Around your house 3/21/07

Gardening

Things to do this week

Delay planting if the garden soil is too wet. When a ball of soil crumbles easily after being squeezed together in your hand, it is dry enough to be safely worked. Plant peas, lettuce, radishes, kohlrabi, mustard greens, collards, turnips, Irish potatoes, spinach and onions (seeds and sets) outdoors. Set out broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage and cauliflower transplants into the garden. Plant beets, carrots, parsley and parsnip seeds outdoors. Start seeds of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants indoors. -- www.mobot.org

Home improvement

Increasing shower water pressure

Q: The water pressure in my shower seems to get lower by the day. How do I fix it?

A: Your shower head probably needs cleaning. Take a plastic sandwich bag and fill it with vinegar -- any kind will do. Place the bag around the shower head so that it is entirely submerged in the vinegar. Use a zip tie, or some string, or a large rubber band or a trash-bag tie to hold the plastic bag securely in place. Leave it there for at least 24 hours. The vinegar will completely dissolve the mineral buildup that is causing your shower head to clog up. After the appointed time remove the bag and turn the shower on. You will be amazed at the improvement in water pressure. It should work as well as the day you originally installed it. -- AP

Home tips

Protect your floor on moving day

If you're moving appliances such as refrigerators and ovens in or out, be sure you take time to protect your kitchen floor. If you fail to, a tiny sideways slip or a grain of sand caught under a wheel or slide could scratch and mar even the toughest surface. To avoid lingering reminders of moving day, at the very least create a cardboard runway before dragging heavy appliances across your floor. Better yet, create one out of 1/8-inch hardboard, using shims to ride up the difference in height. Or, even better still, use new high-tech furniture glides that allow moving heavy items without damage to floors. -- AP