Guide to Growing Raspberries

By: Bryan Murphy.

To get the best out of your raspberry plant, first you need to select an ideal location suitable for growing raspberries. The land that you select for growing raspberries should be rich in organic compounds and sandy in nature. It should also be an area where the plants will get plenty of sun light. A well drained soil also is an essential requirement to grow raspberries the way you like them to be. It is always better to avoid low areas to plant raspberries in order to avoid water clogging inside the plantation during spring. But it should be a place where you have easy access for water supply. Do not attempt to plant raspberries on the crest of a hill. This is to avoid plants from being affected by the wind. You should also avoid sites where you have planted potatoes, egg plants and tomatoes within the last three to four years to avoid the plants from getting infected from the virus that are common in these plants.

Depending on the condition of the land it may take one to two years to complete soil preparation for growing raspberries. It is always good to test the soil quality to see whether the land is adaptable for raspberry plantation or not. Normally raspberries require soil with a pH of 5.6 to 6.2. The acidity of the soil should be reduced by adding ground lime stone. If you want o improve the organic content of the soil you can apply materials like barnyard manure or compost into the land.

Make sure that the site that you have selected to plant the raspberry is free from weeds and other infectious matters. It should have good sun light, air and adequate moisture. It should be planted early in the spring to get the best out of your plantation. You should prune the cans properly at the time of planting. It has to be pruned within six inches from the ground level. The individual plants of raspberries should be placed at a distance of twenty four to thirty inches from each plant. The rows where the plants are planted should be kept at a distance of six to ten feet from each other.

Raspberry plants require regular watering to allow them to grow healthy. Take necessary steps to keep weeds out of the garden during the first year of plantation. Mulching with straws or sawdust will help to keep down the weed growth inside the cultivation.

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Please visit us for more interesting home gardening information on growing raspberries, growing strawberries, and growing tomatoes.

Cleaning: More Than Mere Sweeping

By: Lani Francisco

‘Lani’ and ‘house cleaning’ can only be used in the same sentence when there is ‘don’t like’ or ‘don’t do’ in between them. No, I’m not lazy. I just think that there are more important things to do rather than cleaning the house—especially on weekends. Back when I was a student, I would equate weekends as a ticket away from professors, projects and deadlines. I would wake around noon-ish, not worrying about getting tardy or being called for a whole period’s worth of recitation. In my vocabulary, weekends do not equate to cleaning. But my mom can easily revise the same by mere nagging. I usually eat in the living room. When I’m full, I’ll just lay in the couch and doze off—leaving the plates on the table and my shoes on the floor atop of my bag. My mom’s radar would go ‘beep’ ‘beep’. “Lani, fix your things then wash the dishes.” I think she has this ‘good housekeeping chip lodged in her head or probably I’m just a slob. I think it’s the latter…

We used to have an all-around, stay-in helper. She stayed with us for at least a decade or so—longest we ever had. She decided to have a family of her own, so we bid her goodbye and wish her good luck. After her, we had a string of bad luck with regard maid cleaning services. (Note that when I make use of the terms ‘maid cleaning services’ or ‘house cleaning services’ this applies to both agency and independent, stay-in or otherwise.) We had this one who barely lasted for a week, don’t know her reason, though. And I’m not really intrigued as to why.

Anywho, I anticipate every weekend, particularly long weekends. Because this is the moment where I can sleep through the day and relax. But without a stay-in helper (the search for housekeeping services is now on hold—on indefinite hold), each of us must carry our own weight. My sister and I are both working, though same does not excuse us from the dreaded weekend task that is cleaning. Wash the dishes, do the laundry, iron clothes, bathe the dogs (yes, this is part of our chores)…the list goes on. I believe that cleaning my room will take a huge chunk of my weekend. From the beddings to the items inside my cabinet (I’ve no idea if the clothes in there still fit me.) Identifying the clean from the used ones proved to be a daunting task. To uncomplicate things, I simply grab the clothes and stuff the hamper full. Easy peasy.

Strange as it may seem, weekend cleaning tends to be our bonding time. I remember chatting away with my sisters while doing the laundry. Imagine finishing a pile of dirty clothes without getting irate from doing the same. How about getting soaked from bathing the dogs yet there were smiles all round? These are a few of the moments we shared while doing our chores.

One may opt to hire a maid cleaning service, but I prefer that our current set-up stays. We may not have a cleaning lady to aid us with our chores; to do the laundry, iron our clothes, change the beddings, sweep the floor…(if I continue this, I may not stop) but I believe that we are a lot closer to that which all of us want the most—quality time with our loved ones.

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For more information, check out this site on maid cleaning services. Lani Francisco is a web copywriter for a web design company associated with a Massachusetts-based company offering maid cleaning services.