What Is Excavation

(As did the giant pot of chili I made Monday night; my mother always said there was no better food in winter than a steaming bowl of soup.) Lo and behold, the polar vortex eventually gave way to “normal” January temperatures across the country—Lexington...

In the case of an animal emergency, it's important to reach out to your veterinarian or extension agent first. Hahnemann and his followers began experimenting with other plants, minerals and animal substances, conducting “provings” (clinical trials)...

Animals that show symptoms of winterberry poisoning should be seen by their veterinarian. Hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9, the deciduous shrub drops its leaves in fall so the berries stand out against bare winter...

Keep your eyes on hatchery catalogs, and before you know it, you'll be raising those Lakenvelders you always dreamed of. Something will spark one of these thoughts, and I'll wind up daydreaming about my three-armed life or my alternate British self for...

Beyond being a great nutritional supplement, the plant has strong antibiotic activity, particularly in the digestive and nervous systems, though if you truly sit down to research every ailment it has been applied to, you will find it to be a long list.

The nymphs of many garden bugs can look a lot alike—work with your county extension office to figure out if what you're looking at is a friend or foe. This afternoon, while inspecting my late-summer garden, I came across several small, vividly colored...

Soil that is ready for planting is easy to dig and yields to your shovel. Determining if soil is frozen can make all the difference.How do you know if the ground is frozen solid? Digging in your garden too soon or in the wrong conditions results in two...

The lower portion of the stem may become slimy and black. With a little TLC seed treatment, damping off will be a thing of the past. Foliage of plants may yellow and fall prematurely.

I know I sure wouldn't want to risk it, would you?Mother Jones News recently reported "California regulators traced residues of dichlorophenyl-dichloroethylene, a breakdown product of DDT, and bifenthrin, an ant killer, to compost in pots of organic wheatgrass...

The interest in heritage turkeys is just one step away from backyard chickens.What are heritage turkeys, and why would we want one?For one thing, they are “green”, that is, they are sustainable.

Now that I've reached the bottom of that box, I just bought a new, average-size bag with fresh dry laurel leaves, of only 5 grams (0.18 ounce) and put an end to this chapter in my life.

The common names of plants can be a tricky area. It is not native to Asia, and is closely related to the lily. The leaves often have silver or white strips through the center. Better known as Dracaena sanderiana, this plant is a fixture in many households.Connoisseurs...

If an area has many species, the distance between specimens of the same species increases, and insects and diseases can't hop conveniently from one to the next, decimating an entire species.

Each year, one half of their land was allowed to rest and be renewed. Alternating different plants helps keep that balance intact. To replenish the chemical composition of soil after annual crops such as these, some farmers and gardeners let their land...

Imports to the United States are mainly in the form of veneer and plywood, especially for use in decorative paneling, hollow-core doors and furniture. The lumber of this tree is known by many names, among them Acoume, Gaboon wood, Uume and Zouga.

I asked two farmer friends to take him in, and both kindly declined. You might have read about our new chickens in a previous post . (I'm reminded of a certain “Seinfeld” episode… Remember “little Jerry”?) Anyway, if you know anyone in western...

I can only imagine the frustration I caused my poor mother. My family loves to reference an early-'90s home movie of a New Year's Eve party where a gaggle of my cousins are watching a cartoon, giggling and chatting, while I'm willingly sitting in a corner...

Locate it in full sun and in neutral, well-draining soil. They are not friendly to the touch, however, as they have sharp thorns. They come in shades of red, purple, white, yellow and pink.

Hydroxide ions are left with one more electron than proton, giving rise to the negative charge. A substance is acidic if it contains more H+ than OH- ions, and it is alkaline if the OH- concentration is greater.

Mulch Regulates Moisture: Because mulch will reduce evaporation, it helps maintain even moisture level, protecting soil organisms and plant roots from shock and cutting down on the need to water.

(Check with your local utility company and the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Energ y to see if your project qualifies.) There are DIY options for spray foam, but we opted to get recommendations and quotes from local service providers...

When I ordered my most recent batch of chicks, I resized photos from My Pet Chicken (where my flock originated), and then I pasted chick photo next to the hen photo for each breed on a blank document, printed them out and put them on my fridge.

Harvest time can take anywhere from 2.5 months to 11 months. The root system at the base of the plant anchors the grass to the soil and takes in water and nutrients from the ground.

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. The carefree vinca provides color all summer in flowerpots and the garden.

Vegetable ghee serves as a substitute for traditional ghee, an important ingredient in many Indian dishes. The liquid is then separated from the solid and packaged as ghee.Vegetable ghee is a vegetarian alternative to this product.

It is sometimes planted with other crops such as soybeans, which provides an additional food source for deer and minimizes the growth of weeds. It is used by individuals who are concerned about the potential threat of starvation in deer populations during...

This includes species like the well-known century plant, Agave Americana, which may live as long as 30 years or more -- but never a whole century -- before flowering. Dependent on the species, the majority of cacti flower on a regular basis.Another significant...