The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Improve Your Home Landscaping
Because tools are usually kept in unlighted places, and often not wiped off after use, rust is the major enemy. One way to safeguard against rust is to keep vulnerable tools away from air when not in use, storing them in a box of sand saturated with crankcase oil. Avoid having so much oil that it makes the tools greasy and hard to handle, and do not put the working parts of the tools, such as the pivot part of shears, in the sand. The garden hose is often badly taken care of. Besides using a reel, you can preserve the life of your hose by not letting it kink while water is running through it. Don't leave it in the hot summer sun (especially if it is a plastic hose). Coil it loosely on your reel or rack made on the exposed studding of your garage. An improvised reel can be fashioned from wooden TV cable or wire reels.
Tools should be cleaned immediately after use, while the soil is still moist. Use emery cloth, a wire brush or steel wool. Rub in crank-case oil. Keep your wooden handles sanded down and preserve the wood with linseed oil. Sharpen hoes with an 8-inch mill file, stroking toward the cutting edge, but don't sharpen digging tools too keenly for when they are thin they nick easily. Apply your file to only one side of your sickle, with the bottom edge kept flat.
Power sprayers should be washed with clean water and washing soda after each using, and the nozzle should be examined to get out the grit particles. Clean the sprayer's rubber hose with vinegar and the shower, and the nozzle with kerosene. Oil the leather plunger washer after using to prevent the leather from drying out.
Construction Problems
Not every house is blessed by ideal surroundings, with promise of easy creation of outdoor recreation and entertainment areas, a good lawn and a good garden. Often it is necessary to undertake a certain amount of construction to insure the quality and life of the gardens you wish to plant and the terraces you wish to build.
The basic construction problem of any landscaping is the grading of the soil. In essence, grading means building a slope or slopes into your property. Such slopes assure the proper drainage of water, beautify the aspect of the house and make for easier maintenance. Whether you intend a lawn, a garden or a terrace, grading comes first.
The best time to consider grading is when you undertake construction of your house. It is a simple matter to ask for a few additional inches between the entrance level and the ground level. Yet these few inches will insure the easy development of a grade away from the house wall to improve the appearance of your surroundings and obtain a drier basement.
