Patio Designs and Outdoor Living Spaces

Summer is coming soon and having a great patio design that incorporates patio covers, decks, and grilling areas are some of the best ways to increase the value of your home, make the most out of your outdoor living space.

For hundreds of outdoor patio designs and living space ideas check out Team Renovators 

In years past a patio was sort of a throw on to a home. It was typically a concrete slab to Composite decking for outdoor living spaceskeep your feet clean on your way in or out. Then you’d plunk down a couple of chairs and a table and enjoy your patio when the sun went down. More recently, covered patios have become very popular. Adding a patio or “outdoor living area” to your home is both a great investment and a relaxing extension of your homes interior that you can enjoy all day and all yearlong. You might want to consider the following features.   

1 Add an outdoor kitchen to your patio for easy entertaining. When planning your kitchen think about storage, clean up and prep areas. You can purchase pre-made outdoor grills with these features or build your own custom kitchen.   

2 Patio furnishings can be quite luxurious because they’re protected from the elements. Think outdoor living room with comfortable chairs, lounges, couches and plants all around.   

3 If you have a spacious patio you might add a home spa. You can make this a focal point of the patio with container garden landscaping, intimate lighting, tiki torches or candles. Adding these elements to your outdoor living space are sure to be a features you will use year round.   

4 Patio Heaters. There is a fairly extensive line of patio heaters available that allow you to enjoy your patio even on cold days. You might also consider an outdoor fireplace, or fire pit to heat your patio on the coldest of days.   

5 Patio Misters are a wonderful addition if you live in a climate where summers can be unbearable. You’ll keep your guests comfortable on even the hottest days.   

6  Patios for children.  If you have children you should think about a child friendly area. You can provide storage for outdoor games, pool and sprinkler fun, as well as keep towels and a change of clothes or shoes handy.   

When planning your new patio addition consider your hobbies, family life style, and entertaining habits. Have fun with your patio design and make it your own!   

For more patio design ideas check out a wide range of outdoor patio designs and ideas at TeamRenovators

Organic Gardening Tips for Newbies

One great way to improve your diet and give yourself a fun an interesting hobby is to plant an organic garden. Growing an organic garden does take some planning, though. You probably do not know how to go about growing an organic garden on your own.

Make sure you know the specifics about what you plan on growing in that organic garden of yours. While two varieties of a plant may fall within the same family, there could be variations in the basic requirements for each one. For instance, there are many kinds of roses and some will work in your garden, while others won’t. When choosing varieties, take into account not only your climate region, but also the specific planting environment, such as full sun, in boggy soil, etc.

You should know how to water your plants. Utilizing a soaker hose can provide much needed help. Soaker hoses will water the bases of your plants directly, resulting in less moisture loss due to evaporation. It is recommended you water your plants early in the morning.

You can simply make a newer garden for perennials with a few steps. Use a spade to slice beneath the turf and flip it. Next, the area should be buried in a three- to four-inch layer of wood chips. Let it sit for a few weeks, and then plant your new perennials.

If slugs are problematic in your garden, you can use an all-natural beer trap to do away with them. Bury a glass jar in your garden so that its open mouth is level with the top of the soil. Now, fill the jar with beer to approximately an inch below the lip. Slugs will be attracted by the beer and fall into the jar.

Overall, a layer of mulch is beneficial for the soil. Mulch can protect the ground it sits upon. On hot days, mulch insulates the ground, keeping it cool and protecting your plants’ roots. This helps soil keep its moisture by reducing the rate of evaporation. Mulch also prevents the growth of weeds.

Adjust your watering to the season and climate. How much you water depends on the time of day, the quality of your water and the type of soil you have. In some cases, you can’t water because of climate issues. You can’t water the leave of your plants during humid, warm weather–it’ll promote the growth of leaf fungus. Make sure you give the roots plenty of water.  Read further for more Organic Gardening Tips for Newbies.

Pay attention to which products you can use in your garden. Use a natural alternative to chemical fertilizers. This is one of the tenets of true organic gardening. One of the best substances is simple compost. Inorganic fertilizers can cause toxic chemicals to buildup. That’s why it’s best to use an organic method.

Strategically plant garlic in your organic garden to deter pests. The smell of garlic repels the majority of garden pests. Plant garlic around the edge of your garden or right near plants that often have bugs on them. Garlic shouldn’t, of course, be considered only useful for pest control. It is actually a valuable culinary addition to your garden.

Weeds can plague all types of gardens. This will allow you to kill weeds organically, and will keep both you and the environment safe.

You’re probably aware that compost is very beneficial to organic gardens, but are you aware of what goes into it? It’s a mix of grass clippings, leaves, produce scraps, straw, small twigs and wood chips that break down and turn into a “fake” soil. Make some compost, and start using that rather than costly commercial fertilizers.

Compost at home for an excellent natural fertilizer. An effective technique is to start a worm compost container. Place red wiggler worms in the compost bin along with with dirt, kitchen scraps and shreds of newspaper.

It is more rewarding to have an organic garden even though it is often more work. Even though the claims of the chemicals may be astounding, the organic way is always going to provide the best reward to you and whoever is eating your crops.

Always know how to purchase plants that you would like to add into your organic garden. Keep this in mind when you are purchasing annuals, biennials, and perennials. Purchase plants that have budded, but have not yet fully bloomed. Doing this makes it so that they can start to grow a strong root system.

Include your children in your efforts to organic gardening. Gardening helps your children learn about biological processes and serves as a social activity that helps the family grow closer while eating healthier.

Botanical pesticides that are from your local area can be incredibly effective on pests. Oftentimes, natural insecticides work better than synthetically produced pesticides. Natural products will not damage your plants and will disappear quickly. This means you might have to apply your insecticides more often.

If you have children, plant strawberries, especially everbearing strawberries, in your organic garden. Small kids enjoy picking fruit themselves out of a garden. Because of this, they’ll be more likely to provide you with some assistance in your garden if they feel like they’re receiving something out of it.

Try to put an aspirin in the water to get rid of plant diseases. Three aspirins per four gallons of water will help keep your plants healthy. You simply have to spray the solution on your plants to assist them in warding off diseases. Try to apply the mixture to the plants at least once in each three week period.

Just as when outside, plants kept inside need varying degrees of sunlight, which can be harder to obtain from indoors. Almost every type of plant you grow requires ample sunlight, so think about how much natural light you home receives or if you perhaps need to supplement with UV lamps. If you already have plants that need full light and the natural light provided is not sufficient, artificial lights can supplement their needs.

Growing your garden at home might not be the most convenient thing for you, but you will save a lot of money and always have the confidence that what you’re eating and feeding your family is as fresh and as healthy as possible. Use these organic gardening tips for newbies and get started on your garden today.

Amaretto Peach Cheesecake Recipe

 If you are looking for a delicious cheesecake the whole family will enjoy, try this delicious Amaretto Peach Cheesecake recipe that will have your entire family coming back for another slice. This is a great cheesecake for those Spring Sunday Mornings over a nice hot cup of coffee.

Amaretto Peach Cheesecakedelicious amaretto cheesecake recipe

3 tb Margarine

1/3 c Sugar

1 Large Egg

3/4 c Unbleached All-purpose Flour

24 oz Cream Cheese, Softened

3/4 c Sugar

3 tb Unbleached All-purpose Flour

3 Large Eggs

16 oz Canned Peach Halves *

1/4 c Almond Flavored Liqueur

* Peach halves should be drained, and then pureed.

Combine margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in egg. Add flour; mix well.

Spread dough onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 450 degrees F., 10

minutes. Combine cream cheese, sugar and flour; mixing at medium speed on

electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each

addition. Add peaches and liqueur; mix well. Pour over crust. Bake at 450 degrees

F., 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F.; continue baking 65

minutes. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan. Chill.

Garnish with additional peach slices and sliced almonds, if desired.

If this Cheese Cake recipe does’nt make your mouth water, then you can check out my other recipes for making a wide array of delicious cheese cakes from around the world.

5 Alarm Chili Recipe

If you are seeking a recipe for chili, you have come to the right place, we have compiled an amazing list of 600 chilli recipes to take the chill off your winter nights here in the Orange County area. Below is the recipe for our “5 Alarm Chili.” If you want to go out with a warm fuzzy feeling, then try this recipe and let us know how you like it in the comment section below.

5 Alarm Chili Recipe

Yield: 4 Servings

1 T oregano

2 T paprika

2 T msg (monosodium glutamate)

9 T chili powder

4 T cumin

4 T beef bouillon 1 (instant,crushed)

24 oz old milwaukee beer

2 c water 4 lb chuck,Extra Lean

1 chili grind 2 lb pork,Extra Lean 1 chili grind 1 lb chuck,Extra Lean

1 cut into 1/4 cubes 2 large onions,finely chopped

10 cloves garlic 1 finely,Chopped

1/2 c wesson oil (or kidney suet)

1 t mole (powdered) 1 also called mole poblano

1 T sugar

1 t coriander seed (from chinese 1 parsley,cilantro)

1 t louisiana red hot sauce

1 (durkee’s) 8 oz tomato sauce

1 T masa harina flour

1 salt,To Taste

In a large pot, add paprika, oregano, MSG, chili powder, cumin, beef bouillon, beer and 2 cups water. Let simmer. In a separate skillet, brown meat in 1 lb. or 1 1/2 lb. batches with Wesson oil or suet. Drain and add to simmering spices. Continue until all meat is done. Saute chopped onion and garlic in 1 T. oil or suet. Add to spices and meat mixture. Add water as needed. Simmer 2 hours. Add mole, sugar, coriander seed, hot sauce and tomato sauce. Simmer 45 min. Dissolve masa harina flour in warm water to form a paste. Add to chili. Add salt to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add additional Louisiana Hot Sauce for hotter taste. Makes 1 pot.

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