Song for today by Steve Vai

Good afternoon everyone.

Since today is Sunday I thought I would post a you tube video by guitarist Steve Vai.

We first found out about Steve Vai in a movie we saw many years ago called 'Crossroads'. It was terrific. I found a video of this fantastic guitar duel that he was in from that movie, then found the video featured here today.

The Crossroads video can be seen by clicking on the link below.

Crossroads

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'For the Love of God', performed live with the Holland Metropole Orchestra, 2005.






This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Epsom Salts for your gardens

Here is another great inexpensive natural helper for our gardens. You can find it at your local grocery store.

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Studies show that magnesium and sulfur, two components of Epsom Salt may:

• Help seeds germinate
• Make plants grow bushier
• Produce more flowers
• Increase chlorophyll production
• Improve phosphorus and nitrogen uptake

Garden usage tips.

• Houseplants: 2 tablespoons per gallon of water; feed plants monthly.
• Tomatoes: 1 tablespoon per foot of plant height per plant; apply every two weeks.
• Roses: 1 tablespoon per foot of plant height per plant; apply every two weeks. Also scratch 1/2 cup into soil at base to encourage flowering canes and healthy new basal cane growth. Soak unplanted bushes in 1/2 cup of Epsom Salt per gallon of water to help roots recover. Add a tablespoon of Epsom Salt to each hole at planting time. Spray with Epsom Salt solution weekly to discourage pests.
• Shrubs (evergreens, azaleas, rhododendron): 1 tablespoon per 9 square feet. Apply over root zone every 2-4 weeks.
• Lawns: Apply 3 pounds for every 1,250 square feet with a spreader, or dilute in water and apply with a sprayer.
• Trees: Apply 2 tablespoons per 9 square feet. Apply over the root zone 3 times annually.
• Garden Startup: Sprinkle 1 cup per 100 square feet. Mix into soil before planting.
• Sage: Do not apply! This herb is one of the few plants that doesn't like Epsom Salt.

The above information is from the following website:

Epsom Salt Industry Council

Like your body, your plants will suffer from a lack of nutrients. Just a spoonful of Epsom Salt is like a multi vitamin, and can prevent weak stalks and yellow leaves. And for big, healthy vegetables, sprinkle Epsom Salt around the base of each plant.

Epsom Salt is magnesium sulfate. Magnesium is a mineral plants need for a stronger root structure and to facilitate the uptake of chlorophyll. Its use is advocated by many master gardeners and landscape professionals.

The above was taken from:

Epsom salts

You can't overuse Epsom salts, because unlike many fertilizers, they don't build up in the soil over time.

Seattle Times

Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady

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Each small task of everyday life is part
of the total harmony of the universe.
St. Theresa of Lisieux

Coffee grounds for our gardens

Good morning everyone. We've had some rain already this morning, great for the gardens, and I don't have to move the hoses around to water.

This thread is about using 'used' coffee grounds on your gardens. I've been saving up the grounds from our morning coffee and have a large yogurt container filled to the top with nice dry grounds. Will be putting them around rose bushes, and sprinkling them into flower beds. From what I've read they are wonderful and there is nothing like recycling something that's good for your gardens.

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Using coffee grounds in the garden is a great way to add organic matter to your soil. Coffee grounds are also a good source of nitrogen for your garden soil. Being naturally acidic in nature, used coffee grounds are wonderful for acid loving plants such as roses, blueberries, camellias, azaleas, rhododendrons and even viburnum. Should you want to use coffee ground in the garden on plants that do not appreciate the acidity, you may need to add a limestone supplement.

Don't add too thick of a pile of coffee grounds or mold may develop. A nice thin layer of coffee grounds around the trunk of the plant is all that is needed. One more added benefit of using coffee grounds in the garden is that earthworms love the used coffee grounds. They will feed on the coffee grounds and in turn aerate and fertilize the soil around your plants. You'll always enjoy the rewards of using coffee grounds in the garden.

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The link below will take you to the website where this info came from.
Using Coffee Grounds

I'm looking forward to seeing more flowers and healthier looking plants by using the grounds. I've read many places that you can get 'free' coffee grounds from places like Star Bucks.

Here's to happier, healthier gardens ~ FlowerLady

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I have found, through years of practice,
that people garden to make something grow;
to interact with nature;
to share, find sanctuary, to heal,
to honor the earth, to make a mark.
Through gardening we feel whole,
as we make our personal work or art upon our land.

Julie Moir Messervy, The Inward Garden, 1995, p.19

Wednesday

Here it is Wednesday, the first of October. This year is zipping on by. It seems the older we get the faster the years go. That's why we need to appreciate each day that we are blessed with and to live each one more fully and better than yesterday.

Here is a tidbit from Wikipedia about Wednesday being 'hump day'. Hope yours is a good one and that the rest of the week is nice also.

FlowerLady

~ An American English idiom for Wednesday is "hump day", created by Louis Straccioni while working in Philadelphia, a reference to making it through to the middle of the work week as getting "over the hump." The actual proliferation of the term "Hump Day" was the result of Mr. Straccioni's employement with AT&T, Long Lines Division. He conversed daily with people all over the country and Canada; while maintaining voice and data private lines being leased by small and large companies.

He knew the term was an original one that had never been used. He had never seen the term in print nor heard it uttered by anyone in his extensive travels around the globe during his twenty four years of life. He found the that the term, when used at the beginning was warmly received and even celebrated. The use Hump Day spread like wildfire and quickly became part of the American vernacular. Straccioni even remembers the moment of inspiration. Entering an elevator one morning on the first floor of the Bell of Pennsylvania building at 9th & Race in Philadelphia, he saw a bunch of frowning faces. Desiring to change the mood, he announced, "Cheer up everyone, this is HUMP DAY, Friday's right around the corner, it's time to celebrate"! There was an immediate and palpable change in in everyone's demeanor, as though a revelation had just occurred. The mood went from morose to jocularity and by the time the elevator had reached it's first stop, everyone was infected with the premise of "Hump Day". So goes the story; I know it's true because, I'm Lou. By the way, the year was 1972.

The above was taken from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wednesday