What Is Arnica

Fortunately, I was blessed with a moment of respite last night. Don't get me wrong, it's been full of wonderful things—like nurturing my first home-grown pumpkins , attending family weddings and having rich conversations with friends over fresh herbal...

This creates countless tiny air pockets and consistent moisture levels within the huegel. According to Paul Wheaton, permaculture expert and founder of Permies.com and RichSoil.com, you should not use cedar, black locust, black cherry, black walnut or...

Here in Lexington, Ky., where the HF editorial office is located, we didn't get the worst of the vortex's chilly wrath, but my phone did clock the temperature at -3 degrees F with a wind chill of -26 degrees F Tuesday morning?definitely not what we're...

When a mother tincture is diluted, for example, six times it's called 6x potency, because X is the Roman numeral for 10. So lower potencies like 6x to 30x or 6c to 30c are usually recommended, especially for do-it-yourselfers.

Select garden spots that restrict access to unsupervised children and pets. Cats, dogs and horses are all sensitive to winterberry toxicity. Hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9, the deciduous shrub drops its leaves...

Ever since I started working for Hobby Farms , my daydream tangents have frequently started turning to what chicken breeds I'd like to keep or which veggie varieties I'd like to start growing.

It contains a high amount of vitamin B12, which we do not typically find in land plants. Sphl/Wikimedia Commons It seems like every day there is a new and exciting development in the realm of natural health.

But then I realized that these little nymphs were immature leaf-footed bugs , which aren't beneficial at all and are actually quite nefarious. Second, the collective social behavior of the nymphs was very telling—assassin bugs tend to be solitary hunters...

Keep reading to find out how to tell if ground is frozen or not.Although it may seem as if spring has arrived, it's important tofor readiness before working your soil or planting your garden.

Generally, infected seeds become soft or mushy, turning brown to black in color. It may help to water less often or apply fungicide to prevent damping off.may be applied as a soil drench after planting, incorporated into the soil as a dust before planting,...

Unless you make your own compost do you really know what your compost contains? Do they send their grass clipping to municipal compost sites? Prolonged moisture and the abrasive effects of soil can create openings in the skin that allow the infection...

They can lay fertile eggs, and set a clutch of eggs to hatch. Gardeners are becoming increasingly diversified, and getting into more sustainable practices such as raising heirloom vegetables and saving seeds.

Except maybe for the large pot of sauerkraut pork stuffed rolls I will cook for Christmas, into which I will add several laurel dry leaves. You may not believe it, but I still have laurel dry leaves from my store!

Better known as Dracaena sanderiana, this plant is a fixture in many households.Connoisseurs agree that not all bamboo is created equally.Lucky bamboo, also known as "Belgian evergreen," is a woody shrub with shiny green leaves.

You can preserve biodiversity by abandoning the idea that your garden should resemble your neighbor's. Don't plant the same veggies year after year. The richer the soil food web, the more fertile the soil.

Over history, many cultures continued to nurture the land through leaving it fallow, but others turned to new methods to keep land in constant use.As time passed, three-field rotation became more popular as an advanced form of crop rotation.

The wood nails well but is average or worse for holding screws. Wood used for hardwood flooring is generally from much harder species such as red oak, which has a hardness of 1290.

Now if I could just get that rooster to help… << More Dirt on Gardening >> The trouble is, he's starting to get a bit aggressive, and we've discovered that roosters and preschoolers don't mix.

I didn't like a wide variety of foods, from cottage cheese and pickles to cantaloupe and basically every vegetable under the sun. As an only child with no older siblings to coerce me into adventures and no younger siblings to dare, I was content to sit...

Some are even bi-colored and have variegated foliage. In fact, the thorns are likely one reason why deer tend to avoid the plant.Bougainvillea is a warm-climate plant. It grows best in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 and warmer.

A hydronium ion is a hydrogen nucleus without its usual single orbiting electron. It is unlikely there will be a noticeable difference in the health of a plant grown at pH 6.5 compared to one grown at 6.7. There is no need to expend a lot of effort in...

If the latter describes your garden conditions, use a light mulch that will allow the soil to breathe while still preventing soil compaction and erosion in heavy rain. Mulch Insulates and Protects: It insulates soil to protect soil organisms and plant...

The higher the value, the better the thermal performance. It offered suggestions for areas to insulate now versus later and explained how each would impact the home's efficiency. Seeking to make the 100-plus-year-old house as efficient as possible, we...

One of my friends picked up five female Red Stars (a sex link) at a feed store—or so she was told. If they're diverse enough, you'll know which is which the moment you pry open the shipping box.

The juice is separated from the crushed stems for cleaning. The leaves are attached to the node. In 2003, 289 million tons of sugar cane were produced in India alone.Sugar cane juice is needed to make sugar.

The carefree vinca provides color all summer in flowerpots and the garden. Colorado State University's website suggests planting vinca if you want to deter deer.Vinca serves well in the borders of other flowering plants and in containers.

It is made up almost entirely of hardened vegetable oil and is free from any milk products.It is ideal for various forms of cooking, such as baking, sauteing and deep frying. It is also used as a spread on bread or vegetables.Both traditional ghee and...