Dorsia Sofia Blog

Eating out doors with family or friends has been increasing in popularity on a yearly basis, although very dependant on the weather. Of course that restriction is not as bad as it once was with the increase in availability of the gas barbecue. For me and for many others though the only real way to barbecue is on a Charcoal Barbecue.

Part of the appeal of a Charcoal BBQ are the smells that are produced from not only the charcoal BBQ but from the food cooking and sizzling away, sometimes for a bit too long becoming a part of the charcoal burning on the BBQ.

Always think about the positioning of your Charcoal Barbecue before setting up. Things to look for in a good charcoal BBQ spot are:

No over hanging hazards like trees, washing lines, buildings.

make sure you keep a good distance from any buildings, especially wooden sheds.

Try and set your charcoal bbq up on an even surface.

Good access or exit in case of a problem.

If you have pets it would be advisable to shut them away whilst cooking on your charcoal bbq.

When choosing the right spot for the Charcoal BBQ also consider what it will be like when all of the starving guests are in the same area. So work out how much space you will need and then make a concious decission on whether to go for a Portable BBQor a built in charcoal barbecue. There are many things that are fore and against both and only you can decide which is right for you.

The Portable BBQ is the more popular choice as they can be wheeled away and stored in a shed or garage. Unlike a static charcoal BBQ, which has to be left to bear the brunt of the unpredictable british weather.

OK, so you’ve decide on the type of charcoal BBQ, you’ve pick your spot to set up, next you can start to look for the actual barbecue itself.

When choosing one think safety, you will effectively be making fires in the base of your BBQ. The re-inforced foil used in portable BBQ’s is very thin and can often be quite dangerous, the bottoms have been know to give way which can obviousy be very dangerous in itself. Go for a sturdy charcoal bbq with a good thick solid base. not only will it last much longer it will also be much safer.

Whatever happens though don’t let your heart rule your head and just run out and buy the biggest and meanest charcoal BBQ that you can find. Remember, the bigger the Charcoal BBQ, the more charcoal you will have to put on it, which can often be very costly.

I know I have gone over it already but it is worth mentioning again safety when using a charcoal BBQ is vital. Keep children pets and other animals out of the charcoal BBQ cooking area at all times.

The condition of your garden topsoil will probably be the single most critical indicators in how well your garden looks. After all it will be the garden topsoil that feeds the plants and provides them all the nutrients that they need to flourish. In this post we will look at a handful of things to look out for plus some ways that we can certainly help out both our gardens topsoil and the plants that we want to grow inside it. To help you to easily get that great looking garden that you’d like.

The moisture levels of your Garden Topsoil is probably the single most important thing for you to watch out for. Too much and it will be too boggy. Meaning your plants will be far too wet around the roots. on the flip side if there is not enough moisture in your topsoil the plants will not be able to draw the nutrients they need. This is a sign that the water has drained away too quickly and that the right amount of water is not being held in the garden topsoil. If you have either of these issues, all is not lost, there are many things that can be done to optimise the the quality of the topsoil.

To improve drainage dig in some sharp sand or fine gravel this will help the soil to not clog together allowing the water to drain through easily. If it is not too bad then adding some well rotted compost or manure will help also.

Whilst these may be the cheapest way to improve your drainage, they are by no means the easiest, buying high quality garden Topsoil in the first place will reduce the need to do this, but obviously that comes at a premium. Other ways would be to introduce large amounts of well rotted manure or compost which will not only add a lot of nutrition for your plants to feed off but will also help with moisture retention.

If your garden is not well maintained you will face the bain of every gardners life, weeds. No sooner do you get rid off them that another one replaces it. A good natural Mulch is probably the most effective way to control this. This will help by blocking out the light so the weeds won’t grow again, as it rots down it puts nutrition back in to the soil meaning that your gardens topsoil remains in excellent condition.

Areas of lawn can show signs of problems with the topsoil. Garden topsoils in grassy areas is often neglected simply because it is not visable. But inevitably poor topsoil will affect the quality of your lawn. Moss for example would suggestthat you have popor drainage and the water is not draining away properly. The best way to solve that is to aerate the lawn add a small amount of sand and a good quality natural turf dressing.

If your garden topsoil is too dry your lawn will not have the deep grewen colour you would expect, as the lawn is not getting the nutrients it needs from the soil. Although Lawns should be more on the drier side they don’t want to be too dry.

If garden space is your problem then you don’t have to worry because gardening in your paved or lawn yard is still possible! Before I had the same problem when it thought that I can never have a garden where I can sow my flower seeds. Until I visited one of my friend’s house and I can’t believe that she already had a garden when we live in the same block where there are no space for gardens. She told me about how she got those raised bed kits that gave her a beautiful garden.

I tried to ask where she got those and she told me about an online sites where she ordered the materials. Another thing that impressed me is that she actually dressed her garden and installed the raised flower bed. She told me that it is easy to install and you won’t even need the help of men. You just have to hammer a bit or use a screwdriver. The design she did was great and if I only have some of those, I can have better ideas of design. So I visited the site that she gave me and I ordered the things that I need. I started to create my own garden and then designed it using plastic lawn edging. Now, I already have my own flower garden that impresses my other friends and neighbors.