I thoroughly believe that the sole purpose for ants on this earth is to torment me. This year they have done just that……since April. It’s not just us either….all of our neighbors and friends have problems with these six legged creatures.

Before buying a home it’s always good to look for a few ‘key’ items that can spell trouble. One item that can cause concern is a faulty foundation. How do you tell if the foundation is faulty? If there is a crawl space look underneath the house. Are the parallel timbers reinforced by horizontal studs?

I have a fondness for slugs and snails. I think they’re, well, kind of cute. I know I’m not alone in this! Well, maybe among gardeners.

One thing that all Quincy Homes should have during the hot season is a good air conditioning unit. In order to keep your unit in top working performance several maintenance tips can significantly improve functionality and your health! One thing you will want to look for when troubleshooting your air conditioning is if the condensing coil is level. If your unit is outside on the perimeter of your home simple do a visual inspection or use a level to determine if the unit needs to be adjusted.

One of the best things about being a garden writer is receiving plants to trial. Nurseries and growers send writers and other horticultural industry types their newest plant introductions so we can try them in our own gardens, provide feedback, and—hopefully—fall in love with them and rave about them to others.

There’s a whole scientific explanation behind the “fixing” of nitrogen, but all you really need to know is that cover crops, many of which are legumes, add nitrogen back into your soil, prepping it for spring planting. It’s a great service to soil that has been depleted by hungry feeders like tomatoes. Finally, cover crops improve soil structure by adding organic matter when the crop is dug under in the spring. Yay!

Seed balls, simply put, are a method for distributing seeds by encasing them in a mixture of clay and compost. This protects the seeds by preventing them from drying out in the sun, getting eaten by birds, or from blowing away.

Seed balls are scattered directly on the ground, not planted. Self-sufficiency and sustainability website Path To Freedom says seed balls are useful for seeding dry, thin and compacted soils and for reclaiming derelict ground (which is why they are often used in guerilla gardening). Seed balls are particularly useful in dry and arid areas where rainfall is highly unpredictable. I like ‘em because they’re easy to chuck over fences into empty lots.

Antioch, CA – A short drive away from Antioch’s Highway 4 main transportation corridor and you will find yourself at The Markstein Sales Company located at Drive in Way, Antioch, CA. The company made big news this last May when they announced their Budweiser cold beer storage facility was going solar. Well, it’s been over [...]

In preparing for an overall maintenance program for Spanish style clay roofs it’s important to spot areas of concern that may lead to home damage. For example, some clay roofs are built in a way that allows excessive build up to occur within the valleys of the roof.

Raised foundations definitely allow for easier under the house maintenance to be done. The ease of crawl spaces means that things like A/C units can be routed with underground tubes to equip the house with central heating and air. It’s important to have easy access to your air conditioning unit for general upkeep maintenance. Other household fixtures such as water pipes, drain pipes, vent pipes, electrical conduits, and ducts are easily installed with raised foundations.