Secrets on How To Choose Tomato Plants For Lanscaping

Landscaping involves planning the layout for your plants and choosing the right plant. Choosing the wrong plant ruins the aesthetic of your yard. It is, therefore, important to choose the right plant. Tomatoes are one of the best plants that can be used for landscaping. 

 
How do you choose a tomato plant for landscaping? Based on the hundreds of varieties and different qualities of tomato that exist, it is not easy to make a decision. Explained below is a guide that will show you how to choose tomato plant for landscaping. 

How To Choose Tomato Plant For Landscaping

Select The Variety
As mentioned above, there are many varieties of tomatoes that exist. It is mind-boggling to make a choice on which variety is good for your garden. Choose a hybrid variety because they are disease resistant, uniform and vigorous. Hybrid varieties do well in most parts of the country. Certain varieties like Heirloom varieties are only adapted for specific regions. However, they have different shapes, color and even taste.
Ask for a recommendation for the best seed to plant, from a seed company near your area. If you prefer dwarf varieties, choose the 'Patio Hybrid'. Other varieties include the determinate varieties and indeterminate varieties. Determinate varieties grow up to a specific height while the indeterminate ones grow until they are stopped by a disease, pests, weather etc. They need most support but produce many fruits. Determinate varieties require little support because they only grow to 2 ft high.

Time of Maturity
Some varieties mature earlier than others. Some of them mature in 60 days while others can take up to 90 days to mature. Check if you will be available when they start maturing. To know how long the seeds will take to mature, check the seed packet for the date of harvest.

Disease Resistance Plants
Tomatoes are vulnerable to a number of diseases. If attacked by a disease, your yield will be lower. The most common diseases that affect tomatoes are Fusarium wilt and Verticillium. They are soil-borne diseases. Check the seed packet to see if the variety is resistant to these diseases. Other diseases that affect tomatoes include Late blight, Root knot nematode, Alternaria, and Tobacco Mosaic. If these diseases are prevalent in your area, choose a tomato plant variety that is resistant.

Fruit Characteristic
Some tomato varieties are sweet while others are not. Some of them are good to just eat out at hand, making salads and sandwiches etc. Select a tomato plant that suits what you want to use it for. For kids, choose the sweet variety. 

Conditions
Tomatoes do well in areas that have good well-drained soils. The spot should also receive enough sunshine. When planted in heavy clay soil, or under a shade, they will be more prone to diseases. To avoid disease build up, it is advised to plant them in different parts of the garden each season. If it is impossible to grow them in different parts of the garden each year, use containers. Look for a larger container that is about 12cm in diameter. Make sure that you use a high-quality potting mix.

Infinity Jars Review

Infinity Jars sells a very popular line of high performance storage containers for cooking ingredients, dried herbs, bitters, tea, coffee, cosmetics, nuts, oils, etc. They are airtight and light optimized, meaning they block out visible light that degrades organic goods. The result is they keep goods fresh for an extremely long time!

We Have The Science To Keep Your Stuff Fresh

Infinity Jars can actually slow down the decaying process of organic matter while maintaining the freshness of whatever you put inside. What sets Infinity Jars apart from all other jars is that it blocks out all harmful visible light rays while selectively ALLOWING infrared and UV-A rays.

7 Month Tomato Test

This is a lab test between an Infinity Jars all glass apothecary jar and clear glass equivalent. The tomato in the clear glass had mold and microbiological growth while Infinity Jars' tomato showed no signs of drying out and no loss of color. Imagine the difference it can make for any of your products.

2 Month Chive Test

This is a lab test comparing effectiveness at storing chives in (from L to R) the Infinity Jar ultraviolet screwtop jar, an amber screwtop jar, and a clear glass jar. Infinity Jar clearly out-performed the other jars by keeping the chives green and fresh. Chives are among the most fragile and easily perishable herbs you can find at a grocery store. Much like your lotions, essential oils and other products, improper protection against visible light, as seen in the amber and clear glass, will lead to a fast decomposition and degradation.

Infinity Jar versus Common Jar Types

Infinity Jars' special pigmented glass is thicker and more durable than your standard glass; it is smell-proof, blocks harmful UV light and is visually discreet. Furthermore, all of our jar lid systems, the screwtop and glass-on-glass lid, are completely airtight. Your products are totally protected, preserved much like ancient Egyptians- who invented deep violet glass thousands of years ago and preserved precious oils and herbs for centuries in tombs. The integrity of your lotions, essential oils or spices is guaranteed to be protected for over 6 months when you use our products!

Now You Know The Science

I used one of my jars for my olive oil and it tastes just as amazing as it did when I first opened the bottle. I used my spritzer bottle for lemon juice and dill so I can spray my salads and salmon and it tastes amazing in my infinity jars even months later. I have kept fresh herbs in my wide mouth infinity jar and they remained fresh the whole month until I used them all up. 

They have a huge selection of jars to choose from. Take a look!

Swago: Back to School Shopping Edition

Swagbucks is hosting another round of Shopping Swago! What is SWAGO you ask? It's a bingo-inspired promotion run by Swagbucks, a website that rewards you with points (called SB) for completing everyday online activities. You can redeem those SB for free gift cards. If you've never used Swagbucks, participating in SWAGO is a great introduction to the site and an easy way to earn a good amount of points quickly.  

Click here to get started! 

Here’s what you need to know to get your 200 SB Bonus (and don’t worry, you don’t have to make a purchase to complete a pattern):

• Shop Swago will begin on Monday, August 7th at 9am PT/12pm ET, make sure you hit “Join” otherwise you won’t get credit for completing the action items. Each square on your Swago Board will contain an action item to complete.
• Once you complete the action item in a particular square the square will change color signifying the action item is complete.
• You have a limited amount of time to mark off as many squares as possible so use your time wisely.
• Be mindful of the patterns and their corresponding bonuses located on the right of your Swago Board. The patterns will vary in difficulty and bonus value.
• Once you’ve achieved a pattern the corresponding “Submit” button will light up. You can have multiple patterns available for submission, however, you can only submit ONE pattern so choose wisely.
• The game ends Thursday, August 10th at 12pm PDT/3pm EDT. So make sure to hit “Submit” on the pattern you wish to submit. If you don’t hit “Submit” before the game ends you won’t receive your SB bonus.

How to make healthy popsicles!

This tasty cool snack found on HealthyFamiliesBC  is a healthier alternative to sugary popsicles. Give them a try!   

Making fruit pops:

• Select at least one fruit and one 100% fruit juice for your base ingredients. Yogurt will add a creamy texture. Mint, cinnamon, or finely grated citrus peel (zest) can add pizzazz. 
• Blend all your ingredients together, adjusting the texture to your preference. Blend longer for a smooth texture or skip this step completely if you prefer frozen whole berries or sliced fruit.
• Pour your smoothie into cups or molds, insert sticks and freeze until solid.
• Once frozen solid, pour a little warm water over the outside of the cup or mold to loosen the fruit pop.

Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Peach yogurt + ripe peaches + orange juice
• Watermelon + coconut water + white grape juice + fresh mint
• Pineapple juice and chunks + watermelon + kiwi + strawberries
• Banana + mango + orange juice
• Plain yogurt + blueberries + grape juice
• Turn your favourite smoothie recipe into a fruit pop!

Looking for more healthy recipes? HealthyFamiliesBC has lots more in their food and nutrition section!     

Home Improvements That'll Improve Your Lifestyle Too

How fulfilling or convenient or fun your lifestyle is will depend on what your home allows. This is where you spend the bulk of your time when you’re not at work, so it’s a good idea to improve it in whatever ways you can. Here are some great home improvement ideas that’ll definitely improve your lifestyle as well. Take advantage of these ideas and implement the ones that appeal to you.

A Deck or Patio

A deck or a patio can add so much to your home. When you have a patio, you can enjoy the summer so much more. And you can use it all year round if you want a way to spend more time outside. Your garden should never go to waste. But it won’t be very functional if you don’t have somewhere out there where you can sit and relax with friends and family. All you need is a plan and good deck builders. Before long, you’ll have a deck to cherish.

Basement Remodel

If you have a basement, you should definitely remodel it. It could provide you with an entirely additional space that you can do wonderful things with. If it’s just sitting there adding nothing to your home and how you live in it, you should remodel it. It could become a place for your own relaxation, somewhere you can go to in order to get away from the rest of the home. Or it could be a space to read or play video games or do whatever you want to do. Putting together a plan for what you want to do, then approaching Basement Refinishing experts to discuss the renovation would be the best course of action. Approaching professionals with a plan for what you're after will help them to better provide you with an end result that works for what you want to do. Specifying the details will allow them to use their expertise to ensure that the basement is refinished appropriately for your needs. This might mean ensuring it is watertight and warm if you want to use it for lounging in for example, whereas they might focus on adding power points more frequently if the basement is going to be turned into a room full of electronics.

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Upgrade the Essentials

We all have some essential things in our home that we couldn’t really do without. You need a heating system, you need a water heater, maybe a furnace. It all depends on your own home and how it's set up. What’s most frustrating is when one of the essential things we rely on breaks down on us. It puts you in a difficult situation and hampers your lifestyle. That’s why you should spend some money on upgrading those essential things.

Opening Up the Space You Have

Sometimes, you just need to take the space that you have and do something new and interesting with it. By opening the space up and breaking down barriers, you will have far more options open to you, and that can make a very big difference indeed. You will be able to change how you use the space and how large it feels. You might even be able to make your home a lot more user friendly as a result of this.

Heated Bathroom Floor

There are few things more luxurious than having a heated bathroom floor in your home. It’s one of those things that everyone should have in their home eventually. It’s so comforting on those cold winter days. And it makes using your bathroom and getting out of the shower far better. It’s a very small thing, but you’ll be surprised at how much difference it makes to the way you go about using your home each day.

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Your home is not something that should just be seen as an asset. Yes, its value matters, but what it provides you in terms of your lifestyle matters a lot more. So, make the most of these ideas.

Saving Money on Life's Essentials

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There are some things in life that we just cannot avoid spending money on because they are essential to our health, safety, and well-being in some way, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t make savings on them. No matter how frugal you are right now, I guarantee that there are some essentials you could save even more money on. Here are some simple things you can do to save on life’s essentials:

Fix Your Credit Score

If your credit score isn’t exactly the best, you may be able to save money on everything from mortgages to car repayments by fixing it. When you have a poor credit score, you rarely get the best deal on loans and credit, but this is easily fixed by getting in touch with a good credit repair company. They will help to improve your situation so that you can start paying less for those essentials that require credit.

Review Everything

Another good way to save money on life’s essentials is to regularly review them. We all have regular payment plans set up for a whole host of things, that even if they did represent the best deal when we signed up, don’t anymore.

For example, we all know that it’s important to stay protected with personal accident insurance, but if you’ve had your policy for a while without checking it, you might not be getting the same value you once did. If your job life circumstances have changed, your life insurance policy may not be appropriate anymore, and you might be paying way over the odds. You can, therefore, save money by checking your policy and asking for changes to be made, or if your policy allows it, canceling and taking out a new one.

Another example would be that of your power bills. If you’ve been with the same power company for years, there’s a good chance you aren’t getting the best deal, and by reviewing your options, you could make significant savings.

Buy in Bulk

Groceries are pretty much the most essential expenditure for us all. So, it’s important we do what we do what we can to make savings. The simplest way of doing this is by buying in bulk. Not only does your food cost less when you buy in bulk, but you save money on gas because you won’t have to go to the store anywhere near as often.

Coupons

Using coupons is a great way to save on groceries and anything else you need to buy. Before you make any purchase at all, be sure to go online or look in local publications for coupons. You’d be surprised how much you could save by doing this one simple thing. Try using this handy coupon binder to organize your coupons for every trip! 

Go Paper-Free

If you switch to paperless billing, all kinds of companies, from electricity providers to cell phone companies will charge you a few dollars less on your bills, which will certainly add up over the months and years.

What are your top tips for saving on the cost of life’s essentials?

Take a look at this post on how to make money online!

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Products You Can Use During A Fire Ban

We went on a weekend camping trip last weekend and we had a great time. Even though we live in an area where camp fires are banned and the fire risk is extreme we were still able to have that genuine camping feeling by using products that are safe to use during these crazy hot summers. We roasted marshmallows and cooked hotdogs the same way we always have in our new propane fire pit. We were able to cook bacon and eggs in the morning using a propane camping stove as well.

We even had a visit from a fire warden while we were camping because somebody had seen our propane campfire burning at night and thought we had a real wood fire burning. So the warden came and checked out our camp and informed us that they had gotten a report of a fire by the lake we were at. We showed him all of our propane gear and he reassured us that we were following all the rules. It's nice to know that people are actually reporting fires they see in the backwoods so nobody can break the rules and destroy our forests with a wildfire.

There is an excellent article here that informs you all about the rules of a campfire ban.

Propane heaters are also allowed inside of your tent at night to keep you warm. We bought one and it kept us toasty all night, it got down to at least 5 degrees Celsius over night so it was very brisk with young children.

As always remember your fishing rods so the kids can enjoy some good old fashioned fishing and if your into firearms and hunting like I am it is a great idea to teach your children about gun safety while your camping.

The August Referral Bonus

Summer's almost over, but you can still earn big bonuses at Swagbucks, the rewards site where you earn points (called SB) for things you're probably doing online already, like searching, watching videos, discovering deals, and taking surveys. Then you take those points and exchange them for gift cards to places like Amazon, Starbucks, Walmart, Target, or PayPal cash. 

When you sign up through me this month, you can earn a $5 bonus! Here's how: 

1. Sign up using this link 

2. Earn 300 SB total before 9/1/17. You'll get a $3 (300 SB) bonus for it! 

3. If you spend at least $25 through Swagbucks Shop* you'll get another $2 (200 SB) bonus on top of the cash back you'll get from shopping. If you have some shopping to do online, just go to Swagbucks first and visit the store through them. It doesn't cost you anything extra, but you'll get SB points for every dollar you spend (on top of the bonus)! 

That's it. It's super easy, and Swagbucks is for real. I use it myself, and I've earned hundreds in amazon gift cards for grocery items and birthday presents throughout the year.

*You must receive your shopping SB before October 1st

Tips To Get You Saving For a Rainy Day Fund

In life, accidents and emergencies happen. From a tyre that blows to a household fire. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, these kinds of thing can happen to us or those around us. Which is why, as well as insurance, we can help ourselves by putting money aside for a ‘rainy day fund.’ The kind of money that we never expect to have to spend. But if we do, then we’re very glad that we have it!

So if you don’t have much by way of a rainy day fund at the moment, then these tips are for you. Sometimes looking for a cash advance online is the only thing that you can do in an emergency. But if you are able to cover things yourself, then there will be no worries about unexpected emergencies in life. Even saving a little something is better than nothing.

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Decide Where You Will Save

If you are looking to start a rainy day fund, then being able to use a vehicle to save, that will help you to naturally get some interest, then you’re earning extra cash for doing very little. You could look at opening a savings account that has a good interest rate. Sometimes this is a good option if you’re not the most disciplined with money; out of sight, out of mind! You could look at setting up an ISA too, but they usually require a certain amount of money to be put in each month or year. So you’ll have to check on the requirements before you commit. But getting the right place for your savings will make a big difference.

Be Honest With Yourself

When it comes to saving, many of us will make excuses as to why we justify certain purchases or put off saving. So in order to start a rainy day fund, you do need to be honest with yourself. Do you need to go to the mall every weekend or buy that Starbucks coffee on the way to work? When you’re honest about your spend, it makes it easier to cut back and save.

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Save Extra Income

If you get bonuses or extra income from overtime, for example, then put that amount away straight away. If it is in your normal bank account, then it will get spent. Your monthly budget won’t be including extra income, so you won’t be relying on it to live. So bank it as soon as you get it.

Stash Spare Change

If every time you get some spare change, put it into a box. Don’t spend it, but keep adding to it. When this is done over a few months (or even a year), it will really add up. Change it at the bank and then put it into your savings account. If this is the only way that you can save at the moment, then make sure you do it. You’ll be thankful for it when an unexpected emergency comes around the corner, and you need some extra cash.

How To Fight Your Financial Dragons

Pay one bill, then two more take its place. To anyone on a tight budget trying to save money, bills are like mythical monsters that always demand payment or they will take away your livelihood. Fortunately, there are a number of weapons at your disposal to fight these financial dragons.

Save money on necessities

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While you can tighten your budget on luxuries such as gym memberships and magazine subscriptions, the one thing you definitely can’t go without is food. The best thing you can do to keep your food bills low is to find ways to reduce the amount of waste you throw away each week. Fortunately, there are several more ways to reduce your food bill each week, including shopping for cheaper store brands, buying non-perishables items in bulk, or sticking to a shopping list. You can also save money on purchases by looking around for good deals in various supermarkets, or finding discounts online.

Cut down on energy consumption

Energy bills are the biggest drain on your savings besides rent or mortgage repayments. Although water, electricity, and an internet connection are necessities, that doesn’t mean you should let your providers rob you. The first thing you can do is check how much you’re currently paying, then find information on other providers to see if they will give you a better deal in the long run. Another solution is to go green. Start by switching to energy efficient LED bulbs, unplugging all appliances you’re not using, and insulating your home so you don’t need to turn up your thermostat as much. Doing these small things can reduce your energy consumption, saving you money on your bills each month and helping the environment.

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DIY

Sometimes the best way to save money is by doing little things by yourself. When things break around the house, try doing your own home repairs; blocked sinks, leaky faucets, and holes in the wall should be easy enough for any novice to handle once they’ve consulted internet guides. Doing minor repairs yourself can keep your home in good condition for longer, putting off the need for a handyman. However, you should remember to call a professional if things appear to be above your level of expertise.

Transportation

With the price of gas constantly changing, your car is an unpredictable money pit, before you even factor in the monthly payments, parking spaces, and unexpected repairs. You can save money and still keep your car by only using it for long trips, such as family vacations. In the meantime, there are plenty of public transport options to suit your lifestyle. Monthly bus passes are more than worth their value if you take the bus to work every day. Carpooling with a colleague splits the cost of gas, and can reduce traffic if enough people get in on the scheme. Finally, if you’re going out for the night and don’t have a volunteer for designated driver, Uber can save you the trouble of waiting for a cab.