Tips on how to support bees, store mango trees, deter deer, start tiny seeds, and dispose of invasive bushes and vines

Have you ever ever seen employee bees gathering water whereas they’re foraging? If you need to supply an intermediate station of water to your winged pals, fill a shallow dish with pebbles, marbles or gravel after which fill the dish with water. The marbles will present protected touchdown spots for the bees to allow them to drink with out falling into the water.

—Dell Salza, Shaker Heights, Ohio

backyard hose storage

I discovered a straightforward and cheap option to cling a backyard hose. Take an empty 3-pound espresso can and screw or screw it to a wall or different appropriate floor. Make sure you use some massive washers when attaching the can to present the again extra power. Placing a screw on the highest entrance of the can will assist preserve the hose in place. I let my can naturally age to a rusty brown shade, however you may as well paint it to fit your backyard location. Lastly, the open finish of the can can be utilized as a useful storage compartment for sprinklers or hose nozzles.

—Christopher Patin, Clovis, California

Cologne as a deer deterrent

To maintain deer off my flowerbeds, I douse the tops of bamboo poles in closely scented cologne. (I’ve discovered that males’s cologne works greatest.) I often soak them for 2 to 3 days in a plastic bag. I then insert the bottoms of the sticks into the bottom subsequent to my vegetation. The sticks mix into the background so I haven’t got to cover them from view. Deer and raccoons keep away! The fragrance lasts for a couple of month and I repeat the method as wanted. Ultimately, the deer merely avoids the realm. This tip additionally works for potted vegetation.

—Leslie Gault, Ashland, Oregon

Pack invasive shrubs and vines

My backyard is adjoining to a swamp, so eradicating invasive non-native bushes, shrubs and perennials is a precedence. I’ve discovered {that a} 1 ton woven polypropylene bag – the sort used to move sand, gravel and different bulk supplies – is the right container for gathering and transporting woody stems and vines. I can simply drag the bag with me whereas I work, and when it is full, I get assist from a member of the family or neighbor to load it into the mattress of my truck. From there, it is easy to dump the supplies into the bush pile at our native switch station.

—Eileen Coomb, Torrington, Conn.

Seeds indoors

When planting small seeds indoors (eg poppies, petunias, strawberries or thyme), I don’t cowl the seeds with soil. Seeds shouldn’t be buried greater than twice their circumference. Tiny seeds are greatest sprinkled over the floor of the soil. To maintain the seeds from spoiling or drying out, I cowl them with a single layer of vermiculite after which water from the underside of the container. Vermiculite swells with water and holds seeds in place with out compacting or stifling their development.

—Mary Crum, Fort Myers, Florida

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