Wednesday, March 19, 2008

5 Tips for Lawn Envy - Building a Dream Lawn

The sounds of engines breaking the silence of Saturday morning and the smell of freshly cut grass tells everyone that summer is in full swing. Up and down the neighborhood people keep an eye out for the fine manicured lawn with the must beautiful lush grass. But for every lawn the neighbors envy, ten others struggle, fight and battle their grass with problems, stress and frustration. For some the idea of artificial grass would solve all their lawn problems.

The Lawn Secret

The secret to that perfect lawn does come down to a perfect fertilizer to produce lush green miracle growth or depending on the yard man to cut the grass every week, or even pay to have a company come by once per once to give the lawn a look. The secret of a great looking lawn all comes down to good old fashion work and sweat.

Taking advantage of professionals to service the lawn for pest and fertilizer may provide some value. However, with a few basic tips and a little know how, your lawn can soon fight for the title of best looking lawn of the neighborhood.

Grass Types

Depending on where you live will help determine the type of grass and type of care your lawn needs. For example, many in the southern states find lawns of St. Augustine grass or many prefer centipede. Moving up into northern climates the best solution may be a mixture of grass types to produce a thick, dense carpet of grass. Check with the local nursery or state extension agency for the recommended grasses for your area.

Mowing the Grass

As tempting as it may be to cut down on the frequency of mowing the lawn, never cut the grass to low as this can cause the grass to burn from the intense summer sun. Bagging or raking the grass is a best practice for lawn care for a number of reasons. Small piles of grass can prevent sunlight from reaching the grass causing brown stops. Also, cut grass will wither and decompose. The decaying grass can be an invitation for bugs and pest.

The frequency of mowing will be determined by the weather conditions, grass health, fertilizer, rainfall or irrigation schedule, time of year and the period between the previous mowing.

Soil Aeration

Aerating the soil golf courses do this all the time - and adding topsoil in the spring can prepare your grass for the hot summer sun. Aeration will help encourage root growth as well as the grass blades while the topsoil adds nutrients and stability.

Watering & Irrigation

Watering the lawn too much can cause just as much harm as watering too little. We should all work to conserve water and not run sprinklers when it is raining. A simple rain sensor should be installed to reduce watering the lawn too much.

Grass as a plant is pretty forgiving, when you see the grass getting crispy, wilting or browning it is time to water. Watering scheduling is always a big debate and topic of water use discussions. Watering twice per week should meet the needs for most lawns. Water long enough to get a good deep watering of the soil moist to about two inches below ground level.

Fertilizing and Weeding

When selecting any fertilizer check at the local garden center for the best formulation for your type of grass and also the best formulation for the time of year applied. Some fertilizers come with a weed and feed formulation to kill weeds and fertilize the grass. Make sure you read the label and apply correctly. Weed and feed fertilizer applications should not be applied when temperatures reach certain levels.

Large weeds should be pulled or dug up then placed in the trash. Simply running a weed eater over them will not make them go away. If you choose to apply a weed eater be careful when spraying. Most weed killers will also kill the grass.

Beautiful lawns do not just happen; they are slowly built over time with tender loving care and attention. Focus on growing a good, strong, healthy root system and youll soon have a lawn the neighborhood will envy.

Lawn Problems? discover the right - fertilizer for grass as Thomas Fryd shares his 25 plus years of plant care and landscape experience at www.Plant-Care.com. Learn practical professional advice on landscaping and houseplant care.

Yoga Cl In Portland Oregon

Losing Weight the Healthy Way

Does panting on the treadmill give you nightmares? For many, the prospect of losing weight can be a scary thing. However, it's important to first understand that there are many ways to lose weight, without having to exhaust oneself totally.

Myths of weight loss

There are some popular misconceptions associated with weight loss. before you actually start an exercise regimen, it's important to remove all pre-conceived notions. We have listed out some of the most popular ones:

Myth 1: Ab exercises flatten the stomach

Fact: Ab exercises only tone and firm the lower layers of stomach muscle. If you happen to have layers of fat above, it won't make any difference. Therefore do aerobic exercises to shed the fat.

Myth 2: Drinking water before exercise is harmful

Fact: water is essential to replenish fluids lost during strenuous exercise. Therefore, drink water in equal amounts.

Myth 3: Eliminating fats helps shed weight faster

Fact: Fats in small amounts can help you feel fuller during the day. This avoids binging.

Myth 4: High protein, low carb diets burn fat faster

Fact: Ingesting too much protein can result in high fat and cholesterol levels in the body. Too many carbohydrates in the diet can result in the formation of Ketones which lead to kidney stones. The trick lies in a balanced diet.

Myth 5: One can lose weight no matter what one eats

Fact: Not watching what's eaten can lead to alarming weight increases

Myth 6: Skipping meals burns fat quickly

Fact: When you skip meals, your body goes into a conservation mode where its metabolic rate starts dipping, resulting in weight gains.

Myth 7: weight training doesn't shed weight

Fact: weight training can actually be a great way to lose weight in a short time span.

Myth 8: Consuming nuts and dairy products can be fattening

Fact: If taken in small doses, nuts can actually be good for health.

Myth 9: Counting calories isn't really necessary

Fact: It is absolutely necessary to keep track of everything you eat right from sugar to tea or even snacks.

Myth 10: Salads are a great health snack

Fact: Yes salads are great but not with the fatty dressing.

Cardio to help shed fat

It has been clinically proven that cardio exercise is your one and only ticket to effective and quick fat loss. Cardio exercises involve any form of exercise that raises heart rate to higher levels. Especially when it comes to fat loss goals, the higher the intensity, the greater the chances of your slimming down quicker!

Why high intensity cardio is so great

There are many reasons why cardio helps shed weight fast:

- High intensity cardio rapidly raises your metabolic rate

- This increased metabolic rate remains at the same rate even after exercise

- Increases lean muscle mass which contributes to increased resting metabolic levels

- Other benefits include:

- Greater lung strength

- Strengthens your heart

- Improves blood circulation.

Timing and its impact

The best time of the day for any cardio exercise is early in the morning, before you've had any breakfast. This is because in the morning hours, muscle and liver glycogen levels are really low. This means that with lower blood sugar levels, your chances at burning fat at this time is much more than later in the day.

top 5 cardio exercises to shed fat

If you think a 30 minute morning walk at moderate pace will help, then you're wrong. While it certainly will help you lose more calories over a period of time, if you're looking for fat loss you need something extra!

1.Jump rope: On an average if you jump rope for 15 minutes you burn 174 calories!

2.Swimming: The forward crawl stroke seems to burn fat the best and its also non-impact.

3.Sprinting: It will burn tons of calories, beats fat like none other and reduces stress and tension in the body.

4.Step aerobics: Burns a whopping 400 calories in a 30 minute time span

5.Cycling: It exhausts carbohydrate reserves in the body resulting in enhanced metabolic rates.

Discover the power of Amalaki Fruit inside Zrii Visit our website to learn more about the Zrii product

Can Yoga And Pilates Alone Help Me Lose Weight