It's finally time for sun and fun so get ready to soak up these easy summer-loving hints!
- Clean up the grill with citrus. Heat up the grill and slice an orange in half. Take the sliced orange and rub on grill racks.
- Brush grill after each use with a stiff brush or steel wool and coat the cooled grill with oil to prevent future rust. Aluminium foil can also be used to keep your grill shiny. Gently rub the grill with a crumpled-up ball of aluminium foil. You will notice the grime and build-up disappear. If you are desperate, clean the grill with half a cup of washing soda and enough hot water to cover the grills. Leave overnight. In the morning rinse and scrub with water and wipe with vinegar, or apply oven cleaner, but be sure to refer to the instructions in the manufacturer's manual.
- To remove rust on bike chrome wet a crumpled-up ball of aluminium foil, then rub it across the frame. Cleans well, without scratching.
- Make your own rain gauge from a flat-bottomed plastic bottle. Cut off the top of a plastic two-litre bottle and place it upside down inside the bottle. Measure the bottle in inches or centimetres. Mark the outside of the bottle with a permanent marker. Fill the bottom of the bottle with water to the point where the measure starts. Set the bottle outside where it can catch the rain when it falls.
- You can't go wrong with the purchase of a sprinkler timer to water your yard. Set the timer to water between midnight and sunrise from May to October to minimize water lost to evaporation. Tip: Adjust your automatic timer to coincide with weather changes. Don't set it once and then leave it for the entire watering season.
- Grass is a fast-growing, high-maintenance ground cover that "browns off" quickly in dry weather. Ground covers such as clover and other spreading plants require less maintenance and are more drought-resistant. Your local garden centre can advise you on alternatives that will thrive in your area. Examples of ground covers include anemone, clematis, hops, lady's mantle, creeping Jenny, Solomon's seal and elephant ears.
- Don't overwater. Excess watering means that fertilizers and pesticides will move out of the root zone of the plant, rendering them ineffective. Those toxins can penetrate into the groundwater, impacting water quality and increasing the environmental burden.
- Mulch It! A good, thick layer of mulch cools flower beds, inhibits weed growth, and slows the evaporation of water from the soil. Place mulch around the bases of trees, shrubs and flowers to reduce evaporation.
- Mulch warning! While mulch does carry many benefits, there are all kinds of fungi that tend to grow in mulches, one in particular is called "shotgun fungus". These tiny little brown specks will fly as high as three metres into the air, and once they stick to the house or windows, they stick like glue. Do your best to prevent this fungus from growing. Keep the mulch loose so air can circulate. Don't add layer after layer of mulch around your house. Skip at least every other year and loosen the mulch you already have. Loosen at least once a year and rake flat to make it look like the yard was recently mulched.
- Nothing says summer like a gorgeous watermelon cavity filled with delicious fresh fruit. To begin, take a sharp knife and slice a small thin piece off the bottom of the watermelon (so that the finished basket sits flat on a plate). Next, take the tip of your knife or garnishing tool and score the watermelon in half, horizontally. Then mark a strip of about one and a half to two inches wide that will form the handle of your basket. Using a small knife, cut around the melon on the lines. The garnishing tool naturally makes V shaped cuts, which makes the job very easy. Separate the cut sides from the body of the watermelon. If you used a marking pen and there are any residual marks left, a handy way to get rid of them is to use a new emery board and gently sand them off. Take a melon baller and hollow out the inside of the watermelon. After removing all the edible parts, take a large spoon and gently scrape out the sides. Be careful not to scrape too thinly on the handle, as you want it to be stable. Mix the watermelon balls with other ripe fresh fruits. To make the handle garnish, use a toothpick to affix it to the watermelon. Tip: To prevent liquid from the fruit from filling the basket, put drainage holes in the bottom of the watermelon after hollowing it.
Note: Every user assumes all risks of injury or damage resulting from the implementation of any suggestions in this column. Test all products on an inconspicuous area first.
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