Emily Parker 
A cold frame is a low, enclosed box with a transparent lid that traps solar heat and creates a sheltered microclimate, and a well-sited one runs about 5 to 20 degrees F warmer than open ground depending on the cover material. That is roughly the equivalent of gaining one to one and a half USDA … Read more
Shoveling a driveway is one of those chores that gets worse every year and better the day you stop doing it. Heated driveway mats remove the two things that make winter miserable: the physical labor and the ice under your feet at 7am. The catch is that most people buy the wrong size, or the … Read more
Blunt answer first: yes, mosquito traps reduce the insects buzzing around a patio, but only a few designs on this list are honest about what they are catching. Most of the top sellers are light-driven bug zappers, and one widely cited study found only about 0.2 percent of the insects killed by a light-only bug … Read more
Electric bug zappers are lantern-style devices that use ultraviolet light to pull mosquitoes, flies, moths and gnats into a high-voltage metal grid, where a quick shock kills them on contact and the bodies drop into a catch tray. The best electric bug zappers for patios are the ones you can hang 10 to 30 feet … Read more
Most ultrasonic pest repellers work far better than their star ratings suggest, and far worse than the product photos imply. The gap comes down to three things: whether the sound has a clear path to reach a mouse, whether the frequency is aimed at rodents rather than mosquitoes, and whether you were expecting a deterrent … Read more
Fresh ridges of soil cutting across an otherwise perfect lawn are the telltale sign of moles, and they show up fast. A single pair can open a tunnel system that spans a quarter acre, and by the time the damage is obvious the grass has already collapsed into bare strips. Traps and poison work, but … Read more
Two Reddit threads sit in the top six results for this keyword, and the question in them is always the same: do any of these things actually work, or are we all just hanging plastic eyes in the dirt? The short answer is that some deer repellent devices work, some waste money, and the difference … Read more
If you want one answer, take the Bonsenkitchen VS2100. It is the most reviewed vacuum sealer in this group and one of the best vacuum sealers under 100 dollars, because four sealing modes, a compact body and a three-year quality commitment cover nearly every task a home kitchen brings. The Chef Preserve CP.V1.1 is the … Read more
The best vacuum sealer for sous vide cooking is the NESCO VS-12 for most home cooks, and the single fact that decides which machine you actually need is what goes in the bag. Dry-rubbed steaks and dry chicken need almost nothing special, while marinated meat, soups, sauces, and anything with juice in the bag will … Read more
If you process venison, elk, moose, or a stack of salmon fillets every season, the single best vacuum sealers for hunters are the ones that survive a wet, bloody, all-afternoon session without giving up halfway through. Our pick for most people is the FoodSaver V4400 2-in-1, because it handles both dry roasts and moist cuts, … Read more