Planting an Edible Garden

While flower gardens are beautiful and peaceful, homeowners today are increasingly interested in planting small-scale edible gardens. The resulting produce may be better tasting than anything you can get in a supermarket. While you aren't likely to create a sustainable farm, you can have access to fresh produce straight from the garden whenever it's ready to harvest. From leafy greens to herbs and from fruits to vegetables, what you put into an edible garden is exactly what you get it out of it. Here are some tips on planting an edible garden.
The Style of Your Edible Garden
If you plan to sell your home in the future, it's especially important to pay attention to the style of your garden. For example, some people create an edible garden around already existing flower beds in their yard. Or they may use raised beds or pots if they're concerned about the impact of planting on their lawn.
Some cities allow homeowners to have a vegetable garden in their front yard. If that is a part of the culture of your city, it could be seen as a benefit for future resale. Before you plant anything, decide how you want it to look now and in the future.
What to Plant in Your Edible Garden
As long as you can eat it and it can grow in your climate, anything is possible in an edible garden. Popular home garden plants include:

• Tomatoes.
• Herbs.
• Peppers.
• Potatoes.
• Carrots.

If you have the yard for it, consider planting a fruit or nut tree. These take a longer time before your first harvest, but there's nothing like apples fresh off the tree in the fall.
Soil and Sun Considerations
You'll need to take into account the amount and timing of the sunlight in your yard to determine how to plant your edible garden. Different plants require different levels and hours of sunlight, so start tracking how the sun hits your property throughout the day during the summer.
You may also want to evaluate your soil and supplement it with additional nutrients if it isn't conducive to growing things. An issue with your soil is also a great reason to consider using raised beds or pots, because they allow you to choose whatever type of soil you need.
Involve the Whole Family 
The idea of planting an edible garden is to enhance your life. It's a great activity for all ages, and you can get the entire family involved. Everyone can have a job, no matter how young or old. Gardening together can be a great bonding experience for the whole family.
You also get the satisfaction of your harvest. You can share your bounty with friends and neighbors, especially if you plant more than you can use before it spoils. Edible gardens pay for themselves very quickly.
Do you want more tips on growing an edible garden for you home? Contact us today.

5 Lawn Care Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Yard

Everyone wants a lawn covered with lush green grass and verdant plants. But what mistakes are preventing you from achieving this? Read on to learn about some common lawn care mistakes and how to prevent them.


1. Cutting Grass Too Short
Experts advise cutting off no more than 30 percent of the grass blade in a single pass. Cutting your grass too short or trimming it down to half of its previous size might be appealing—after all, if your grass is shorter, it will take longer to grow back—but this is not good for the long-term health of your lawn.
In addition to damaging the blade, cutting your grass too short can indirectly damage the root system. This damage will limit the grass's ability to collect light and absorb water, leading to wilting or even plant death. Keeping your grass longer will help it to grow fuller and become more lush.

2. Using Only One Type of Seed
Using a mixture of seeds will result in a mixture of plant types. Different types of grass will survive better in different conditions. The different species will balance out each other's strengths and weaknesses, resulting in a more resilient lawn overall. This will make your turf more likely to survive extreme weather conditions such as prolonged heat or drought.

3. Ignoring the pH of the Soil
The optimal pH for grass is between 6.0 and 6.5. For reference, a neutral pH, such as that of water, is 7.0. This means that your lawn's soil should be slightly acidic in order to bolster plant growth. Sending away a soil sample for testing can be an easy way to get a gage on your lawn's pH. If the pH is out of whack, it can easily be adjusted using sulfur or lime treatments.

4. Forgetting to Sharpen Your Lawn Mower's Blade
A sharp blade will cut your grass more cleanly, while a dull blade can cause bruising and other damage to each blade of grass. Damaged blades of grass are more susceptible to death or disease, so using a sharp lawn mower blade can contribute to the overall health of your lawn.

Most people should sharpen their lawn mower blades approximately twice a year. A good sign that your blade is too dull is that your lawn mower is tearing or crushing your grass instead of cutting it cleanly.

5. Collecting Grass Clippings
Many lawn mowers come with an attached bag that will gather up the grass as it is cut. This is a visually appealing strategy, but it is not good for your lawn's long-term health. Instead, you should leave the grass clippings spread around your lawn. This self-mulching strategy will help fertilize your remaining grass. In particular, this is useful in maintaining your soil's nitrogen levels—a key factor in lawn health.


If you can avoid making these 5 common lawn care mistakes, you will enjoy a lush, green lawn throughout the year.

The Impact Staging Your Home Has On Your Sale Price

Some Highlights:

• The National Association of Realtors surveyed their members & released the findings of their Profile of Home Staging.
• 62% of seller’s agents say that staging a home decreases the amount of time a home spends on the market.
• 50% of staged homes saw a 1-10% increase in dollar-value offers from buyers.
• 77% of buyer’s agents said staging made it easier for buyers to visualize the home as their own.
• The top rooms to stage in order to attract more buyers are the living room, master bedroom, kitchen, and dining room.

Nothing warms me more than your referrals!

From the exposed wood beams, to the light fixture, to the magnificent hardwoods, what's your opinion of this home?

5 Myths About Real Estate Reality TV Explained

Have you ever been flipping through the channels, only to find yourself glued to the couch in an HGTV binge session? We’ve all been there… watching entire seasons of “Love it or List it,” “Fixer Upper,” “House Hunters,” “Property Brothers,” and so many more, just in one sitting. When you’re in the middle of your real estate themed show marathon, you might start to think that everything you see on TV must be how it works in real life, but you may need a reality check.

Reality TV Show Myths vs. Real Life:

Myth #1: Buyers look at 3 homes and make a decision to purchase one of them.

Truth: There may be buyers who fall in love and buy the first home they see, but according to the National Association of Realtors the average homebuyer tours 10 homes as a part of their search.

Myth #2: The houses the buyers are touring are still for sale.

Truth: The reality is being staged for TV. Many of the homes being shown are already sold and are off the market.

Myth #3: The buyers haven’t made a purchase decision yet.

Truth: Since there is no way to show the entire buying process in a 30-minute show, TV producers often choose buyers who are further along in the process and have already chosen a home to buy.

Myth #4: If you list your home for sale, it will ALWAYS sell at the Open House.

Truth: Of course this would be great! Open houses are important to guarantee the most exposure to buyers in your area, but are only a PIECE of the overall marketing of your home. Just realize that many homes are sold during regular listing appointments as well.

Myth #5: Homeowners make a decision about selling their home after a 5-minute conversation.

Truth: Similar to the buyers portrayed on the shows, many of the sellers have already spent hours deliberating the decision to list their homes and move on with their lives/goals.

Bottom Line

Having an experienced professional on your side while navigating the real estate market is the best way to guarantee that you can make the home of your dreams a reality!