Friday, March 30, 2007

Learn How To Landscape - Take Courses Online

If you own your own house, you want your home to be like a jewel in a beautiful setting - that beautiful setting being your front and back lawns. The front lawn will be visible by everyone driving past and you'll want it to look nice for the casual viewer as well as for yourself, whereas your back yard is yours and yours alone and you can do anything with it.

Many people enjoy puttering in their gardens, and they know the names of all the plants and flowers, not to mention the birds and the bees, that they may encounter. Others don't care that much about their gardens - they just want what looks nice. It is for these people that professional landscapers and lawn care businesses exist.

There's nothing to be ashamed of if you can't tell a robin from a sparrow, a forsythia from a chrysanthemum, a poplar from a beech tree. But when it comes to maintaining a healthy lawn, let alone a pretty one, these are things that whoever works on your lawn has to know about.

The professional landscaper. Exactly how does one become a professional landscaper?

Your local botanical garden will offer courses in landscaping, but these are just designed for the average homeowner.

You can take classes on landscaping online. PennFoster is one of the largest online schools...PCDI is another such school.

PennFoster
"Penn Foster offers classes in plant health, soil, and fertilizers. They give instruction on servicing garden tractors and other tools used in landscaping. They teach you how to create landscaping designs using shrubs and ground covers. They also cover specialty landscaping, and starting and operating your own landscaping business."

But go into these online courses carefully. Will taking these courses enable you to pass the Landscape Architect Registration Examination (L.A.R.E.), which is sponsored by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards. (And if you're looking to hire a landscaper, make sure they have such a license!)

As of 2004, 59 colleges and universities offered 77 undergraduate and graduate programs in landscape architecture. The courses are quite comprehensive, covering such subjects as surveying, landscape design and construction, site design, ecology, and urban and regional planning. The history of landscape architecture is not neglected, and then of course there's such thing as plant and soil science and geology. Not to mention learning how to actually run a landscaping business.

Your home is your most important investment, and your lawn is the first thing anyone will notice about your home. So make sure that if you hire a professional landscaper, they know how to do the job.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Organic Lawn Care – Environmental Alternatives

Lawns, like gardens, require regular upkeep to maintain health and vigour. High nitrogen based synthetic fertilizers are commonly used to maintain strong growth and eliminate flatweed growth. Organic alternatives to these synthetic fertilizers include aged chicken manure and some commercially produced products such as Dynamic Lifter (Pelletised chicken manure).

  • Organic Fertilizers should be added in Early Autumn

  • When adding high nitrogen based organic fertilizers it is recommended to wait until after a heavy rain, spread while ground is wet and water in heavily to avoid burning the grass.

  • Coring and dethatching is also recommended prior to adding any organic fertilizer. This will allow nutrients to enter the soil more readily and allows air to circulate.
  • Lawns require ample water supply of water during summer months. This maintains the growth & health of the lawn and also prevents soil compaction and cracking.

    Water restrictions have limited the amount of water we can apply to our lawns in many parts of the world. One option is to use a low phosphate detergent when washing your clothes and redirect this waste "grey water" over the lawn.

    Grey water can be stored in a tank or directed strait onto the lawn.

    When using organic lawn care practices:

  • Raise the height of your mowers blades.

  • Be prepared to have a few flat weeds or remove them by hand if required

  • Occasionally leave your clippings on the lawn (Don't use a catcher) I don't recommend using this method ALL the time as it can cause heavy matting and slow water filtration through the soil.
  • Sunday, March 25, 2007

    SanDisk 1GB Memory Stick PRO -SDMSV-1024-A10

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    Thursday, March 22, 2007

    SanDisk Mobile Memory Stick PRO Duo 1GB -SDMSPD-1024-A10

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    SanDisk's Memory Stick PRO Duo is half the size of a standard-size Memory Stick PRO media and it offers the same technologies including high speed data transfer, built-in MagicGate, and high capacities. The Memory Stick PRO Duo is the ideal solution for the most portable devices such as pocket-size digital cameras and with the use of Adaptor, it can be used in all PRO-compatible devices.


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    Tuesday, March 20, 2007

    Logitech MX 610 Laser Cordless Smart Mouse Power Saving -931350-0403

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    The Logitech MX 610 Laser Cordless Mouse redefines performance with ultra-precise laser tracking on more surfaces and interference-free 2.4 GHz digital cordless technology. As the world's first smart mouse, it extends battery life by syncing with your PC; it sleeps, wakes up, and shuts down when your PC does. The MX 610 also detects and eliminates wireless interference and alerts you when the batteries are low.Easy to configure, e-mail and IM buttons light up when you receive new messages from selected friends and associates. Adjust volume directly from your mouse, while speed-browsing on the Web with Forward/Back buttons. The Tilt Wheel Plus Zoom is perfect for viewing digital photos and spreadsheets. The MX 610 comes with a 5-year warranty and full product support.


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    Sunday, March 18, 2007

    Wooden Farm 9-piece Peg Puzzle

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    Thursday, March 15, 2007

    Canon PIXMA MP160 Multifunction Printer - Color Inkjet - 17 ppm Color - 4800 x 1200 dpi - Copier, Printer, Scanner -1447B002

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    Monday, March 12, 2007

    XFX GeForce 7600GT 256MB XXX 590Mhz PCI Express x16 Video Card -PVT73GUGD3

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    Friday, March 09, 2007

    12-Pack Compatible Inkjet Cartridge Combo for Epson Stylus Photo R260/R380/RX580 Printers: Two T078120, T078220, T078320, T078420, T078520, T078620

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    Wednesday, March 07, 2007

    Logitech QuickCam Orbit MP, 961422-0403

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    Sunday, March 04, 2007

    Brother P-touch PT-1950 Desktop Labeler - Prints 5 lines

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    The PT-1950 is a "USB Ready" deluxe desktop labeling system. With the PT-1950, you can print laminated labels from " to " wide, created via either the built-in keyboard or your PC. Used by itself, the PT-1950 prints in 2 fonts, 8 type styles and 15 type sizes, and up to 5 lines. When connected to a PC, its label creation possibilities are virtually endless. Additionally, the PT-1950 boasts an automatic tape cutter which accurately cuts labels to length, even unattended multiple copies. It's two-line display allows easy text entry and editing.


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    Friday, March 02, 2007

    ClipArt&More 3 Million -CAM3.0MBX01

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