2016 Fall Home & Garden

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2016 Fall Home & Garden

Preparing the Fireplace

By Keith Loria

Here’s what to do before settling in for cozy winter nights

W

hen the air outside starts to get a little cooler, people start animals that could have gotten in and built a nest; something that thinking about lighting up the fireplace and cuddling occurs more frequently than you would think. alongside a roaring fire on a chilly night. But before sparking up that A chimney inspector will do a thorough job removing the soot fire, it’s important to make sure your fireplace is properly prepared. and inspecting the entire chimney to make sure there is no damage.

Knowing the terms helps. For example, the fireplace’s flue allows A sweep will look for leaks and cracks, check out the flashing system smoke to move through the chimney, and the damper is the opening and rain cap and look for any foundation problems. All of this is you can adjust to control the intact of air and temperature of your important in ensuring your chimney lasts. fire. The flue needs to be open before a fire is lit.

You can also have the chimney capped, which means having a One of the most important steps to fireplace maintenance and preparation is having the entire thing cleaned by a professional.

St. John Chimney Sweeps, 1613 Reed Road in Princeton (stjohnchimneysweeps.com; 609-737-0133), offers this vital service.

screen placed on top to keep those pesky animals and debris away.

This is fairly inexpensive and will make the annual sweep a little easier.

Something you can do on your own is to look at the chimney on the outside and inspect the mortar around the bricks to see if there are According to the National Fire Protection Association, dirty any cracks. If there are, these will need to be fixed by a professional chimneys are the leading cause of structure fires, which is why it or else the chimney will become a dangerous fire hazard. recommends an annual chimney inspection. St. John Chimney You can also clean the area in the fireplace yourself, removing any Sweeps can help with that also. old debris of wood and ashes, and polish up the stones, grate and Chimneys can get dirty quickly, as creosote, a highly flammable substance, can build up inside your flue lining. Then there are

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fireplace tools.

Once everything is clean and ready, the next step is securing the wood you’ll need to burn. You can contract with a provider of seasoned firewood — like HTS Tree Care in Pennington or Alstede Farms in Chester — and have it delivered and even stacked for you.

A delivery of one or two cords of wood should be enough for the season. Firewood can also be purchased at supermarkets or even picked up free in different areas (try searching websites such as Craigslist).

Firewood needs to be stored in a dry place, dried, and ready to burn. Never use wood from trees that have just been cut down, even if you have a bunch of it in your backyard from a fallen tree. That wood will most likely contain high levels of moisture that will result in more smoke than burn power, and could lead to deposits forming on the inside of the chimney.

Make sure to have a mesh metal screen or glass fireplace doors to prevent errant embers from shooting out of the fireplace. This sort of protection in front of the open flame is especially important when the room is unoccupied.

If you use your fireplace often this fall and winter, it’s a good idea to close it down once the winter season is over and warm weather returns. This can be done by removing all the burnt wood and debris and washing any soot that is visible. Use a vacuum cleaner to pick up ashes from around the opening.

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The Bucks Stop Here Tips for keeping deer out of your garden

By Keith Loria

K

ids always get excited when they see deer in the yard, but those be wary of growing strawberries, a favorite of deer. cute animals can be a home gardener’s nightmare. Deer will Also helpful is planting on levels, as deer aren’t know for their stomp on your flowers, eat your best plants and basically leave your climbing talents. By planting raised terraces or sunken beds, you beautiful garden looking ragged and ruined. can discourage them from coming into the yard. You can get these The average adult deer needs to eat up to 10 pounds of greenery at Peterson’s Nursery Garden Center, 3730 Lawrenceville Road, a day, so your burgeoning garden is akin to a 300-pound man on Princeton.

Weight Watchers being placed in front of a buffet. Luckily, there are There also are sprays and powders that will keep the deer at bay steps you can take to protect your garden and yard. by using masking odors and repellant. Experts recommend that

A fence might seem like an easy solution, but it’s not always coverage should start from the ground and extend upward six feet. effective. Deer can hop a fence pretty easily if there’s something These are available in Princeton at Lowe’s, West Windsor Shopping inside that fence they want. Not only that, a fence can take away Center; or Home Depot, 701 Nassau Park Blvd. from the aesthetic beauty of a garden.

Bright lights and water from sprinklers will also keep the deer The best protection is to make your yard as unappealing to the away, so consider adding both of these things near the garden. taste buds as possible, and that involves “playing” with a deer’s If you have a dog, your pet could be a great helper as well. Deer senses. Deer rely heavily on their sense of smell for feeding, so the are timid animals and will stay away from a dog and its bark, so addition of patches of strongly scented herbs such as garlic or chives letting your dog roam the yard should help — just be sure to keep will help mask the appealing aroma of annuals. the dog out of the garden.

Deer also are prone to stay away from certain pointy textures, so incorporating plants such as fuzzy lamb’s ear, berberis, and cleome in the entranceway to your garden, or close to the plants, is recommended by many experts.

Also, deer rely on sight as much as smell. By utilizing thick hedges of boxwoods or short needle spruces around the borders of your garden, you can keep deer from seeing what they most desire.

In her book, “Deerproofing Your Yard & Garden,” author Rhonda Massingham Hart explains that the first step in protecting your garden is in making savvy choices in what you decide to grow.

As a general rule, deer love to dine on anything that’s smooth, tender, and flavorful, For example, deer are attracted to English Ivy, lettuces and pansies, so you should limit these items in the garden. Additionally, 8

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2016 Fall Home & Garden

Spruce Up Your Kitchen This Season

By Donna Adinolfe

S

ummer’s over, the kids are back in school, and the holidays are creeping up on the calendar as well as on store shelves.

The holiday season isn’t just prime time for home entertaining with family and friends, it’s also time to stress over whether your kitchen and bathroom are suitable for guests to use.

Now is the time to consider doing a little nip and tuck in the most used rooms in the home so there will be one less worry and more time to think about the joy of the season.

“Families want the kitchen to be a reflection of their tastes and lifestyle,” according to Debbie Schaeffer, Chief Customer Officer of Mrs. G Appliances & Mattresses, 2720 Route 1, Lawrenceville (mrsgs. com). “The kitchen is the new family room.”

Not only are meals created in the kitchen, Ms. Schaeffer says, but children often do their homework on the kitchen island and it’s always the place for family and friends to gather.

Painting cabinets and giving them new handles can give a kitchen a new look.

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Stainless steel is the new trend for appliances for anyone looking to upgrade their kitchen.

“You get the biggest bang for your buck from painting the walls,” that will make their life better by encouraging healthy cooking and according to Claire Hardy, Hamilton, an interior painter, who has cooking faster. Brands focus on style, design and dependability for all tackled many DIY projects in her home and others. price ranges giving the consumer many options within their budget.”

A project that can give the room a whole new life and can be Steam convection ovens, four-door refrigerators, speed ovens in accomplished in a weekend is painting the cabinets and adding new stainless steel and the new black stainless steel are on many renovators’ handles and drawer pulls, both Ms. Hardy and Ms. Schaeffer agree. wish lists this year, she added.

Prep work is important when beginning a successful paint job, Ms. “When upgrading to stainless steel appliances,” Ms. Schaeffer says, Hardy says. Sanding cabinets and applying spackling paste on the “use a good stainless steel cleaner and make sure you use a soft cloth walls will produce a professional look. and clean in the direction of the grain.”

“If you are handy, you can install a backsplash,” Ms. Hardy says, In the bathroom, Ms. Hardy says, new shelving for towels and “there is a new product that looks like tile, but it’s actually a sticker other necessities can make a big difference. She also recommends that comes in different looks, like tile, marble and glass.” upgrading the faucets and adding new window treatments.

If the budget allows, upgrading the appliances is an option to She recommends DIYers attend free classes offered at local home freshen up the look of the kitchen. improvement stores. Watching home repair videos on YouTube also “Appliances are meant to last from 13 to 20 years,” Ms. Schaeffer can give you tips on making your kitchen and bath, and, incidentally, says. “Stainless steel is still the leader, so many people today are the holidays bright. updating their older appliances to stainless and looking for products 14

2016 Fall Home & Garden

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Get Out That Rake It’s time to get to work and clear the leaves from your lawn

By Keith Loria

T

You should also take a broom to your driveway and sidewalks and here are people who dread the leaves falling from the trees, and remove any leaves that have fallen. Leaves that become wet on the the hours spent raking them and clearing out a property. Others ground can become something of a safety risk. Wet leaves are slippery love the colors of autumn and the crunch of fallen leaves as they take and can cause a nasty fall on the ground or sidewalk. You don’t want a walk. someone injured because you were lazy and didn’t want to rake or Regardless of how you feel about leaves, it’s important to get them sweep your driveway. off of your lawn before the snow comes and they are frozen through You don’t have to pick up every single leaf, and there are some areas winter. The health of your grass can be greatly affected by leaves. of your yard (the perimeter, gardens and in any wooded areas) where When grass is toppled beneath a thick mat of leaves, it won’t get keeping a layer of leaves is actually considered healthy for the lawn. the sunlight and air required to stay healthy. Make sure to pick up a According to Treehugger.com, fallen leaves can provide food, shelter, strong rake —such as those offered at Ace Hardware Princeton, 301 and nesting or bedding materials to a variety of wildlife, as well as N. Harrison St. — to get the job done. protection for a number of beneficial insects during the winter, all of According to the Farmer’s Almanac, thick leaf layers increase the which work together to contribute to a healthy yard. risk for dying grass, pest infestation and fungus. A yard with warmThe Princeton Environmental Commission recommends spreading season grass may already be dormant by the time the leaves fall, but leaves on your garden and leaving them there to hold in moisture, in New Jersey, the cool-season grass is still growing in the fall, so sun and air are more important.

Continued on Page 18

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suppress weeds, keep the soil cool in the summer, and slowly release nutrients. Planting tomatoes, for instance, requires nothing more than parting the leaves to put the new plants in. The leaf mulch reduces rotting of any tomatoes that touch the ground.

Fallen leaves form a natural mulch that helps suppress weeds, and fertilizes the soil as it breaks down. So, while it’s OK to have some leaves in the yard for these purposes, just don’t let them pile up and smother any one particular area.

Lawn experts note that leaves also can be used to improve troubling spots of you lawn: Build a large leaf pile and let it sit all winter. By the spring, the lower part of the leaf pile will be converted into rich soil, while the middle and top layers can be used as mulch or dug into spring garden beds as a soil amendment.

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Keep in mind that waiting until all the leaves have fallen from your trees may seem efficient, but the longer leaves lay around, and the thicker they accumulate, the greater the damage you may cause to your grass. That’s why regular raking is recommended. And even if you decide to let leaves alone during the winter to make soil healthier, they should still be moved around. Mowing the leaves with a mulching mower is an option, but in order to shred the leaves effectively, it must be done before the carpet of leaves becomes too thick.

Investing in a leaf blower makes sense for those with large yards, but one shouldn’t rely strictly on this tool. While it may be helpful in rounding up the bulk of the leaves, a rake will still be necessary for finishing the job.

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