Douglas Hoover

Solar Ovens - Which One?

Many people have discovered that solar cooking and baking is more than just a science project or clever novelty. Cooking with the sun can be fun, but it can also save money while decreasing your carbon footprint. Sun ovens use the free unlimited energy of... Read >

Solar Ovens - Chocolate Chip Cookies Are Healthy

Our environment can have as much impact on our health as food and water. Smoking three to four packs of cigarettes a day can totally negate the healthful benefits of a steady diet consisting of organic vegetables, meats, fish, grains and dairy products. T... Read >

Concrete Ponds and Freezing Climates

The pond liner advocates have maligned concrete constructed ponds and waterfalls for years by making spurious claims that concrete will crack and not hold up over time or in cold freezing climates. This article will expose this fallacy for what it really ... Read >

Fountains May Not Be Forever

After retiring from 30 years of designing and building well over two thousand waterfalls and fountains I have come to the conclusion that fountains are not everything that they seem or appear to be. Yes, most are elegant, charming, ornate, tranquil, appea... Read >

What is Solar Food Dehydration?

Raisins are undoubtedly the most common examples of dehydrated food sold and consumed around the world. Other common popular dried fruits are figs, dates, prunes, apricots, bananas, papaya, mango and the crispy, savory banana chips. Even though these food... Read >

How Prepared Are You?

Disasters always seem to be happening everywhere else but in our own neighborhood. After a while, we actually start to believe it will never happen here and in my lifetime. Case in point, have you prepared for a natural or man-made disaster or at least ev... Read >

How to Design a Water Garden

If you have ever designed a water garden by sketching with colored pencils on a sheet of graph paper, let me be the first person to tell you that there is a better way! Here's why: 1. Increase Your Net Profits Prior to introducing digitally designed... Read >

Digitally Designed Water Gardens: Big Bucks! Impressive

Usually a house is a man's greatest asset; "his home is his castle." A house or home can easily become the most important possession for a family, which would include its surroundings or landscape. Recently, several of the landscape architects and desi... Read >

Design Water Gardens - $350 per Hour

If you have read any of my articles before, you know I specialize in sharing my knowledge and experience in the water garden business over the past 30 years. Because I don't own or promote a water garden supply store, I can therefore present unbiased and ... Read >

Skimming Off the Top - Profits From Inferior Skimmers

Trading Reliability, Simplicity and Effectiveness For Skimmer Profits Tom Barthel's article, "Pulling the Envelope" in the May 2007 issue of Water Garden News, has got me going. In it he said, "Technological innovations for skimmers and filter-fall pro... Read >

Does My Water Garden Need a UV? A Simple Test

1. Is your water cloudy or green? 2. Does your pond or waterfall stink? 3. Have you forgotten how many fish you have or what color they are? If you answered yes to these three questions, you may need an ultraviolet light, There are several typ... Read >

Ultraviolet Light vs. Algae - Water Garden Facts

What is the best way to control algae and impurities in backyard water gardens? It is not as simple as you think! Ultraviolet light was discovered to have adverse effects on certain organisms commonly found in ponds, such as specific types of bacteria and... Read >

Water Garden Deceptions

If you bought a product from a salesman based on the information and "facts" he shared with you about that product, and that salesman did not share with you the dangers or the negative aspects of that product, did he lie to you in the process of holding b... Read >

Pond Liner Defects - Count the Cost

So you are considering building your own koi pond, or having one built? Do not add your name to the growing list of disgusted leaky pond owners. Please research all aspects of water gardening before proceeding. I am not suggesting you google pond line... Read >

Cooking with a Solar Oven Could Possibly Save Our Planet

I seem to be in the minority when it comes to believing that the global change in climate is due primarily to the sun's relationship to the earth, sun spots, solar flares and the rotation variances of the earth's orbit around the sun. There are actually m... Read >