I don't have time to cook. I don't have time to read my emails. I don't have time to save my pictures. I don't have time, I don't have time, I DON'T HAVE TIME!!! We all have been there and we all are constantly looking for ways to save or make more time. Well Elise Moreau recently published a great article that can help us.
5 Great Google Chrome Extensions
How to save Facebook Live and other video to your PC
Live streaming and posted video is commonplace in our social media today. With the recent rollout of Facebook Live to all mobile users and the continued use of YouTube there are lots videos that we would love to watch, but don't have the time or sometimes the data to support it. Never fear! You can save those videos locally for viewing at your convenience.
7 Items to start seeds in an egg carton
The weather this year is driving my crazy! At this point I just knew I'd have my seeds in the ground and planning for weekly weeding...NOT! Since I'm getting antsy I decided to start some seeds indoors. This will give me a little head start and also help me with succession planting. Succession planting means planting at different times so that you can harvest throughout the season instead of harvesting once.
So, I grab a paper egg carton that I had on hand and put dirt in it that I brought inside a few weeks ago from my compost pile to warm up.
After I did that, I realized in my haste, there were a few things I should have done before that, but what the heck, I'm already in at this point. I'll make a chronological list for you all at the end to make it easy to follow.
Getting back on track, I put the dirt in the carton and then I realized that I needed a drainage hole. I used my hanger tool (the top part of a broken hanger) to poke a hole in each egg crate.
Once that was done, I took a water bottle and put just enough water to cover the top of each crate and waited for it to seep into the dirt.
On the side of the egg carton I write the date that I plant the seeds.
This helps me to keep track of how long it takes to germinate and grow into a full plant and produce.
I decided to plant a few things. My egg carton had 18 sections, so I decided on 6 different seeds and planted three sets of each. On each row I wrote what I planted so I wouldn't have to guess later.
Next I dropped 1-2 seeds in each crate. Once the seeds were in, I lightly covered them by creating a hole with my hanger "tool" and then softly pushing the dirt over the seed. Since this is in the house and humidity is low, the soil can dry out rather quickly. I went to grab some saran wrap, but since this was an impromptu planting I had none. No worries here since I need to check on the seeds daily for the first week or two to watch for germination.
I moved my completed seed starting egg carton into my dining room which doesn't drop below 65 and gets wonderful light throughout day. Now I wait, watch and pray!
If you'd like to start seeds indoors yourself, here is what you need:
- Seeds
- Egg carton
- Scissors
- Knife/nail
- Dirt/seed starting mix
- Bowl
- Marker
- Spray bottle (optional)
What to do:
- Cut the top off the egg carton. You will use it as a water tray
- Make a hole in your egg carton crates. I prefer paper or Styrofoam because it easy to make holes. With paper cartons I make a single hole. When using Styrofoam, I would put 3-5 small holes with sharp pencil or pen.
- Write on the egg carton the date you are planting the seeds and what seeds you are planting. You can also put the seed packet on the edge of tray to identify them.
- Mix your dirt/seed starting mix in the bowl with water in a bowl. It should be moist so it is slightly sticky but still a little crumbly.
- Fill your egg carton with the moistened dirt
- Using the tip of your marker, slightly depress the dirt in each crate about 1/4 of inch deep
- Drop 1-2 seeds in each crate
- Lightly cover seed
- Place egg carton in an area that receives at least 7 hours of direct light
Follow-up:
Check your seeds daily. If the soil looks light then it is drying out and you need to water . If you are using a Styrofoam egg carton then you can pour water in the top and water from the bottom. In 25-30 minutes you should see the soil darken up as it absorbs water. If you are using a paper egg carton, then you want to use a spray bottle to water so that you don't disturb the seed and soil from the force of the water. Also make sure to turn the crate daily to ensure even distribution of light.
Enjoy!
Top 5 reasons you should be using Google Keep
Who needs sticky notes for your everyday life? I know that I do and Google Keep is the app that fills the need perfectly. Keep can help you document all the randomness in your life without a lot of fuss or hassle. Need to make a grocery list? Need to remember a phone number on a sign? Want to remind yourself of a thought to explore later? Love the design setup in a store display? Keep puts it all at the tip of your fingers.
Reason #1 - Ease of use.
There is practically no learning curve to start using it right away. Five simple options to create a note are available:
- Start typing a note - great way to quickly type a short note
- Create a list with check boxes - the only way to make a grocery list and stick to it for me
- Write/draw your note - for the doodler or person that likes that pen and paper feel
- Record a note - hands free (as in no typing). Keep will record the audio and provide a talk-to-text version of what you say
- Take a picture note - allows you have the visual and notes together in one place
Reason #2 - Consistent across platforms.
The look, feel and functionality is the same on a variety of devices and operating systems. You can access you notes on Android and Apple mobile devices as well as desktop devices with ease.
Reason #3 - Great search function.
Google's OCR is fast and allows for search of text even within images. No need to add extra tags and keywords to your notes.
Reason #4 - Color coding.
This allows you to quickly and easily visually organize your notes. I like to use orange for food and green for gardening.
Reason #5 - Easy to share.
Sharing via email, social media platforms and cloud storage accounts takes a few simple clicks. That great recipe or pic of the awesome tea you had today can be shared in moments.
Bonus reason!!!
Daily reminders. Decided to do that 30 day ab or yoga challenge, but can't figure how you are going to remember what to do on what day? Save that screenshot to Keep and set a daily reminder to keep you on track. This is one of my favorite features. I no longer have an excuse not to complete the challenge and I can easily share it with friends.
Now that you are ready to use this great app get it from the iTunes App Store or from the Google Play Store.
Having trouble getting started? Tweet me! @BytesAndBuds #keep How do I...