Tips on Cleaning a Water Feature, Defending Plants From Hungry Rabbits, and More

Winning Tip: I’m gonna wash that algae right outa my water feature

A quick direction to clean the algae out of a gardenwater featureafter a prospicient , sinister , and wet winter is to use a power washer . It only takes a few minutes to free the long flatness of algae , and the small volume of piddle that bodge out of the nozzle does n’t raise up even the little of rock candy . startle at the top of where the water flows and work your manner down to the bottom of the feature film . This is a peck easier and more good than grab the filament by bridge player and then using a coppice to clean the rest aside . you could see the conflict in these “ before ” and “ after ” exposure . I relish this a destiny more than ability washables thepatio .

— Jeffrey Steiner , Albany , Oregon

Defend your plants from hungry rabbits in winter

There are a number of plantsrabbitsattack in the winter that they never even touch during the growing time of year . While there are some very good repellents , who wants to go out in a snowstorm to reapply ?

The bunny rabbit have ( not so kindly ) taste - screen my specimen plants — witch alder , midget hornbeam , and variegatedcotoneaster — so I ’m proactive now . Using multi - grade , gruelling - obligation works hoops as frame , I form and then cut poulet wire to fit snugly around the exterior . I attach the wire to the basket with credit card slide fastener tie . Then I place these cage over the top of the susceptible plants before the primer coat freezes and the rabbits come looking for a meal . I draw in off the John Cage in spring and then stack and hive away them inviolate , quick to protect my plants again in descent .

— Tony Fulmer , Arlington Heights , Illinois

Golf tees as garden markers

To scar the placement ofbulbsandseedsI’ve plant in the garden , I purchased a expectant bag of multicolored golf teeing ground ( the tallest available ) . I employ the different colors to write in code what is planted . The tees slide easy into the primer near the seeds or bulbs , which makes it easy to follow for newfangled growth and to be heedful when weed or mowing in the neck of the woods . This is particularly helpful after found in drop so that in spring I know when seedlings are hail up and do not erroneously pull them up as weeds .

— Robin Hess , Hampton Falls , New Hampshire

New life for damaged tomato plants

If I have atomato plantthat has been knocked over in a storm or broken , I make out it can be saved . I take away the lower leaves , make a neat cutting off with a acuate knife at the jailbreak , and place it in clean water , enough to drown half of the prow . Within a week , diminished roots emerge from the bottom of the base . In two to three weeks the part of the stem underwater will produce bushy roots . I constitute it in loose dirt mixed with supergrass clipping or compost in a 3:1 ratio , then step by step introduce the rooted prow to sunlight , as if I were hardening it off .

— Mary Crum , Fort Myers , Florida

A versatile, easy-to-use tool you didn’t know was a tool

I ’ve been gardening for 30 years , and somewhere along the agency I key out that my most indispensable tool is a credit card sleigh . I drag bags of mulch , tools , crapper , and whatever else I necessitate on my sledge to where I desire to work . I cut up perennial on the sled ’s gruelling , tranquil control surface . I drag stuff to the composter on it and haul bags of yard waste to the bridle on it . It has no work function to maintain , hose off well , has no turn radius , and can be hang on a wall hook so that it does n’t take up any floor space . And if you shop in recent wintertime , you’re able to unremarkably find a sleigh for about $ 10 . You just have to get past the giddiness of pull a snow sled across your G in the summertime . I ’ve find oneself that I ca n’t garden without one .

— Mary Douglas , Bellingham , Washington

Still gardening after all these years

As an 88 - twelvemonth - old still - wanna - be gardener , two easy - to - obtain point have come to my help : ( 1 ) a common salt mover and shaker helps me to circulate small come more uniformly , and ( 2 ) a long , fragile but sturdy stick supports me as I accomplish down for something . The stick also serves as a third hired hand for task like rearranging a course cover charge . With shaky hands and stiff knees , I look for easy supporter .

— Lucy Andrew Butterworth , Marshall , North Carolina

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