Easy Agent Blogs

“Sow the Seeds of Victory” was a phrase familiar to all Americans in early spring of 1917. We hadn’t yet entered “The Great War” that was ravaging our allies’ food supplies.

All across Europe, “. . . agricultural workers were recruited into military service and farms were transformed into battlefields. As a result, the burden of feeding millions of starving people fell to the United States.”

And, as we are wont to do, we rose to the occasion, planting food crops in backyards, vacant lots school grounds and parks.

“As a result of these combined efforts, 3 million new garden plots were planted in 1917 and more than 5.2 million were cultivated in 1918, which generated an estimated 1.45 million quarts of canned fruits and vegetables,” according to Laura Schumm at History.com.

Today, we find ourselves at war again only this time our enemy is a virus. The rush to stock up left supermarket shelves bare for a time and now, months into the battle, there are still many items that are in short supply.

Again, we rose to the occasion, with Americans across the country planting their own version of yesterday’s Victory Garden (originally called War Gardens). The smart ones bought their seeds way ahead of the planting season (seeds are one of the items in very short supply right now).

If you’re a member of the country’s budding new vegetable gardener crowd, read on. We’ve put together some tips for growing the three most popular crops.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are by far the most popular crop for home gardeners. Nurseries run out of starter plants quickly.

Tomatoes are easy to grow (they can even be grown in containers), provide a large yield and can be used in lots of different ways.

The time it takes to grow a tomato depends on the cultivar, but typically ranges from 60 to more than 80 days.

Tomato plants are susceptible to several disorders, diseases and pests. The one that stymies new growers the most is blossom-end rot. Caused by a lack of calcium in the plant, new growers automatically assume that supplementing the soil with calcium will cure the disorder.

More often than not, the cause is inconsistent watering. Once the gardener begins watering the tomato plant consistently, the disorder typically clears up.

Need more tips on becoming a world-class tomato grower? Visit Sunset.com.

Cucumbers

The two things that cucumbers require above all else is heat and consistent moisture in the soil. Get that right and you’ll be successful.

One of our favorite things about growing cucumbers is that if you buy the bush type you can grow them in small gardens or even in containers.

Grow cucumbers in rich soil, in full sun. When you’re preparing the soil, add about two inches of well-rotted manure or compost and mix it into the top 6 inches of soil.

For more tips on growing cucumbers, from planting to harvest, watch this video at YouTube.com.

Bell Peppers

If you’re a new gardener, you can’t go wrong growing bell peppers – a definite confidence booster!

You’ll want to plant bell peppers in full sun – the longer they get sunshine every day, the larger your peppers will be.

Follow the soil advice for cucumbers, above, and ensure the soil drains well. The soil temperature should be at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit before planting your peppers into the garden.

A good rule of thumb is to provide the bell pepper plants with an inch or two of water a week. During periods of intense heat, or if you’re a desert gardener, you may need to water daily.

Like tomatoes, bell peppers are also susceptible to blossom-end rot so create a watering schedule and stick to it.

Get more tips on growing peppers and advice on how to spot problems at Almanac.com.

Isn’t the internet amazing? The answer to just about any question you may have can be found with just a few key strokes. When we turned to the experts for advice on summer home maintenance, we were inundated with information – some of it downright silly.

We agree with the contractor who reminded us that the heavy home maintenance comes in fall and that pre-summer tasks should deal only with those systems and areas in and around the home that get the most use during the warmer months.

So, let’s dive in and do a quick tour around your house.

Start with the air conditioning system

If it’s been awhile since you’ve changed your HVAC system filters, do that first. You’ll find an easy-to-follow walk-through at YouTube.com.

While you’re at the hardware store buying the filter, why not stock up and buy several? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests changing the HVAC filter once a month during periods of heavy use. Check out this information on how to choose the right filter for your needs at Gardenologist.org.

Finally, consider having the system tuned up by a professional. Fancy yourself more of a hands-on type? The EPA offers a list of tasks to help you do it yourself.

Ceiling fans and fuzz

All that fuzz that gathers on the blades of a ceiling fan is a lot more than ugly. It can actually slow down the blades’ rotation speed, “… cause the blades to wobble, and put some strain on the fan’s motor,” according to Alan J. Heavens at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Since fans are located in the ceiling, keep safety in mind during the cleaning process. You’ll find lots of tips and advice in videos at YouTube.com

If you hope to throw open those windows

Do a tour of the home, checking the windows for cracked glass and to ensure that the screens don’t contain rips.

Winter and spring can be brutal on the home’s exterior components. Windy days can hurl all manner of projectiles at the home and it doesn’t take much to tear a hole in a window screen.

You’ll want to throw open the windows on that first gloriously warm summer day, so fix windows and screens to ensure they let the fresh air in and keep the pests out.

Ensure safe summer entertaining

According to the U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission, nearly 225,000 injuries occur each year as the result of either a structural failure or collapse of a deck.

It’s not enough to check the deck’s surface; you will need to investigate the condition of the underneath as well. Find tips on what to look for and how to fix, here.

Prevent water waste

Landscape irrigation systems get quite the workout over the summer months so ensure yours is up to the task.

Check in-ground systems by following these tips provided by Region of Peel. Drip irrigation system leaks are a bit easier to detect and you can learn how on YouTube.com (excellent video).

Next, check all the faucets to ensure that there are no leaks there and then check your hoses for holes and other problems that may cause them to malfunction.

Summer pool care

Swimming pool maintenance is often left to professionals, but it doesn’t have to be. Check and perform the following tasks (we’ve linked to some handy information and tips for each one).

• Pump and filter
• Clean out the skimmer basket
• Skim debris from the surface of the water
• Test the water

The wise homeowner will call out a professional at least once a year for a thorough check of the swimming pool. Summer is the ideal time to do this.

Gardens need maintenance too

Get rid of plants that didn’t make it through winter and spring. Then, deadhead spring annuals. Deadheading is the process of snipping off dead flowers, prompting the plant to bloom again.

Seek out garden pests and get rid of them. Then, turn your attention to weeds and get rid of those as well.

Give your lawn a late-spring fertilization and aerate and dethatch if necessary.

Finally, clean up all debris and install a fresh layer of mulch. This helps discourage weed growth, insulates the soil from hot summer sun and helps it retain moisture.

Kick off grilling season

Deep clean your outdoor grill so that it’s ready for grilling season. Whether it’s a gas or charcoal grill, you’ll find tips on giving it a thorough cleaning from Home Depot. They offer advice for cleaning a gas grill, here and charcoal grill owners are covered here.

Happy summer!

It’s terrifying to suddenly find out that you’ll not be receiving another paycheck. It’s easy to go into panic mode, especially if you have others depending on you to keep the lights on and stomachs full.

Across the country, utility companies are responding to the government shutdown by promising not to turn off their services when bills are overdue. Unemployment insurance checks can then go toward more important items, such as food.

Once the initial shock wears off, there are things you can do to mitigate your situation and, hopefully, save your credit score.

Start by speaking with your lender

If you can’t make your house payment and haven’t yet contacted your lender, put this one at the top of the list of things to do.

Many lenders have online options to fill out the required paperwork for requesting forbearance, making it a lot easier than sitting on hold for lengthy periods of time if you call.

Some lenders are offering forbearance only, and the details vary, depending on lender. Forbearance allows the borrower to miss payments, often penalty-free, and make them up at a later date.

While this option offers immediate relief from one of our biggest payments each month, many borrowers don’t understand that forbearance isn’t forgiveness. The missed payments will need to be paid and many lenders will be demanding a lump sum.

Maura McDermott at Newsday.com tells the story of one couple in Long Island, NY whose lender is allowing them to skip their house payments for three months, without penalty, “… but then all the missed payments would be due in a lump sum in four months.”

Few Americans are able to come up with thousands of dollars in a lump sum after several months of unemployment.

With the passage of The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (aka CARES Act), if your loan is backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Veterans Administration, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you may be offered additional options.

First, the CARES Act “… provides several levels of relief to home-loan borrowers, including the right to request two periods of mortgage-payment forbearance or suspensions totaling up to 360 days,” according to Russ Wiles with the Arizona Republic.

The National Association of REALTORS released an analysis of the act and says that while “… regular interest can still accrue,” additional fees, such as penalties and interest, won’t “… be assessed for the forbearance.”

Visit the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website for additional information on the various options available to help you with your mortgage.

Your other monthly bills

We mentioned earlier that many utility companies have agreed to keep their services running, despite non-payment.

Typically, this doesn’t mean they won’t be tacking on late fees and it doesn’t mean you won’t be faced with a huge bill at the end of the crisis.

It’s challenging right now to avoid the former, but the latter can be handled by whittling away at your bills. Pay what you can, even if it’s just a small amount.

Once we’re back to business-as-usual, folks will be facing huge bills and those disconnect notices will go out. You’ll be glad you paid at least part of what you owe.

Your credit

With everything else going on right now, it seems almost petty to think about what all this is doing to our credit scores. It will be interesting to compare the average American’s score pre- and post-pandemic.

In the meantime, order your credit reports from the big three reporting agencies. Normally, every American is entitled to one free credit report every 12 months from AnnualCreditReport.com.

That has changed, however. Starting April 20, 2020, the “Big 3” (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax ) will be providing a free credit report every week for the next year.

While there isn’t much we can do to prevent negative entries right now, we can protect our scores by combing through each report to ensure accuracy.

The folks at Equifax recommend that you also add a consumer statement to your credit reports. “You can add a brief 100-word statement to your credit reports to explain your situation.”

Four in 10 American adults lack the funds to cover a $400 expense, according to a 2018 Federal Reserve report. Undoubtedly, it’s even worse than that now.

Don’t hide from your financial problems. Be proactive, keep track of where what little income you have right now is going. Communicate with lenders and others and keep an eye on your credit score.

While the government shutdown has brought out the best in millions of Americans, there will always be those who seek to take advantage of any situation.

Unfortunately, because government agencies charged with rooting out the scammers are closed, they’re finding it much easier to get away with their illegal hoaxes.

Thanks to the folks at Equifax, the credit reporting agency, many of the more common scams have been exposed. Be on the lookout and don’t get taken in.

“I’m calling from the [government agency name]”

Be wary of an email or phone call purported to be from a government agency. The person or email will tell you that the agency needs your banking information and, if they don’t receive it, your Medicaid or Social Security will be terminated.

Don’t fall for it and never follow a link in an email from someone you don’t know. “It could download a virus onto your computer or device. Make sure the antimalware and anti-virus software on your computer is up to date,” warns officials with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

According to the experts at Equifax, “… government agencies will not contact you unless you request it, and they will never request personal information over phone or email.”

The same goes for any communication regarding your government stimulus check. “The government will not ask you to pay anything up front to get this money. The government will not call to ask for your Social Security number, bank account, or credit card number. Anyone who does is a scammer,” according to the FTC website.

Learn more about the stimulus payment scams, later in this post.

Have you applied for a government grant or loan?

You may receive a letter, email or phone call telling you that you’re pre-approved for the loan or grant but they need your banking information so that they can deposit the funds.

The letters may appear to be on official letterhead and the emails may look equally authentic.

Again, never click on a link in these emails.

Instead, use the search bar in your web browser to navigate to the agency’s site to check your status, or call the number on the agency’s website.

Looking for a job?

Use caution when replying to job offers that arrive via email, especially if it’s for a job to which you didn’t apply.

Again, don’t follow any links within the email. Use your favorite search engine to research the company. Look for an “employment opportunities” or jobs section of the website and learn if the job is listed there.

Never give your email address or phone number to anyone you don’t know who calls or texts you.

Ignore potential employers who ask for a fee for training materials, an application fee or fees for anything else. “Employers and employment firms shouldn’t ask you to pay for the promise of a job,” according to the experts at the FTC.

Stimulus payment scams

Where there’s money, there are scammers trying to get their hands on it. The latest involves the stimulus checks that Americans are receiving in their bank accounts or in the mail.

Ignore phone calls and emails stating that you must pay a fee to get your payment or anyone who claims that you need to supply your social security number, bank account information or debit card account numbers to receive your stimulus payment.

The folks at the FTC urge you to follow these tips to avoid a COVID-19 stimulus payment scam:

• The IRS won’t contact you about your payment. Anyone who emails, texts or calls you claiming to be with the IRS is lying.
• There is no fee to claim your stimulus payment.
• A common scam right now is a communication purported to be from the IRS saying that you were overpaid and need to send back some of the money.

If you suspect a scam, report it to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint

Remember:

• Don’t click on any links or download any attachments in emails from anyone you don’t know personally.
• Never give out personal information to strangers, regardless of who they say they are.

We’ve been admonished to do our part to “flatten the curve” by socially distancing ourselves from others, by washing our hands frequently and other forms of collective action.

If you happen to share a home with a coronavirus patient, it’s even more important to remain vigilant against the coronavirus.

While a daily cleaning and disinfecting of the home is important, there are additional tasks to perform when caring for someone suffering from the effects of the virus.

What to use to disinfect

After cleaning high-touch surfaces in the patient’s room (soap and water is fine for this), use an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered disinfectant, according to the instructions on the label. Wear gloves and ventilate the area while working.

The EPA offers a very long list of disinfectants to choose from on its website at EPA.gov. Many appear to be available only to professionals but the experts at the Centers for Disease Control offers several recipes for DIY disinfectants to use on surfaces that may be contaminated by COVID-19 (coronavirus):

• 4 teaspoons of household bleach in 1 quart of water (allow it to remain on the surface for 10 minutes before wiping the surface dry).
• 70 percent dilution of isopropyl alcohol (must remain on the surface for 30 seconds).
• Undiluted hydrogen peroxide (allow it to remain on surfaces for one minute).

Use care when working with bleach. Since it interacts with other substances and may emit caustic fumes, avoid mixing bleach with anything other than water. Ventilate the area in which you are working.

The CDC cautions Americans to avoid using recipes you find online. Vinegar, for instance, will not kill this virus, nor will tea tree oil.

How to disinfect a coronavirus patient’s room

Porous surfaces, such as drapes and rugs should be cleaned with a product manufactured specifically for the material and then laundered using the warmest temperature possible.

Wash bed linens, towels and clothing separate from other family laundry, and in the warmest water possible. Wear gloves when handling possibly-infected laundry and never shake the items before washing.

The CDC recommends using disposable “food-service items,” such as paper plates and plastic utensils. These can be placed into the trash and disposed of properly.

“Non-disposable food service items used should be handled with gloves and washed with hot water or in a dishwasher,” the experts caution. “Clean hands after handling used food service items.”

If your patient doesn’t have his or her own bathroom, clean and disinfect the bathroom after each time the patient uses it.

How to keep everyone in the home healthy

Frequent hand-washing is the name of the keep-healthy game when living with a coronavirus patient. Everyone in the home should wash their hands:

• After removing gloves
• After sneezing, blowing one’s nose or coughing
• After using the restroom
• Prior to preparing and eating food
• Before and after your caretaking duties
• After you’ve been outdoors, immediately upon entering the home

Caretaking considerations

• The patient should be confined to one room of the home.
• The patient should eat/be fed in their room.
• All items handled by the patient should be disinfected daily or, if disposable, placed in a trash can lined with a plastic or paper bag. The caretaker should wear gloves when removing and disposing of these bags.
• Remind other household members to use care when interacting with the patient.

Find additional tips from the following resources:

Caring for Someone at Home

Hand Washing: A Family Activity

Clean and Disinfect

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public: Myth busters

Preventing the Spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Homes and Residential Communities