| How to Prepare Garden Mulch Posted: 10 Sep 2021 05:00 PM PDT You can easily make your own garden mulch using organic or inorganic materials. Leaves, grass, straw, and other biodegradable items can be used to make a mulch that will cover your soil and add nutrients to it as it decomposes. Non-biodegradable mulch will protect your soil from weeds and keep it warm. [Edit]Preparing and Applying Biodegradable Mulch - Collect organic materials for your mulch from your backyard. Use materials such as leaves, grass, straw, wood chips, sawdust, peat moss, or pine needles as a base for your organic mulch. Pick up these materials slowly and carefully to be sure that they are dry and free of bugs. Collect these materials in a closed plastic bin until you are ready to make the mulch.[1]
- Be sure that no weeds get mixed into your compost materials.
- Collect materials on dry days and store them for future use.
- Do not use grass clippings if your lawn has been treated with weed-killing chemicals. [2]
- Break down your mulch materials as much as possible. To fully benefit from the nutrient-rich properties of your organic mulch, break or cut up all of your materials into the finest pieces possible. This will allow them to decompose more quickly. Use hedge trimmers, strong scissors, a sturdy shovel, or other tools to break up these materials.[3]
- You can use larger pieces of organic materials for your mulch, but it will not start adding nutrients to your soil as quickly, nor will it look as tidy.
- Rent a wood chipper or shredder or make wood chips from broken trees limbs or other timber. [4]
- Remove all weeds from the soil before applying mulch. It is important to remove weeds from your garden before applying mulch so that the mulch doesn't make them stronger. Use a garden fork to effectively dig out weeds from the root to ensure they don't grow back. If a weed is loosened effectively, you should be able to pull it out of the soil easily. [5]
- Wear gloves to protect your hands.
- Apply a nitrogen-rich fertilizer to the soil. Certain organic ingredients in garden mulch, such as leaves and straw, can rob the ground of nitrogen. Before laying down your biodegradable mulch, fertilize the soil to prepare for this loss. You can make your own nitrogen fertilizer or purchase one at a local garden center.[6]
- Apply mulch at least 1 inch away from plant stems. Layer garden mulch on the surface of the soil surrounding your plants and trees. Be sure to leave at least 1 inch around the base of each plant that is untouched by the mulch. Plants may rot or develop a fungus if garden mulch suffocates their roots.[7]
- Apply a layer of at least of biodegradable fertilizer to make sure that it is effective.
- Remove biodegradable mulch when it is decomposed. Once the materials in your mulch have disintegrated and can no longer be recognized, remove the mulch from your soil. Gently rake away the old mulch from the surface of the soil and dispose of it. Replace it with a layer of fresh mulch.[8]
- A build-up of old mulch can produce a hard film on your soil, making it difficult for water to penetrate to the roots of your plants.
[Edit]Applying Non-Biodegradable Mulch - Use plastic mulch to prevent weeds and warm the soil. Some plants thrive in warm soil, which can be difficult to achieve in cooler temperatures. Purchase black plastic mulch from a garden center or online to cover your soil during these cold-temperature periods. Layer plastic around your plants or cut holes in the sheeting to accommodate your plants.
- Use bricks to weigh down the sheeting, or purchase garden stakes from your local garden center.
- Make a rubber mulch from shredded tires or other rubber scraps. Rubber is an effective cover for your soil that will retain heat and prevent weeds. Place scraps of tire around your plants, leaving at least 1 inch around the base of your plants. Rubber is weather-resistant and will not need to be replaced frequently.[9]
- If you don't have rubber scraps, get some from a scrap yard or recycling center.
- Rubber mulch will leave a strong rubber smell in your garden, which may dissuade some gardeners.
- Use as many pieces of rubber as needed to cover the soil in your garden bed.
- Place stones over the surface of the soil to prevent weeds. Large stones can be used as a non-biodegradable mulch that will keep weeds at bay. Place stones close enough together that weeds will have difficulty growing in between them. This type of mulch can add a decorative flair to your garden, and it will not need to be replaced.[10]
- You can also use pebbles and gravel for a finer version of this mulch.
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References |
| How to Take a Mental Health Day Posted: 10 Sep 2021 09:00 AM PDT Taking a mental health day is a good thing to do every once in a while, and can really help to clear your mind and refocus. However, you shouldn't just wake up one morning and say "screw it! Today's a mental health day!" Proper planning is important to ensure that the day actually helps you feel better. [Edit]Making the Decision - Understand your situation. Why do you think you need a mental health day? What is stressing you out? Take a moment to identify the problem, and try to tease out what's going on here. Potential reasons to take a break include:[1][2]
- You're distracted by a problem at home, and you need to work on it
- You feel drained
- You haven't been taking care of yourself
- You need a break from your work environment
- You need to see a mental health specialist
- Know that taking time off is important for health and productivity. There's no need to feel guilty about taking a break. Everyone needs to recharge sometimes.
- Schools have breaks, and workers have vacation days, for good reason. Experts note that time off is important for people's well-being.[3]
- Recognize the signs of a bigger problem. Most people need a mental health break from time to time. But if you're seriously feeling bad, this may be a sign that something is wrong. You might need a longer break, or a change of lifestyle (like a new job), or some help from a doctor or therapist. Signs of a serious problem include:[4][5]
- You routinely take mental health days (or really wish you could)
- Your mental state is endangering yourself or others (e.g. an exhausted truck driver or a distracted surgeon)
- You can't focus due to stress
- You fantasize about quitting
- You often feel stressed, exhausted, etc., to the point it's affecting daily life
[Edit]Planning Ahead - Choose an appropriate date. You want to choose a slow day at work or school, so that you won't miss too much. This way, you won't spend the day worrying about what you're missing.
- If you're worried that you'll skip your much-needed mental health day, try making concrete plans. Book a spa day, buy tickets to an event, or make plans with a friend.[6]
- Make arrangements to ensure your work is taken care of. If you end up with a large pile of unfinished work, you might end up feeling more stressed. Work ahead, so that you have plenty done. Make arrangements with a friend or coworker to have them tell you what you missed, and give you any work you need to do.
- Contact your school, or your boss and coworkers. If you're in school, treat this like an ordinary absence, and if you have a job, you'll want to make sure that your team knows not to email you with work stuff. Some people are more understanding than others, so you can decide how much you want to disclose. You can say that you need a mental health day if you know that they'll be okay with it, or you can just say you don't feel well (without specifying details).[7] Here are some examples of things you can say:
- "I'm not feeling well, and I need to take the day off."
- "I need to take a personal day to sort out some issues. I will be back on Wednesday."
- "I've been feeling run down lately, so I'm taking Friday off to rest and recharge. I hope to be back to 100% next week."
- "I've noticed that my productivity and energy are way down, so I'm going to take two days off for my mental health. I'll see you on Thursday."
- Identify what you need. What has been missing from your life lately? If you identify what you need, that can help you structure your mental health day.[8] Consider what usually helps you feel calm and energized, and choose restorative activities. Depending on your situation, you might need...
- Sleep/rest
- Comfort
- A change of scenery
- Time to reflect
- Fun
- Set some goals for the day. Once you have figured out what you need from your mental health day, you can set goals to help fill that need. Setting goals helps you feel balanced, and gives you direction for the day.[9] Try setting goals related to learning or fun.[10] Here are some examples of good goals:
- I'm going to take a bubble bath.
- I want to write at least 2 pages today.
- I will listen to at least 1 podcast in Spanish.
- I'm going to go to the beach.
- I will bake cookies.
- I'm going to work on that birdhouse I've been meaning to build.
- I'll learn a new painting technique from a video online.
- I will write down my problems and some possible ways to address them. Then I'll relax.
- Set a few rules for the day, if desired. It can be too easy to fall into unhealthy or undesirable habits. If there's something that tends to drain your energy, or that would get in the way of your goals, then try setting a limit or rule for yourself. Here are some examples of useful rules:
- I will spend no more than half an hour on social media.
- If my needy friend calls, I will tell him I am busy and can't talk.
- I won't check my email at all.
- I want to work on painting, so I won't watch any TV until after 2:00.
- I'm putting my phone on silent and ignoring it for the next two hours.
[Edit]Choosing Activities - Start off with a good sleep. Getting at least 8 hours (and maybe more) helps you start the day off right.[11] If you need to catch up on sleep, you may even want as many as 12 hours to truly recharge.
- Try skipping setting an alarm, or setting your alarm very late, and seeing how much you sleep.
- If you get tired later, you can take a half hour nap.
- Eat full, nutritious meals. Try to fill about 1/3 of your plate with fruits and vegetables. Avoid skipping or delaying meals, especially breakfast.[12] Food is fuel, and eating enough is important to help you have a good day. Eat food from each food group.
- Look for fruits and vegetables with strong colors (like dark green lettuce or bright red strawberries). These are signs of good nutrition.
- Pay attention to any cravings. They can tell you what type of nutrition (e.g. salt, leafy greens, fats) your body is low on.
- Avoid diet bars. Eat real food.
- Exercise. Even some light exercise can help you feel a little better, and improve your resilience.[13][14]
- Stretch or do yoga.
- Take a walk around the neighborhood.
- Play catch with friends or family.
- Dance to your favorite music.
- Do push-ups, crunches, jumping jacks, and other exercises you can do anywhere.
- Play a sport like basketball, football, or baseball.
- Pamper yourself a little, if desired. Try doing something nice for yourself, like taking a bubble bath or doing your nails.
- Spend time with someone who makes you feel good about life. Hang out with a good friend or family member. See if you can make plans ahead of the time, or invite them to do something spontaneous. Together, you could...
- Go out for a meal.
- Play a board game or video game together.
- Take a walk.
- Work on a shared hobby.
- Go shopping (if your budget allows).
- Explore a new area of town.
- Try working on something that you've been putting off. Is there something interesting or fun that you've been meaning to get around to? Set aside some time for it.
- Try something that you've been meaning to try. Perhaps you've wanted to learn something new, or experiment with something. Now is a good time to try it.
- Think back to when you were a child. What did you want to get or do, that your parent(s) said no to? Try that thing now!
- Take baby steps if it's a big decision. For example, maybe you're not sure if you're ready to be a dog owner, but you think you could try dog-sitting for someone.
- Reflect on the day when you're done. Take time to rest and think. Try writing in a diary or gratitude journal.[15]
- Try writing down a few things that you're grateful for or happy about.[16][17]
- If you can't manage a mental health day, try taking a mental health hour.[18] Spend an hour doing something nice for yourself.
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References |
| How to Thicken Ganache Posted: 10 Sep 2021 01:00 AM PDT You've just made a batch of delicious chocolate ganache, but it's too thin for your baking needs—don't despair! You can try a few different tricks to thicken your ganache rather than scrapping the entire batch. Cooling, whipping, or adding more chocolate to the ganache will generally produce a thicker product and let you get on with your baking project. [Edit]Adding Chocolate, Chilling, or Whipping Ganache - Use a higher chocolate-to-cream ratio to produce a thicker ganache. Milk chocolate, white chocolate, and compound chocolate all melt down to a thinner consistency than dark chocolate does. For a thicker ganache, like for truffles, use a 2:1 ratio of chocolate to cream. For a frosting ganache, use a 1:1 ratio. For a thin, pourable ganache, use a 1:1.5 ratio.[1]
- Compound chocolate is made of cocoa, sweeteners, and vegetable fat, and it melts down a little differently than baking chocolate does. Because of this, you do need a higher ratio of chocolate to cream than you would with couverture chocolate.
- When you measure out the chocolate and cream, use a scale rather than measuring cups to be as precise as possible.
- Add more chocolate to your ganache if you live somewhere warm. Higher temperatures will affect the viscosity of your ganache. If it's warm enough that the chocolate softens or starts melting when it's on the counter, plan on adding an additional of chocolate to your recipe.[2]
- Especially for recipes where you need a sturdier ganache, like for truffles or for frosting between layers, you want to err on the side of too-thick rather than too-thin ganache.
- Chill and beat too-thin ganache to turn it into whipped ganache. Cover the ganache with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge for an hour. Take it out and use a hand-mixer to beat the ganache until it gets fluffy and turns a lighter shade of brown. Use the whipped ganache to frost between layers of a cake or to decorate the top of baked goods.[3]
- Use whipped ganache as a dip for fresh fruits or cookies.
- Put ganache into the fridge to let it set and get thicker. Hot or warm ganache will always be thinner than ganache that has chilled for an hour. If you have the time, take your ganache, cover it with plastic wrap, and set it in the fridge. Leave it in the fridge for an hour, taking it out every 30 minutes to stir it. Once it gets to the right consistency, proceed with your recipe.[4]
- It's possible that the ganache won't thicken, no matter how long you leave it in the fridge. If that's the case, you'll need to reheat it and add more chocolate to give it a thicker consistency.
[Edit]Reheating and Thickening Chilled Ganache - Reheat the ganache on the stovetop or in the microwave. If the ganache still isn't thick enough after you've chilled it, then it's time to try reheating it and adding more chocolate. If you're using the stovetop, transfer the ganache to a saucepan and put it over low heat, stirring continuously. If you're using the microwave, put the ganache in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it in 15 second increments, stirring it between each session, until the ganache is warm and runny again.[5]
- Stirring the ganache frequently will keep it from burning. Use low heat or small increments of heat to safely warm up chilled ganache.
- Incorporate of chocolate at a time to the warmed ganache. Weigh and add chocolate in increments. After each ounce, stir the ganache until the new addition is completely melted. If you're using the microwave, add the chocolate to the bowl and stir the ganache before microwaving it again—the heat from the warm ganache may be enough to melt the new chocolate on its own. If it's needed, put the bowl back into the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.[6]
- If, somehow, the ganache becomes too thick, add of cream to the mixture.
- Stir the ganache and add chocolate until the consistency is right. Until the ganache reaches the right thickness, keep adding of chocolate at a time. If you're using the microwave, use your best judgement to know when to microwave the ganache again. If you're using the stovetop, keep the heat as low as it'll go to prevent the bottom from burning.[7]
- With the microwave, the danger is that you'll accidentally cook the ganache for too long, making it dry and hard.
- Remove the ganache from the heat and let it cool, or use it right away. Once you think you've achieved the right consistency of ganache, remove the pot or bowl from the heat. Let it cool down on the countertop for an hour, or use it right away.[8]
- Luckily, the ganache should taste great, no matter the consistency!
- If you can't get your ganache to the right consistency, repurpose it and use it as a fruit dip or pour it overtop of ice cream.
- Always use caution when cooking with heat. Keep your hands safe by using oven mitts to take ganache out of the microwave or when mixing things on the stovetop.
[Edit]Things You'll Need [Edit]Troubleshooting Common Problems - Chocolate
- Long-handled spoon
- Glass bowl
- Saucepan
- Scale
- Hand- or stand-mixer
- Plastic wrap
[Edit]Reheating and Thickening Chilled Ganache - Saucepan or microwave-safe bowl
- Long-handled spoon
- Chocolate
[Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
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