Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Waterfalls | Tags: AOG Grill, Burning Leaves, charcoal grills, Cookout, Family Fun, Family time, Family Traditions, Garden Chores, Gardening, Gas Grills, Grilling, Grilling Station, grills, Leaf cleanup, Leaves, Outdoor Lifestyle Area, outdoor lifestyles, Outdoor Living, Outdoor Room, Saffire Grill, Spring Cleaning, Sunday, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Gardening, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday on the River, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Songs, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Sunsets
What a gorgeous morning! We started around 30 degrees with full Sun ☀️ and it has steadily warmed… It will be mid 60’s soon and it sure is nice 😊
We are gonna work in our yard a bit today, burn some leaves and maybe some steaks 🥩 on the grill as well! A little glimpse of Spring is pretty sweet on a Sunday! 🙏🏻
“The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.”
~Henry Van Dyke
Enjoy your day!
Spring is Coming!
Mark C.
Filed under: Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Landscaping & Gardening, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles | Tags: Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Burning Leaves, Compost, Compost Tea, Composted Manure, Composting, Fall Cleanup, Fall Gardening, Fertilizer, Free Compost, Gardening, Green, Kitchen Scraps, Leaves, Nitrates, Organic, Organic Gardening, Starting a compost pile, Vegetable Scraps, Vernicompost
I have been asked a few times on the radio lately about composting, so I went back in the archives and pulled this up. This was 1st published over 10 years ago!
A big blowing storm just came through and left plenty of leaves 🍁 to get us all started…
“Fall is one of my Favorite seasons! Cooler weather, fall planting and gardening and all the great family gatherings and food are wonderful. Fall is also a GREAT time to start a Compost Pile. All those leaves, plants and grasses that you have to cut back and all of the upcoming holiday food scraps add up too a great supply of usable components in a compost pile!
Starting a Compost pile is quick , easy and won’t cost you anything to get started! Compost is one of nature’s best mulches and soil amendments and you can use it instead of chemical fertilizers. Compost improves soil structure, texture and increases the soil’s water-holding capacity. Compost loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils to retain water. The organic matter in compost provides food for microorganisms, which in turn keeps the soil in a healthy, balanced condition. Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus are produced naturally by the feeding of microorganisms, so few if any soil amendments will need to be added.
It’s easy to get started .
-Bag your grass clippings or mulch up all those leaves for the compost pile!
-Save those kitchen scraps and add them to the compost pile. Kitchen scraps are typically high in nitrogen, which helps heat up the compost pile and speed up the composting process. Egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peels and scraps are good candidates for the compost pie. But DON’T add meat, grease or other animal products!
– With a compost pile, bigger is often better. Heat builds up with a bigger pile, but you don’t want to get much bigger than about 3 feet by 3 feet, if it’s too big it can be hard to work around. Multiple piles may be in order .
– Aerate your compost! If you are composting with a pile, or in a static (non-tumbling) compost bin, be sure to mix up the contents so that the pile gets oxygen and can break down effectively. Turn it with a pitch fork from time to time .
– Don’t let the compost completely dry out. A compost pile needs moisture to keep the composting process active , BUT , don’t keep it too wet.
– Too much of any one material will slow down the composting process. If you have all leaves, all grass clippings or an overload of any other single type of material, it can throw off the balance of the pile. It’s best to keep a balanced mix of green (nitrogen) and brown (carbon) materials.
When ready, this compost will be wonderful for the whole garden!
Good Luck and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!”
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
YouTube pg. –
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw
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Pinterest pg. – https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery
Filed under: Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pond Tips, Pondless Waterfalls, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Autumn, Autumn Color, Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Bulk Leaf Netting, Changing Seasons, Cut To Fit Leaf Netting, Fall maintenance, Fall Pond Netting, Fall Pond Tips, Fall Water Garden Maintenance, Healthy Koi, Koi Health Tip, Koi Health Tips, Leaf Netting, Leaves, Maintenance Tips, Pond Maintenance, Pond Maintenance Class, Pond Maintenance Tips, Pond Netting, Pond Netting Frame, Pond Supplies, Pond Tip, Pond Tip Tuesday, Pond Tips, Predator Control, Seasonal Water Garden, Stay ahead of the coming Lead fall, Tips, Tuesday, Water Garden Maintenance, Water garden supplies, Weekly Pond Tip, Winter Pond Tips
We have topped the peak of Fall Color and are flying down the slope over the hill… Leaves are comjng down now in earnest. I know I know, Ive said it before and Im not trying to be a bother, but a Leaf Net sure would save you a LOT of work!
Keeping the leaves and other fall debris out of your Pond is a good thing! Leaf debris is unsightly, it also quickly starts to decompose releasing many compounds that are bad for your fish. In turn algae is fed by the decomposing leaf matter and oxygen is depleted. ALL of these things combined can be catastrophic for the health of your finned friends, in heavy leaf fall areas, it can even kill them.
ALSO – in the Fall and Winter most of the aquatic plants are asleep, leaving very little cover for your Koi… Pond Predators, like Blue Herons strike most often in the Fall and Winter… BUT, Blue Herons can’t get your treasured Koi through the Pond Netting! So that’s another big plus for having a Pond Net!
Pond Tip Tuesday is all about helping YOU with your Pond Maintenance. Once you get a handle on it, you will enjoy your Pond and Waterfalls so much more!
Have a great day!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
YouTube pg. –
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw
Facebook pg. – https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775
Pinterest pg. – https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery/
Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Videos, Waterfalls | Tags: Bonfire, Burning Leaves, Fall Cleanup, Fire, Fire Pit, Fire Pit Zen, Fire pits, Fire Video, Lawn Maintenance, Leaves, Maintenance Tips, Preventative Maintenance, raking, Roaring Fire, Zen, Zen Feeling, Zen Fire, Zen Stream, Zen Video, Zen Waterfall
Ahhhh, sweet November! We are post Halloween and quickly approaching the Holiday Season! With all this Fall beauty comes Fall chores, and one of my favorite fall chores is leaf cleanup 🍁 which means Bonfire 🔥
Waterfalls and Fire Pits are different elements for sure, but they are very similar too… You can get lost in the burble and movement of a Waterfall for sure! A good fire will capture your attention in much the same way… I can sit and watch a good fire and get so relaxed!! A good fire will take you to a place of Zen! So grab a good leaf rake and create a little place of Zen for yourself…
Have a great day!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
Filed under: General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pond Tips, Pondless Waterfalls, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Autumn, Autumn Color, Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Be Prepared, Black Gum, Bulk Leaf Netting, Carters Nursery Pond and Patio, Cut To Fit Leaf Netting, Debris Net, Dip Net, Dogwood, Fall maintenance, Fall Pond Netting, Fall Pond Tips, Fish net, Ginkgo biloba, Hickory, Koi Health Tips, Koi Nets, Koi Ponds, Koi Supplies, Leaf Netting, Leaves, Maintenance Tips, Native Trees, Pond Cleaning Supplies, Pond Maintenance, Pond Maintenance Tips, Pond Net, Pond Netting, Pond Netting Frame, Pond Supplies, Pond Tip, Pond Tip Tuesday, Pond Tips, Pond Tools, Red Maple, Sassafras, Sugar Maple, Tips, Tranquil Tuesday, Trees, Tuesday, Two For Tuesday, Water Garden Maintenance, Water garden supplies, Weekly Pond Tip, Winter Pond Tips
The Fall color show is really starting to unfold 🍁🍂🍁 I LOVE the Fall Landscape… The color and texture of the sumac always gets it started. Then slowly but surely all the other native trees follow suit! My favorites are always the Dogwoods and Red maples, along with the sassafras, Black Gum, Hickory and Sugar Maples… Its just so beautiful 🤩 But the color fades, the leaves fall and many will find their way into your Pond.
There are several types of nets as you know – Leaf nets, Koi Nets, Skimmer Nets, etc… But a general purpose Pond ‘Dip’ Net is what I’m talking about! They are perfect for fishing those 2 or 3 leaves off the bottom of the pond. Or if you drop something in the pond and need to get it out – you’ll need a dip net to grab it. They are perfect for getting a piece of gravel out of the bottom of the skimmer too!
Inexpensive and invaluable! Add one to your Pond Tools. You won’t be sorry 😉
Have a great “Pond Tip Tuesday”!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
YouTube pg. –
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw
Facebook pg. – https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775
Pinterest pg. – https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery/
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Autumn, Autumn Color, Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Autumn Poem, Autumnal Equinox, Breakfast, Burning Leaves, Colorful Foliage, Fall Color, Family, Family Fun, Family History, Family Pictures, Family time, Family Traditions, Leaves, October, Pancakes, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Gardening, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Songs, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays
What a beautiful morning! A quick, early walk this morning was perfect! Leaves are really showing color now 🍁 and many are falling in good number… Its about time for a good early Fall clean-up and burn 🔥 It really helps clear the way for later in the season.
Then its back in the house for breakfast 🥞 🍳 No brunch today! Too much to do and see outside on this gorgeous Fall Day! 🍁🍁🍁
Only 1 week from today is Halloween 🎃… Get out and look around before the show is over!
“October is the month for painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world. As fruits and leaves and the day itself acquire a bright tint just before they fall so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky; November the later twilight.”
~ Henry David Thoreau
Mark C.
Filed under: Boutique, Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pond Tips, Pondless Waterfalls, Sunrises, Sunsets, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: #throwbackthursday, Autumn, Autumn Color, Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Autumn Poem, Autumnal Equinox, Bonfire, Burning Leaves, Carters Nursery Pond and Patio, Costume, Cowboy, Custom Fire Pit, Fall Gardening, Fire, Fire and Water, Fire Feature, Fire Pit, Fire Pit Zen, Fire pits, Fireplace, Football, Football Time In Tennessee, Halloween, Halloween is Coming, Halloween party, Jack-o-Lantern, Leaves, Party, Pumpkin Carving, Pumpkins, Throwback, Throwback Thursday, Trick or treat
Well, we are into the 1st full day of Fall now & boy does it feel great! 46 degrees this morning! It really feels like we changed seasons 😊 The next big holiday around the corner is Halloween 🎃 which lead me right too this old throwback memory of Halloweens long ago…
I may wear this same getup for this years Halloween! How can a guy go wrong as a cowboy?! Do you think you could wear your 6 guns and holsters to a school function nowadays? 🤔 Me thinks not… But let me tell you one thing for certain! That boy you see in that picture there, would have for sure! I guess cowboys had more sway back then… Lets bring back Cowboys! 🤠🇺🇸
Heres to the spirit of Fall! Bon fires🔥 Football 🏈 Beautiful color 🍁 and dont forget Halloween! 🎃
Have a great #throwbackthursday!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Landscaping & Gardening, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles | Tags: Compost, Composting, Fall Cleanup, Free Compost, Garden Maintenance, Gardening, Leaf cleanup, Leaf Control, Leaf Stripper, Leaves, Mulch, Starting a compost pile
I have been asked a few times on the radio lately about composting, so I went back in the archives and pulled this up. This was 1st published 10 years ago – To the day!
A big blowing storm is coming thru tonight, ie; A leaf stripper! Plenty to get ya’ started
“Fall is one of my Favorite seasons! Cooler weather, fall planting and gardening and all the great family gatherings and food are wonderful. Fall is also a GREAT time to start a compost pile. All those leaves, plants and grasses to cut back and all of the upcoming holiday food scraps add up too a great supply of usable components in a compost pile!
Starting a Compost pile is quick , easy and won’t cost you anything to get started! Compost is one of nature’s best mulches and soil amendments and you can use it instead of chemical fertilizers. Compost improves soil structure, texture and increases the soil’s water-holding capacity. Compost loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils to retain water. The organic matter in compost provides food for microorganisms, which in turn keeps the soil in a healthy, balanced condition. Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus are produced naturally by the feeding of microorganisms, so few if any soil amendments will need to be added.
It’s easy to get started .
-Bag your grass clippings and mulch up all those leaves for the compost pile!
-Save those kitchen scraps and add them to the compost pile. Kitchen scraps are typically high in nitrogen, which helps heat up the compost pile and speed up the composting process. Egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peels and scraps are good candidates for the compost pie. But DON’T add meat, grease or other animal products!
– With a compost pile, bigger is often better. Heat builds up with a bigger pile, but you don’t want to get much bigger than about 3 feet by 3 feet, if it’s too big it can be hard to work around. Multiple piles may be in order .
– Aerate your compost! If you are composting with a pile, or in a static (non-tumbling) compost bin, be sure to mix up the contents so that the pile gets oxygen and can break down effectively. Insert a few pvc pipes to get oxygen to the core and Turn it with a pitch fork from time to time .
– Don’t let the compost completely dry out. A compost pile needs moisture to keep the composting process active , BUT , don’t keep it too wet.
– Too much of any one material will slow down the composting process. If you have all leaves, all grass clippings or an overload of any other single type of material, it can throw off the balance of the pile. It’s best to keep a balanced mix of green (nitrogen) and brown (carbon) materials.
When ready, this compost will be wonderful for the whole garden!
Good Luck and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!”
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
YouTube pg. –
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw
Facebook pg. – https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775
Pinterest pg. – https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Burning Leaves, Fall Cleanup, Leaf Control, Leaf Stripper, Leaves, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Windy Day, Windy Night
The wind blew last night! So much that I had to take down one of our wind chimes that has never been a problem… WOW!
Bill Way used to call that windy night that always comes in November a “Leaf Stripper”. Last nights wind was definitely that! All the Birch trees are bare. As are the pecans, walnut, maples, sassafras, and persimmon trees. The oaks held on to many like they always do. But the writings on the wall… Winter is Coming!
Don’t ya’ just love fall! 🍁 🔥
“Come, little leaves,” said the wind one day.
“Come o’er the meadows with me, and play’
Put on your dress of red and gold,—
Summer is gone, and the days grow cold.”
Soon as the leaves heard the wind’s loud call,
Down they came fluttering, one and all;
Over the brown fields they danced and flew,
Singing the soft little songs they knew.
~ George Cooper
Have a great Sunday!
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Hummingbirds, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pond Tips, Pondless Waterfalls, Sunrises, Sunsets, Videos, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: 1st Day of Fall, Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Autumnal Equinox, Burning Leaves, Cold Water Beneficial Bacteria, Cool Season Koi Food, Cool Season Water Treatments, Cool Temp Koi Food, Cooler Weather is Coming, Corn Stalks, Fall, Fall is Coming, Fall is Here, Fall maintenance, Fall Planting, Football, Football Time In Tennessee, Gourds, Harvest Home, Harvest Moon, Leaves, Mums, Pansies, Pumpkin Carving, Pumpkins, Stay Cool, Vernal Equinox
Today is the “Official” 1st day of Fall. The Autumnal Equinox’! A very special day! The sun is right above the equator, and day and night are almost exactly equal in time 🕰 From here, the days get shorter and shorter as we slide towards the shortest day of the year… The Winter ❄️ Solstice, aka: The Longest Night 🌙
Today the nighttime and daytime hours are equal. The days will get shorter and the nights longer all the way into the first day of Winter, aka: The Winter Solstice.
I remember when I was a kid, the big thing on the equinox’s was to stand an egg 🥚 on its head 🤔 I don’t know if that’s the only day you can accomplish this feat… But, I have done it on the equinox 🥚😊
Have YOU ever tried to balance an egg on the Spring or Fall equinox? It was a thing when I was a kid. I’m thinking it was around 3rd. Grade or so? I went home and worked for what seemed like hours, but finally got one to balance!
PS: science?
So, it’s time for Pansies, mums, violas, kale 🥬 Pumpkins 🎃 gourds, straw bales and corn stalks 🌾 Fire pits, cookouts and football 🏈
Bring. It. On! Fall is Here! 💥🍁🍂🔥🎃 🏈
Have a great day!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
YouTube pg. –
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw
Facebook pg. – https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775
Pinterest pg. – https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery
Carter's Water Garden 
