
The term”green pepper” is really a misnomer, because nearly all peppers, if sweet or hot, are green until ripening. Since the bell pepper (Capsicum annum ) is most often used for cooking and salads while still in its unripe phase,…

Natural draft furnaces are an older kind of furnace, now regarded as inefficient with an estimated efficiency score between 65 and 70 percent. Before high efficiency units were readily available, natural draft furnaces were common and are still found in…

Daily exposure to the elements and dirt, in addition to body lotions and oils, can damage vinyl fabric with time. Without sufficient cleaning, outdoor furniture may get worn and dingy. Killing vinyl patio and pool-deck furniture from sunlight, moisture, dirt…

Toilets manufactured from the 1980s use 3.5 gallons per flush, and models manufactured before that use even more, between 7 and 5 gallons per flush. When you consider the typical individual flushes five times per day, this may account for…

Wooden butcher blocks offer a durable work surface that protects your countertops. However, if the timber isn’t sealed, food particles, moisture and bacteria can enter the pores of the timber. Inert oils such as mineral oil or pure tung oil…

Potatoes are some of the planet’s most important food crops. Two big classes of them are familiar to most Americans, Irish (Solanum tuberosum) and sweet (Ipomoea batatas). Irish potatoes take their title from the renowned potato famine that occurred in…

Unlike most vegetables and fruits, watermelons (Citrullus vulgaris) possess no true antagonists in the plant kingdom. But because they need full sun to thrive, be sure not to plant your melons in the shadow of any tall-growing plants. Growing watermelons…

A picket fence is just one key component of a cottage-style garden featured in ancient American landscapes. The main role of this manner of fence comprised keeping kids and farm animals either in or out of the yard and off…

A chandelier canopy is the cone-shaped cover which hides the wiring and also the junction box in the ceiling onto which the chandelier is mounted. A canopy only needs to be as broad as required to cover the hole in…