The IDEA Publishing
  • HOME
  • Popular IDEAS
    • IDEAS for Your Better Business Life >
      • The Business Idea
      • The Career IDEA
      • The Money Idea
    • IDEAS for Your Better Diversions >
      • The Tech IDEA
      • The Travel IDEA
      • The Auto IDEA
      • The Outdoors IDEA
    • IDEAS for a Better Table >
      • The Food IDEA
      • IDEAS de Cocina Espanola
    • IDEAS for a Better You >
      • The Health IDEA
      • Living Well IDEAS
      • The Fitness IDEA
      • The Beauty IDEA
    • IDEAS for a Happier Home >
      • The Home Idea
      • The Entertaining Idea
      • The Parenting Idea
      • The Senior Living IDEA
      • The Pet IDEA
  • The Video Domain
    • Video IDEAS for Your Better Business Life
  • About
  • Contact
  • ads.txt
the_outdoors_idea
The Outdoors IDEA

The Outdoors IDEA

Around the House, Around the Park, Around Adventure, and Around the Great Outdoors!
   

7 Tips for Summer Gardening Success

5/27/2017

Comments

 

When temperatures peak and the summer sun shines for long hours throughout the day, it can put a burden on your garden and the plants growing in it. Of course, having the right tools and a personal commitment to gardening are a couple of the first and most important rules, but these tips can serve as simple, helpful ways to keep your garden growing strong. 


7 Tips for Summer Gardening Success

(Family Features) When temperatures peak and the summer sun shines for long hours throughout the day, it can put a burden on your garden and the plants growing in it. Some steps may be easier to take than others, but there are ways to keep your greenery thriving even in relentlessly scorching heat.

Of course, having the right tools and a personal commitment to gardening are a couple of the first and most important rules, but these tips can serve as simple, helpful ways to keep your garden growing strong.

Check equipment.
Before getting carried away with digging, tilling or watering, be sure that all of the tools for these jobs and others are ready for use. Inspect hoses and spigots for leaks and holes, ensure that hand tools are sturdy and monitor your inventory of important items like soil to make sure you have enough for the tasks ahead.

Know what to grow.
Instead of gardening on a hunch and wasting water or other precious resources on plants that simply don’t grow well or bloom in the sum­mer, research which flowers, plants and bushes will succeed. Local experts who sell seeds and bulbs can likely help guide you while you shop for your next plant.

Water early.
By watering in the morning, you can achieve multiple objectives. First, you won’t be stuck sweating it out when the sun is directly overhead during the day while trying to hydrate your plants. Second, soaking the soil early can help plants stay hydrated throughout the hottest parts of the day, rather than allowing them to dry out in the heat and attempting to rehydrate them later.

Mix nutrients with water.
Adding fertilizer to water can help balance out deficiencies in certain minerals, depending on the quality of your soil, especially if you aren’t able to water frequently.

Keep potted plants cool.
When sitting in the sun, certain types of pots may absorb heat, some­times causing the plants within to dry out and become overheated. Lightly mulching the pots can help, as can placing the pot in a saucer full of moist sand.

Add shade.
Another way to keep potted plants, and all other plants for that matter, cool is to set up a canopy or shade cloth. Especially if your garden is subject to nearly all-day sunlight, it’s helpful to give it some shade at the hottest parts of the day with a canopy directly above.

Protect against pests.
While it can be difficult, keeping pests and insects out of your garden can help keep both you and your plants healthy. Repel­lants are an obvious option, but some may negatively affect the growth of plants. Instead, practice habits like maintaining healthy soil and getting rid of standing water (which can attract mosquitoes) to actively deter insects.

By staying committed and following these tips among others, you can keep your garden lush and growing even during the summer’s hottest days. Find more tips for a successful garden year-round at eLivingToday.com.

The Annual Monarch Butterfly Journey

Every year, monarch butterflies embark on a 3,000-mile migration across North America. This feat of endurance lasts eight months, spans three countries and captivates people worldwide.
These graceful pollinators rely on milkweed for feeding and reproduction, but over the last decade, a reduction of milkweed habitats has occurred along the butterflies’ flight path. The decline of any species can be a threat to natural diversity.

When the weather starts to warm each year, monarchs make their way north from Mexico to begin breeding. Upon arriving in Texas, the butterflies begin to lay eggs on milkweed. Milkweed is the sole food source for monarch larvae, more commonly known as caterpillars. As milkweed plantings have diminished, so has the monarch population.

Environmentalists and butterfly lovers have taken notice of the monarchs’ dwindling numbers. BASF, a company that serves farmers and agricultural customers, launched Living Acres in 2015. Living Acres is a research initiative designed to help farmers establish milkweed beds in non-cropland areas.

Farmers and landowners can play an important role in helping increase monarch populations simply by starting a milkweed garden. With employee-tended monarch gardens, BASF is also sustaining butterflies at its manufacturing sites.

As summer approaches, caterpillars begin their metamor­phoses, hatching and transforming into vivid orange and black butterflies.

Once mature, the monarchs continue their journey north­ward, passing over cool valleys and prairieland. Monarchs look for resting places in open plains, often settling in beds of milkweed alongside cornfields, gardens, playgrounds and rural roadsides.

Some of the most popular flight paths include the Corn Belt and Interstate 35, a corridor that runs from Texas to Minnesota. Legislators implemented a federal plan to create habitable space along highways for monarchs by planting milkweed in ditches. This initiative offers food and shelter for weary butterflies and provides nursery sites for monarch eggs.

Monarchs then begin winging their way south to the oyamel fir forests of Mexico. They spend their winters there, crowded together on the tree branches for warmth, which can appear to transform the trees into blazing orange clouds. When warm weather returns the following year, monarchs resume their migration northward and continue the cycle of breeding the next monarch generation.
Establishing your own milkweed habitat is a great way to get involved and make an impact on the continued reign of the monarch butterfly. For planting tips, visit Living Acres at Facebook.com/BASFLivingAcres.

Photos courtesy of Getty Images

SOURCE:
eLivingToday.com

   
Comments



    Archives

    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016


    Interested in Publishing on The Outdoor Idea?
    Send your query to the Publisher today!

    Categories

    All
    Activities
    Activity
    Adventures
    Advice
    Air
    Animals
    Annuals
    Ants
    Apartments
    Art
    Backyard
    Backyard Barbecues
    Balcony
    Barbecue
    Bath
    Bathroom
    BBQ
    Beach
    Beauty
    Beds
    Beets
    Biking
    BPT
    Brandpoint Content
    Breeze
    Brick
    Brush
    Bugs
    Butterflies
    Camping
    Campsite
    Care
    Casual
    Chicken
    Chicken Coops
    Chickens
    Chiggers
    Children
    Chlorine
    City
    Clean
    Cleaning
    Cleanup
    Cold
    Color
    Computers
    Concrete
    Contractors
    Cooking
    Cooling
    Coops
    Cost
    Curb Appeal
    Damage
    Deck
    Decking
    Decks
    Decor
    Decorating
    Deer
    Design
    Dining
    Disease
    Diseases
    DIY
    Do It Yourself
    Edging
    Eggs
    Electricity
    Electronics
    Emergency
    Engine
    Entertaining
    Evaporation
    Expert
    Exploring
    Fall
    Family
    Family Features
    Fans
    Feed
    Fertilizer
    Fish
    Fleas
    Flower
    Flowerbeds
    Flowers
    Food
    Football
    Freeze
    Freezing
    Friends
    Frost
    Fruits
    Fungus
    Furnishings
    Furniture
    Games
    Garden
    Gardening
    Garden Tools
    Gas
    Gathering
    Generators
    Getaway
    Grass
    Grill
    Grilling
    Grime
    Groundskeeping
    Growing
    Hacks
    Hardware
    Health
    Heat
    Herbicide
    Herbs
    Hiking
    Home
    Home Decor
    Home Entertainment
    Home Garden
    Home Improvement
    Home Maintenance
    Homeowners
    Hose
    Hot
    House
    Humidity
    Ice
    Illness
    Infection
    Insecticides
    Insects
    Insulation
    Kale
    Kids
    Kitchen
    Landscaping
    Law
    Lawn
    Lawn Care
    Lawn Equipment
    Lawnmower
    Leaf
    Leaves
    Level
    Lifehacks
    Lighting
    Lists
    Living
    Lyme
    Maintenance
    Makeover
    Marinade
    Materials
    Meat
    Mildew
    Moisture
    Mold
    Mosquitoes
    Mow
    Mowing
    Mulch
    Mulching
    Natural
    Natural Solutions
    Nature
    Neighbors
    Ordinances
    Outdoor
    Outdoor Cooking
    Outdoor Furniture
    Outdoor Kitchen
    Outdoor Living
    Outdoor Movies
    Outdoors
    Paint
    Painting
    Park
    Parks
    Party
    Patio
    Perennials
    Pest Control
    Pesticides
    Pests
    Pets
    Picnic
    Planting
    Plants
    Plumbing
    Pool
    Porch
    Portable
    Posts
    Pots
    Potted Plants
    Power
    Preparation
    Preservative
    Pressure
    Pressure Wash
    Prevention
    Project
    Propane
    Property Values
    Prune
    Pruning
    Radishes
    Rain
    Real Estate
    Recipe
    Remodel
    Remodeling
    Repairs
    Resale
    Resale Values
    Research
    Restrictions
    Riding Lawnmower
    Rodents
    Roof
    Roosters
    Roots
    Root System
    Roses
    Rural
    Safety
    Salt
    Saltwater
    Savings
    Scenery
    Scenic
    Science
    Season
    Seasonal
    Seed
    Seeding
    Seeds
    Services
    Shade
    Shower
    Shrubs
    Sickness
    Sidewalks
    Siding
    Smartphones
    Smell
    Snow
    Spaces
    Spiders
    Sports
    Spring
    Stadium
    Stain
    Steaks
    Stove
    Stress
    Style
    Summer
    Sunshine
    Swimming
    Tables
    Tailgating
    Tech
    Teens
    Temperatures
    Terrace
    Ticks
    Tips
    Tools
    Tractor
    Trails
    Travel
    Tree
    Trees
    Trimming
    Turf
    Upgrade
    Upkeep
    Urban
    Urban Gardening
    Vacation
    Vegetables
    Walking
    Warm
    Wash
    Water
    Weather
    Weed
    Weed Control
    Weeding
    Weed Killer
    Weeds
    Weekend
    Wellness
    Wetbar
    Windows
    Winter
    Wood
    Yard
    Zoning






    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • HOME
  • Popular IDEAS
    • IDEAS for Your Better Business Life >
      • The Business Idea
      • The Career IDEA
      • The Money Idea
    • IDEAS for Your Better Diversions >
      • The Tech IDEA
      • The Travel IDEA
      • The Auto IDEA
      • The Outdoors IDEA
    • IDEAS for a Better Table >
      • The Food IDEA
      • IDEAS de Cocina Espanola
    • IDEAS for a Better You >
      • The Health IDEA
      • Living Well IDEAS
      • The Fitness IDEA
      • The Beauty IDEA
    • IDEAS for a Happier Home >
      • The Home Idea
      • The Entertaining Idea
      • The Parenting Idea
      • The Senior Living IDEA
      • The Pet IDEA
  • The Video Domain
    • Video IDEAS for Your Better Business Life
  • About
  • Contact
  • ads.txt