While outdoor thermometers are certainly helpful in determining whether it's warm enough to make a mad dash to the curb and back in your skivvies, there's much more to them than that. Keeping track of the temperature is an important part of maintaining your lawn and garden. A casual glance at a thermometer can tell you it's time to cover your tender plants because the temperature is plummeting faster than you expected; or, conversely, it may let you know that it's such a scorcher out that you need to get out there and water. And yes, a good thermometer will also offer a quick assessment of what type of clothing you'll need to wear before you head out into the world.

An outdoor thermometer should be placed where you can easily see it through a window or glass door, such as on a wall, fence, or a handy eave. The numerals should be easily read from a distance, so you don't have to step outdoors if you don't care to -- a rather big deal for our friends up north, who have been suffering through some nasty snow storms lately. 

Though it's not strictly necessary, the best outdoor thermometers are decorative and attractive, adding style to your garden. An outdoor thermometer must also be sturdy, not only able to soldier on through a wide temperature range, but completely waterproof and tough enough to handle ice, hail, sleet, and the occasional curious squirrel. If it comes packaged with an additional instrument, such as a hygrometer or barometer, so much the better!

The items featured in this newsletter are just a small sample from our wide selection of outdoor thermometers. If you order one right now, you can get a a 10% discount just by entering the coupon code Thermometer10 at checkout. But hurry: this offer is only good for 48 hours! 

If you need an outdoor thermometer that's easily moved around from place to place, this is the one to get. This solid brass-and-glass design uses alcohol to mark the temperature, and measures accurately in 2-degree increments from -40 to 122º F (-40 to 50º C). That's sufficient to handle everything from a Vermont winter to a Kandahar summer! The rugged construction means that it'll last for a long time, too, shrugging off everything the elements throw at it.

This American Dial Thermometer is one of our favorite dial designs. It's set on an offset swing arm, so all you have to do is mount it onto a post or wall and orient it for the best view. The large display on the 4.25-inch face is easy to read from a distance, and is set up with the standard -40 to 122º F (-40 to 50º C) range. This one comes in both brass and stainless steel construction, and is tough enough that the manufacturer offers a lifetime guarantee -- yours or theirs.

This stylish thermometer is ideal for any decorative garden. It's crafted from recycled aluminum, and unlike most things these days, it's custom manufactured when you place your order! You can specify whether you want French Bronze (pictured), Verdigris, or Moss Green. This one's battery-operated, and offers a wider measurement range than most thermometers: from -60 to 140º F. The outer ring provides the rough temperature, while the inner ring offers the details down to the 2-degree range.

Our Clean Air Closeouts email is different and separate from this newsletter that you're getting now. It's short and sweet, and focused on special offers.

It's quick to scan and delete if you don't see anything you like for any particular email. And it's always easy to unsubscribe at any time if you ever get tired of it! 

Interested? Click here to sign up.

Needless to say, the sulfur content of garlic is much higher than chamomile's, hence the stronger odor. This makes it a much tougher fungicide, able to take on powdery mildew, leaf spot, and other fungal nastiness. There are many ways to prepare a garlic fungicide, but the easiest is to combine finely chopped garlic with water and other ingredients, and either boil it or otherwise let it steep until the mix achieves a high potency. Then mix the fungicide liberally with water, and spray it directly on your plants. 

Ground cinnamon is a very effective mild fungicide. Like chamomile, it doesn't work well for the tougher fungal infections, but it seems to stop damping off in its tracks. Just sprinkle it on the surface of the growing medium, and you're good to go. While you don't need to dust the plants themselves with it, it won't hurt them. Apparently, the antifungal agents in cinnamon are volatile chemicals known as cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl acetate, and cinnamyl alcohol, all of which appear to have anti-microbial properties.