It seems strange in the heat of August to be talking about the coming fall season. But like so many of us, you will turn around and it will be here before you know it. You will ask yourself what happened to summer. So every year when football preseason starts, it’s time to discuss one thing that is a must do this time of year; get your chimney inspected and cleaned.

If you live in a house, condo or apartment that has a chimney of any kind, please make sure that whoever is in charge knows that now is the time to get your chimney serviced and taken care of. It really is a matter of life and death but we don’t think about that when it’s cold and we want to have the warmth of a roaring fire.

However, every year we hear about someone who was or almost killed from a chimney fire that started sometime after they had gone to sleep and you don’t want it happening to you and your family. The quick answer is simple, call a chimney services company in your area and schedule your annual maintenance before you actually want to use your fireplace. It’s amazing how many people just forget to take care of this every year. It’s easy to forget because it’s that old “out of sight, out of mind” thing.

Another way to find a company is to go to Google and type into the search bar something like “chimney sweep Charleston” and see what companies come up. Take the time to visit each company’s websites to see what their reputation is because all chimney companies are not the same. Some simply use sight to examine your chimney walls while others use cameras they run up the chimney to exam the mortar joints and see the creosote buildup that can be a main cause of fire. You wan the company that has the cameras because it costs the same amount of money and you deserve the best technology can give you.

The most important thing is to not put this off. There’s been to many people who have said after the fact, “I meant to…” Please don’t take the chance of being one of those people.

You may not think that planning for furniture for your garden is necessary but if you don’t you may have to buy new furniture again in only a few short years.  This is due to not doing the research as to coverings or materials to insure you get the best quality furniture the first time.

That’s right, there is a lot of junk out in the outdoor furniture market because it is a very lucrative area to sell to consumers. The biggest issue today has to do with price versus quality. Purchasing in a down economy has something to do with it because everybody is looking for a deal these days. While I don’t blame them for wanting to buy as inexpensively as possible, sometimes the cheap buy today is actually more expensive in the long run because you will have to buy again.

If instead you look at materials first and THEN go out and compare prices knowing the furniture you have chosen will last a good long time, you will have the best of both worlds. This means you will have to do a little research before you actually purchase anything.

One of the first things to note is the frame of the furniture. If it is made of wood you will want to invest in cedar or redwood over any other type of wood on the market. Both these have natural weather fighting qualities that can be further enhanced by using a good sealer. If the frame is a metal of some kind make sure it has been thoroughly powder coated to prevent premature rust. Using a rust proof coating can further protect this type of frame.

When looking into coverings, make sure they are made of water proof material and not just water resistant material. These two things are not the same and the water resistant material will break down far easier than the water proof material. Also look to see how sun resistant the materials are as well. Fading can a big problem over time and you might ant to invest in some storage close to your patio or garden area to store the cushions when not in use or off season.

Just make sure you know what you are purchasing and how long they should last. Going the extra mile will always give you better results in the long run.

There are three things that every living plant needs; sunlight, water and love but not necessarily in that order. Love seems to be the easiest because most people don’t raise plants they either don’t love to grow, smell or eat. If you love what you grow then you will make sure they have ample sunlight throughout the day as well as enough water to flourish. However, sometimes it’s hard to know how much water is enough without being too much. Yes, you can actually give your plants too much water.

One of the things that is important to know is that water releases nutrients found in the soil and the root systems of the plants soak up those nutrients and send it to the rest of the plant. Discovering how much you should water so this takes place properly can be a little more difficult because it depends on several factors that include; your soil type, region you live in and what you are growing.

If you live in a tropical area you will have very different watering needs than if you live in an arid climate. The same thing applies if you are growing a type of cactus compared to tomatoes in your back yard garden. It always helps if you know the consistency of your soil. If you don’t know where this can be found, call the agriculture department to the University nearest you and they can point you in the right direction. If you don’t have a University near you call the US Department of Agriculture and find out if they have a lab you can send a soil sample to for analysis. Most of the time for a small fee you can have the answer back in a few months.

Armed with this information, go to the internet and research to find everything you can find on the type of plants you are either growing or want to grow. You should be able to easily find out everything including how much or little water is required to grow it in your region. You will also discover your regions growing time to make sure you have enough time to grow the plants in your yard and garden.