Gardening 101: Start a Garden this Spring

Spring is a time of growth and renewal: following a long, harsh winter, blades of grass are beginning to shoot up from the ground, buds are bursting out on tree branches, and birds are busily constructing nests for their soon-to-be-laid eggs. Everywhere you look, life is starting fresh. Why not be part of it this spring with your very own vegetable garden? Even if you’ve never planted a seed in your life, this how-to can help you plan and grow your very first vegetable garden.

Start Small

It can be tempting to want a vegetable garden that takes up your entire backyard, but if you’re just beginning to garden, it’s best to keep your garden small until you know how to control it. Planting too much too soon is a common mistake made by new gardeners, and can become problematic when harvest time comes and you have way more veggies than you’ll ever be able to use!

Sunny Side Up

Plan your garden in a sunny location, so that your vegetables can get the 6 hours minimum direct sunlight per day that they need. More sun equals a more bountiful harvest and better-tasting vegetables!

Mind the Soil

Good, loamy soil is ideal for planting your vegetable garden. Making sure the soil is properly drained and enriching it with compost will help provide exactly the right amount of water and nutrients to your plants.

Space Out

Pay attention to the directions on your seed packets for spacing requirements. If you plant your vegetables too close together, they won’t get enough sunlight, water or soil nutrients to properly thrive.

Packet Up

Make sure to purchase high-quality seed packets from reputable companies. Also, pay attention to the expiration date on the packets and make sure the seeds are from this year. Seeds that are past their prime are unlikely to germinate, wasting your time and money.

Any gardening tips for newbies? Please share in our comments section.

Benefits of Tempur-Flex Prima Mattresses

Nate is here to tell you about the benefits of Tempur-Flex Prima mattresses. This specific mattress is considered a Hybrid with both coil spring technology and Tempur memory foam material. Watch now to get more details



Is this the mattress that you have been looking for? Are you ready to sleep better with a new mattress? Stop by one of Appliance Factory & Mattress Kingdom's 16 locations to test it out. 

Selecting the Right Mattress for YOU

 Finding the right mattress for you can sometimes be a daunting task. There are so many choices and styles and so many companies paying millions of dollars for your attention through advertising. Here are some basics for your consideration:

• Innerspring:  The type of mattress that most people are familiar. Uses tempered steel coils for support in a variety of configurations. They come with different types of layers of upholstery which provide insulation and cushioning between your body and the springs. This results in a wide range of comfort choices.

•  Foam/Memory Foam: Foam mattresses offer a wide choice of sleeping sensations or feels. These can be made of a solid core or of several layers of different types of foam laminated together. Visco-elastic or “memory” foam is thought to be better at pressure point reliever. The knock on these types, has been that they sleep “hot”. The advance in technology and the addition of cooling material into the foam has all but eliminated this issue.

• Hybrids: These are just a combination of the above 2. Usually a spring unit with layers of foam on top. Giving you the traditional support feel of a spring and the adaptive comfort of foam.

There are many other mattress alternatives to address individuals’ needs, including airbeds, waterbeds, and adjustable beds to name a few. When choosing a mattress, evaluate it for comfort, support, durability and space.

When trying out a bed, be sure to lie down in your typical sleep position. Pay close attention to the level of support and comfort, especially the shoulders, hips and lower back. Do this whether you are a side, back, or stomach sleeper. Then try a different mattress, noticing the difference in support or comfort. You should spend at least 5 minutes on each mattress you try. This may seem a bit time consuming, but you will be spending about a third of your day in bed, every day that you own it. So, a little time spent when choosing can pay big dividends in the quality of sleep you are able to achieve.

Ready to test our a new mattress? Stop by one of our Colorado locations and find out what works best for you.

Spring-Cleaning Shortcuts (Part 2)

We found so many terrific tips for cutting cleaning time in half that we had to separate it into two blog posts! Here are some more little life-hacks that go a long way when sprucing up for spring:

Creative Dusting- Forget the rag and think outside the box when it comes to dusting. Use a lint roller to dust your cloth lampshades and other fabric surfaces (they work great on microfiber sofas and dining-room chairs). Alternatively, you can put a sock on your hand and use it as a dusting mitt for those hard-to-reach places.

Microwave Cleaning- We’ve mentioned before that half a lemon in a bowl of water can work wonders for removing stubborn grease and grime inside your microwave, but if you’re in a pinch and don’t have a lemon on you, just the water will do nicely. The steam will help to loosen all the stuck-on food particles and make them easier to just wipe off.

Toilet Tips- If your toilet is especially stained or grimy, make sure to let some cleanser soak in the bowl for a while before scrubbing the inside. This will help the dirt to loosen, making cleaning much easier and cutting down on elbow grease!

Oven cleaning- Most ovens have self-cleaning features these days, but these can be quite inconvenient, rendering your oven useless for hours on end and making your house unbearably hot, not to mention that smell! Simply spray an oven cleaner like Easy-Off on the inside of your oven on a night when you don’t plan on cooking dinner, then wipe it out in a couple of hours, or in the morning, if you have tough grease stains.

Unload Your Laundry- Nobody wants to face a huge pile of laundry! Cut the amount of time spent in the laundry room down considerably- and preserve your sanity- by aiming to do one medium load per day. At first you’ll think, “Ugh, laundry every day?” But you will soon be amazed how quickly you can sort, wash, dry, fold and put away a small load each day, as opposed to many large loads every couple of weeks.

Spring Clean (Enough)- Shortcuts for Spring Cleaning

Spring is upon us, and with it comes spring cleaning! We all have the best intentions when it comes to wanting to give our homes the thorough yearly cleaning they deserve, but we also have tremendously busy lives and it can be hard to find the time to do a serious deep-cleaning. Here are a few spring cleaning shortcuts that will give you the results you want in a fraction of the time!

Clean (some of) your carpets- Focus on the high-traffic areas of your carpet- living room, main hallways, family room- for the deep-cleaning rug shampoo every spring, and just do the whole house once every couple of years. Not only will you save money but it will cut down on drying time.

Steam clean your curtains- Washing curtains in a machine, or getting them dry cleaned, can be a major time-suck. Not only do you have to take the curtains down, but then you have to wash and dry and re-hang them- the work of at least several hours! With a little wrinkle-releasing, odor-eliminating spray (try CleanFast) and a hand-held fabric steamer, you can steam your way to fresh curtains without having to deal with taking them off the rods.

Bust out the Dustbuster- Using a handheld vacuum to clean your upholstery can be almost as effective as getting it professionally shampooed, with less cost and inconvenience. Use your hand vac to get all the errant crumbs, pet hair and life debris out of the cushions and frame of your upholstered furniture pieces, then use a clean, damp cloth to wipe down the fabric. Use a spot-cleaning stain remover, such as Shout, for any problem stains (make sure to test it on the fabric first).

Don’t stress over windows- While it is an admirable goal to get every window in your house squeaky-clean inside and out, it can also be a back-breaking chore that goes unappreciated. After all, how often do you really look at the windows at the back of your house? Focus on the big windows in front of the house that face the street and give those a good cleaning. Try to clean your windows on a day that is wind-free to avoid being splashed by cold water.

Clean as you go- Obviously, the best way to avoid lengthy spring-cleaning projects is to keep your home clean all year long. You can accomplish this by taking a few extra minutes each day to give specific areas of your home a once-over. Putting laundry away? Take 5 minutes to tidy the closet shelves. Taking winter coats to the dry cleaners? See if there’s anything in your hall closet that can be donated or thrown out. Wiping up a spill in the fridge? Take a moment to wipe all the shelves while you’re at it (and go ahead and toss those mystery containers in the way-back while you’re at it.) Taking a few moments to tidy, putting things back in the place where they go- these are all things that can be done quickly during each day, which can save you hours in the long run.

Happy Garden – Take It Up A Notch!

Ever look at a garden with envy because it just looked so… perfect? Well, not ALL of that is the skill of the gardener, but a few tricks of the trade that really improve the health and looks of your plants! Check out a few of our favorites below and try them out in your garden this spring!

 

1. Cucumbers taste sweeter when planted near sunflowers – Both plants require similar soil conditions and the tall stalks of the sunflowers give cucumber plants something supportive to climb.

 

1. Use crushed up eggs shells as fertilizer – packed with calcium carbonate, the shells work great to enrich the soil

 

1. Water plants with chamomile tea – used to ward off bacterial and fungal infections to prevent young seedlings from damping off (make sure tea is cool before using)

 

1. Plant in odd numbers – planting in odd numbers creates a more natural layout and makes plants look larger and healthier

 

1. Garden by moonlight – experts say planting by moonlight minimizes water waste and causes gardens to grow faster and stronger

 

1. Plant placement – place shorter plants to the south and taller plants to the north, this prevents plants from casting unwanted shadows over smaller crops

 

1. Use cooking water for plants – water you use to cook pasta or boil veggies if full of left over vitamins and nutrients (make sure water is cool before using)

Spring Gardening

It’s that time of year again and we’re guessing you feel slightly over-whelmed with where to start with your garden. Let us help you out! Below is a list of reminders of things you should be looking for when you begin your gardening project.

 

1. Survey the Yard – Take note of clean-up and repairs to be made. Make sure to remove any over-hanging tree limbs and use the mulch from your yard to help boost this year’s gardening soil.

 

2. Order Tools & Plants – Make note of what tools you do and don’t have, order needed tools and order your plants/buy the seeds you plan to use in this year’s garden ahead of time.

 

3. Get Ready To Mow – Service your leaf blower or lawn mower; make sure they are prepped and ready to go. Before mowing, pick up debris around the yard.

 

4. Soil Test – Take several samples from different planting areas to test the pH. Implement dolomitic lime to raise the pH and elemental sulfur to lower it.

 

5. Prepare New Beds – Remove sod or weeks and debris, spread a shallow to medium layer of compost and any amendments over soil and mix into bed about 10-12 inches with spading fork.

 

6. Plant & Fertilize