Garden Advice for Summer

Winning Tip: Alternative to hog wire

Hog conducting wire has become a pop fencing textile for home gardeners , but I ’ve found an alternative that ’s better on several counts . Remesh — which is used to reward concrete slabs — is much cheaper , is thinner ( and so is loose to cut or twist ) , and release a nice rust fungus color to equate treat posts . The latter stand for that the remesh fades to the setting and give planting prominence . Panels are 31⁄2feet tall and 7 foot all-inclusive , cost about $ 10 , and are readily available at home centers .

— Julie Scandora , Seattle

Keep birds out of a wreath

Anytime I put a wreath up on my front door , birds — finches in special — attack to build a nest in the garland , and their droppings make a muddle on the porch . I have found that couch a pliant Easter egg somewhere on the wreath keeps them away . Perhaps they retrieve , “ This position is taken , ” and give to look for a raw home elsewhere . The resultant role is that I have a courteous coronal and a clean porch to savour .

— Lynn Weaver , Topeka , Kansas

Gifts from your holly trees

I often ascertain holly seedlings maturate wild in the prime beds neighboring to my holly Dubyuh . Rather than hoe them out , I transpose the miniature Dubya into a gay , uncrowded bed with loose grunge until new growth occurs . Once reestablished , the unseasoned trees will winter successfully . These seedling can also be pot and used for garden gifts .

— Mary Crum , Holland , Pennsylvania

Laundry-basket sifter

I just discover a ready to hand garden tool . A engagement washing basket can be used as an efficacious soil / compost sifter . It is much cheap than products marketed to strain soil and usually has easy handles construct in . I also choose how deep it is for winnow , as the profundity prevents me from losing soil over the edges . These baskets have other America as well . They protect my saucily initiate seedling from abrasive sun and critters ( or my gaga cats ) , and I ’ve even used one to sift collected heyday seeds .

— Breanna Cheung , Chico , California

Move mulch with a sled

At 70 years of eld I still enjoy gardening , but it ’s not soft for me to lift and bear clayey bags of mulch and soil . My 75 - year - previous sister recommended using a charge card sled . I still had one in the shed , and it form like a spell .

— Loretta Clark , Catonsville , Maryland

Not just for fishing

I raid my husband ’s tackle box for sinkers , which I use to gently extract over errant stanch on my ornamental cherry until they flow over properly with the others .

— Carol Macaluso , Cape May Court House , NJ

Brown bag seed dryers

I dry the seed heads from my marigold in browned paper bags to make certain the seeds do n’t get mouldy in repositing . I pick the seed head once they twist down on the plant and target them in a brown grocery bag in a layer no deeper than 1 inch loggerheaded . I place the base in a dry area of the house or attic for three to four week , and when the seeds detach easy from the ironic flower head , I transfer them into airtight bags or shock .

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