aquaponic organic

Garden for Birds

Now is the time to plant gourd seeds to use as alternate nesting places for your garden bird visitors. The gourds will be grown, cured and ready as birdhouses for the breeding season beginning next spring. They are fun to grow and will, almost inevitably attract the interest of the entire family and the gourds can be arranged to accommodate several bird species, just by varying the size of entrance hole.

What seeds to buy

You want bottle or birdhouse gourds (Latin: Lagenaria siceraria). These are the hard-skinned, white flowered variety. They are readily available and suppliers can easily be found by searching the Web for "birdhouse gourds" or offered in seed catalogues. Buy a pack of tomato food/fertilizer at the same time.

Growing the gourds as vines

These plants are really easy to grow. Germinate indoors in pots, cut-off bottoms of plastic soda-pop bottles that are about 15cm (6") deep or whatever is handy. Use regular potting compost to give them a good start and plant outside when 12cm (5") or so tall, much like tomatoes. Pay attention to the instructions on the seed packet. Plant out in well drained soil (add a little gravel if it seems necessary) and preferably against a fence in a sunny, south facing location. Although they can be grown along the ground they send out extensive shoots and it is more difficult to avoid the gourds rotting or growing with miss-shaped flattened bottoms - hence a fence is suggested to grow the vines upward and lift the fruit off the ground. If not a fence or wall be prepared to support them with stakes.

They will require lots of watering and regular feeding with the tomato food. They will need more than a tomato plant but do this by (slightly) increasing the feeding frequency rather than the strength of feed. These plants generate lots of foliage and large fruits. Once the vines are established vertically you can mulch the ground with black plastic sheeting (trash can or bin liners) to discourage weeds and reduce water evaporation. Water and feed through the one necessary hole they grow out of. That is all - tie them up and perhaps support the developing gourds if required. If the foliage over extends cut it back some but maintain leaves above the fruits on the same stem to suck up nutrients.

Harvesting

Your birdhouse gourds are ready for picking when their stems have turned brown and have dried out. Definitely take the gourds before the first autumnal frost by cutting them from the vine leaving as long a stem as you can remaining on the gourd. Do not keep damaged or bruised gourds because they will not keep and will most likely spoil during curing. Be gentle when picking, they are easily damaged at this stage.

Clean them up

Wash the birdhouse gourds in warm water and some dish washing liquid, just like doing the dishes. Allow them to thoroughly dry, outdoors on a sunny day is ideal. It is important that they are completely dried after their wash.

Curing your gourds

Now move the gourds to a dry shaded room such as a garden shed or other outhouse which is frost free throughout the process and string them up by the stems which you left on the gourds. They should not be touching each other. In a week or two the skin or shell of the gourds will have dried out.

Examine the curing gourds every few days. You are looking for those that decay, which should be discarded, and for the formation of mold on the shells. As long as the gourd shell remains hard the mold can be cleaned off with a rag and a little bleach. Do not keep a gourd that is softening, it will not recover. The curing process is lengthy, some months. When they are ready they will be noticeably light, have a tough, unyielding, hard skin and when shaken the seeds will be heard loose inside the shell.

From gourd to birdhouse

It is suggested that some fine abrasive or steel wool be used just to clean the shell up after the curing process. The gourds are now cured and without any further work will last a couple of seasons outside as a birds nesting container. Drill the correct sized hole in the side of the gourd to allow the desired species of bird entry to its nest or drill a small hole and enlarge. Drill a hole straight through both sides of the narrower top to allow the birdhouse to be slung from a tree branch or whatever is planned. Drill four or five small holes in the bottom at and near the lowest points to allow drainage. Further, the entire shell can be coated with polyurethane as waterproofing which will considerably extend the effective life of the birdhouse. Prior to the polyurethane, if desired, the shell can be painted and decorated in any way you wish, the birds will not mind, though au naturel seems most appropriate. No need to attach a perch outside the entrance hole, the birds do not need it and it increases their vulnerability to predators.

Empty the seeds and dry vegetable matter out of the gourd and keep the seeds for another crop of birdhouses next year, store them in a cool, dry place. It is an idea to replace some of the fibrous vegetable matter removed if it looks useful as nest material for your tenants.

Hole sizes by species for the entrance

For the Blue Tit and Coal Tit an entry hole of 25mm (1") which will exclude the bigger Great Tit. Great Tit, Tree Sparrow and Pied Flycatcher 28mm (1.1"). House Sparrow and Nuthatch, 32mm (1.25"). For all the above birds the birdhouse gourd should be 13 - 15cm (5" - 6") diameter. For more information about species and sizes search "UK nest box plans" or "US nest box plans" online.

Positioning the birdhouse

Birds have much the same criteria as humans when setting up home - food, water and security. Place the birdhouse 2m (6.5') or more high and under the cover of branches. This helps protect against cats, squirrels, some crows and predatory birds (although the Sparrowhawk is a low-level, fast attack raptor it does make a successful kill harder, they average one kill in ten attacks). Face the entry out of the prevailing weather and direct sunlight (generally facing north east). Place fresh food and water nearby on a regular basis and position with similar caution. Experience the pleasure of observing your efforts accepted, appreciated and successfully inhabited!

There is a growing recognition, that the expanding suburban landscape is having a negative environmental impact. Suburban development often includes vast energy dependent monocultures (perfect, grass lawns). They consume a significant amount of natural resources, (water to keep them green and gasoline to keep them trimmed), and they reduce the amount of habitat available for native wildlife. Over use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides can leach into water supplies and be harmful to children and pets. Trends toward ecological landscaping and organic lawn care are lessening the detrimental effects of these designs. Many landscape designers are recommending native plant species, and even golf course managers are moving toward organic methods.

In practical terms our goal should be to move away from designs that depend on an extensive use of energy, without asking people to give up their lawns entirely. There are a number of options:

* Buffer zones and open space requirements in subdivisions allow for wildlife corridors and bird habitats.

* Leaving a portion of each lot in a natural state will invite birds and beneficial insects into the yard, while reducing the amount of grass to water and mow.

* The use of native plants in the design will greatly reduce the amount of care needed for the plants to thrive.

We should stop worrying about whether our lawns looks like the eighteenth fairway of the local country club. Many of the "weeds" that appear in our lawns are considered to be medicinal, by herbalists, and others attract beneficial insects.

We should stop over watering our lawns. Don't worry about your grass dying. Grass will turn green when it rains. Trust me.

If you must have an all grass lawn, there are organic methods that claim to do as well as chemicals will. It's probably a good idea to test any remedy before applying it to your entire yard. Spot treating problem areas will often be all that is needed.

Ecological Landscaping Considerations

The first and most important thing to consider in an ecological landscape design is an environmental assessment of the site. Is it more like a sunny meadow or shady woodland? Is it wet and marshy or dry and well drained?

Secondly, find out which native plants thrive in your particular environment. This can be easily done by taking a closer look at what is growing in undeveloped areas around you. Look at areas that most closely resemble your site. Species that are flourishing in the wild in similar ecosystems nearby are more likely to do well, with little or no care, than species growing in different ecosystems, not to mention different regions of the country or world.

Some purists would argue that only native species be considered, but I personally feel that non-invasive species from other parts of the world are acceptable if used in the proper environmental setting. Whenever possible choose species that are propagated locally and select varieties that are disease, pest and drought resistant. This will preclude the need for intensive care and excessive watering.

Many native plants are often found growing as part of a larger community of plants. For reasons we don't thoroughly understand, plants appear to form symbiotic relationships with each other. This may be for shade, nutrient contribution or protection from pests to name a few. When studying the local landscape, pay attention to plant relationships. In the wild, vegetation occurs in layers from groundcovers to taller plants and shrubs and often to a tree canopy above. These layers provide a diverse habitat for a variety of wildlife. Recreating these conditions in even a small part of your site will help to enhance the overall health of the environment around you.

In many instances homeowners will wish to deter certain wildlife species, while attracting others. While it may be possible to discern which plants attract different species in the wild, it may not be as easy to determine which plants will deter them. Local landscapers and plant nurseries will often be able to advise you about this.

Wherever you live and whatever your landscape consists of, a little thought about working with the natural environment and a commitment to organic lawn care practices, will save on maintenance cost and benefit the larger community landscape.

There is a growing recognition, that the expanding suburban landscape is having a negative environmental impact. Suburban development often includes vast energy dependent monocultures (perfect, grass lawns). They consume a significant amount of natural resources, (water to keep them green and gasoline to keep them trimmed), and they reduce the amount of habitat available for native wildlife. Over use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides can leach into water supplies and be harmful to children and pets. Trends toward ecological landscaping and organic lawn care are lessening the detrimental effects of these designs. Many landscape designers are recommending native plant species, and even golf course managers are moving toward organic methods.

In practical terms our goal should be to move away from designs that depend on an extensive use of energy, without asking people to give up their lawns entirely. There are a number of options:

* Buffer zones and open space requirements in subdivisions allow for wildlife corridors and bird habitats.

* Leaving a portion of each lot in a natural state will invite birds and beneficial insects into the yard, while reducing the amount of grass to water and mow.

* The use of native plants in the design will greatly reduce the amount of care needed for the plants to thrive.

We should stop worrying about whether our lawns looks like the eighteenth fairway of the local country club. Many of the "weeds" that appear in our lawns are considered to be medicinal, by herbalists, and others attract beneficial insects.

We should stop over watering our lawns. Don't worry about your grass dying. Grass will turn green when it rains. Trust me.

If you must have an all grass lawn, there are organic methods that claim to do as well as chemicals will. It's probably a good idea to test any remedy before applying it to your entire yard. Spot treating problem areas will often be all that is needed.

Ecological Landscaping Considerations

The first and most important thing to consider in an ecological landscape design is an environmental assessment of the site. Is it more like a sunny meadow or shady woodland? Is it wet and marshy or dry and well drained?

Secondly, find out which native plants thrive in your particular environment. This can be easily done by taking a closer look at what is growing in undeveloped areas around you. Look at areas that most closely resemble your site. Species that are flourishing in the wild in similar ecosystems nearby are more likely to do well, with little or no care, than species growing in different ecosystems, not to mention different regions of the country or world.

Some purists would argue that only native species be considered, but I personally feel that non-invasive species from other parts of the world are acceptable if used in the proper environmental setting. Whenever possible choose species that are propagated locally and select varieties that are disease, pest and drought resistant. This will preclude the need for intensive care and excessive watering.

Many native plants are often found growing as part of a larger community of plants. For reasons we don't thoroughly understand, plants appear to form symbiotic relationships with each other. This may be for shade, nutrient contribution or protection from pests to name a few. When studying the local landscape, pay attention to plant relationships. In the wild, vegetation occurs in layers from groundcovers to taller plants and shrubs and often to a tree canopy above. These layers provide a diverse habitat for a variety of wildlife. Recreating these conditions in even a small part of your site will help to enhance the overall health of the environment around you.

In many instances homeowners will wish to deter certain wildlife species, while attracting others. While it may be possible to discern which plants attract different species in the wild, it may not be as easy to determine which plants will deter them. Local landscapers and plant nurseries will often be able to advise you about this.

Wherever you live and whatever your landscape consists of, a little thought about working with the natural environment and a commitment to organic lawn care practices, will save on maintenance cost and benefit the larger community landscape.

Many Americans, along with the rest of the world, were shocked by the power of Hurricane Sandy. What was even more shocking was the trail of devastation it left behind. Belongings were lost, homes were destroyed and lives were changed.

Although they were aware of the storm that was to come, people were not prepared enough to face its wrath. Now that everyone is aware of what tragedy a hurricane can bring, the best people can do is learn from the mistakes of Sandy and make sure their homes can weather any kind of storm.

Here are some ways to make your home hurricane proof:

• Roofs are particularly prone to uplifts when strong winds start blowing. So before hurricane season come around, make sure your roof is properly secured. In most places this is code-mandated in order to avoid any part of your roof structure to fly around and hurt anyone. There are many types of roof anchors available depending on your location and construction method.

• Flying debris and other objects that hurricane-force winds may pick up and hurl at your home may penetrate your doors and windows. If your home has a lot of glass windows or sliding doors, you are particularly vulnerable. It is very important to install protective shutters or even impact-resistant glass. If you don't want unsightly shutters to destroy the aesthetic of your home, you can have a permanent track placed on which you can easily install shutters when a storm is brewing.

• Having a well maintained landscape free of dead branches, unstored garden tools, and other items not only looks tidy, it's good preparation for any storm. Having things lying around your lawn only adds to the number of objects that can get blown around. Also, don't forget to keep all your garden furniture, barbecue grills and potted plants stored when weather reports say strong winds are on the way.

• The rest of the home may be storm proof but a lot of times people forget how vulnerable garage doors may be. Garage doors can easily give way and allow strong winds or hurled objects to do damage on your home. Make sure your garage door is made of sturdy material or has extra protection just like the rest of the doors and windows in your house.

• A well protected home is useless unless you have the basic necessities to sustain yourselves. Keep basic supplies good for at least 3 days always stored up in your home. Make sure to have potable water and food that doesn't require refrigeration like canned or preserved goods. Also have candles, batteries, a first aid kit and a radio.

These days, due to the detrimental effects of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, there has been a strong trend towards organic vegetable gardening. Actually organic gardening is merely the old-fashioned way of gardening and going back to basics. The main difference between organic and conventional vegetable gardening is how fertilization and pest control is done. In organic vegetable gardening, fertilization and pest control are done without synthetic fertilizers or manufactured pesticides. In this article, I wish to focus on how to fertilize your vegetables in organic vegetable gardening.

Before adding any form of fertilizer, remove all weeds, rocks, stones, debris and any other unwanted materials in your soil. Generally, organic vegetable gardening involves applying organic matter to the soil in place of manufactured substances. When it comes to fertilizing the soil, the organic matter pertaining to this is green manure, compost and animal manure. Be sure to add this organic matter to your soil at least four weeks before planting your seeds to give enough time for the nutrients to be absorbed into the soil.

Green manure is primarily a type of cover crop grown to add nutrients and organic matter to the soil. These crops are grown primarily in the non-planting seasons of winter and fall and only for a certain period (until flowering or while green) before being plowed under and incorporated into the soil. They also serve to prevent the soil from eroding and compacting over the winter season. Green manure crops include mustard, clover, hairy vetch, buckwheat, alfalfa, lupine, rye etc.

Compost is another category of fertilizer for organic vegetable farming. Compost can either be bought from garden centers or be made yourself. To make compost, use garden or kitchen waste such as leaf and grass cuttings, stems, twigs, wood chips, plant parts etc. But do not include meat, bones, fish, animal waste, dairy products, weeds that have gone to seed, diseased plants or pesticide-laced plants.

Mix them in a compost bin or heap them up at a certain secluded section of your yard. Be sure not to get your compost wet through the rain or exposed to direct sunlight. Add some soil, a bit of water and ground limestone. Turn the mixture over once a week to aerate it. Leave this compost mixture to decompose over a few months. In about 4 to 6 months, your compost would have been decomposed into humus, which is natural fertilizer for your soil. Spread the humus out evenly over your soil before planting.

Among the most common animal manures are farmyard manure (farm animal feces) and farmyard slurry (liquid manure, usually farm animal urine). Animal manures are normally mixed with straw which has been used for animal bedding and has absorbed the feces and urine. Generally, animal manure can be used for at least 30 days. Animal manure may also include other animal products such as recycled wool, hair, feathers and blood. When applying, scatter each side of the rows of vegetables with the manure. However, manure isn't a complete well-balanced fertilizer so it is advisable to add a rock phosphate and potash.

Using these natural fertilizers, organic vegetable gardening can produce vegetables that are not only delicious but nutritious and safe for consumption.

That's right. We're not all good at spelling. And we're not all good at typing.

That being said when we search the web using our favorite search engine, we tend to make typo errors and spelling errors. When we do this, Google will usually make a suggestion to you, but it will still give you search results and Google ads will still appear on the right side.

How does Google know to display those ads even though you misspelled the search expression? That's because believe it or not, advertisers are actually bidding on those misspelled words.

By doing this you end up finding buyers that you wouldn't have before. You also get great positioning for less as less people bid on those misspelled words!

Affiliate marketers new to the PPC marketing game, usually just use a huge list of keywords using broad, exact and phrase matches, which of course are a must. However, they don't include the possible misspellings.

For example, let say the niche you're promoting is Organic Gardening. You may have some keyword phrases such as:

organic vegetable gardening

In Google AdWords you would enter:

"organic vegetable gardening"

[organic vegetable gardening]

organic vegetable gardening

That would cover the broad, exact and phrase matching. But how about:

oganic vegetable gardening (note missing letter)

organicvegetable gardening (note missing space)

organic vegetable gardenning (note double letter)

And even more, you still haven't looked at swapped letters such as:

ogranic vegetable gardening

So, just for this phrase to cover more bases and get low cost hits you would have to do this:

"organic vegetable gardening"

[organic vegetable gardening]

organic vegetable gardening

[oganic vegetable gardening]

"oganic vegetable gardening"

oganic vegetable gardening

[organicvegetable gardening]

"organicvegetable gardening"

organicvegetable gardening

[organic vegetable gardenning]

"organic vegetable gardenning"

organic vegetable gardenning

Plus the swapped letters. You get the idea.

Do this for every keyword phrase to increase your profits!

By now you may be thinking, "Frank, I can't possibly do this for every keyword! I literally have hundreds of keyword phrases I use for advertising". That's a good point.

On the other hand, why give up sales? I mean sales that cost you less and make you more profit. What if you increase your sales for every campaign you're running?

Would the extra time to do this be worth it? What if you get an extra lead commissions of $1000 per week?

You may think this is an exaggeration, but think about it, if you're paying 10 cents for a click instead of 1.00$ for the same targeted traffic, that's a 90% decrease in cost!

The process of doing this is time intensive, but there are tools available that help make this as easy as pie. The process is sometimes referred to as Keyword Transformation.

Frank Mamone

Houston is one of the fourth largest cities of United States and is of the greatest metropolis of the south that is situated a few miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico at the border with Louisiana. Houston delivers diverse culture and people here with fun and enjoyment for the people of all age groups. The place has huge spaces that allow people to have bigger houses with private swimming pools and own gym in the backyard. Some of the best and famous Houston Texas tourist attractions are stated below:

Bayou Place - Bayou place is located in the heart of Houston's downtown theater district, the theater district is one of the famous locations for tourists to visit. The place is spread over 130,000 square foot entertainment mega complex that houses varied bars, restaurants, lounges, theatres and several other entertaining zones. You can start you fabulous evening at the legendary Hard Rock Café or have a taste of Italian food at Italian Trattoria. The Angelika Film center is the place where you can enjoy latest box office hits.

Galleria mall - The Galleria Mall is one of the largest malls of Texas, people come here to do upscale shopping. It is located just outside 610 loop in Houston's uptown district. It has several retail centers housing some of the famous world wide brands. Several famous outlets here include Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Neiman marcus and Macy's, it is the place where any avid shopper would love to shop around with.

The Johnson Space center - the name of the place is Lyndon B Johnson Space center, it is home to the NASA astronaut corps. The place is located in the southeast Houston. The center is housed across 1, 620 acres of land consisting of 100 facilities. Its pleasurable experience for tourists to enjoy zero gravity environment at several of its exhibits.

The Houston Zoo - The Houston Zoo is spread over 4,500 animals and 900 species of animals, it is one of the 7th most visited zoos of the nation. You can almost spend an entire day here enjoying with family and friends, take a walk across the landscaped garden areas or stroll along the scenic beauty of the while environment. You can get live experience of feeding lion cub that is the best attraction of the place.

The Museum District - The Museum District has several Houston Texas tourist attractions that are visited by millions of people every year, the place has a collection of art galleries, museums, cultural centers that are located within a radius of 1.5 mile of Herman park. The museum of fine arts has allthe collection of Bayou bend and gardens having over 56,000 pieces. Few blocks of walking and you will see John P McGovern health museums that is home to Houston's first and the only one 4D theater. Some other attractions of the place are the Lawndale art center, Houston center for photography and Holocaust Museum.

Kemah Boardwalk - the kemah Boardwalk is one of the Houston's largest entertainment and amusement parks, it has several hotels and restaurants to enjoy and spend time with your loved ones. The place is just ideal for family entertainment. Several dining options here the Cadillac Bar, Saltgrass Steakhouse and Landry's Seafood house. The attractions here include the train ride, Ferris wheel and Carousel.

Other famous Houston Texas tourist attractions include Splashtown, the Neighborhood of Montrose, downtown aquarium, old town spring and various other place. The most famous Texas tourist location regions are south padre island, Odessa, Lubbock, Amarillo, Irving, Laredo, Galveston, Dallas, Corpus Christi, Austin, Waco, San Antonio, etc.