Category Archives: Garden Tools & Tips

Rain, Rain Go Away!

I am not exaggerating when I say it has been raining here in Tennessee for the past week, non stop. I have begun to wonder why I keep seeing pairs of everything as I gaze out into my front yard – two dogs, a pair of robins, two squirrels chasing each other up my pin oak tree??

Now it is Monday morning and I am going to have to blame the weather for my tiredness…what else could it be? I slept all weekend BECAUSE of the rain!  One thing I did muster up the energy to do is go to the garden nursery store to get a myriad of lawn products that I am going to need once the rain finally stops. I have so much to do in my yard and I know many of you feel the same way.

One product I was looking at was a wheelbarrow. I didn’t realize how pricey those things can be! I passed on getting one primarily because I don’t have anywhere to store it and the new shoes I saw last week seemed like more of a necessity! Priorities, please! Anyway, today I when I got to the office I saw a new product we have just added to our expansive product portfolio. Check this out – I did and I just love it!  It is the Folding Wheelbarrow – awesome, sturdy, compact, inexpensive, and it won’t rust since you can fold it up and easily put it away.

Now, if it will just stop raining so I can use it.  Rain, Rain Go Away!

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Composting Is Not a Dirty Word

Earthmaker Composter

The word compost sometimes scares people.  We often think of smelly trash, worms, and spoiled food when we think of composting. Actually, it is a simple way you can “Go Green” in your own home in addition to the avid recycling you already participate in.

Composting benefits us in at the very least two ways.  It reduces waste and the more we compost the less we eventually send to our landfills.  And it also helps improve the quality of our soil when it is re-introduced to our gardens, shrubs and other landscape.

A great product for composting that never stinks because it uses the process of aerobic oxidation is the the Earthmaker Aerobic Composter. It is for busy people wanting an easy, green way to deal with organic waste or gardeners who want an easy, fast way of making compost.  This is how it works. In the top chamber of the composter the water, oxygen, and heat help micro-organisms (fungi and bacteria) break down the raw material. In the cooler middle and bottom chambers, macro-organisms (worms and invertebrates) work to further break down material to mulch and, finally, compost. The Earthmaker Aerobic Composter has a 123 gallon capacity and is the first continuous cycle compost bin that can produce 10 gallons of compost every month. Independent trials have proven the Earthmaker processes kitchen and garden waste at twice the speed of traditional compost bins.

Start composting today and do your part to live a “Green” life.

Decorative Outdoor Planters

Why not add a  handcrafted beautiful cedar garden planter to your backyard?  Each piece has been hand made by individuals with disabilities. These planters are made in association with the Knox County Council for Developmental Disabilities, Inc. (kccdd.com), which was developed to provide work and career opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Individuals are assisted in becoming self-supporting citizens who can contribute their talents, skills, and labor to the communities in which they live.They are available in rectangle cedar planters and square cedar planters in various heights and sizes.

Cedar planters are naturally insect and weather resistant and sure to add the “wow” factor you are looking for!