Zones 2 and 3 Zones 2 and 3 include Alaska, the north-central United States, northern New England, and the Rockies. When gardeners in Southern California are at their peak harvest in July, those in cooler climates can still get going. Greens like arugula, spinach, parsley, and cilantro go to seed quickly in hot, dry temperatures. But sown by seed in cooler regions midsummer, these plants thrive and will produce well into fall....

With a rise in the popularity of essential oil diffusers, the market is saturated with options. The Vitruvi Porcelain Essential Oil Diffuser is more expensive than the average diffuser, so we had to see for ourselves if it was worth the price. Its unique, hand-milled ceramic shell and multiple timing features certainly held up to the test, but the limited light features and gurgling sound weren’t as top-notch as expected....

This elegant plant has slender branches that arch gracefully from a light gray trunk, with dense, glossy dark leaves. When the Ficus benjamina tree is grown indoors, the plants are normally pruned to keep them about 3 feet to 6 feet tall, and their trunks are sometimes braided for decorative appeal. It is a fast grower and may need to be repotted up to once per year, but do so in the early spring for best results....

WEN is a nearly 70-year-old, Illinois-based company that sells power tools online and through big box home improvement stores. To see if its reputation for being the budget choice of serious hobbyists held up, I tested its 12-Inch Variable Speed Drill Press over several weeks in my home garage workshop in Colorado. We assessed its durability, performance, and special features, such as its built-in laser and light. See our lineup of the top drill presses available for purchase....

All parts of the pea plant are edible. As the pea leaves and stems mature, they tend to get tough and stringy, but when they are young, the pea shoots are not just tender, they are also crisp and tasty. They have a pea-like flavor, but even fresher. The same goes for those curling, clinging tendrils the pea plants use to hold onto supports. You have probably seen them on plates in Asian restaurants and trendy eating establishments—in Mandarin, they’re called wāndòu yá (sprouts) or wāndòu miáo (tips or sprouts)....

When this current is exceeded, the OCPD shuts off the power to the circuit, preventing fires and other serious hazards. In most homes today, the OCPD used on all circuits is a circuit breaker. In older homes with older electrical systems, the OCPD is most likely a fuse. Standard lighting and outlet circuits have screw-in fuses. High-voltage circuits, such as those for electric ranges and dryers, are protected by cartridge fuses....

The EM Heat setting on a thermostat is a great example of this. Some people who don’t really have an understanding of how a HVAC system functions or what the EM Heat setting actually does may infer from the description that it increases the heat to the home. So, they turn the EM Heat setting on when the weather gets cold, assuming that this will heat up the home faster than the normal setting....

Industrial Design’s Origins If industrial chic style makes you think of your friend who lives in a converted loft building, you’re right on the mark. “Industrial design became a popular aesthetic when more and more historic commercial buildings and factories began to be converted into residential spaces,” designer Jessica Davis explains. “Most designers believe that it happened as a natural process whereby increasing populations of people in large metropolitan cities forced builders to get creative about where they were building,” adds designer Alex Nino....

Minimalist design is about prioritizing the essential. A minimalist building, object, or interior design is stripped to its core function, realized using limited materials, neutral colors, simple forms, and avoiding excess ornamentation to achieve a pure form of elegance. While the final expression of a minimalist design might appear effortlessly simple, as spare as a poem and as clear as a bell, achieving this kind of powerful simplicity is anything but easy....

What Shiplap Wood Is Shiplap wood is a long, narrow board with grooves rabbeted (or cut) into the top and bottom of its long sides. Traditionally, shiplap wood has been used as exterior siding but increasingly is found in homes as a wall treatment. Shiplap’s rabbeted grooves are the key feature that defines the board. The grooves give the product its distinctive lines. The grooves allow the boards to be self-spacing, which makes for fast, consistent installation....

Although split-level homes are no longer considered modern among today’s homeowners, they remain a common housing type across the United States. Read on to learn more about split-level architecture, including its history, must-have architectural elements, and where you’ll find massive groupings of split-level homes. The History of Split-Level Architecture Following World War II, tract housing—a type of housing development characterized by many houses built on a single tract of land—became increasingly popular in the suburbs of the country’s major cities....

History of Sustainable Architecture Many of the practices and principles used in sustainable architecture are rooted in ancient building techniques that were transformed with the rise of modern materials and mass production in the industrial age. The modern consciousness about the need for sustainable architecture can be traced back over 50 years to the anniversary of the first Earth Day, the international environmental movement, and the ensuing legislation that it sparked across the globe....

What Are Bunny Ear Succulents? The bunny succulent is part of the genus Monilaria, a clump-growing succulent plant native to South Africa. There are two species known as the “Bunny Ear” succulent: M. moniliformis and M. obconica. Both species produce a distinctive “head” and the second pair of leaves that resemble the bunny-like ears. The M.obconica has longer, almost spaghetti-like leaves. The M. moniliformis looks more like bunny ears and the one that’s gained all the social media popularity....

With the rise in the number of second (and third or fourth) weddings, you might have questions about the proper etiquette of bringing or sending a gift and what to give. Remember that this is a new start for this couple. It’s never bad form to give a gift, so if you’re ever in doubt, act on the side of generosity. You never have have a true obligation to give a gift, regardless of whether this is either of the couple’s first or fifth marriage....

However, some of the worst issues can occur after the water is cleaned up because areas that are out of sight, like under the floor or inside the walls, can become breeding grounds for mold and mildew if the home isn’t properly cleaned and treated with an anti-mold solution. A high level of mold in the home greatly impacts air quality and can lead to the development of respiratory problems, among other health issues....

Concrete performs quite adequately if it is never sealed at all, but applying a good quality sealer every few years will extend its life and keep it looking good. This is especially true if you have a stained or etched concrete driveway or patio. Driveway sealing can also be considered if you live in an area where winter road salt can eat away at the concrete. Applying a concrete sealer can be an easy project for a DIYer, and it will keep your concrete slabs looking good and potentially lasting longer....

How Do Coffee Grounds Affect Soil? Coffee grounds have a great deal of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and copper. They also release nitrogen into the soil when added. Because they are acidic, they are particularly helpful in Western climates. Adding coffee grounds can increase the soil’s mineral content by more than 30 percent. The grounds have long-lasting effects, changing the soil for many months. Often, the use of coffee completely eliminates the need for other fertilizers or mineral additions....

Why Tomatoes Split Tomatoes split due to fluctuations in the amount of water they receive. When tomatoes grow in drought conditions or have little supplemental water, heavy rain can cause the insides of the tomatoes to grow faster than the outer skin, resulting in the tomatoes cracking. Tomatoes may crack in two different manners: vertical splits, where radial cracking extends from the top of the fruit to the bottom; and concentric cracking, which often appears on the top of the fruit, forming cracks around the stem on large, heirloom beefsteak varieties....

The Myth of Painting in All One Color There is a decorating myth out there that it’s easier to decorate by painting in just one color for the entire interior of your home. This may sound like solid advice, but choosing just one color for your interior can actually be more difficult than strategically choosing a few paint colors instead. So, why does this myth persist? On the surface, choosing one neutral color for your home’s interior does seem like an easy way to decorate....

Wick Systems are passive, meaning that they have no moving parts. This makes them easier and cheaper to maintain than active systems such as Ebb and Flow, but they also have the drawback of being less efficient and not well equipped for high-maintenance plants, or large plants that consume a lot of water. The best plants to use in this system are fast-growing lettuces or herbs. Herbs such as rosemary that don’t require a lot of water are the best choices, while thirsty plants such as tomatoes would not do well....