Mommy Pehpot, Author at Mommy Pehpot

Essential Home Gardening Tips this 2020

Adding a beautiful garden on your landscape will not only make your home facade to look lovely but as well as providing enjoyment and satisfaction. While some people use gardening as a way of improving their health, both physically and psychologically, most people use gardening as a way to fully utilize their creativity. After all, learning different kinds of garden plants and how to arrange and structure them can be mentally stimulating and a perfect stress reliever. Moreover, gardening can also attract colorful butterflies and birds, which further adds to the many benefits of having a garden, especially during the summer season.

However, one can’t start a home gardening project without knowing some essential methods, so below we have listed some home gardening tips you can use this 2020.

Sunlight and Shade
Before choosing the plants you want to be in your garden, it is essential to consider first how much sun exposure your plants can get. If you decide to include some fruit-bearing plants in your garden, they need at least 6 to 10 hours of sunlight per day in order to thrive. Flowers, on the other hand, love full sunlight since the more sunlight they receive, the bigger their flower blooms will be. However, make sure to keep your flowers away from small pests that feed on flower leaves as they can destroy your garden’s beauty if ignored. Weeds don’t usually thrive in shady areas, so use this opportunity to grow more types of plants that don’t need too much sunlight.

Annuals and Perennials
While both annuals and perennial plants can make your garden look lively and colorful, they also come with some advantages and disadvantages. Annual plants are less expensive than perennials and provide a colorful flower display, especially during the entire summer season. However, one should take note that annual plants will only last for a season requires more attention compared to perennials. Additionally, annual plants grow from seed, so they need to be replanted every time. Examples of annual plants are marigolds, petunias, and zinnias.

Perennials, on the other hand, can continue to thrive in your garden for up to five years. You can even see some of them pop up year after year, especially after being dormant during the colder season. When these plants are placed in a spot perfectly, they can thrive without the need for too much maintenance and can even be divided to produce more flowers. However, unlike the annual plants, perennials only bloom their flowers just for a short time each year, which often leaves your garden lacking in color. Examples of perennial plants are asters, tulips, and lilies.

Garden Fence
While the cost of installing fencing in your garden may vary depending on the materials to be used, adding one in your garden provides benefits to your plants. It provides security, especially against unwanted animals that may eat your plants and destroy your garden. Installing a garden fence can also improve your outdoor aesthetics as well as providing privacy. There are lots of garden fence that you can choose, but for your garden, we highly recommend installing decorative panels to add more curb appeal.

Final Thought
No one can live without plants. They are an essential source of life, so having one in your home is highly beneficial. Consider these gardening tips mentioned above when starting your home gardening project.

3 Tried And Tested Food Storage Solution During Quarantine

Kumusta? The enhanced community quarantine posed a problem to us in terms of food storage. I know some of you can relate to the question of “How you can store food to make it last you longer than usual?” or “what is the best Food Storage Solution During Quarantine?” We can’t go out as much as we want to right? So, we try to buy as much as we can when we have the chance – without panic buying either. The problem is, how can we store them properly? How about the vegetables? How can we preserve them? How about meat and other food that needs to be frozen? Paano eh ang liit ng freezer mo?

So, I am sharing with you our tried and tested food storage solutions sa panahon ng quarantine. This is what we have been doing for the past few days. As you all know, we are 8 in the family, kaya malaki talaga ang food consumption namin.

3 Tried And Tested Food Storage Solution During Quarantine

List the dry goods that you can buy in bulk. Here are some of the things that can really last long even if you just leave them in a corner:

rice
onion and garlic
monggo
sardines
misua
salt and pepper
sugar and coffee
flour
other canned goods such as mushroom, corn
gata in packs
pasta and spaghetti sauce
packaged cookies
bottled bread spreads
powdered beverages

Storage solution for your vegetables: pickle them or blanch them. For us, the best option for vegetables like kangkong or talbos ng kamote and other leafy vegetables is to blanch them. Blanching also works for vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli. For vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and bell pepper, it is ok to leave them inside the vegetable chiller for a week or more.

Pickling is best for leafy vegetables like mustasa. We bought 5 kg mustasa and pickled them. In 3 days, the mustasa is good to cook with tomato. Pickled mustasa can last for a long period of time.

Use a sealable plastic bag for your frozen meat. Honestly, this is the most challenging part for me. Imagine, having to store 10 or more kilos of meat in our freezer. Malaki naman yung freezer pero hindi talaga kasya if I use yung mga plastic containers namin. Then I remembered how it was noong maliit pa yung ref namin. I used sealable plastic bags for our frozen meats back then!

The photo above is how our ref looked back then! Medyo malaki na din pamilya namin nyan pero hindi pa malakas kumain ang mga bata noon. And this is how our freezer looks now with the same sealable plastic bag:

That’s a lot of meat in one photo. Akalain mong nagkasya yan sa isang compartment lang ng freezer. Each sealable plastic bag contains 1 kg of meat, except for those folded in half, which I think is only half a kilo of meat.

I think this is the best storage solution for meat in our freezer. Sealable plastic bags are easy to use, space savers, and most of all reusable.

In the weeks leading up to the quarantine, there were a lot of discussions about banning plastic. That maybe we don’t need plastic in our lives. Pero you know what I realized, there are some plastic I can live without – like ung mga single use items like coffee stirrers (kutsarita na lang!), plastic cups, and plastic spoons and forks (Maghuhugas na lang ako). This quarantine has shown me as well na maganda ding nakabalot sa plastic packaging ang food kasi it stays fresher, longer. Just when I thought hindi na ako gagamit ng plastic, plastic actually saved our food storage problem.

Kayo ba mommies? Kumusta ang mga ref nyo and pantry?

Best Destinations To Visit in the Riviera Maya For The Holiday

The Riviera Maya is one of the most paradisiacal places that Mexico has to offer. In this, we can find excellent options to spend incredible moments of fun, places like Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Akumal are certainly not to be missed to enjoy a pleasant vacation.

There are different activities that you can do during your visit to the Riviera Maya, among which we can find going to the beach and enjoying the tropical climate that this part of Mexico offers. Besides being able to visit the ancient cities of the Mayan Culture to continue discovering more about its fascinating history.

You will be able to enjoy the best gastronomy, incredible landscapes, you will know and be in contact with nature without having to leave the comforts aside, and the best thing of everything is that you will be able to find moments of amusement for all the ages, do not wait more and know today the Mayan Riviera.

Tulum

Tulum has grown in a significant way and has managed to catapult itself as one of the main attractions to visit in the Riviera Maya as Cancun and Playa del Carmen; in Tulum, we can find different attractions to enjoy a great trip.
We have the option to visit the beautiful beach that we can find in this area of the Riviera Maya, which is peacefully relaxing and where you can also find a variety of marine animals of all shapes, colors, and sizes.
Besides, Tulum has its already famous archaeological zone, which is one of the most impressive this because its impressive wall limits the main set by its north, south, and west sides, as the eastern sector looks to the Caribbean Sea.
In Cancun, you can find different ways of transport. However, one of the most popular options is the Cancun to Tulum Shuttle; one of the leading companies that provide this service is eTransfers.

Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen is one of the happiest places in this part of the Mexican country, within which there are impressive tourist spots not to be missed, such as the Parque de Los Fundadores, where you can enjoy the outdoors, the beach and the performance of street artists.

Another of the best attributes you have to come to visit Playa del Carmen is the proximity it shares with the Xcaret family parks (Xplor, Xel-Ha, Xcaret, and Xenses).
All of them are located around the Riviera Maya, and the most important ones like Xel-Ha and Xcaret are a few miles away from Playa del Carmen.
The best way to get to Playa del Carmen is to book a transportation from Cancun airport to Playa del Carmen service with a company that is reliable and safe. At the Cancun International Airport, you can find different companies that provide this service.

Akumal

Akumal is one of the best options for travel if you want to connect with nature because the meaning of its name in the ancient Mayan language means “Place of Turtles.”
So, it is not at all surprising while snorkeling or any other water sport to see some marine animals such as manta rays, turtles, or fish of different shapes and colors, merely majestic, all that through the crystal clear waters of the beaches in Akumal.
Another great attraction in Akumal is the all-inclusive hotels to enjoy the best atmosphere of relaxation in one of the best places in the Riviera Maya, something that you and your family will not want to miss.

Puerto Morelos

Puerto Morelos is a small fishing village that every year receives a large number of tourists looking to enjoy the second largest barrier reef in the world, in which you can perform a variety of water activities such as

Diving
Snorkel
Swim with dolphins

This destination will provide hours of fun and entertainment to anyone looking to enjoy and have a great vacation in Quintana Roo.

The essential attractions in Puerto Morelos are

Visit Crococun, which is an interactive zoo where you can feed the most famous animals in the region: crocodiles, monkeys, snakes, parrots. This attraction is perfect for all those who are fanatics of nature and wildlife.
Another great attraction of this beautiful destination is its beaches, which are famous in the region for their brilliant colors and smooth waves, the vast majority of these beaches are public so you will have no problem visiting them.

Cancun

By far the number one destination in Mexico, this destination is the main one in all of Mexico, every year it receives a large number of tourists who seek to enjoy all the great activities you can do in the city of Cancun.

In this city, you can find the International Airport of Cancun, which is one of the most important airports in all of Mexico, in this destination you will have no excuse to visit since in Cancun you can do almost anything you want.
In Cancun you will find the most beautiful beaches, dens where the best parties take place, Cancun will undoubtedly be the best option for your vacation in the Riviera Maya.

When you arrive at the Cancun airport terminal, you can find different ways of transportation. The best option is the Cancun airport transportation service offered by eTransfers.