete finishers use to smooth out concrete). Watch this video.

Here’s an economical and environmentally friendly way to train a vine along a wall or accommodate an odd-shaped spot for a trellis. Recycle the plastic rings that hold soda six-packs. Fasten them together with plastic coated twist-ties to form a trellis. Watch this video.

Once you build a fence it is inevitable that the weather is going to take its toll on it. Fence posts that were originally cut square allow rainwater to soak right into the wood resulting in expansion and splitting of the wood. We’ve found that by cutting the fence posts at a slight angle the water drains right off rather than sitting and soaking into the wood. Watch this video.

Organic landscaper Rachel DeToro tells us one of her favorite tricks for container planting is using seaweed as mulch. The seaweed can be rinsed (to remove salt and the pungent smell) and dried for use in potted plants. Watch this video.

Take an old angel food cake pan and cut it about an inch from the top of the center tube and rolled edges. Slip the umbrella pole of your patio table through the angel food cake pan. The container can then be filled with fresh plants. Watch this video.

For a professional finish around trees planted in the lawn, loop a rope around the tree trunk and the shaft of a spade. Adjust the length so that the spade reaches to the drip line of the tree. Scribe the outline of a circle, then remove the rope and retrace the circle, sinking the spade vertically to make a neat, clean edge. Watch this video.

The fist step to getting the soil in your garden right is figuring out what you have. There are three types of soil: clay, sand and loam. Clay is comprised of very fine particles that pack together very tightly allowing very little water to drain out and making it difficult for roots to dig in. Watch this video.

Welcome mats often retain water creating problems with porch decking and keeping them from being useful to clean shoes. Use an old plastic grid diffuser from a fluorescent light fixture and place it beneath the mat to allow water to drain out. Use a jig saw to cut the grid to fit. You may also want to use screws in the corners of the grid to keep it in place and prevent slips and falls. Watch this video.

Consistent watering is crucial to container plants and hanging plants in particular. However, reaching a hanging basket is often difficult without drenching yourself in the process. A simple kitchen baster may be the perfect solution. Watch this video.

Hanging baskets are a simple way to instantly introduce color and create interest. However, they can also be hard to get to in order to water. To make watering easier, place a small funnel in the pot with the spout inserted in the soil. Watch this video.

Vines make a great addition to a trellis or lattice but they do require some attention. Lawn and garden expert Tricia Craven-Worley explains that the trick is early attention. “The saying about vines” she says, “is the first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, and the third year it leaps.” Watch this video.

The best way to collect seeds is to leave them on the plants to dry out or cut off the stems with the seeds still on the flower or pod. Tie a brown paper bag around the stem and hang them upside down. Be sure not to use a plastic bag as it can retain moisture and cause the seeds to rot. Watch this video.

With all the activities that today’s homeowners have, its really pretty hard sometimes to cultivate an entire garden. But you can bring beautiful plants closer to your house on your deck or patio through container gardening. Although this still requires a little maintenance, here are some tricks of the trade to cut down on all of the required watering. Watch this video.

Maintaining your metal garden tools is important. Tools that have become rusty probably haven’t been cleaned at the end of the day. Brush off all dirt and debris and make sure the surfaces of the tools are dry before you store them. By simply adding a little lubricant to the edges and surfaces of your loppers, trowels and shovels and then wiping them with a soft cloth you can help prevent the surfaces from rusting. Watch this video.

A simple, easy way to measure postholes as you dig them is to mark 6-inch graduations up the handle of your posthole diggers (a permanent marker is ideal for the job). A similar approach works well for a shovel handle; only here you can measure from the handle end instead of the blade end so you can invert the tool to measure as you go. Watch this video.

Certain times of the year nurseries will have bare root trees such as fruit trees and roses. Late winter and early spring are great times to find and purchase these. The nursery will typically have them in wood chips which need to be completely removed before planting so that they do not rob the tree of nutrients. Watch this video.

Houseplants bothered by pests? Rub them out with rubbing alcohol. An alcohol spray is effective against mealy bugs, whiteflies, red spider mites, aphids, fungus gnats, and scale. To make the spray, mix ½ to 1 cup of rubbing alcohol with 1 quart of water in a pump-spray bottle. It’s a good idea to test spray one leaf of an infested plant and wait a day to check for damage. If the plant is unaffected, spray the whole plant. Treat at 3-day intervals for 10 days or as needed. Watch this video.

Large gates often require large hardware to give them the tension needed to prevent sagging but the hardware needed is often hard to come by. Provide the necessary tension with your own hardware. First, take a piece of electrical conduit large enough for your gate, lay it on a 2×4 and flatten the ends with a hammer. Pre-drill a couple of holes in the flattened ends for the screws that will later secure the hardware. Use galvanized screws to secure one end of the conduit, check for level and secure the other end. Before hanging the hardware we chose to paint it black. Watch this video.

If you’re about to recycle your old plant containers here’s a tip to keep in mind. Diseases and fungus can be transmitted from one plant to another through contaminated pots, so before you reuse a pot sanitize it. Watch this video.

Accidentally rip a branch off your favorite bush? If it came off with a tiny bit of the main branch, you can use it to start a new shrub. Trim the bark “heel” down a bit and remove any leaves from the bottom half of the shoot. Dip the tip in rooting hormones, tap off any extra powder and plant it in a sterile mix of sand and peat moss. Watch this video.

If your home has a steep sloping lot, you know how difficult landscaping can be. Terraces and retaining walls offer help but they can be expensive. The best solution is to have plants growing in the ground to hold soil. Watch this video.

Shady, hilly areas are great for groundcover plants because they hold and protect the soil without the benefit of lots of sun. Plants like adjuga and jasmine are ideal, but the important thing is to space them properly. Check with nurseries or garden centers to find out their size at maturity. This is important because some groundcover, like juniper, can spread to as much as six feet across. Watch this video.

Deadheading flowers is simply the process of removing faded or dead flower blooms. In many plants such as day lilies, roses and azaleas removing these blooms promotes new flower growth by preventing the plant from putting its energy into the setting of the seed. This energy is then used to produce more flowers. Watch this video.

Dissolve an aspirin in a cup of tea for a perfect “perk” for your plants. All soil has a Ph rating ranging from 1 to 14 with 7 being neutral, and this cup of tea is great for plants such as camellias, azaleas and orchids because it will raise the level of acidity in the soil giving the plants exactly what they need. Watch this video.

There’s nothing worse than spending a lot of time getting leaves raked and loaded into the wheelbarrow only to have a bump on the path or a gust of wind empty them out for you. Here’s a solution that will make collecting leaves easier and keep them in the wheelbarrow. Watch this video.

Newly planted trees, shrubs and perennials need gentle and thorough watering, but watering slowly by hand takes time. Instead, create a low-tech irrigation system using gallon-size plastic juice jugs. (They’re sturdier than plastic milk jugs). Fill a clean jug with water and carry it to your planting. Poke a small hole into the bottom of the jug and set it beside the newly planted plant. Watch this video.

You don’t usually see them during the day because they feed at night, but the holes in your plant leaves (such as Hostas) are most likely from slugs. Although chemical methods of eliminating slugs may prove effective here’s a natural method that even the kids can help with. Watch this video.

Protect vulnerable shrubs and trees from potential weed whacker or lawn mower accidents. Keep a plastic juice bottle, slit down the side (with the top and bottom removed) tied to your machine. Stop before working too close to plants and slip the bottle around the trunk while you weed or mow in that area. Remove the bottle when you move on. Watch this video.

Controlling weeds is high on every homeowner’s to-do list and Dr. Trey Rogers, Yard Doctor for Briggs and Stratton, explains that it may be easier than you think. Practicing proper mowing, watering, and fertilizing will actually prevent a lot of weed problems because healthy lawns leave little room for weeds. Watch this video.

Gardening in a dry climate can be a challenge but Southern Californian Tricia Craven Worley explains that it is possible to create a beautiful landscape if you choose your plants carefully. The staples of such gardens are drought tolerant plants such as Pride of Madeira, Rosemary and Thyme. Watch this video.

In situations where two pieces of wood need to be tightly connected at right angles (for example constructing a wooden gate) a half-lap joint is ideal. Here are a few tips to make an easy half-lap joint. Watch this video.

Stop grasshoppers and other chewing insects from eating your plants by making them eat flour. Place three cups of all-purpose flour in a garden duster or saltshaker and then jiggle the plants to get the insects moving. Dust the insects and the leaves of the plant with the flour. Watch this video.

Few of us are blessed with the perfect soil for our lawns and gardens. If yours is the rocky variety, here’s a great solution. Take a section of metal hardware cloth (available at home centers with ½” or ¼” holes) and cut a section slightly larger than your wheelbarrow. Watch this video.

A child’s wagon makes an easy-to move base for off-season tomatoes. Two tomato plants in separate 10-gallon containers can easily fit in such a wagon. Let the plants grow outdoors as long as the warm weather lasts; as temperatures begin to fall, wheel the plants indoors overnight and back outdoors during the day. Watch this video.

If your lawn or garden isn’t developing like you want it to, the problem may be as elemental as the soil itself. A soil test is the answer. Some do-it-yourself tests are available at nurseries and home centers but for a really thorough test you may want to take a sample to your county extension agent. Watch this video.

Turn leaves into fuel for next year’s garden by shredding them before you compost them. Shredding one leaf into five or ten smaller pieces does several good things. First, it increases the surface area, giving microbes many more places to work. Watch this video.

Drainage is crucial to the health of container plants. That’s why most pots are made with drain holes in the bottom. Unfortunately this also allows the potting soil to escape. Here’s a simple tip to prevent that. Watch this video.