How To

How To Grow A Lemon Tree

February 8, 2017 by I Love South Florida Leave a Comment

The benefits of incorporating lemons and lemon juice into your diet are astounding. I personally started drinking lemon water, a combination of lemon juice and water, instead of sodas, and I’ve never felt better! At the very least, I’m drinking more water because it tastes good.

If you didn’t know, lemons are a superfood that provide many benefits. Here is a small list of things lemons do once inside your body:

Aid in digestion and detoxing
Carry high amounts of Vitamic C
Alkalines the body
Relieves constipation
Burns fat and aids in weight loss Experts recommend drinking lemon water at a warm temperature to aid in the absorption process.

I’ve seen conflicting reports about whether or not bottled lemon juice is just as effective as fresh cut lemons. Some say lemon juice loses important enzymes within minutes of being cut, and others have claimed that bottled lemon juice has had just as a healthy effect on their lives as regular lemons.

How To Grow a Lemon Tree from Seed

There are several ways to plant a lemon tree using seeds, instead of having to pay for a full-price for a full-grown plant. One way is to collect the seeds from the lemons that you already eat. The literature on using this method notes that you should plant them immediately after you take them from the lemon. The reason for this is that they are not supposed to dry out like common garden seeds. For more detailed instructions on this, refer to Lemon Tree from Seed published by New Mexico State University.

I prefer to buy pre-packaged lemon seeds. Since this was my first attempt, I didn’t want to botch it. You can find seeds on Amazon for extremely cheap, which will make any errors in the process more tolerable. That’s what I did anyway! Make sure you read the comments in the product reviews to make sure there isn’t consistent problems with any one seed provider.

Here are a few things to remember when planting:

Lemons grow well in full sun or part shade, W or SW exposure is best.
Put indoors when conditions are freezing, outdoors when not.
Plant the seeds about 1/2″ deep in well drained soil. (Potting soil is fine)
Do not over water
Place a plastic bag over it for about a week to help germinate.
Some claim putting a nick in the seed’s outer layer will help it germinate
Germination takes 10 – 30 days

Follow these steps to start enjoying all of the benefits of lemon consumption, without the supermarket price. Have your own lemon tree or plan on starting one? Take a picture and submit t to us so we can share it with the community on our Facebook page!

How To Make Natural Pesticide Spray

October 14, 2013 by I Love South Florida 1 Comment

South Florida in the summer can be full of bugs and pests that will eat all of your precious plants and make you want to stay indoors.

As a result, most people resort to pesticides that can be harmful to them and the environment. Few people know that it is possible to make your own homemade pesticide spray – free of chemicals!

Here is how:

1. Finely chop up a head of garlic and place them in a dish.

2. Pour in 1 1/2 cups of mineral oil or any oil you may have available, then mix with the chopped garlic.

3. Pour in a tablespoon of mild liquid soap, then mix the 3 ingredients.

4. You may add hot peppers, hot sauce, or onions to strengthen up the mixture. I would not add in more than 4 tbsp of hot sauce, hand full of chopped onions, or 4 hot peppers.

5. Pour the mixture into a sealable container and let it sit over night. Some let the mixture sit for 72 hours in room temperature.

6. Add 3 to 4 cups of water into a spray bottle and then add the mixture and shake. You may want to sieve the mixture to remove chunks of vegetables that may cause blockage.

Too lazy or don’t have the time to make your own natural pesticide spray? You can always get a 32oz bottle of Orange Guard on Amazon for less than ten bucks, which uses orange peel extract as one of its main ingredients.

How To: Survive Shark Week in South Florida

August 4, 2013 by I Love South Florida Leave a Comment

In South Florida, every week is shark week. In fact, Florida led the United States in shark bites for the year 2011. If you were attacked, would you be prepared to defend yourself in a deadly shark encounter?

There have been a total of 637 recorded shark attacks in Florida since 1882, with only 11 of them resulting in death, so don’t be too worried. Fortunately for South Floridians, most of these attacks (242 of them) took place in Volusia County, which is well north of Orlando. But Palm Beach County has the third highest attack rate (60), so don’t get too comfortable!

Florida Shark Attack Graph — Source: Florida Museum of Natural History

Should you find yourself about to become prey, try to remember these tips that might save your life:

Remain calm

Try not to let the shark sense your fear, but don’t play possum either. If you panic, you will become prey!

Defend Yourself

Remember, the shark can swim faster than you. That sort of eliminates the whole “Fight or Flight” aspect from this situation and forces you to defend yourself while submerged in water. Since most shark meals don’t ever fight back, even the slightest sign of resistance on your part can be enough to make the shark leave you alone. Chances are you will be unarmed, so make sure to aim for the nose/eyes/gills, avoid the teeth, and never lose sight of where your attacker is.

Get Out!

Don’t ever assume you are safe until you reach dry land. A shark may leave you alone temporarily just to sneak up on you from behind. As you swim back to shore, do your best to avoid splashing the water or acting erratically, since this will make you appear wounded and tempt the shark to continue its attack.

If you are wounded when you reach the shore, seek medical attention immediately. The wounds will only get worse with time and can cause other problems if left untreated. It is also important to keep remaining calm at this point since panicking will cause blood to pump faster throughout the body.

Some people, like surfers, are more prone to an attack than others. That doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t happen to you. In June 2012, a 6-year-old boy was attacked by a shark while playing in waist-deep water at the beach in Jupiter, Florida.

I promise, I’m not trying to scare you. I am just trying to keep you safe (by scaring you) so you can enjoy some fun in the Sun on more than one occasion.

Do you have any cool shark stories to share? Leave a comment!

How To: Make a Homemade Mosquito Trap

May 10, 2013 by I Love South Florida 2 Comments

In South Florida, especially in the summer, the mosquito can wreak havoc on the population.

Mosquitos reproduce by laying their eggs in stagnant water, which makes the Everglades a perfect breeding ground for them.

To make matters worse, they go beyond just being annoying. The relative of the fly can transmit certain viruses including yellow/jungle/dengue fever and malaria.

Here is how to make a Homemade Mosquito Trap:

Items needed:

1 cup of water
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 gram of yeast
1 2-liter bottle

How:

1. Cut the plastic bottle in half.
2. Mix brown sugar with hot water. Let cool. When cold, pour in the bottom half of the bottle.
3. Add the yeast. No need to mix. It creates carbon dioxide, which attracts mosquitoes.
4. Place the funnel part, upside down, into the other half of the bottle, taping them together if desired.
5. Wrap the bottle with something black, leaving the top uncovered, and place it outside in an area away from your normal gathering area. (Mosquitoes are also drawn to the color black.)

Change the solution every 2 weeks for continuous control.

This is just one method you can use for combatting mosquitos. Having bug repellent on hand is always useful also.

Too lazy or don’t have the time to make a homemade mosquito trap? You can always buy the Flowtron 80-Watt Electronic Insect Killer from Amazon for about $65, which will obliterate every mosquito within an acre of you.