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Characteristics of Well-Drained Soil The spaces between the solid particles of any soil are filled with oxygen and water, both of which are necessary for healthy plant growth. When it rains or irrigates your garden, these pore spaces fill with water. As the water moves downward through the soil, it’s replaced by air. This movement is referred to as soil drainage, and how fast it happens is what’s important. Determining how well your soil drains is pretty easy....

Sifting flour through a sieve or sifter helps break up clumps and aerates the ingredients. In the past, sifted flour also allowed for more accurate measuring results. Read on to learn about sifting flour for cookies and what baking steps you should follow to produce the perfect results you want. Should You Sift Flour for Cookies? Fortunately, our Test Kitchen says you can skip the extra step of sifting flour when making cookies....

2 large red onions chopped (4 cups) 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup red wine vinegar 2 teaspoon snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme crushed 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic or 4 cloves garlic minced

1. Know Your Apple Trees When apple picking from your own backyard orchard, you’ll more easily be able to predict when to harvest the fruit if you know the varieties you’re growing. Use the variety name to research the harvest window for the tree. This provides a general time when the fruit should be ripe. Keep in mind that the harvest window can vary by several weeks, depending on the weather....

1 6 ounce carton plain fat-free Greek yogurt 2 tablespoon light agave nectar or 3 tablespoons powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla These slightly sweet cupcakes can double as morning muffins with a simple drizzle of honey. * For 1 cup cooked quinoa, rinse 1/3 cup quinoa. Place in a small saucepan with 2/3 cup water. Cook according to package directions. Cool. Measure out 1 cup. Use any remaining cooked quinoa in salads....

As a professional organizer who’s packed up plenty of clients’ belongings and personally relocated three times in the past year, I understand the power of a good packing plan. With solutions for clunky shoes, fragile stemware, and everything in-between, I’ll share the correct way to load your things into boxes before moving day arrives. These tips not only help your items make it onto the truck safely, but also keep them protected throughout the trip and make for no-nonsense unpacking upon your arrival....

We found a way to capture everything you love and recreate the look with a marble paint wall treatment. Our easy how-to will show you the materials and techniques needed to get a marbleized finish on an accent wall. As a bonus, this DIY project won’t break the bank. All you need are a few buckets of paint and some crafts supplies. What You Need Step 1: Prep for Painting Prepare the room by laying down drop cloths and applying painters tape to the trim....

After planting, you can enhance your container even more with cocktail-themed accents. Try using wine corks as mulch and labeling the plants with signs made from slices of tree branch, supported with a skewer, to resemble drink coasters. What You Need Large containerPotting mixBasil plantLavender plantRosemary plantWine corksTree-slice labelsPermanent marker Step 1: Pot Plants Fill the bottom half of the container with potting soil; plant basil, lavender, and rosemary (or other herbs of your choice)....

Where to Plant an Avocado Tree Grow your avocado seedling indoors from the big brown seed from the center of the fruit. You can grow the tree outside if you live in one of the warmest parts of the U.S. Although they grow in plant hardiness zones 8-11, in the U.S., avocados only thrive in southern parts of Florida or California, and in Hawaii. Avocado trees are subtropical plants native to southern Mexico....

Varieties of Double Tulip Ad Rem Tulip Among the tallest of all tulips, Darwin Hybrids offer big, showy flowers that stand out in spring gardens. Blooms can reach 6 inches in diameter when fully open! They bloom in almost every color, including bicolors with striping, speckling, and edging. Their long stems make them great cut flowers, but that also means they need to be protected from wind so strong breezes don’t snap the flowers off the stems....

How to Identify Wasps The word “wasp” is an umbrella term used for thousands of types of flying and stinging insects, including yellow jackets, hornets, and paper wasps. So how can you tell if a flying insect is a beneficial bee or a threatening wasp? A wasp has a waist that is much thinner than the rest of its body; a bee’s body is about the same thickness throughout. Wasp bodies look almost sleek, lacking the fuzzy hairs that enable bees to gather lots of pollen....

But if you take that route, according to experts, you might pay more than necessary and possibly find yourself out of luck if the product breaks down. Here’s how to take a different approach to buying appliances for your home and make a smarter financial investment. Seek out recommendations from technicians. A well-ranked product would seem to be an obvious choice when shopping for home appliances, but things are more complicated than they seem, according to Greg Rode, owner of Ace Appliance in Western Massachusetts....

Every adult family member should know how to shut off the water, both at the fixtures and to the entire house. Find tips and information on stop valves for the kitchen sink, saddle tee-valves, in-faucet stop valves, the main shutoff for the entire house, intermediate shutoff valves, buffalo boxes, water meters, and more below. Fixture Shutoffs Most homes built in the past 40 years have a separate stop valve (also called a fixture shutoff valve) for each faucet, toilet, and fixture....

With that in mind, here are three ways to soften cream cheese in a matter of minutes so you can follow food safety guidelines and put yourself in good shape for recipe success, whether you’re making a dip, frosting, cheesecake, or other culinary creations. How to Soften Cream Cheese Quickly Try one of these three methods below to soften cream cheese in less than 30 minutes. That way, you can get to the rest of your recipe in next to no time....

How to Identify Morel Mushrooms Whenever you’re foraging, identification is key (you don’t want to end up bringing home a basket filled with inedible or possibly toxic mushrooms by accident). Luckily, morel mushrooms have a distinct look that’s pretty easy to spot. Look for mushrooms with a cone-shape cap with lots of crevices like a sponge. When you slice them open, all true morels are hollow inside. Watch out for false morel mushrooms, which can sometimes be toxic....

Choosing the Best Weed Whacker When deciding on the type of weed whacker to purchase, it helps to keep a few considerations in mind. First, think about whether you want a plug-in, battery-powered, or gas-powered model. Plug-in weed whackers are relatively quiet and powerful. And being electric, there’s no exhaust to contend with or trips to the gas station for fuel. However, they do require an extension cord and care should be taken not to trip over or cut the cord while actively trimming....

Getting Started Metal studs save money and are easy to install. Metal studs have precut holes designed to accommodate electrical and plumbing lines. When running NM cable through metal framing, inspect the holes to be sure there are no rough or sharp edges that could damage insulation. Always use the special bushings designed to protect wiring. What You Need ScrewdriverTin snipsStrippersVariable-speed drillLineman’s pliersNonconducting ladderBushingsCableBoxes for metal studs Step 1: Insert Studs Cut metal studs and channels with tin snips....