big blue stem garden supply

These are boom times for home gardening, but as many parents know, it still isn’t easy to get kids interested and involved. One way, experts say, is to teach children how to cook what they help harvest from the family garden.

Gardening packs an educational punch: It can teach nutrition, biology, mathematics (sizing up rows and plot perimeters), social studies, geography and languages. Vegetable gardens help save money, encourage exercise, deliver fresh flavors to the kitchen and reduce the risks of buying tainted food. more »

Plant perennials instead of annuals. Annuals are short-lived, use excessive water and must be replaced, while there is a large selection of drought-tolerant perennials that can live for many years and offer plenty of beautiful color.

Eliminate lawn where you are not using it. Lawns are one of the most intensive maintenance and water-consuming plantings in a landscape, requiring weekly mowing, edging and recurrent irrigation.

Leave lawn clippings — don’t bag. Many lawn mowers have a recycling feature which allows you to mow without bagging the clippings. Lawn clippings contain water and nutrients that can benefit your lawn. The result is a need for less water and fertilizer. more »

There is nothing more heart breaking than having to watch your pet suffer. With the vet becoming more expensive, there is not much you can do to deal with your cat’s broken leg than to fork it over. Seems a bit unreasonable, isn’t it? After all, with recession and everything, you would think that pet products, vet’s bills as well as any other related products could remain in the same price range. But, I guess that is a bit unrealistic expectation on our part, given that everything else seems to be reaching for the stratosphere. Anyway, you need not fret much about the vet’s bills anymore, not with a handy reference to handling minor pet issues on your own. Yeah, I know that there is a massive amount of content online on home remedies and pet care currently available. But the problem you are bound to face is that most of the ’so called’ content is actually regurgitated mess, dinky at its very best. What you need is an authoritative resource, one that actually provides you with quality content as opposed to a quack’s remedies which, as you well know, makes it all the more worse. Do refer the handbook on pet care, Veterinary Secrets Revealed as it has been authored by an actual vet rather than an affiliate marketer. At least, in this way, you can deal with real remedies instead of some made-up junk.

The Veterinary Secrets Revealed is quite comprehensive as it provides home remedies on all fronts, allowing you to treat your pet at home than at the vet’s working station. Think about it, would you head to your doctor for a minor scrape when you can deal with it yourself? If so, does it not make sense to treat your pet for the same minor scrape than having to deal with expensive medical bills? Of course, you would need to refer to your vet for the more serious issues but when it comes to minor ones; you can deal with the lot on your own. The best part of this book is that it provides you with a list of natural treatments as some of the usual medications currently available lead to sever side effects.

This book provides content that seems to cover everything from pet injuries, natural treatments as well ways to deal with behavioral issues. So, with this book in hand, you should be more than able to take care of your pet more effectively and the bonus being that it saves you the expense of visiting the vet for every minor pet issue.

The Veterinary Secrets Revealed guide has been authored by a vet, one who has been practicing his trade for more than a decade. So the contents are quite detailed, offering you more than 1000 natural remedies you can put to good use in taking care of your pet. At the least, it allows you to understand your pet better; with the contents provided with handy illustrations, you will know what to do and better yet, how to do it. So, if you are on the lookout for a handy pet guide, one that is chock full of remedies, this is what you need.

Vacation property, an investment for retirement or a permanent residence, this [tag]Lake James waterfront home[/tag] may be your dream property.

The beautiful water front home is located in a private community with spectacular views of the [tag]Blue Ridge Mountains[/tag]. It has a double deck boat dock, an enclosed boat garage and a private ramp to launch your own watercraft. The home was built originally in 1972 and totally renovated in 2002. A four car detached garage was built in 2002.

There is a total of 264 ft. of water front. Beautiful three tier sea walls accent this elegant home. Hard wood and tile floors, modern appliances and vaulted ceilings are only a few of the amenities that capture you with this home.

Private dock permit.

List Price: $1,800,000
Flexibility: Willing to finance
Acreage: .75 acres
Type: Waterfront

Floors: 2
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 4
Sq. Footage: 3700
Garage Size: 4.0
Year Built: 1972, totally renovated in 2002
School District: Nebo

Suitable Use: Residential

Topography: Rolling
Road Frontage: Private Road
Location: [tag]Lake James, Burke County, NC[/tag]

Amenities: Waterfront, Fireplace, Central AC, Alarm, Wood Floors, Gas Range, Patio, Wheelchair Accessible, Nature/Bike Paths, Boating, Controlled Access, Spa/Jacuzzi

click here for more information

Most of us learn about evapotranspiration in school. Rain or snow falls. As it forms rivers or soaks into the earth, a certain amount of it evaporates into the atmosphere. That’s the “evapo” part. Then the roots of plants also absorb water from the earth and feed it to their leaves. During photosynthesis it is released back into the atmosphere. That’s the “transpiration” part.

How fast evapotranspiration occurs and how much water is involved depends on a place and its plants. Tropical flora, flushed with steady water, grows in a fast, lush and often continuous fashion. Landscape designers would say it has an high ET rate.

Plants in dry Mediterranean climates such as ours use water sparingly. Faced with bone dry summers, Mediterranean plants typically become dormant in late spring through fall to conserve water. more »

It is hard these days to go out and save money when it comes to food. At restaurants you get a drink, go for appetizers, the big meal comes, then of course the tip at the end. Although it is a very social thing to go out to eat…it is expensive. A great idea is to save some nights at home.

If you planted a box garden, you can have some of your own food…in your own home! Box gardening is easy, simple and cheap. The box garden is built for apartments so you save room. more »

This beautiful luxury home is located in Wilkes County North Carolina. Nearby is a major university — Appalachian State in Boone, NC. You will also experience a convenient drive to shopping and dining in Winston-Salem, NC; a short ride to the ski mountains — Appalachian Ski Mountain, Beech Mountain and Sugar Mountain; and just over an hour’s drive from three popular NASCAR tracks — Lowes Motors Speedway, Martinsville and Bristol Motor Speedway. Because of its proximity to the Blue Ridge Mountains, Wilkes County offers a wealth of quiet beauty without the rush, the concrete, the noise and the traffic of larger, metropolitan communities. Just 80 miles from Charlotte, 45 miles from Winston-Salem, 45 miles from Hickory and 35 minutes from Boone, Wilkes County is an ideal location for those looking to escape the fast paced world of city living, yet close enough to commute for upscale dining, shopping and healthcare opportunities. Wilkes and surrounding counties are famous for an abundance of North Carolina Christmas Tree farms, motorcycle riding, hiking, canoeing, fishing, swimming, mountain biking, horseback riding, skiing, golf and much more. MLS Number: 52935 List Price: $759,000 Bedrooms: 6 Full Baths: 4 Half Baths: 1 Est Total SqFt: 5265 Type/Style: Two Story Area: Area 3 Middle School: West Wilkes High School: West Wilkes Construction: Stucco,Solid Brick Foundation: Basement Roof: Shingle - Composition Floors: Tile, Hardwood Garage/Carport: Garage-Double Attached, Garage-Double in Basement Interior Features: Smoke Detector, Ceiling Fan(s), Master Bedroom, Main Level, Large Master Bedroom, Walk-In Closet(s), Hardwood Floors, Basement, Fireplace(s), Gas Logs, Dining Room, Rec Room, Cable TV, In-Law Quarters, Handicapped Design Exterior Features: Patio/Deck, Private Yard, Level Lot Subdivision: Canterbury Estates Lot Size: .68 Apx SqFt: 3400 + Basement: Full, Partially Finished Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net click here for more information

Enlist the help of natural predators by maintaining a nontoxic environment. Keep the yard safe for birds, predatory wasps, lady beetles, toads, frogs and hundreds of other creatures that eat garden pests. Eliminating too many pests by spraying can backfire by robbing predators of their food and thereby decreasing their numbers. Also, any pests that survive spraying are apt to breed offspring with pesticide-resistant traits.

Grow healthy plants. Plants under stress are more vulnerable to bugs and diseases, so try to give a plant what it needs. If you see predation, tick off the things the plant might lack, and consider whether another variety might do better. more »

It’s easy to see all the big ticket items and make sacrifices but, more often than not, it’s all the little things that add up to take us over our budgets. So everyone sees the car sitting out front and decides not to trade in or downsize to something cheaper to run. Days may be spent searching round the local dealerships to find just the right set of wheels to last through the next year or more. Yet is the same time devoted to finding the best value auto insurance to go with it? Sadly, the majority spend only a few minutes to renew a policy with the current insurance company or use one of the online search engines to find a “cheap” policy. Shopping around to find the best value insurance is guaranteed to save money. Even if you do nothing more than raise the deductible, this has started the process. Now you should be looking at maximizing the discounts and bundling several policies together with the same company. Savings start around 10% when you place both auto and home cover with the same insurer.

Similarly, it’s easy to say that food on the table meets a need and you spend what it takes to keep the family from starvation. Except, of course, that’s an exaggeration. The majority of us eat a lot, and eating smaller portions is not only saving dollars, it’s also avoiding diabetes and heart disease. So the first question is where do we shop? Habit can take us to the same store every time. This can be costing us a lot of extra dollars. Shopping at local stores can save on gas but how do the prices compare? Look for stores where the grocery bill is always going to be cheaper overall. Then plan so that you can buy in quantity. If you prefer national brands, look for clip-out coupons or buy store brands or generics which are always cheaper. Never buy sale items unless you can store them or use them quickly.

It’s the same with clothes. It’s no longer cost-effective to work on a throwaway basis. Give up following fashion. Buy clothes of sufficient quality that will last and mix-and-match. You want a versatile wardrobe that makes a little go a long way. The other given is to avoid “false economies”. Often, you can buy something cheap only to find it falls to pieces after a week or so of everyday use. Buying quality is the best money saving tip for clothes. Now apply this general rule across the board. Plan ahead so you can always make the best value-for-money buy. That means spending a little time on the internet, searching out which brands give the biggest bang for the buck. Whatever you need to buy, there’s usually something of reasonable quality at a good price at a store near you. If you have to buy sight-unseen over the internet, always check the terms and conditions to make sure you can return the goods if they prove defective. Money saving through comparison shopping is the answer to budget control.

Americans generated 254 million tons of trash, and recycled and composted about 85 tons of that in 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said. That works out to a recycling rate of 33.4 percent. Those figures represent municipal solid waste — things commonly used and then thrown away, such as food scraps, grass clippings, old tires, furniture and appliances. It does not include industrial, hazardous or construction waste.

Making greater use of organic materials reduces the amount of solid waste in landfills. A company called EcoForms, for example, has introduced a line of durable but decomposable plant containers made from grain husks and other natural bindings.

The Liquid Fence Co. sells biodegradable manure-fiber-based "CowPots" that can be placed directly in the ground, eliminating the transplant shock that often results when starting seeds in plastic pots.

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WEST JEFFERSON NC MOUNTAIN PROPERTY

87.5 +/- Acres Available For Residential Subdivision Mountain Development, 7 miles from West Jefferson, NC

Paved Road and Bridge Built To State Specifications.

Average of $23,000 per acre.

This Property Should Retail For Approximately $50,000 to $60,000 per acre.

ALL PROPERTY HAS LONG RANGE MOUNTAIN VIEWS

Contact Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247

or

email Greg at grstike@charter.net

click here for more information

Let’s start of with a few basics. All the airlines publish their fares. So, if you go to them directly, you know exactly how much you are going to be asked to pay. That said, there are “high” and “low” seasons where the volume of traffic rises and falls. Airlines do offer “sale” prices to maintain passenger volumes during the low seasons. Some increase their prices at the peak periods. Then you have the budget carriers. These offer basic carriage at a basic price. All this information is usually freely available and gives you the base price to work from. Then we come to the “special offers”. These are prices advertised in the local press or through the internet, promoting particular airlines or online ticket agents. They often invite you to use a code or keyword from the advert to “prove” your entitlement to the special price. The other source to identify are the “consolidators”. These businesses buy tickets in bulk from the airlines and so get discounts that allow them to pass on savings to their customers. In the US, consolidators tend to specialize in the international market. In Europe, consolidators sell tickets for all flights both domestic and international.

Most people who are looking to travel are either on business or going on holiday. That means they will be in the market for a place to stay, a car rental and other elements that could make up a package. This gives you considerable freedom to negotiate. Start off with a hotel. Most sites that sell accommodation can be a little vague about pricing rooms. The best strategy is to get a quote, then telephone the hotel direct and find out what their best price is. If a hotel is your best option, you now have a choice. But if you want flexibility to come and go, or to entertain, you might do better to take a managed or serviced apartment. Depending on the number of people traveling together, you might find a better deal in a two, three or four room apartment on a daily or weekly rate. For those on holiday, there are package deals and all-inclusive resorts. In the right climate, camping may be a good option, or you could try one of the home swap/exchange plans. And, for the sake of completeness, there are still one or two companies that use “ordinary travelers” as couriers. It’s hard to get on the lists but, if you like more random travel, this can be a cheap option.

So when you’re looking for cheap flight, particularly for international cheap flights, look beyond the price of the seat at all the other options for accommodation, car rental, travel insurance, and so on. You are looking for the best deal on the whole package. Identify the consolidators and start with them. They are most likely to have the cheap air flights advertised. Then it’s just a case of exploring how to pull everything together to save the most money. In fact, in it’s own right, it’s fun and, when you get to enjoy the end result, all the more satisfying.

More than one in four U.S. households grow vegetable plants, one of the fastest-growing pastimes, and one that is becoming more of a necessity rather than a hobby, according to Southern States employee Bob Bartels, a media relations expert for consumer goods. "People are trying to keep expenses down, but we'll see how long the enthusiasm lasts when it gets hot," Taylor said.

The high price of fruits and vegetables in grocery stores are factors in the rush on seeds, Plunkard said. "People are tilling small patches in their yard and planting it up," Plunkard said. more »

Most commercial farms concentrate on growing a few select crops to supply a wide variety of customers, but gardening at home is a different story entirely. Most backyard food gardeners are looking to augment their family's diet with a variety of seasonal fruits, vegetables and herbs throughout the growing season.

For those of us who face time and space constraints in our gardening endeavors, combining crops within the same planting areas makes a lot of sense. Such techniques are particularly well-suited to organic gardens where chemical fertilizers and pesticides aren't used to artificially boost crop productivity.

The most common way to combine garden crops is via an age-old technique called interplanting, which in essence means planting various garden edibles with different growth and spacing attributes together in the same soil beds or rows. One example involves combining fast-maturing vegetables, such as lettuce, field greens or beets, with slower-maturing ones like winter squash or pole beans. more »

California Native Plant Society, at www.cnps.org., has many features that extol the beauty and drought-tolerant nature of plants that are native to the state. The Santa Clara Valley Chapter serves the central and southern San Francisco Peninsula and South Bay area. There also are chapters devoted to the East Bay and Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties, among other Bay Area chapters. H2OUSE.org., where you can take a whole-house tour to investigate water-saving opportunities in each area of your home. The site, maintained by the California Urban Water Conservation Council, also has a garden guide powered by Gardensoft that lets you search for water-wise plants by color, height, use in the garden and by their needs, including sunlight and soil requirements. more »