Forbes Living

Find colorful, unique items for decorating outdoors and gardens areas this Spring.

Coral Springs, FL (PRWEB) March 27, 2014

The Forbes Living talk show will present a fun and informative segment on garden and outdoor decorating. The program will feature some of the best new products to make outdoor living exciting, fun and comfortable. It will cover projects everyone in the family will enjoy such as how to choose the best patio furniture, cool new pool toys, the right barbecue grill, and more. The show, hosted by Forbes Riley, will air on most cable television networks this year.

Recently named America’s Most Loved Health Fitness Innovator, Forbes Riley is known for bringing affordable, high-quality fitness, health and household products to consumers worldwide. When Riley first met “the godfather of fitness” Jack LaLanne, he changed the way she looked at health and fitness. The two soon joined forces and went on to launch one of the most successful product promotions of all time with the Jack LaLanne Juicer. Today, Riley has helped sell more than $2 billion worth of product, including her very own SpinGym which she patented and developed herself. As the co-creator, co-executive producer, and host of Forbes Living, Riley motivates viewers by informing, educating, branding and creating consumer awareness on a variety of products. Forbes boasts a huge following on her website and social media, and regularly appears on such networks as ESPN, TLC, Fit-TV, Animal Planet, ABC Family and Home Shopping Network.

About Forbes Living

Forbes Living is on the hunt for The Next Big Thing. The groundbreaking talk show puts a new spin on the format by combining the most highly recognized product spokeswoman with new and innovative products, all in a fun, informative and entertaining fashion. The show is slated to premier in July 2014 on prominent networks like WE tv – Women’s Entertainment, Lifetime Real Women, the Esquire Network, FOX, ABC and ION as well as Regional News Networks. Join the interactive fun with Forbes Living TV on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The show’s website provides a contact form that inventors and businesses can fill out to receive more information. Forbes Living TV is an FR Media production.

About FR Media

FR Media brings a superior track record of award-winning video and film background services including video and film, direct response television, commercial advertising and media planning and buying. Staffed with Emmy, Telly and Moxie award-winning staff members from the disciplines of television, DRTV, film, print, advertising and online media, FR Media studios are located in St. Petersburg, Florida. If you have a product you would like considered for the show, go to http://www.forbeslivingtv.com and fill out our Product Inquiry form.

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Posted: Thursday, March 27, 2014 10:00 pm

Extension: Some tips on improving garden soil

Mary Jac Brennan/Forsyth Extension

Winston-Salem Journal

Q: What do you recommend that I add to my soil to make it good soil for gardening?

Answer: Overall, the best time to build better garden soil is in the fall. But there are some practices you can put into place now. Organic farmers use these practices because their soil is the foundation of everything else that happens on the farm. Don’t use your entire garden space during one season. Divide the space into use areas by season. Grow your summer garden, but in your fall garden grow a cover crop such as buckwheat or summer peas. Turn the cover crop and use it as a green manure about three weeks before you want to start your fall garden. Another practice is to use wheat or rye straw as mulch in your summer garden. Place a 4-inch layer of mulch on top of any bare soil between plants and in the rows. At the end of the season, you can allow the mulch to mellow in place and turn it under three weeks prior to spring planting. If you want to grow a winter cover crop, turn the mulch under three weeks prior to planting your cereal rye or crimson clover.

If you are starting from scratch, consider purchasing a bag of quality compost such as Carolina Dynamite or a bagged mushroom compost to add to your garden. Add enough compost to cover the planting area to a depth of 2 inches. Work the compost into the top 4 inches of the soil surface. Prior to adding any compost, collect a soil sample for testing. Sample boxes and the appropriate paperwork are available in our office. You may return filled boxes to our office for delivery to Raleigh or you may send your samples through the U.S. Postal Service. Soil testing is completed by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Agronomic Lab in Raleigh. There is no charge for soil tests from April 1 through Nov. 27. You will receive your report in six weeks. You may not be able to use the reported results for this summer’s garden, but you will have a starting point for your fall planting.

Go online

To watch video on planting radishes, see this story at JournalNow.com.

Q: I am looking for an easy vegetable to grow with a kindergarten class. What would you suggest?

Answer: One of the easiest and fastest growing vegetables is the radish. The word in Greek means “fast appearing.” You can plant radish seeds directly into the garden or into containers and they will be ready to harvest in 25 to 30 days. Perhaps you can keep a calendar of growth with the children as you watch the garden progress. Radish seeds are large enough for small fingers. Space the seeds 1-inch apart or thin extra seedlings after they germinate so that there is proper spacing. The seeds only need to be planted ½-inch deep. There are many colors of radishes, including red, pink, white and black. Radishes are in the mustard family and are considered a cool-season vegetable, meaning that they grow best in the cool times of the year. It is great to garden with children. Children who have at least five contacts with a new food like radishes are more likely to try it on their own.

Mary Jac Brennan is the commercial horticulture agent for small farms and local food for the Forsyth Cooperative Extension. For information on home and gardening issues, contact the Forsyth Cooperative Extension office at extension@forsyth.cc or call (336) 703-2850.

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Thursday, March 27, 2014 10:00 pm.

Spring is here. I was worried that the winter cold might have killed the two raspberry plants I planted in wine barrels last spring, but throughout the containers, new little sprouts are starting to break the soil surface.

They are Raspberry Shortcake plants, the first thornless dwarf raspberry marketed to gardeners for growing in containers. They come from Fall Creek Farm Nursery, which is right in step with two new gardening trends, growing berries and growing food in container gardens.

Fall Creek’s mission is to develop
“new berry varieties specifically for home gardeners.” Their breeders are looking for berries that are easy to grow, have exceptional ornamental value and produce lots of good tasting fruit. They want to transform berry gardening and have registered the name of BrazelBerries for their line of home garden berries.

This year, I want to add blueberries to my berry garden. Fall Creek offers three blueberry cultivars for gardeners. I usually don’t recommend growing blueberries in local gardens because most home garden soils are alkaline (with a pH of 8 or above) and low in organic matter. Blueberries only do well when grown in acid (with a pH of 4.5 to 5.5) soil that is fairly high in organic matter. This is not a problem if you grow them in pots with a potting mix.

While Fall Creek offers blueberry cultivars, my choice is Jelly Bean. Jelly Bean is the most cold hardy (United States Department of Agriculture Zones 4 to 8) of the three and has the largest berries. It is a little “puffball of a plant” growing to a height and width of only 1 to 2 feet, perfect for a barrel planting.

Despite being a compact dwarf bush, Jelly Bean reportedly yields plenty of large, tasty sweet berries in the middle of summer. But it is not just about the berries. The spherical, mounded plant can be ornamental, with bright green leaves in spring that turn darker green in summer and then red in late summer and fall.

I will be placing my blueberry plant in a barrel planter with large holes in the bottom for drainage. Fall Creek recommends growing their blueberries in sizable pots of 16 inches or more in diameter.

When planting berries or veggies in containers, use a quality potting mix
that drains well. A mix that is predominantly peat moss or coconut coir mixed with compost, pumice and perlite works well.

Once planted, Fall Creek recommends that your blueberry plants be in full sun. However, our summer heat and sun is so extreme, a site where they will get some shade late in the day would probably be a good idea.

Keep the soil consistently moist, because blueberries are not tolerant of drought or excess moisture. Fertilize the plants once a year in early spring with a fertilizer recommended for acid-loving plants.

The plants should be pruned in late winter or early spring while still dormant, removing the canes that fruited the year before. That’s because Jelly Bean and the other two blueberries (Peach Sorbet and Blueberry Glaze) produce new canes each year, but will only produce fruit on the canes that grew the previous year.

— Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for Washington State University Benton County Extension.