Month: April 2022

Does a Pineapple Grow Best in Sand, Soil or Water?

Atrace

Pineapples grow well in warm climates, as they are indigenous to South America. Cold weather, 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, can damage or freeze the plant. Pineapples are grown as a commercial crop in Hawaii, but develop in different areas in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 though 11, and indoors in cooler climates. To develop well, pineapples have certain soil requirements.

The very best Soil

Pineapples need well-drained soil since it is impossible for them to withstand a waterlogged growing medium. Because of this, the ideal soil for growing pineapples is a sandy loam, since mud allows for fast isolating, or water movement, through the soil. Even though pineapples dislike waterlogged soil, they’re drought-tolerant, but need even moisture for proper fruit growth. Pineapples generally need about 1 inch of water per week, through rainfall or supplemental watering.

Soil for Indoor Pineapples

Pineapples grown indoors desire a potting mix of light, sandy loam as well. It is possible to use a potting mix containing two parts humus, 1 part sand and 2 parts soil. Because drainage is essential for pineapple development, the ideal container is also important. Clay containers are a fantastic alternative for growing pineapples. The container must have drainage holes and a layer of pebbles or shards of clay pot on the bottom to help with proper drainage.

Other Soil Requirements

Pineapples need a neutral to mildly acidic pH, ranging from 4.5 to 6.5. Soils that are too alkaline require a sulfur therapy to reduce the pH. The plants need nitrogen to get proper fruit growth, so you need to feed the pineapple with a balanced fertilizer every two to three months. For indoor pineapples, feed plants using a foliar spray fertilizer twice a month during the active growth period. Throughout winter, when growth slows, only feed crops once a month.

Water for Pineapple Rooting

When spreading pineapples, you can use water to root the pineapple top. Remove the top of a pineapple that has a healthy, leafy shirt, cutting about 1/2 inch under the leaf clusters. Then, cut away the outer part of the pineapple top’s flesh, which leaves the leafy shirt and a stringy core. Remove all of the leaves except for five to 10 of the largest leaves. Using toothpicks, place the top into a glass of water to root — approximately 1/2 inch deep.

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How to Graft a Weeping Standard Rose

Atrace

A weeping conventional rose has an strong erect stem with a spreading, cascading rose variety grafted to the top of it. Generally multiflora roses are used for your own rootstock. Any low-growing spreading rose can be utilized for your own scion, or leading part. In addition to the usual rose diseases and insects, the conventional rose can get sunscald on the exposed stem. It is also more likely to split strong winds because the graft union is so high above the ground. Grafting should be performed in winter, while both rootstock and scion are dormant.

Propagate the rootstock by cutting a large stem of an erect multiflora rose and sticking it in loose, fertile soil until roots are formed. Let it grow to the desired height, pruning off side branches as they develop. The rootstock must be 2 to 5 feet tall, depending on how tall you want the conventional rose to be.

Select a low-growing spreading rose number that you prefer for your scion. Cut healthy parts of cane which grew in the prior season. Search for scion wood one-quarter to three-quarter inches in diameter with chubby, well-spaced buds. Set them in a labeled plastic bag.

Cut the rootstock off perpendicular to the cane at the desired height. Use sharp clippers to make a clean cut.

Split the rootstock down 2 to 4 inches in the cut having a grafting knife. Be careful to make the split in the center of the rootstock. Hold the slit open with a wedge.

Cut 2 sections of scion, 4 to 6 inches in length, which contain 3 to 4 buds on the upper portion. Reduce the lower edge of the scion stick with gradually sloping cuts exactly opposite each other; the angle of the seams must match the angle of the wedge as tightly as possible.

Insert the scion sticks into each side of the slit from the rootstocks so that the cambium — the delicate line between the bark and the wood — of the rootstock and the cambium of the outer edge of the scion is matched exactly.

Remove the wedge holding the slit open. Cover the entire ending of the rootstock and the slit with grafting wax to prevent dessication.

Remove the less vigorous scion after growth resumes in the spring. Both scions can be permitted to grow for a month or so, but complete healing will not occur if both are left in position for the entire growing season.

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The way to Troubleshoot a Garage Door That Won't Open

Atrace

A garage door stuck in the closed position may tempt you to crash through, but don’t let frustration get the better of you. Take a couple of minutes to troubleshoot some built-in safeties on your door that may block it from opening. Typical hotspots would be the battery, the wiring and the electric eye that prevents your door closing on pets — it can also avoid your door from opening. These basic checks can continue to keep the repairman away and save you big dollars.

Ensure the door is not in “Vacation” or “Lock” mode when it wo not respond to the remote from the exterior. When in one of these modes it may open once using the remote, then must be hardened from the wall control within the garagedoor.

Check the battery in your remote operator by walking into the garage holding it in your hand. Press the button as you see a small blinking red light on the box where the chain enters and exits. If the door opens as you get very near the box, but fails to start as you back away, the battery is low and needs to be replaced. When you can’t find any blinking red light whatsoever on top the box, the battery is dead.

Click the remote as you are standing beneath the box but can still see the top. If you’re able to see that the red light on top is blinking, it means that the battery is fine and that the problem exists somewhere else in the system.

Locate the fine wires that run away from the control box on the ground. There are lots of inspection factors, two run from the box into the manual switch on the wall — probably by the walk door, and four running from the rear of the box into the electric eye locations on both sides of the door a few inches away from the ground.

Hold the remote in 1 hand. Catch the wires a couple of inches back from their connection points with another hand. Wiggle the wires one by one while pressing the remote switch using another hand. If one of the wires is loose, when you wiggle it, then it will get the door to open. Explain the cable. Shut off the power to the garage door opener. Use a screwdriver to tighten the cable. Turn the power back and the door should open and close normally.

Examine the door’s electric eye. This feature normally only fails when the door is already open and won’t close, but some models won’t function either way. Just a few inches off the ground on one side of the track, you will find two small boxes that aim a beam throughout the ground at each other. If the beam is interrupted or won’t align, the door may not operate at all. Use a tissue to clean the electric eyes. The most frequently reason for this dilemma is a spider making a home in the eye, so if you are terrified of spiders, you might want to use something different to get him out of there.

Align the attention. If you’ve cleaned the eyes but the door still wo not budge, the eyes may be misaligned. The two eyes should be pointing directly at each other. They are generally mounted on thin bit of metal that will be accidentally bent. When it’s misaligned, you need to have the ability to see this. You can’t see the beam, but if you take the small box along with your fingers, you are able to bend it. Bend it a bit at a time, while clicking the remote until the door opens.

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When Manually Regenerating a Water Softener, How Long for Each Cycle?

Atrace

A typical water softener takes approximately 85 to 90 minutes to run through its complete automatic regeneration cycle. During regeneration, the softener cleans the treatment medium by changing the chemical reaction which eliminates unwanted dissolved minerals from your water. With the dissolved minerals eliminated, the washed therapy medium is ready to pull more minerals out of your own water. When troubleshooting a malfunctioning softener, you might want to run each regeneration step manually.

Step By Step

The regeneration process starts with a backwash through which the softener pumps water backward through the treatment medium to remove sediment. This step takes about 10 minutes. The next step is the actual regeneration, once the softener draws salt brine out of a tank and pumps it backward through the treatment medium to chemically clean out the side minerals and send them down a drain. This stage takes approximately 50 to 60 minutes. Afterward the softener flushes the salt brine out of the treatment medium and down the drain so that the cleaned treatment medium will be ready to treat more water. This requires approximately 10 to 15 minutes. The last step is refilling the salt tank with water to make more brine for another regeneration cycle. This takes about another 10 minutes.

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How do I Make a Crazy Quilt Table Runner?

Atrace

Produce a crazy quilt table runner by using foundation piecing techniques and your sewing machine. This technique covers a base fabric, or foundation fabric, with smaller pieces of fabric to produce the layout. Join your crazy blocks into the length you will need for your own runner; then insert a border. This job is a fantastic way to utilize the decorative embroidery stitches on your machine as well as a chance to use up fabric scraps and bits of ribbon and trim. Use cotton cloths and cotton if hot dishes may be set on the runner; synthetics can melt down.

Foundation Blocks

Measure and mark the muslin foundation fabric and then cut it to evenly sized squares, with one square each crazy block. Add a 1/4-inch seam allowance on all sides for connecting the blocks. A 12 1/2-inch square ends into your 12-inch block. Figure the size of the blocks in line with the width of the finished table runner, allowing to get a border strip of fabric on all sides. A border is optional, but it will help stabilize the mad blocks and makes a smooth edge on the speaker.

Pin the first scrap of fabric right-side-up anywhere on the foundation fabric.

Pin the following scrap of fabric wrong-side up over the first scrap with one edge of each scrap aligned so that you can sew a straight seam over both edges. Sew 1/4 inch from the aligned edges through both fabric scrap bits and the foundation fabric square utilizing standard thread and a universal machine needle, about size 12.

Trim only the seam allowances to your smooth 1/4-inch edge. Flip the top bit of fabric and smooth it open, flattening the flux line with your fingers. Press the flux line apartment.

Put another scrap of fabric wrong-side-up within an edge produced by the first 2 bits. Stitch a seam through all layers, trim; then press and flip. Continue in the sew-flip-press way until the entire item of foundation fabric is covered with crazy-pieced cloths. Make as many blocks as you want to accomplish the length you would like for the runner.

Assemble Runner

Trim any excess fabric overhang from the edges of the foundation squares. Each foundation square measurement ought to be the block size you planned.

Pin together the advantages of 2 crazy blocks, with the right-sides facing. Machine stitch a 1/4-inch seam to join the blocks. Pin another block to the finish, right-sides facing, and sew it in place. Continue until all the blocks are joined in a row.

Press the seams open or to one side in line with the depth and “lumpiness” of their crazy-pieced blocks.

Measure and trim cotton batting and the backing fabric the size of this row of blocks, allowing additional for the border areas. Cut the batting and backing fabric oversize and trim them later to the exact size.

Spread the insulation material face-down on the job table ; then layer the batting over it. Center the row of mad blocks over the batting layer using the right-side of the blocks facing upwards. Pin together all the layers along seams and edges. Alternatively, you may hand-baste the layers together.

Embellish and Complete

Select a decorative machine stitch. Insert the correct needle to the thread kind and stitch choice, and thread your sewing machine using decorative thread. Beginning in the middle of a middle crazy block, sew decorative stitches along each seam line in the crazy block, working from the center toward the edges. Vary the ornamental stitches and the thread color randomly, or utilize a single stitch like a feather stitch all seam lines. Embroider through all thicknesses. The embroidery stitches fasten the layers together and create a layout on the back of the speaker.

Measure and cut fabric strips to the border: 2 strips to fit the ends of the row, and 2 long strips the length of the row in addition to the finish borders. Pin an end border strip over the block at each end using the block edge and border edge even, right-sides facing.

Sew the border ends in position through all thicknesses using a 1/4-inch seam allowance. The extra batting and backing should go past the border seam. Flip the strip to ensure that the right-side faces upward, and press the seam flat. Apply the very long border strips in exactly the same way; flip open the strip seams, and then press.

Trim excess batting and backing fabric and square up the corners, if needed. To enclose the raw edges, pin double-fold quilt binding around the edges of the runner and sew it in place.

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DIY Birch Tree Painted on a Bedroom Wall

Atrace

A birch tree looks equally as breathtaking painted on a wall as it does in real life, standing out from its background in bright white. Strips of painter’s tape produce a stencil or guideline for the paint, or skip them entirely and paint the tree freehand, if you feel comfortable doing this. Study images of actual birch trees and sketch some on paper to hone in on the tree basic shape and attributes.

Move all furniture and rugs at least a few feet away in the project area. Wipe the wall clean with a duster or dust cloth to remove loose debris.

Pick an ideal location for your own tree on a wall. If creating just one tree, position it to one side for a stunning effect that draws attention, rather than centered on the wall. For over one tree, choose several random locations on the wall, in different widths. Tear a sheet of painter’s tape a few inches long and position it vertically on the wall at shoulder height, marking the border of one side of the tree. Tear additional small strips to continue assembling the edge for a single side of the tree — using small strips creates a more natural look than one completely straight piece of tape. Use a stepladder to reach the areas nearest the ceiling, and cover the ceiling with strips of painter’s tape across the whole project area to safeguard it.

Tear another strip of tape a few inches long, positioning it in the desirable location for another side of the tree, as broad or narrow as you like. Continue tearing small strips of tape and also constructing the next side of the tree before the tree-trunk outline is created. If you wish to put in a branch or two, make a branch outline at the exact same style with small strips of tape, then remove the tape where the branch and trunk meet. Use a craft knife, if necessary, to slice away the tape.

Put a dropcloth on the floor in front of the project wall. Cover the baseboards and any other areas you would like to protect with painter’s tape.

Open the white latex paint and then stir it with a paint stir stick. Pour some of the paint into a paint tray.

Dip a paintbrush into the paint from the tray, wiping excess off on the side of the tray. Paint the whole tree area between strips of tape, containing divisions. Re-dip the paintbrush into the paint as needed. Enable the paint to dry completely. Apply a second coat if you prefer a thick, opaque finish, or abandon it as-is in case you enjoy the paint opacity how it is.

Squirt some charcoal grey acrylic craft paint — or your initial background wall color — onto a paper plate. Dip a artist’s brush into the paint and include thick, chunky lines at an angle on either side of the tree trunk to emulate the look of an actual birch tree. Have a picture of a birch tree handy to refer to for ideas. Continue adding lines randomly from either side of the tree until you prefer how it looks. Should you make a mistake, paint over it with white paint when the detail color dries.

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