Q: I want to plant a vegetable garden. How do I get started? And what would you plant in a garden?A garden is a great idea, and this is the perfect time of year to start one. When I was growing up, I was fortunate enough to live in a two-family home where the people downstairs were from Italy, and there was a massive garden in my backyard. They grew everything — it was just what you did. To this day, I don't care what you see in the supermarket, you go in my mother's backyard, and it's growing there.If you're a first-timer, of course, it doesn't have to be that extensive. You can get away with an eight-by-ten area. First, two things: 1) A prime location — like New Jersey! — is a big factor. What I mean is a garden needs full sun, six hours a day at least. 2) Get the soil tested, to be sure you don't have any problems. (University labs in every state offer testing; go to csrees.usda.gov/qlinks/partners/state_partners.html for a nationwide list.)Once you find a good spot and the soil checks out, stake out your garden.

You should introduce some protection against rabbits or anything else that might eat your harvest. For your typical small varmints, you can put up simple chicken-wire fencing, maybe three feet high.Now you need to cultivate the soil: Turn it all up, aerate it, and try to pull out any rocks and debris you find in there. You can also add something called Bumper Crop, which adds nutrients, then a little coarse sand for drainage, and just mix all that into the existing soil. And start throwing in compost. In the garden I grew up with, you walked into the backyard and there would be eggshells, orange peels, grass clippings — everything went into the soil.Now, I'd say instead of seeds, buy plants that are already started. They'll come with instructions that tell you to plant these x inches apart, and so deep, and when to water. They'll also tell you when to harvest.As far as what to plant, I say, grow what you eat, so you'll have more desire to care for it and harvest it. Now, I'm Italian and from Jersey, so for me, it all starts with tomatoes and basil.

And this may be a Jersey thing. I say this because I've been a few places, including the great state of California, where you can't get real spaghetti sauce or a damn slice of pizza with flavor.It's all about the taste of something you grew yourself. It's a little out of pocket, with a big payoff, especially if you have kids. A lot of kids think food is what you buy at the gas-station minimart. With a garden, they get to touch the soil, see the plants grow, wash the lettuce off in the sink. Really, it's a miraculous thing.Frank Contey is a founding partner of Terra Graphics and the Landscape Guild, landscape design and construction firms based in Montclair, New Jersey. Sign up or log in to customize your list. Here's how it works: Anybody can ask a question The best answers are voted up and rise to the top I got a free string trimmer from a buddy who couldn't get it to start. I did a compression check by pulling the pull starter and the compression seemed good.

Next I pulled the spark plug, put it back on the boot, grounded it to something metal. I then pulled the cord again and saw no spark. I kept doing this and some times I'd get a very weak spark, but most of the time I'd see no spark at all.mcm backpack gebraucht I haven't had time to look at it again for a few days, but I will be pulling it out again probably tomorrow. ossington backpack reviewsWhat things would you check and in what order?columbia grt backpack This question came from our site for contractors and serious DIYers.wenger backpack 22l Use a Spark tester (which can be found at any automotive supply store), to test the spark.backpack lirik dan terjemahan

Remove the boot from the spark plug on the trimmer. Plug the end of the tester with the metal probe into the boot. Connect the other end of the tester to the spark plug. Give the trimmer a couple pulls, while watching the testers spark chamber.backpack rugzak waar op letten If you don't have a spark, you probably have to replace the ignition coil/module. There's a good YouTube video that shows how to replace a lawn trimmer ignition coil. Your model may vary, but the procedure will be similar. If you have a weak spark, try cleaning, regapping, or replacing the spark plug. How a trimmer ignition system works The ignition system is made up of 3 major parts. A magnet (located on the flywheel), an ignition coil, and a spark plug. When you turn the engine (pull the cord), the flywheel rotates. When the magnet on the flywheel spins past the ignition coil, a current is induced.

This current travels through the ignition wire to the spark plug. The electrons want so badly to return home (ground), they jump the gap in the spark plug. As they jump, they produce an electric arc (also known as a spark). This arc ignites the fuel air mixture in the chamber, and the trimmer starts. Did you find this question interesting? Sign up for our newsletter and get our top new questions delivered to your inbox (). On top of Tester's excellent answer, here are some quick and easy ways to get it working without going through the trouble of replacing the ignition system or buying special diagnostic tools. Clean the Spark Plug Take a bit of fine sandpaper and try to rub the grime and dirt off of the spark plug. Give it a little bit of a shine and try again. You can also try a small amount of carb cleaner, but just let it dry out before attempting to start it again. Over time small rust spots can form on the magnet in the ignition system. It may not look like much but this rust can greatly interfere with the electrical current generation needed to form a spark.

This can also be fixed by taking fine sandpaper and rubbing the rust spots off of the magnet. You can test the spark using a short test lead with alligator clips. Remove the spark plug, reconnect the plug wire and using the test lead, connect the plug ground electrode to a good engine ground point. Turn on the ignition switch and pull the starting cord quickly. You should see a spark in the plug gap. Since the spark may be faint, it may help to do the test in a dark area. If there is no spark, check for a broken or shorted (bare) lead wire or bad switch. I've had to replace the switch on my edger twice. It uses the same switch as many other edgers and trimmers. If it's not a lead wire or switch, replace the coil. just had similar problem on a pals 240, turned out to be a bare wire going to the switch, very easy sort! Sign up or log in Sign up using Google Sign up using Email and Password Post as a guest By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.