Chantale Rivar Deditions

Many of us can only dream about the perfect garden that can compliment our home and create a safe haven for us to relax in. Our idea of a great garden might consist of a few flower beds around the house, potted plants spread along the patio, or a fountain surrounded by many beautiful flower and exotic plants. Whatever our vision is the one thing that does not exist in our perfect gardens are weeds and plants that can choke them out and ruin the whole scene.The poison ivy plant has a way of doing this. It can creep into our yard and our perfect gardens and cause mayhem. It is easy enough to spot when it is trying to grow next to our beautiful and colorful flowers - but it is not so easy to get rid of. In fact many people are not sure what to do when it comes to this creepy plant. So how do you dispose of it from your garden?What Not To Do:- Most will try to rip the plant out by its roots - but this will release a large amount of the urusiol - skin irritant - and thus will give you [more..]

When it comes to growing plants indoors, many people usually think of their experiences with common houseplants growing in the potting soil that the local supermarket always have sitting out front all summer long. But that's old school. These days, it's quite possible to grow almost any plant indoors, at any time of the year, with modern no-soil-required growing technology. One of the most advanced forms of indoor no-soil-required gardening is called Aeroponics.The term "aeroponic" refers to the technique of growing plants in air instead of soil. At first this concept seems almost unbelievable. How could it be possible to grow plants in nothing but air? Here's how many aeroponic plant growing systems work:Seeds are placed in some sort of water-permeable material, like a sponge. The sponge is then suspended above a reservoir containing clean water and a nutrient solution. At periodic times throughout the day, an electric pump turns on and floods the sponge material with the nutrient-rich water from reservoir. The excess water drips back into the reservoir, ready to be recirculated and maybe be absorbed by the growing plant.To simulate the sunlight plants need to photosynthesize, most aeroponic gardeners use florescent growing lights. These growing lights are [more..]

Teak is generally considered to be the "exotic" import for high quality casual furniture, and for good reason. Teak should last a lifetime; it withstands the elements, and looks like a million bucks. Teak offers the warmth and beauty that you expect when making a buying decision for something that will be around for decades.The popularity of Teak soared in the 1900's and as a result the slow growth forests and rainforests have become depleted. This only served to skyrocket the price of Teak. Smart agrarians and businessmen, who had built a market for teak products, decided to "farm" Teak in a responsible program to replant and consider this valuable wood as a crop. Commonly referred to as Plantation grown Teak, the problem of over harvesting the slow growth tree was solved. As good farmers, they developed hybrid forms of the tree to speed up the growth cycle and improve the yield.Unfortunately, as the growth cycle sped up, some of the properties so highly revered were diminished. The rich tropical oils that protected the wood from the elements and took years to grow, were reduced. As a result, Plantation Teak is not the same product as some of the other [more..]