End the Lies

How far will he lies spread? On national news this morning there was a story about bacteria in the workplace. It was about how dangerous it is to interact with other people. The news story went so far as to say that it is dangerous to shake hands with other people, or use equipment that they may touch, or drink from the same water cooler.

When will this insanity end?

First I want you to notice the source of the study that named all the places with the most bacteria. It was a researcher paid by Clorox. Also understand that the news item was basically a disguised commercial for Clorox antibacterial wipes. Also notice that he would not say that the bacteria on these items caused disease. They said they could cause disease.

There is an important point there. The bacterial cause of disease has never been proven. It is only a THEORY. It is not a fact. The fact is that they have only been able to prove the opposite. Bacteria can complicate disease, but they don't cause disease. If bacteria get into a cut they can complicate the healing process and if they get into the blood they can cause problems. However touching bacteria will not cause disease.

Bacteria are our symbiotic partners in life. If you could destroy every bacteria there is on our planet, in an effort to stop disease, we would all die. We need bacteria on our bodies and in our digestive system. They aid in digestion. In our small intestines they create vitamin B12. They break down dead cell tissues.

Satan, the god of this world, would have us live in fear of what God has created for our good. Billions are spent eadch year, on the war on bacteria. Cleanliness is good to a point. However it has been proven that too much cleanliness is hazardous to our health. The chemicals used to fight bacteria are deadly to humans.

If you are made overly sensitive by eating a diet too high in protein these chemicals can contribute to cancer. This fact is overlooked because of the remote chance that bacteria might cause you to get sick, and the perceived risk of bacteria causing disease.

Don't be blinded to the truth. End the power of Satan to empty your wallet, and destroy your health, in a fight to eliminate bacteria. It has been proven that the common cold is a body instituted cleansing process. When we have too much toxic waste in our bodies, any stress can trigger the body's efforts to step up elimination of the toxins. The body is always in control of the symptoms associated with the common cold. When you fight the common cold you are fighting your own body, not bacteria.

Yes bacteria multiply in these situations. Bacteria are scavengers. They eat dead cell debris. Like earthworms are good for plants, bacteria are good for us. For instance take a look at the streptococcus bacteria. They are always present in our bodies. If our bodies start dumping toxins, through our mucus membranes, bacteria multiply. The food has to come first. If there is no food supply they do not multiply.

Experiments have been done in an attempt to cause the common cold or the flu or any other disease by deliberately introducing the bacteria once thought to cause the cold to healthy people.

Other studies have shown that the bacteria thought to cause the common cold are not always present during the cold. In fact a high percentage of people with a cold have none of the suspect bacteria. Even realitively large quantities of the bacteria did not cause the cold.

The perpetuation of this lie soothes the beast within. Human nature is to blame anything rather than accept responsibility for our own actions. We eat things that are outside of our design because someone says we should, or because we like it, or we just want to "have it your way". We cause our own health problems through ignorance, or by choice, and wonder why? It is so easy to blame the lowly bacteria.

We seek out those who will say anything for a buck, who will back up our choice to blame something outside of ourselves. We then get what we asked for, an innocent suspect, to use as a scapegoat.

It is much like sin. We have a tendency to blame anyone but ourselves when we do wrong. On the news this morning a man who murdered a young girl, blamed the drugs he took, and his emotional state, for his actions. He was begging for his life.

To end the Lies, we must take responsibility for what we do. Seek the truth about health, and the truth about health, will set you free from disease, and pain.

My ministry is about telling people the truth about health through both fiction books and non-fiction articles. We were designed to live in health. It is only when we live outside our design that we suffer with disease. God didn't make a mistake when He created us. God does not make junk. We are our own worst enemies. Our seemingly innocent choices kill more people every day, than all the terrorists in the world. But who is on the news?

My ministry is about telling people the truth about health through both fiction books and non-fiction articles. We were designed to live in health. It is only when we live outside our design that we suffer with disease. God didn't make a mistake when He created us. God does not make junk. We are our own worst enemies. Our seemingly innocent choices kill more people every day, than all the terrorists in the world. But who is on the news? There is a contact link at my website.

http://sixmonthstolive.com

I am constantly writing. Most of my articles can be accessed at my content site on Arthritis from the above link.

Six Months to Live is my first published work. If you were told that you had cancer and even if you get treatments for it you would not live more than 6 months, what would you do? The character is the book take a two week vacation that becomes the greatest adventure of their lives.

How To Win Friends

Great Lawns

This is a topic near and dear to my heart. Ask my wife and she will tell you I was obsessive over my lawn for the last two years... I can't disagree.

It all started with a new house. Typically a good thing right? Our first new house on a new cul-de-sac with 5 other new houses. We got the pick the colors and flooring and had some input in other things.

CONSTRUCTION TRAUMA

I came out to my front porch every morning and coached the little grasslings to grow up through the straw the contractors laid down. I looked through my bedroom window one morning and Woo Hoo, I could see green. Well the rest of that summer taught me that construction is hell on lawns and trees.

As I cleared away the straw, it revealed there were more bald spots than grass spots. And most of the bald spots had weeds already! The ground was terribly un-even and there were rocks everywhere! Big rocks, small rocks, medium rocks... lots of rocks!

Further investigation revealed that the construction crews took the fertile top layer of dirt for fill in other parts of the cul-de-sac. As we will discuss later, that top layer of dirt is very hard to replace and took decades to form. Now mine was probably under the black top of my neighbors' driveway.

We would learn later how much trees don't like the entire construction ruckus. They toughed it out for the first year and half like the tough five stories high pillars of rock you would expect. But then one by one, they made less leaves until it was obvious they were dead. We lost about ten trees. Of course every one of them directly around the house including the big majestic ones on the front lawn that defined the curb appeal of the house.

So here we are with a barren waste land of dead trees and a mange lawn filled with rocks and weeds.

THE MISTAKES

The first mistake I made was the classic, "try to do as little as possible until you realize its taking more time and money than if you just started from scratch in the first place".

Little by little

I brought in dump truck loads of dirt to try and level small sections. I bought little bags of lawn patch pellets for the bald spots. I bought tree spike nutrient things for the trees. I should have just hired a bulldozer to level the whole thing and then spread seed and straw.

So as I tried to patch and pick up rocks I started to do some research. My wife told me we had "clay soil". So I looked it up and found that Clay is like concrete. Its very dense, doesn't hold water, doesn't allow roots to breath or move.

Gypsum

The site said to add Gypsum. Little tiny pebbles that look like those volcanic rocks in your gas grill. The site said to put truck loads on your lawn with a spreader each year for about 3 years. The idea was they would work their way into the soil and create little pockets in the dense clay thus allowing the clay to breathe and hold moisture more like a sponge. Sounded great but most people I told what I was doing said it's a lie and the only thing you need is top soil (that stuff the contractors took away).

Earth Worms, Geese, and Sand

The opposite of clay soil is sand soil so I figured if I just added sand to my clay everything would be perfect. Nope... adding sand actually takes clay that may have some chance of being good soil some day and make it absolutely useless concrete.

I awoke one night with the perfect plan! Ill buy a couple wheel barrels full of earthworms! Their great right? They aerate the soil with little tunnels and they poop all over the place. That would surely make my soil good again and quick! Nope... further research told me that worms don't make the dirt good, good dirt makes the worms. Basically dropping worms on my lawn would be like putting them in the middle of a large empty parking lot.

That disappointment led me to think of geese. If I put a bunch of bread or whatever they eat on my lawn they would come and poop all over it. Nothing is better for grass than poop! My wife informed me that when geese do pick a spot to poop they come back to spot for ever. I wanted a little fertilizer, not a mine field for the rest of my life.

THE SAVIOR

My wife appreciates my obsessions because she knows they give me something to do. Hence keeping me out of trouble and out of her hair. But she doesn't like to see me in pain and losing is painful for me, especially when my opponent is dirt. So she bought me a book on lawns. Scotts Lawns Your Guide To A Beautiful Yard by Nick Christians.

Let me start by saying this is a great book and if you are obsessive like me, you should go buy it right away. With that said though... I was wary when I first opened the book as its very first piece of advice was to fertilize. Fertilize in the summer, fertilize in the fall, fertilize in the winter, fertilize in the spring, fertilize, fertilize, fertilize. Hmmm I thought, a book by Scotts lawn products telling me to fertilize. Great! Nobody actually cares about my lawn they just want me to buy gypsum and fertilizer and worms.

I was jumping to conclusions as you will see.

SOIL

The quality of your soil is the key if you haven't figured that out already. It's not the grass, or weeds, or watering. Good soil is the answer to 90% of your problems.

There are three main types of soil:

Clay soil - Clay is like concrete. Its very dense, doesn't hold water, doesn't allow roots to breath or move. Rain runs right over it eroding what ever blade of grass hasn't fought to grab hold yet. When it's hot and dry in the summer the clay soil dries out just like... well clay.

Sand soil - Sand is like mesh. It's very loose and airy. So loose and airy that it too does NOT hold water or nutrients. The water just runs right through it. It allows roots to breathe and move so much they can fall over. Rain can actually wash the soil away along with any grass that may have grown in it.

Loam - This is what you want! It even sounds good. Say it out loud... looooaam. This is the stuff that formed my top layer before it was scrapped away. This is the stuff that's under the leaves in the forest. That black soft dirt that been formed by decades of decaying leaves and plants. This soil takes the water from a rain storm and holds it like a sponge to slowly seep out over the dry days. This soil has nutrients and is firm enough to hold plants upright yet airy enough to let them breathe.

THE SECRETS

Okay so we determined that our soil is terrible. What now?

There are two fundamental issues with sand and clay soil. They don't have any nutrients and they don't hold things well (nutrients, roots, or water). So we simply need to build that layer of fertile soil back as quickly as possible and provide the soil with extra nutrients until that layer is built.

How? You guessed one of them. Fertilizer is the key to the nutrients. Organic material is the key to the fertile layer of soil.

GO NOW AND DO

Here is the step by step of what I eventually did to turn my lawn from a brown balding mess to the lush green envy of my neighbors. I have to give credit to the book (and my wife) for just about everything I am about to tell you.

Mulching Mower

This is absolutely imperative. Spend the most time and money on this one thing. I spent hours researching Consumer Reports to find the mower that mulches the best. It was a Toro push mower but may have changed since. You basically need to replace decades of missing organic material and the easiest material you have is grass clippings. A good mulcher will cut them up fine enough to decay much quicker.

Mow High and Often

Obviously the more grass you cut and mulch the quicker you will build up that layer. Cutting high encourages deep roots and healthy grass. It does NOT cause you to have to mow more often. Cutting grass short can actually do that.

Mulch The Leaves

Just like the grass clippings, chopped up leaves help to build that layer of organic material. I actually rake and blow leaves from the woods onto my lawn to mow over and chop up. If I could think of a way to have truck loads of leaves delivered to my lawn, I would. Think of leaves as free loam and fertilizer put together!

Soil Sample

Before you fertilize, you need to know what your soil is missing. Giving it a nutrient it already has too much of just sends you backwards.

Just about every community has a "Cooperative Extension" that does cheap soil samples. You fill a couple freezer bags with dirt from two different places in your lawn and bring them in with an application that says how big your lawn is, etc. If you don't have an Extension you can look on the web for soil samples.

What you get back is a map of what to give your soil. Soil needs three key ingredients, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. The report should tell you exactly how much of each your soil needs. In addition it will tell you if your soil is too acidic or too alkali.

Fertilizer

Fertilizer is what provides the three key nutrients above. And if you lawn is like mine... the book was right, fertilize, fertilize, fertilize! But be sure to use the right mix!

All fertilizer has a ratio on the package that tells you how much Nitrogen,
Phosphorus and Potassium it has. For instance a ratio of 50-25-25 indicates that half the bag is Nitrogen, a quarter is Phosphorus and the remaining quarter is Potassium. Bring your calculator to the store though as the numbers are never easy as I just used in my example.

My soil sample said that for my size lawn I needed:

45 pounds of Nitrogen but I should only put 15 pounds down at a time.

0 Phosphorus as it already had too much.

42 pounds of Potassium but I should only put 30 pounds down at a time.

Armed with this information I went to the store to buy fertilizer with a ratio of 15-0-30 or as close to that as I could get to a bag that had no phosphorus and twice as much potassium as nitrogen.

You will have to do some math (hence the calculator) to figure out the pounds you are actually putting down. For instance a 40lb bag with a ratio of 22-0-11 means that half the bag is Nitrogen so approximately 20lbs. I needed 15lbs so close enough. One bag was good for my nitrogen but I needed twice as much potassium so I really need a bag with a ratio of 11-0-22. Like I said, bring the calculator and get as close as you can.

Lime

The forth important ingredient to a good lawn is proper PH level. Remember my soil report said I needed 42lbs of potassium. Well it also said my soil is VERY acidic and needed 3,150 lbs of lime! Yes you read it right 3,150 lbs of lime, 750lbs at a time. At 40lbs a bag, that's about 19 bags of lime each year for the next 4 years. It is what it is.

A huge word of advice on lime. Spend the extra money and get the pellets. I went cheap and bought 19 bags of powder. The powder got clogged in the spreader immediately so I ended up tossing it in the air out of my wheel barrel. It got on everything including my house, my car, my kid, and I still have the taste in my mouth today. It literally ate my wife's favorite gardening shovel that we used to scoop it out of the bags. Lime is the opposite of acid but does the same darn thing to metal believe it or not.

The pellets will work in the spreader, stay on the ground and not in the wind, and are usually time released to go into the soil instead of wash away.

CONCLUSION

The first year was wasted on my experiments. The second year I did all of the above and my lawn improved ten fold! I fertilized again this fall and expect my lawn to really shine this spring.

Ron Roberts is a webmaster of TrueBlueContractors.com allows contractors to spend less money advertising, give fewer estimates, and get more work.

Discovering Spirit And Sound

Sport Fishing Trips

Salt water fishing is preferred for its intensity and the big trophies. Obviously the most important equipment you need in this case is a boat that you will need to take at least 5 mile out into the water. Your choice for a boat depends on how often you usually fish and the kinds of trips you frequently take. The amateurs can buy old boats that can be restored and which are financially convenient and suit their fishing habits. The professionals will prefer the best of the best: secure, durable and practical. In their case, the passion they have for fishing is a lot more expensive. In a saltwater fishing trip you will need equipment to catch tuna, cod, swordfish, snapper, mackerel, flounder and many others. You will need a rod of approximately nine feet in length. The reel has to be very resistant to put up with the corrosiveness of salty waters. Materials like stainless steel, plated steel, titanium, resin and fiber are the best choices. The lines should match the type of fish you intend on catching: sharp teeth fish will require a thick lead; a longer lead and floating line are suitable for a weighted fly; conversely a shorter line is best for a sinking line.

Salt water fishing trips have different equipment requirements. You will be fishing in lakes, rivers and streams for species like bass, pickerel, sturgeon, pike sunfish, trout, salmon, catfish, muskellunge and walleye. The boat doesn't require advanced apparel - a motor boat will work just fine. Fishing lines range from 4 to 20 pound-test, hooks between number 6 and number 10. The baits work best if they re live ones such as earthworms, insects, insect larvae, frogs, minnows, chub, shad, crayfish. Small fish baits are also effective. Artificial baits are extremely varied - plastic worms, flies, insects, small jigs, spoons, streamers, spinners and many others. There are also baits that you can prepare yourself as long as you can preserve them in your fishing trip. The smell of fresh bait is very important for catching fresh water fish: kernel corn, bread balls, cheese balls, egg bags, liver, and cereal balls. Overall, going on a fresh water fishing trip can require merely knowing how to cast. Many regions destined for tourists will have shops nearby the fishing spots and you can ask for a guide. The most preferred are the lodges that allow you to prolong your fishing trips up to several weeks and you can easily bring your entire family.

The best locations around the world are all too many, but there are a few recommendations that need to be put into practice by the passionate fishermen: Cabo San Lucas in Mexico is famous for its sport fishing. You can catch tuna, snapper, marlin in abundance just to name a few. It is a perfect spot for deep sea fishing. For trophy-size tuna and marlin of 500 pounds, you can give it a try in the blue waters of Nassau, Bahamas. The resort is renowned to be as exciting as deep sea fishing. Dana Point in California can be explored in a 4 day fishing trip by charter. Here, you can practice both freshwater fishing in the inland lakes and saltwater fishing by renting boats. Costa Rica is also perfect for sport fishing tarpon, sailfish, marlin or Dorado. For fresh water fishing, popular spots are in the mountainous regions of Montana and Colorado.

If you'd like to see some new online games, take a look at these websites:

Play Online Games
Car Games
Racing Games

Chakras Book Review

Garden Mulch - Five Excellent Reasons For Mulching Your Garden Beds

The use of some sort of material to be spread on the ground to a certain height, which acts as an insulating layer between the soil's surface and the atmosphere, or mulching in short, is a technique being increasingly employed by professional horticulturalists. Some home gardeners may still be insufficiently aware of its importance, so in this article I'll tell you why a mulch layer is so important, then I'll go into the different types of mulch, their various qualities and how they should be used.

Amongst many benefits, a mulch on the soil -

* Significantly reduces weeds. This is true of annuals although mulching does not generally prevent the growth of perennial weeds

* Significantly reduces the evaporation of moisture from the soil surface and is therefore an essential part of water conserving gardening

* Reduces soil erosion caused by wind and rain. This is a fantastically important benefit

* Moderates the top-soil temperature. So in the winter a layer of mulch can prevent freezing, and in hot- summer climates, prevent the top soil reaching temperatures that inhibit plant growth

* Is aesthetically superior to the sight of bare soil and irrigation pipes

Taking aesthetic considerations into account, there are broadly speaking two types of mulch which are viable in a garden. Organic mulches such as wood chippings, and natural inorganic mulches such as pebbles. Which is preferable?

The use of decorative pebbles is often part of an overall design. They are particularly appropriate, associatively, in dry climate gardens. But there are a number of drawbacks involved. Some aggregates such as dark stones of volcanic origin have been found to actually increase the top-soil temperature. Furthermore, adding organic feeds to the soil, something that should be done once or twice a year, becomes difficult and tiresome. The use of a chemical fertilizer pump offers a way round this, but sets in train a number of problems. Relying on chemical fertilizers as the only method of feeding is dreadful gardening! For further discussion on the automatic fertilizer pumps, see a previous article of mine called "The truth about fertilizer pumps."

On the other hand, while wood chippings may in some cases be less attractive, they help to create a better habitat in which your garden plants grow. Organic mulches definitely moderate the soil's temperature, they provide raw material for essential organisms like earthworms, (see article called "The world's greatest gardener!") and as they break down they contribute humus to the soil. All these factors reduce pest and disease infestations, improve the soil's structure, and in the long run help to provide balanced nutriment for the plants

For organic mulches to be effective, they need to be spread to a depth of about 10 cm, after the initial quantity has settled. This means you need to spread about 15cm in order to end up with a layer of some 10 cm, and you'll need to add a bit each year as the chippings closest to the soil's surface break down. Be careful to keep the mulch away from tree trunks and shrub stems. It could cause rot to set in.

For FREE hands-on, expert information on gardening click here

http://www.dryclimategardening.com

And this is especially for gardeners in a dry climate! Grab hold FOR FREE chapter 1 of my book

"HOW TO GARDEN IN A DRY CLIMATE"

Go to http://www.dryclimategardening.com/Products/tabid/55/Default.aspx

Jonathan Ya'akobi

Your Personal Gardening Coach

Bhagavad Gita

No-Till Gardening

No Till gardening isn't like your traditional gardening where you dig and turnover the soil to mix amendments.The process of having the amendments and nutrients mix into the soil is done by top dressing the garden beds with compost, organic fertilizer, lime, manure or other organic amendments. The amendments are then pulled down into the soil by organisms in the existing soil and by watering. It is a lot less labor intensive way of gardening and greatly benefits the soil structure of your garden. The key to no - till gardening is the same as any method of organic gardening, good soil structure.

With no-till gardening because there is no turning over or tilling the soil in your garden your raised beds, rows, hills or mounds stay the same year after year and organic matter is added by top dressing.This will help to prevent weeds and to improve the soil structure, keeping the life in your soil thriving.

Green manures, earthworms and micro-organisms do all the work to the soil to keep it healthy. The only thing that keeps them working hard for you to have a healthy garden soil is the organic matter that you feed them. Mulching your garden with a rich organic matter like compost will keep feeding the soil the nutrients that it needs and to keep a good healthy soil structure.

Weed control is minimal with no-till gardening. The continuous adding of layers of organic matter year after year also acts as a mulch and not turning over the soil prevents weed seeds that are buried to be brought to the surface to germinate.

If you have been organic gardening then changing over to no-till gardening is simple. Good soil structure with organic matter is the key to any organic garden. Let the earthworms and other organisms in the soil do the work for you.

http://www.organicheirloomgardening.com

Gregs Videos

Special Events and Corporate Meetings are Becoming Environmental

Planning for the Environment Changing the Way We do Business

At any given moment there are thousands of business meetings and special events going on with millions of guests traveling to and from different locations throughout the world. The event and hospitality industry is perfectly situated to have an extraordinary environmental and ecological impact by planning events with better awareness and by greening up their decision making process. Green planning is a responsible way of doing business that includes energy conservation, minimizing consumption of natural resources, reducing waste, reusing resources, recycling, and using earth-friendly products.

Green meetings and events are not main stream today but will be mandate before we know it. Times are evolving rapidly in that direction and event planners, venues, suppliers and participants are responding. They are beginning to follow ecological practices and implementing environmentally friendly processes and programs into the way they design their events. The more an event planner requests and ultimately hires green services, the more suppliers and vendors will begin to incorporate green practices as well. They will have to keep up with the times and the requests of their clients.

These suggestions listed below are for you if you gather people for any reason what-so-ever! It doesnt matter what type of event you plan. Whether you are coordinating a special event, planning a corporate event, are part of the team planning conventions, involved in conference planning or business meetings and seminars. Maybe your are in charge of planning a company party, a sporting event, grand openings, a reception, a charity event or a fundraiser, or have volunteered to do your daughters wedding or son's school play or bake sale. You might be planning festivals, rock concerts, reunions, retreats, or book signing events. Or perhaps you are just having the family and friends over for a holiday get-together. The list is endless - thousand of events are being planned as you read this! ALL of them could use environmental practices.

Listed below are a few simple choices you can make today as you plan your special event or corporate meeting that will make an immediate difference with little effort. Do just one or do them all. The more you integrate into your planning practices the easier they become.

10 Easy Steps to Put into Practice Today

Here are ten simple steps that you can take right now to lessen the impact of any event:

1. Create Standards. Establish environmental standards in writing and get buy-in from your clients, the organization's management and/or your clientele. Share your standards with suppliers, vendors, speakers, and participants.
2. Use Technology. Use new media and electronic technology to cut down your paper needs. Create an informational web site, offer electronic registration and confirmation, and advertise using the web and use various forms of email. Create podcasts, webcasting, and video streaming to alleviate travel for and accommodate those who cannot travel.
3. Choose a Local Destination. Picking a local or close venue will reduce distances traveled by speakers and participants. Choose the host city that is the closest to participants locale. Choose a venue and hotel that are near the airport and within walking distance of each other or close to public transportation.
4. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Ask your hotel or event venue to provide visible, accessible reduction, reuse, and recycling services for paper, metal, plastic, and glass. Also if food is involved in your event, ask them about their composting regime or give away programs.
5. Volume Up. Have the food and beverage provider serve sugar, salt, pepper, cream, and other condiments in bulk dispensers. Use volume serving verses individual packaging. If you are using hotel rooms, find a venue that does not use individual shampoo and lotion bottles rather large dispensers. Also one that that offers a linen reuse program.
6. Use Less. Be aware of what you use and how you use it whether it is food or product. When you order food or drinks for any occasion, try to order only what you will be using. And think about your give away items, are they really necessary. These are just a few areas where using less will help.
7. Eat Healthy and Locally. Plan meals using local, seasonal produce and free range meats. Include vegetarian meals and order only what you need. Also use local flora in your decorating and keep the flowers in pots verse cut so you can use them as gifts and prizes.
8. Use paper wisely. Published all printed materials on recycled paper using vegetable-based inks and print on both sides of the pages.
9. Save Energy. Coordinate with the event venue to ensure lights, audio visual equipment and air conditioning will be turned off when rooms are empty.
10. Spread the News! Tell participants, speakers, and the media about your success. You will be surprised. Green efforts are contagious.

Some of these suggestions may seem obvious and they are, however, if you were to make the changes listed above, you would be way ahead of the game in becoming an environmental planner. The bigger event you produce the more these suggestions matter. For more information on how you can become more environmental, the Chapter Planning for the Environment in my book, The Complete Guide to Successful Event Planning. Visit my web site at www.successfuleventplanning.com to purchase the book.

As an event planner for over 25 years I have seen it all. Throughout that time I was creating timelines and checklists so I wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel for each event. This eventually became my latest book The Complete Guide to Successful Event Planning, a 2007 release. Inside this book you will discover an extensive chapter on Planning for the Environment. We have a long way to go but this is a fabulous first step.

Visit my web site to learn more about me and my book. http://www.successfuleventplanning.com

Do You Love Flowers? Design a Cutting Garden and Grow Your Own

If you love flowers and enjoy having them in your home but cant afford buying cut flowers, flower gardening is for you. Too much work? Dont have time? Hate the weeding, watering and fertilizing? Well, take heart, cutting gardens are easy to establish and fun to care for. Think of all that beauty around you every time you set foot into that fantastic garden. Cutting gardens can be traced back to the sixteenth century. If you dont have space for a full sized cutting garden, grow a perennial or annual flower border around you vegetable garden or lawn.

There is nothing magic or complicated about planting a cutting garden. The same steps that apply to a flower garden apply to a vegetable garden. They're simple:

a) Location

b) Design

c) What to plant

d) Soil selection and preparation

e) Maintenance

A flower bed for a cutting garden should be placed in a spot that gets plenty of sunshine. Find an out of the way spot where you will be free to work without worrying about getting in the way of other plants. After all, this garden is for producing flowers that will be harvested for use in indoor spaces.
Since this garden is for production, dont worry too much about how it looks. Layout depends on how much space you have. Long rows are the easiest to plant and maintain. If the space limits you from planting in rows consider, planting in square plots or beds. Make sure you layout the beds with space around them for maintaining and cutting the flowers.

Flower gardens are no different that any other garden. The soil is the primary key to your success. The soil should be loose but not fall apart when you squeeze some in your hand. It should not form a solid ball either. The soil should hold moisture but also allow the moisture to drain away.

Once you have tested the soil you can go about bringing it up to your specifications by working in organic material such as compost and peat moss. Once this is accomplished, work in a slow release fertilizer. Apply enough fertilizer to last through the growing season. Always contact a specialist at your garden supply store or nursery for answers to questions about composting and fertilizing the soil.

Now the decision as to what to plant. Simple, plant the flowers you like and enjoy. Dont settle on annuals alone. Plant perennials, too. Bulbs and some foliage plants must also be considered. ear.

Your flower garden will require watering. Dont sprinkle the surface of the soil. Sprinkling only penetrates the soil and inch or two and will encourage shallow root systems on your plants. Plants should be watered weekly down to 5 to 6 inches to assure deep root systems and plenty of moisture.

You may want to consider a drip irrigation system. Drip irrigation systems assure an optimum supply of water is available. Most importantly, a drip irrigation system will allow for air to be available constantly. Heavy watering saturates the soil and causes extreme fluctuations in moisture and aeration. Drip irrigation systems are easy to install and relatively inexpensive for a small garden. These systems dont require the amount of time on site a hose watering system does. Also, if you wish you can set them up with a timing system.

Cutting flower gardens have been grown specifically for making flower arrangements for several centuries. Growing a cutting flower garden is as simple as following a few simple steps: location, design, soil preparation. If flowers help brighten your life, dont spend another growing season looking around your local supermarket or floral shop for some nice flowers to buy to brighten up your home. Grow your own and have whatever you want. Its just a matter of starting.

Copyright Larry Gildea, All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

Dr. Larry Gildea has authored several articles on gardening. Dr. Gildea also created the Gardening Bonanza website, http://gardeningbonanza.com Gardening Bonanza.com covers many types of gardening, including, bonsai design and cultivation, container gardening, flower gardening, rose gardening, hydroponics gardening and several others.