GardenSoxx® Weed-Free Gardening!

 Featured, Garden  1 Response »
May 092012
 

Gardening can bring unending joy…beautiful flowers, delicious homegrown veggies, attracting birds to your yard…all wonderful benefits of gardening. If it weren’t for those pesky weeds, gardening would be the highlight of just about everybody’s life. If only there was way to avoid weeds altogether…if only… Oh, wait!

GardenSoxx® can help you Simplify Your Love of Gardening™ by eliminating your fight with the unwanted intruders in your otherwise heavenly garden! GardenSoxx® is one of the most simple and unique gardening systems you’ll find, allowing you to put a garden anywhere.

GardenSoxx® are an organic landscape and gardening system which makes use of high quality compost held inside a mesh tube to provide better growing conditions for your plants. This allows gardening anywhere, without leaving any room for weeds!

GardenSoxx irrigation

Irrigation Kit

An 2′ long GardenSoxx® is only $14. 95!

Irrigation kits are also available.

The Rock Pile is also excited to be a distribution center for the Family Garden Initiative,

“a volunteer-driven, community outreach nutrition program developed by Church of the Open Door with help from Filtrexx Foundation that serves low-maintenance, above-ground gardens to low-income families within the community. Our mission is to live the gospel of Jesus Christ by healing urban communities through serving gardens that yield freshly grown produce for families.”

If you would like to volunteer to help distribute the gardens, click here to register.

Play the video below for more information on GardenSoxx®

May’s Favorite Bird: The Hummingbird!

 Bird, Featured  No Responses »
Apr 302012
 
Hummingbirds are the only birds that consistently hover in flight. The unique anatomy of the bones and muscles of the wing and its attachment at the shoulder joint allow hummingbirds to fly even backward. While hovering, a hummingbird beats its wings at a rate of around 55 times per second. That rate increases to at least 75 times per second when flying forward at full speed.
Hummingbirds use up a lot of energy for flight. Research on these birds reveals that some of them can consume half their total weight in sugar every day. For example, an adult Ruby-throated Hummingbird weighs about one-tenth ounce (3 grams, or about the weight of one U.S. penny), so it must find 0.05 ounces (1.5 grams) of sugar daily. For a hummingbird this may represent 50 to 60 full course meals a day. Home owners can use this knowledge to attract hummingbirds to their back yards.
Hummingbirds have a surprisingly efficient, highly extensible, tubular tongue which reaches deep into a flower to suck up nectar. The hummingbird also uses his bill to catch small spiders and insects from within flowers for essential protein supplements to its diet.
For attracting hummingbirds, try offering a nectar feeder!  You can either use a convenient pre-made mixture or make your own.  If making your own solution, use the recommended one part granulated sugar and four parts water (a weaker, less expensive solution of one part sugar to five parts water also may be acceptable). One cup of sugar mixed with four cups of water makes a good amount for starters. Bring the water to a rolling boil and add the sugar, stirring the mixture to dissolve the sugar completely. Let the sugar solution cool to room temperature and fill the hummingbird feeder. The feeder should be checked every two to three days to be refilled. At least once a week it should be washed completely then rinsed very thoroughly to deter growth of molds and bacteria, which can grow rapidly in the sugar solution on warm summer days and may be harmful to hummingbirds.

If you want to attract hummingbirds to your yard over the long term, it is recommended that you also give serious consideration to planting perennials that are naturally attractive to hummingbirds.  The Rock Pile Garden Center will be carrying a number of perennials sure to please hummimgbirds such as bee-balm, columbine, lobelia, astilbe, coreopsis, dianthus, foxglove, echinacea, blanket flower, lavender, garden phlox, Russian sage, sedum and veronica.  Add these shrubs to your yard for even more hummers: weigela, crapemyrtle and leptodermis.  With a little care the flowers represent a long-term investment. Another plus in planting flowers to attract hummingbirds is that many of the same plants that attract hummingbirds also attract butterflies.  For a  list of plants that Hummingbirds will love CLICK HERE!

Press play below to hear the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

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Bird of the Month: Indigo Bunting

 Bird, Featured  No Responses »
Mar 302012
 

Sometimes nicknamed “blue canaries,” these brilliantly colored yet common and widespread birds whistle their bouncy songs through the late spring and summer all over eastern North America. Look for Indigo Buntings in weedy fields and shrubby areas near trees, singing from dawn to dusk atop the tallest perch in sight or foraging for seeds and insects in low vegetation.

A breeding male Indigo Bunting is blue all over, with slightly richer blue on his head and a shiny, silver-gray bill. But, like all other blue birds, Indigo Buntings lack blue pigment. Their jewel-like color comes instead from microscopic structures in the feathers that refract and reflect blue light, much like the airborne particles that cause the sky to look blue. Females are basically brown, with faint streaking on the breast, a whitish throat, and sometimes a touch of blue on the wings, tail, or rump. Immature males are patchy blue and brown.

Indigo Buntings eat small seeds, berries, buds, and insects. Common seed forage includes thistles, dandelions, goldenrods, and grain such as oats; berries eaten include blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, serviceberries, and elderberries. Spiders and insect prey, which form the majority of their diet during summer months, may include caterpillars, grasshoppers, aphids, cicadas and beetles such as canker worms, click beetles, and weevils. The brown-tail moth caterpillar, which is covered with noxious hairs that cause nasty rashes and respiratory problems in people, presents no obstacle to a hungry bunting. On arrival to breeding grounds in spring, Indigo Buntings may feed on twigs, buds, and leaves of trees including aspen, cottonwood, oaks, beech, elm, maple, and hickory.

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Nesting: how you can help

 Bird, Featured  No Responses »
Mar 052012
 

Nesting, nest boxes We all know birds need to eat and drink to survive. But quite often we forget about their shelter. Not all birds create their own homes. Some birds like woodpeckers and chickadees excavate cavities in tree trunks for nesting and roosting. Many other species such as wrens, bluebirds, titmice, and some ducks and owls, nest in cavities that other birds have made. Nest boxes offer these birds a place to raise their young, especially where natural cavities are at a premium. About 80 species of birds nest in cavities and are candidates for using a nest box. Remember that the kinds of birds you’ll attract are affected by where you live and what the surrounding habitat is like.

Our sales associates can guide you in finding the right nesting box for your yard and offer information about nest box placement and how to avoid predators. Don’t forget the nesting material! If you put up a nest box, please be a responsible landlord. Nest boxes should be maintained on a regular basis. Unmonitored nest boxes can easily become home to House Sparrows or Starlings, that aggressively compete with native birds, destroying eggs and chicks and sometimes vulnerable adult birds.

Now is the prefect time of year to put up nesting boxes. Having a bird-friendly yard has never been more important – nearly 80 percent of wildlife habitat in the United States is in private hands, and an average of 2.1 million acres each year are converted to residential use. This leaves less forested areas that contain rotting wood for nesting cavities. Support our wildlife, cohabitate with the birds this year.

Featured Backyard Visitor: Deer

 Bird, Featured  1 Response »
Dec 022011
 

Love them or hate them, you’re bound to see them this month! But come to think about it, what a festive time of year to see such creatures. Don’t they just remind you of some other “special deer”, that perhaps can fly and help bring presents to little ones? Join in the spirit of the season and stop and smile when you see a deer this month.

LOVE ‘EM:
If you love deer and don’t mind them as backyard visitors, or simply feel sorry for the fact that their homes were recently destroyed by mankind, here are a few things to consider. Offer loose feed such as Shelled Corn, Cracked Corn or our special Deer Mix Feed! You can place this feed in a Manger, Platform Feeder or even on the ground! Want something that will last a bit longer? Try salt block! There are large blocks as well as smaller blocks. Stop in to check out our selection!

Shelled or Cracked Corn 50 lb = $16.99
Shelled or Cracked Corn 25 lb = $9.99
Shelled or Cracked Corn 10 lb = $4.49
Deer Mix 50 lb = $19.99
Deer Mix 25 lb = $11.99
Wildlife Manger Feeder = $45.99
(not pictured -stop in to see it!)

Salt Block 50 lb = $12.99
Corn-lix Deer Block = $12.99
Salt and Feed Pan = $10.99
Buck Lickers Salt Blocks = $4.99
(any flavor -acorn, apple or wild persimmon)
Small Salt block holder = $6.99

________________________________________________________________

HATE ‘EM:
If you don’t want deer in your backyard deter them with these simple solutions. Use a deer repellent. The Rock Pile offers a number of different animal repellents to suit your needs. Quite often homeowners will find better results if they switch up their repellents every once and a while. So if your trusty repellent doesn’t repel as well as it used to, switch it up. Deer getting into your bird feeders? Try Feed with Hot Pepper Flavor or add Flaming Squirrel Sauce to your feed. Mammals cannot tolerate the taste of hot pepper but birds can, so you birds will still enjoy their feed while deer and other mammals will go searching for a drink of water! So can also place Deer Netting up to prevent deer from entering your yard or going near certain vegetation. Have a great deer prevention solution? Let us know what it is!

Plantskydd RTU quart = $22.99
Plantskydd Concentrate = $24.99
Liquid Fence Granular 2 lb = $16.99
Liquid Fence Granular 5 lb = $27.99
Shake Away for Deer = $18.99
Deer Off = $21.99
All Season Deer Repellent = $24.99
All Out Deer & Rabbit Repellent = $18.99
Deer Netting = $24.99 – 36.99 (vary in size)

 

Effort-less Birdfeeding

 Bird, Featured  4 Responses »
Nov 162011
 

With an ever-growing to-do list, the Effort-Less Birdfeeder makes one task simple and painless. Built to withstand every type of weather, the Effort-Less is a unique birdfeeding system designed to last. “The Effort-Less Birdfeeder features a free-standing base, allowing it to be placed virtually anywhere – on patios or decks, in gardens or grass. When filled with 30 pounds of dry sand, the base is designed to keep the feeder stable and straight in all kinds of weather.” Good news for our Ohio winters!

Did you catch the phrase “free-standing base”? That means you can plant this baby right on your deck! That opens up a whole realm of possibilities. Does Grandma have a lovely patio right outside her breakfast window? I bet she’d love this bird feeder.

The Effort-Less Birdfeeder makes a wonderful gift for any bird enthusiast, from the beginner to the pro!

 

Cedar Waxwing

 Bird, Featured  No Responses »
Oct 052011
 

What a treat to find the Cedar Waxwing in your backyard!  This bird is a silky, shiny collection of brown, gray, and lemon-yellow, accented with a subdued crest, and brilliant-red wax droplets on the wing feathers. And how appropriate for this Halloween month, the Cedar Waxwing sports a bandit-like black mask!  In fall these birds gather by the hundreds to eat berries, filling the air with their high, thin, whistles. Look for Cedar Waxwings in woodlands of all kinds, and at farms, orchards, and suburban gardens where there are fruiting trees or shrubs.  The Cedar Waxwing is one of the few North American birds that specializes in eating fruit. It can survive on fruit alone for several months.  Many birds that eat a lot of fruit separate out the seeds and regurgitate them, but the Cedar Waxwing lets them pass right through.

So try attacking these beautiful year-round Ohio birds to your backyard.  Plant a berry bush or set out a fruit feeder at your feeding station.

 

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Great Blue Heron

 Bird, Featured  No Responses »
Sep 012011
 

If you are out on a nature hike or enjoying some quiet inlet of Lake Erie you may catch a glimpse of the Great Blue Heron. One of the most common herons, it often barks like a dog when startled. Seen stalking small fish in shallow water, it will also strike at mice, squirrels and just about anything else it might come across.

Found along calm freshwater and seacoasts. Usually nests in trees near water, but colonies can be found away from water. The nest is usually a large platform of sticks, lined with pine needles, moss, reeds, dry grass, or twigs, placed high in trees, occasionally on ground.

You can see this bird flying holding his neck in an “S” shape with its long legs trailing straight out behind him. This month, see if you can catch the Great Blue Heron in action!

Click on the play button below to hear the Great Blue Heron.

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Alabama Sunset

 Featured  No Responses »
Aug 152011
 

With so many people looking for new ways to spruce up their landscaping, we thought we’d offer another variety of decorative gravel.

Alabama Sunset is a quartzite gravel, similar in make-up to Lucky Stone, but with more color! It’s a beautiful choice for many uses including: walkways, around the pool, in beds as a substitute for mulch and whatever else your imagination can dream up.

Using decorative gravel as mulch has many advantages, longevity being high on most people’s list. Where standard bark mulches need to be replaced every year or every other year, decorative gravel does not break down and therefore only needs occasional touching up. Because it does not break down, it really is worth the effort to lay down landscaping cloth (also called weed barrier…just do NOT use plastic) to prevent the gravel from working its way into your soil and disappearing. Weed barrier will also prevent weeds.

Bird of the Month: Gray Catbird

 Bird, Featured  No Responses »
Aug 012011
 

If you’re convinced you’ll never be able to learn bird calls, start with the Gray Catbird. Once you’ve heard its catty mew you won’t forget it. Follow the sound into thickets and vine tangles and you’ll be rewarded by a somber gray bird with a black cap and bright rusty feathers under the tail. The Gray Catbird belongs to the genus , which means “small thicket.” And that’s exactly where you should go look for this little skulker. In summer, Gray Catbirds eat mainly ants, beetles, grasshoppers, midges, caterpillars, and moths. When fruits are available they also eat holly berries, cherries, elderberries, poison ivy, green-brier, bay, and blackberries.

Click here to go to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to hear the Catbird’s call

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