Author Archive for Gary Antosh

How to Decide When to Water Your Plants

Published
by
Gary Antosh
on November 2, 2008
in Gardening
. 0 Comments
by Keith Markensen

Many gardeners have difficulty deciding how often their plants should be watered. The amount of water plants need varies greatly and depends on the rate at which the plant absorbs water.

Plants which are actively growing require more water than those that are not currently growing. Those which have many roots filling the pot require more water to maintain their growth than ones which are smaller and not as well established.

The time of year also affects the water needs of plants. During the growing season, which usually lasts from April until October, most plants require more water than they use in the rest of the year. However, there are some exceptions, so be sure you understand your plant’s growing season when you’re deciding how much to water them.

You should inspect your plants daily to determine whether it is time for watering. Some plants will need watering every day, while others will only need watering every few days.

One way to tell when your plant needs watering is to feel the soil. Potted plants should be watered when the soil is moderately dry, and should be given enough water to soak through to the drainage hole. Many roots are located far down into the pot, so it is important that the water reaches all the way down to them.

It may be hard to tell when the soil is dry enough to require watering. One test is to tap the pot about halfway down with your knuckles or a wooden hammer. If this results in a light hollow sound, you should water the plant. If it results in a dull noise, the soil is wet enough. However, if the soil is not packed down, this test will not work.

When watering your plant, the water should be room temperature. You can use either rain water or tap water. It is actually quite easy to overwater your plants, so you should be extremely careful when watering them. If you do overwater, the tips of your plants may become yellow or brown. If this happens, stop watering the plant until the soil dries out, and poke the soil all over with a pointed sick to aerate it, helping the soil dry quickly. If the soil grows moss or algae due to overwatering, you need to remove this coating. If you want your plants to be safe for overwatering it is good to use an Automatic plant watering system.

Before you water your houseplants, you should set the pots in saucers or bowls to catch the drainage. Use glazed containers if you plan to set the plants on woodwork or other items which would be damaged by the moisture. You can also set smaller potted plants in hanging baskets or larger plants to catch the excess water.

Many plants need fertilizer in addition to the water. These especially include plants which are in their growing season, generally May to August. Bulb plants may require fertilizer at other times of the year, however. You can use liquid fertilizer, or tablets which are to be mixed with water. This should not be overlooked if you want your plants to thrive.

About the Author:
Seeking assistance on automatic plant watering. You’re only a click away - http://www.plant-care.com/automatic-watering-for-plants.html.

Child Neglect - Not Giving Kids a Financial Education

Published
by
Gary Antosh
on August 29, 2008
in Credit
. 1 Comment
by Darren Cason

When it comes to success and money, children are more likely to follow the path of their parents than they are to go a different course. Children of poor parents will likely remain poor, middle class will stay in a similar income bracket, and rich kids will often raise little rich kids of their own.

Though these trends generally hold true, it?s become more likely in recent years that children will often end up in a worse financial position than their parents were in. This is due not so much to lesser incomes, but simply as a result of increased appending, of which credit cards are certainly to blame.

Teaching children the importance of money at an early age and not to take it for granted can instill good traits in them that will carry on into their adult life. Not doing so may pass on the notion that money in unimportant, or that money matters are overly complicated and to be feared, which could leave them with those same feelings through the rest of their live. These are just some of the ways you can teach them the value of money.

Give Kids an Allowance

An allowance is the best way to give them a first-hand taste of money, and the responsibility and potential that goes along with it. There are different allowance types, and each one can have different effects.

These two main types are the gift and reward systems, and both are used at about equal rates in households that give allowances. Both systems work on a system of having regular and routine payments of the allowance, usually weekly or monthly. This lets the child develop methods to make the money stretch between the allowance periods, knowing that no more money will be forthcoming until the next scheduled date, much like the later paychecks they’ll be receiving.

The gift system is basically an allowance that is paid regardless of any other factors, like the reward system. The reward system on the other hand will often pay out for the child successful completing chores, doing their homework, getting good grades, eating their vegetables, maintaining good hygiene, etc. The reward system certainly has its advantages when it comes to giving children a sense of pride and appreciation for their money, but it may not be suitable for younger children. You may still wish to reward them for good deeds, but this can be done on top of the regular allowance, as opposed to it being a requirement for the entire allowance.

Beyond the allowance, you may want to give your child a more in-depth look at how your personal finances work, and slowly let them in on some of the deeper aspects of financing and the importance of investing and saving. You may wish to learn a little more about investing yourself before going too in-depth on the subject, to make sure your own knowledge is up to snuff. Sharing your own financial successes and failures makes the financial process tangible and relatable to your child, completely different from the black and white numbers they’ll go through in math class and the reality of the findings in credit check.

A good combination of a solid allowance system and some personal guidance and tales should set your child on a good path to financial responsibility. It won?t be an easy road, as there are many siren songs of temptation out there, but you?ll have done your part to shut their ears to such raucous melodies.

About the Author:
Today is the perfect time to find out more about consumer credit check. Visit our evergrowing library at http://www.debtjerk.com/consumer-credit-reports.html.

Living Plants Add Texture And Warmth for a Healthy Room

Published
by
Gary Antosh
on July 17, 2008
in Interior Design
. 0 Comments
by Keith Markensen

Color is what makes a house a home, and your family will enjoy taking care of indoor plants as well. If you want to find additional benefits for houseplants, think about the quality of air that house plants are going to add, and the colors, the feel of living things all around you - it is all an outstanding feeling.

You are most likely wondering just how hard it is to care for houseplants. Well, caring for houseplants is actually quite easy. You need dirt, the plant, light and water. Very few plants require any special light, but you might want to read up on the plant you are purchasing if you feel you don’t know much about that one type. Many green plants will need some amount of indirect light, which means as long as you have a window in that room the sunlight will come in and the plant will enjoy it.

If you have never had any types of plants before, you will find that many plants are going to grow slowly. You could have a small potted indoor plant, and it could be a year before you need a bigger pot. You can then use the smaller pot for another house plant that you have. In the living room, you could have hanging plants, plants on the end tables, or on the coffee table. Sometimes if you have large window sills you could even put small pots on the window sill of your living room for a great overall effect.

There are some types of house plants that are going to also produce flowers. If you find that you have a plant, that you want to keep until it flowers, you may be waiting a few seasons. Some indoor plants, such as a Christmas cactus are only going to bloom once a year, and then sometimes it won’t bloom again for two years. It is a wonderful time in the living room where the plants are colorful and many textures of the leaves are available as well.

Perhaps you want something a little different in your indoor garden such as exotic plants. You could choose from plants that are sun loving, desert loving or that are even aquatic. The choices you have are vast and you don’t have to have an indoor garden that is all green hanging type of plants as many people think about, but you can have flowers indoors, or plants that smell like candy.

What you need to watch for are plants that are going to attract insects. Insects are attracted to some plants but rarely. Geraniums indoors are going to attract small white flies. Spider mites are attracted to plants that are overly wet but there are also sprays for all types of little pests that you can use if you would happen to have a little creature in your plants. Don’t worry though the little pests are few and far between for the normal semi warm climates such as the indoors of your home.

Watering is not going to take much of your time at all. Indoor gardens really only need attention once a week or every two weeks depending on the variety of plants that you have chosen. The yucca plant is low in the water needs area for example. What you can look for is a calendar in your kitchen or on your computer and make little notes to yourself if you really think you are going to forget for weeks at a time. Otherwise, when you put your finger in the dirt and you find that it is a little dry add a little water and your indoor garden is going to be thriving!

About the Author:
It’s time to clear things up on the subject of yucca plant care. Visit our evergrowing library at http://www.plant-care.com/yucca-plant.html.

Diversification in Your Portfolio is Key to Investing

Published
by
Gary Antosh
on July 16, 2008
in Credit
. 1 Comment
by Caden Flynn

There’s no denying that we all want to be wealthy. For many of us this may seem like nothing more than a pipe dream, and realistically we can’t all be as wealthy as the next person, but we can improve our wealth at the very least, to the point where we no longer stress over money and can lead fairly comfortable lives.

Building wealth over the long-term boils down to three simple, yet not so easy to execute steps. Making money, saving or not overspending that money, and finally, investing a good portion of it away for the future.

Step #1 - Making Money

This is the most vital part of the equation, and also the one that is most effected by outside forces and even a little luck, whereas steps 2 and 3 are primarily up to you. You can be the smartest investor and the wisest money saver in the world, but it simply won?t do you any good if you’re not making enough money.

The most important aspect of determining your income potential is the field you’re in, and you may need to ask yourself some questions regarding it. How well are you being paid now, and what potential income will you be earning in 5 or 10 years? If you?re doing something you love but it doesn’t pay well, are you willing to work a job you may not like as much to make extra money? You can be the best in the world at what it is you do, but if you?re stuck in a low paying field, your options are limited.

Step #2 - Saving Money

Maybe you’re already in a nice position income wise, yet you still can’t seem to get ahead. In this case you’re simply not doing a good enough job of saving your money. You can make $100,000, but if you’re spending $110,000, you’re getting nowhere fast.

The good news is that the potential to save is there. Like we said above, making money is the hardest part, so if you’ve got that down pat, you can be saving nice chunks of money away in no time with just a little effort.

To get started you should track your spending for a whole month. You need to see where all the expenses are coming from, and you may be surprised at how easily you fritter money away and possible damaged your credit rating. Once that?s done you can begin to cut some of the extra fat, those expensive little conveniences that won?t affect your way of life when gone. This boils down to figuring out what you need and you merely want. If you have a sizable income and aren’t saving any money, there is definitely a lot of wants - in your spending, and that’s fine. You won’t need to cut them all out, even just a few could save you a good deal of money each month.

Step 3: Investing Money

Once you have enough money saved away you can begin to invest it. Depending on your age, you may need to take on greater risk in your investing than if you were younger. No matter your age you should avoid being too conservative. Your portfolio will need at least some equity exposure to guard against inflation, which is often not considered by new investors.

Conclusion

Building wealth is not rocket science, it just takes some the execution of three fairly simple steps. If you’re making the money, there?s no reason for you not to be saving and investing it, unless of course you plan to work all your life. No? I didn’t think so. It’s time to get going in that case, you have nothing to lose and your retirement to gain.

About the Author:
Caden Flynn shares his vast knowledge at http://www.debtjerk.com. Find out for yourself why so many people are interested in personal credit report.