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By Reece & Nichols, April 23, 2012 9:12 am

Looking for some easy vegetables to grow in your garden? Here are 10 easy vegetables you can grow – many are to be planted in the spring, so perfect timing. Enjoy!

Beans: Sow seed in late spring. Provide support for plants or allow them to trail down from a raised bed.

Beets: Sow seed in spring or late summer. Harvest before beets get thick and woody.

Carrots: Sow seed in spring or late summer. Deep, loose soil is best. After a few weeks, thin out the crop and allow what remains to mature.

Leaf Lettuce: Sow Seeds or start young plants. Keep watered. Harvest before hot weather arrives. Watch for rabbits and slugs.

Onions: Plant small onion “starts” in the soil. Harvest when foliage begins to yellow. Dry them out for a week before storing in a cool basement.

Peppers: Plant after the danger of frost has passed. Support upright plants by staking. Grow banana peppers for earlier harvest, bell peppers for later harvest.

Radishes: Sow seed in spring or fall. Thin out after germination. Matures in as little as one month.

Spinach: Plant in spring or fall. Harvest before the heat of the summer if spring-planted. Can harvest even after frost if fall-planted.

Tomatoes: Plant after the danger of frost has passed. Stake plants to keep fruit off the ground. Mulch to prevent soil-borne diseases from splashing up ion foliage.

Zucchini: Sow seed or plant in late spring. Needs plenty of sun and room to grow. A heavy bearer that does best in summer heat. Harvest while skin is still shiny.

Source: LowesCreativeIdeas.com [Spring 2012 Edition]

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By Reece & Nichols, April 12, 2012 2:11 pm

We had a GREAT March and wanted to share with you the quotables for the month. Check it out! As always, if you ever have any questions feel free to email us or visit our website.

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By Reece & Nichols, April 6, 2012 9:19 am

Taxes are due soon! April 16^th is the date this year – have you filed yours yet? Did you know that when you purchase a home, you can benefit from tax breaks?

Buying your first home is a big step. When you go from renting to purchasing a home, you begin to build equity in real estate. With the very low interest rates right now, some people even save money from their rent payments when they purchase a home. You also save on taxes as you will typically itemize your taxes rather than claiming under standard deduction.

Deducting mortgage interest is the largest tax break you will receive from owning a home when you itemize your taxes. The bulk of your mortgage payment goes to interest – and all of that interest is deductible, unless the loan is more than $1 million.

You can also claim the property taxes you pay as an income tax deduction which can apply to your principal home and any others you may own.

If you move, you can even write off most of your moving costs if you buy a new home that is 50 miles or closer to your job than your old home. However, you must continue to work full time for 39 weeks in the general area during the following year. Be sure to consult an accountant about your particular situation as there are many tax rules based on this.

Now is the time to buy! If you see not only the tax benefits in purchasing a new home, but the benefit of fulfilling the American Dream, then now is the time to get pre-approved. At Reece & Nichols, we offer a family of services [Mortgage, Title, Insurance, and Warranty]. If you are ready to get pre-approved, click here!

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By Reece & Nichols, April 5, 2012 9:39 am

Reece and Nichols is proud to be “corporate”. Watch our new video and meet the many friendly faces of “corporate”, you’ll learn how we are committed to help Reece and Nichols agents Save Time. Make Money. and Have Fun!

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By Reece & Nichols, March 30, 2012 9:10 am

Reece & Nichols Exceptional Properties agents have an undisputed reputation of excellence and integrity in listing and selling the finest upper-bracket homes. Check out last month’s Top Broker’s Report for the total sales in unit market share from homes that are $500,000 and up.

To start your search for Exceptional Properties, click here.

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By Reece & Nichols, March 28, 2012 9:10 am

There are many harmful chemicals out there that you can use in your lawn that are not good for the environment. In this blog, we wanted to give you a few ideas of what you can do in your very own back yard as alternatives to using these harmful chemicals.

Create a compost pile: Compost is a FREE source of nutrients for your garden. Take advantage of adding these great nutrients to help your garden grow. What goes into compost you may ask? Typically any plant materials such as vegetable or fruit waste, trimmings and weeds, and plant-based kitchen scraps.

Restore health to your soil: Reduce the need for fertilizers by building it up with green cover crops such as clover, buckwheat, and annual rye-grass. When mowing, leave grass clippings on the grass to “grass-cycle” The clippings will decompose quickly and add nitrogen back to the soil. If the clippings clump, rake them and add to your compost pile.

Encourage Insects: Encourage the beneficial insects such as lady beetles, lacewings, and praying mantises by growing a variety of plants and flowers in your garden.

Recycle newspaper as a weed barrier: Place in layers 4 or more sheets thick, sprinkle with water, and cover with mulch. By season’s end the paper can be tilled into the soil.

Provided by National Garden Association

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By Reece & Nichols, March 22, 2012 9:52 am

Do you have a dog, or have you recently gotten a dog? If so, we wanted to share with you some area dog parks you can visit in the Kansas City area. It is always important to keep your dog busy and give them a lot of exercise, especially if they are cooped up in a kennel during your work day. So grab your leash and get some play time in at the park!

Penn Valley Park Off Leash Dog Park – 29^th and Wyandotte

The Penn Valley Dog Park is the first off-leash dog park operated in Kansas City by the Parks and Recreation Department. Your furry little friend can run around a 2.7 acre fenced off-leash area with two double-gated entries for safety. Is your dog under 40 lbs, elderly, or handicapped? No worries – they have an additional smaller area for your dogs specifically! You can visit this park as it is open 7 days a week from dawn until 1 hour after dusk!

Blue Springs Dog Park (at Gregory O. Grounds) – 20th Street off Jefferson

This park has a separate small dog area, pond, water fountains for people and dogs, a washing area for the dogs, and shade trees. It is 2.7 acres of fenced area. The creation of this park was supported by Responsible Unleashed Fun for Fido (RUFF).

Happy Tails Dog Park – Lee’s Summit – 1251 SE Ranson Rd

This is another fenced in park that has a separate small dog area, drinking fountain, and an agility course. It is open from 6AM – 9PM or until sunset (whichever comes first)

Shawnee Mission Park – 7900 Renner Rd Shawnee, KS

Shawnee Mission Park has a lot of different areas for different needs throughout the park – but don’t worry, they have an off leash dog areas that is 53 acres featuring a dog swim area along with wood chip, natural surface trails through grassland and wooded areas! If your dog has a lot of energy and wants to run around, this would be the perfect place – but make sure your dog is trained well enough to come back to you if you call for them as it is such an open off-leash area. The dog park area is located east of the observation tower on John Barkley Drive.

Dog Park Tips:

• Make sure your dog is updated on vaccinations
• Be sure to protect them with a flea/tick preventative prior to going to a dog park
• Bring a bowl and water – just in case, some parks may not have a water fountain close to when your furry friend gets thirsty!
• Be cautious of other dogs – make sure your dog is not getting bullied OR being the bully.
• Be sure to clean up after your dog – nobody wants to walk into a random surprise when they bring their dog!
• Make sure your dog is comfortable – if they seem uncomfortable; do not force them to play with other dogs. Dog parks aren’t always the right fit for every dog.
• Do not bring a puppy under the age of 4 months.

The above dogs are from left to right we have: Sasha – Katie Stephans dog, Tripp – Christina Komonce’s Dog, Bojangles – Julie Hirt’s Dog, Henry – Chelsea Fanders Dog, Callie – Lesa Watsons Dog, and Millie – Rhonda Haskin’s Dog