Where to Buy Urea Furtilizer

I have received several emails asking where to buy Urea Fertilizer. We bought a five pound bag years ago at our local drug store, but the larger chains don't seem to carry it. You can buy it from Amazon.com for a good price even with shipping. Since you only use about a teaspoon every other week per pot, 5 pounds will last a long time.

UPDATE:  I have gotten a lot of emails asking what  is urea , what is urea fertilizer is used for, why use urea and why to buy urea.  Here is a quick rundown of what urea is and what it does.

Urea is an organic compound sometimes called carbamide.  It occurs naturally as a product from the metabolization of protein in animals.  Urea was the first organic compound that was synthesized by using non organic materials.  This breakthrough happened in the 1820's.  What is so special about non organic urea is that it is water soluble.  This makes is a really good fertilizer.  Just one tablespoon to about one quart of water will keep a house plant or flowering plants blooming and growing for about a month.  It is also very inexpensive.  If you compare it's results and price verses commercial fertilizers, urea wins hands down.  Get those flowers growing and use some urea.

Give Your Potted Flowers a Boost

Every year we fill several planters around the outside of our house with petunias. The are pretty easy to care for, just water once a day and fertilize every other week. Over the years we were spending quite a bit on fertilizer until we found out about urea. Urea is a white organic crystal that contains about 45% nitrogen that can be bought cheaply at the drug store. Nitrogen is very important to the strong growth of lots of plants, and urea is the cheapest form we have found. Just mixing one teaspoon of urea to a gallon of water every other week keeps our petunias growing all summer long. By the end of the summer they are draped over the sides of our planters almost to the ground.

Tips To Keep Your Valentine's Flowers Fresh

Flowers are one of the most popular Valentine's Day gifts. They are beautiful to look at and smell, but unless they are cared for properly their life will be short. Follow these tips and you may be enjoying them in March.

• Use a Clean Vase - Don't use the same vase you used last time without cleaning it. Bacteria from the last bouquet will start to grow and ruin your flowers as soon as the vase is filled it with water. Here are some tips on how to clean a vase: Amazing Tip for Cleaning Cloudy Vases and Alka-Seltzer to the Rescue for Vases.
• Super Charge the Water - Bacteria is the enemy of fresh cut flowers. You can fight bacteria off by adding a small amount of bleach to the water, a few drops will do. Your flowers need to be feed, so use a packet of flower food or add a teaspoon of sugar to the water.
• Cut Stems Underwater - Fill a bowl with lukewarm water and let the bottom of the stems rest in the water for a few minutes. Cut the stems at a 45 degree angle under the water to keep air from getting into the stems. At least every three days cut about 1/4" off of the stems under lukewarm running water to keep the stems from closing.
  
• Change the Water - Change the water at least every other day. Be sure to add a few drops of bleach and a spoonful of sugar.
• Keep Flowers Away From Heat - Heat will drain moisture from the flowers. Keep them away from heat sources like direct sunlight, registers, and radiators. A cool location is ideal.
• Talk to them - Tell them how much they are loved, just as you are loved for receiving them!
  
• We covered a few other tips in our post Keep Your Fresh Cut Flowers Longer.
  

Amazing Tip for Cleaning Cloudy Vases

To clean out and remove the cloudy residue in your flower vases pour white vinegar into the vase and let stand for about an hour. Next, add a handful of uncooked rice to the vinegar. Seal the top of the vase with your hand, or anything that gives you a tight seal, and shake the daylights out of it. The rice will work the cloudy residue off of the sides and clean up any details in the vase. Rinse well with clean, cool water and let dry fully.

Cleaning Artificial Flowers

Over the last few years, artificial flowers have really started to look real. My parents have seasonal bouquets that they bring out throughout the year that absolutely look real. It's amazing how fake they look with even the smallest amount of dust on them, I guess real cut flowers don't stay around long enough to collect dust. A simple way to dust all of the petals, leaves, etc. is to use a can of compressed air. Just give the flowers a good once over every few weeks to avoid having to ever wash them.

Stop Whiteflies from Destroying your Garden

Whiteflies are annoying little insects that love to destroy plants. Not only do they feed and reproduce non-stop, they also carry plant viruses. Constant spraying of insecticide will kill them off eventually, but I prefer a much safer method. First, remove all weeds and dying plants from your garden. Whiteflies are attracted to dying plants. Second, sprinkle diatomaceous earth around your garden. Diatomaceous earth kills just about anything with an exoskeleton and, best of all, it will not harm you, your pets or your plants. It can be found in most garden centers. Third, combine a few drops of soap and a teaspoon of garlic juice in a sprayer filled with warm water. Spray directly on the infested plants. Finally, yellow sticky paper traps are a good way to reduce the number of pests. Make sure that you replace the traps often until the population is in check.

Open Your Windows!

According to the US EPA, levels of pollutants in indoor air can be from two to more than 100 times higher than outdoors. This indoor pollution is largely due to volatile organic compounds that evaporate from home decorating and cleaning products. According to a study in New Scientist in 1999, in homes where air fresheners and aerosol sprays and were frequently used, mothers experienced a 25 percent increase in reported headaches and were 19 percent more likely to suffer from depression, and infants under six months of age experienced a 30 percent increase in ear infections and had a 22 percent higher chance of diarrhea. This does not sit well with me at all. If the weather agrees, open your windows! Get these chemicals out of your homes! Some fresh-cut flowers can easily create a wonderful fragrence throughout any room.

Keep Your Fresh Cut Flowers Longer

My wife loves to get fresh cut flowers. Buying them can be fairly expensive so we use a few tricks to make sure they last as long as they can. Adding a teaspoon of bleach to the vase water has made our flowers last well over a week. We have also tried aspirin with great success. Someone told me that 7-Up or Sprite also work instead of water, but I have never tried it so I can't vouch for it effectiveness.

Alka-Seltzer to the Rescue for Vases

My wife has a number of beautiful, yet very skinny, vases. On way too few occasions, I buy her flowers. One of my hang-ups to buying them has always been trying to clean the vases afterwards. Here is a great tip that I got from my mom to clean the bottom of skinny vases. Fill the dirty vase with clean water and drop in a few Alka-Seltzer tablets. The tablets foam up and will break-down the water stains!

Drying Flowers in your Microwave

Dried flowers add a touch of color and a wonderful scent to any room. But did you know that you can dry your own flowers in your microwave? Microwave drying is not for thick-petaled flowers but works great for daisies, marigolds, buttercups, daffodils, lilacs, pansies, roses, and tulips. Make sure that the buds have not fully opened. Then, support the flowers in the position that you want in a mixture of Borax and sand, covering them completely. Microwave on 40% power for about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Some testing will be required and you may have to adjust the microwave settings and time depending on your particular microwave. Cover the flowers and borax with a towel and let sit for about 24 hours. Remove the flowers, wipe off the extra Borax and enjoy!