Archive for ◊ January, 2009 ◊

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• Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

A fake plant in a corner of your room is no longer enough to name it gardening indoors. Contrary to what majority says that plants should stay outside, indoor gardening assumes that it is high time to start your own  indoor plant garden. One obvious reason is that these are the plants that are responsible for removing not only carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but as well many pollutants and poisonous toxins. The benefits of indoor gardening are among others stunning decoration of your house and cleaner air.

To start an indoor plant garden, you must first choose plants that are ready to adapt in the setting of your house. Account for the time you will spend caring for the plants and money you would like to invest in your indoor plant garden. If you do not have much money, seeds and cutting are a good start. If, on the other hand, you can afford some purchases, buy something that is already grown. You may want to consider what will be displayed seasonally and what throughout the whole year.

Herb gardening is a good starting point for and indoor plant garden. Herbs are both attractive and edible. Their growing is pretty short which means you do not wait years to see the results of your work. Among popular herbs for cooking are basil, chives, dill, thyme, sag, and oregano.

Before you decide on a plant, consider the amount of gardening experience you have. Some plants are tougher and more difficult to damage, thus they are much better for a novice gardener. Among those strong examples are: Scandens, Cyperus, Fatsia, Coleus,Bromeliads and Popular Succulents.

There are, however, some differences in gardening out and indoors. One of them is lighting, since the plants indoors will not get the sunlight, so artificial lamps are indispensable in an indoor plant garden. To arrange well lit setting you need to find out exactly how much light your plants require and choose only these that thrive well with medium to low light, ie. ferns or Philodendrons, unless you plan to fix artificial lighting. With plants already grown, you need to prepare your plant to be moved inside by conditioning it and slowly reducing the amount of light. Once you get the plant inside, make sure and rotate the plant to encourage upright growth.

The fact that you decided to devote indoor gardening does not mean water requirements have dropped down. On the contrary, your plants still need water. How often you water will depend on the type of plant you have. Water should be able to drain to the bottom of the pot. Try to use water in room temperature. You must pay attention to the temperature in your house. Rapid changes in temperature will cause more damages, than a constatnt temperature of 15 degrees.

Indoor gardening is not that difficult. In many cases it is very similar to the one outdoors. The advantages of having an indoor plant garden are lack of problems witht bugs and insects bothering your plants. You also won t have to worry about wind or frost reeking havoc on your garden.

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• Monday, January 19th, 2009
Homemade Hydroponics

Homemade Hydroponics

Having a hydroponics home garden is becoming more and more common due to its relatively low costs, and effectivenes. The small size of the gardens enables most gardeners to grow the plants indoors. This type of gardening is perfect for most vegetables, especially the red tomato. A hydroponics home garden requires equipment that is inexpensive and simple.

The name Hydroponics Gardening refers to the growing of plants without soil, ie., “dirtless gardening”.  A hydroponics home garden can be maintained using many methods, most of which work better than traditional gardening. It is easier to provide plants with what they need. You can regulate thus the pH, nutrients, water, and light amount.

The level of difficulty in Hydroponics gardening will depend solely on you. If you start using computers with sensors that control nutrients, light and water supply, it will become quite complicated. By contrast, it can be as easy as a single plant watered by one bucket. The typical hydroponics home garden system will include light, a water controlled pump for watering (or some type of watering equipment), a growing tray, a reservoir, and an air pump to provide oxygen to the nutrients.

There are, on the other hand, several things that are becoming indispensable, eg. perlite, Rockwool, coconut fiber, sand, gravel, vermiculite, and air. Look for instructions online or in a gardening store, then buy the parts separately and build one yourself. You can get instructions from a gardening store or online or buy separate parts and build your own hydroponics home garden system. In some gardening stores you can find already assembled kits.

As far as nutrition is concerned,there are some micro-nutrients necessary for healthy plant that include magnesium, cobalt, boron, sulfur, iron, copper, calcium, manganese, and zinc. They are absolutely essential nad missing one of them could lead to producing unhealthy food, and endangering future consumers. Most importantly a quality fertilizer should be used at all times with a hydroponics home garden.

When turning to Hydroponics gardening, you should pay attention to the pH balance. With varied pH balance the plants are less able to absorb nutrients that they need. The ease with which the pH in Hydroponics gardening is tested and controlled give it a huge advantage over regular dirt gardening.

Although there are many variations, the six basic types of Hydroponics gardening systems are Wick, Water Culture, Ebb and Flow, Drip, N.F.T., and Aeroponic. Starting a hydroponics home garden is simple, cheap, and you can enjoy fresh produce, flowers, and herbs all year long!

For more info be sure to check out Homemade Hydroponics – the most complete hydroponics course available!

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• Friday, January 16th, 2009

Landscaping and gardening can contribute to a huge improvement in the general look of your house. Many people are willing to invest large sums of money in that kind of projects. However, forgetting to prune the plants when needed may result in ruining the perfect look. It is high time to learn the gardening tips how to maintain your lawn. Gardening tips on pruning Pruning plays a crucial role in maintaining the garden. Do not worry too much if you make mistakes when pruning. It is like a hair cut that has gone wrong, it is not permanent. The grass will grow again. And you will have time to improve your skills. Do not water in the evening In the summer, you may come across high humidity, which can cause various problems in the garden. Your plants should be kept nice and dry, which is best achieved by tucking them in. Getting rid of Powdery mildew A lot of ornamental plants are each year affected by Powdery mildew, the common garden fungus. It manifests itself with a white film on the leaves of the plants in your garden. Other ornamental plants like Sand cherry and Dogwoods may get infected with it as well. Only by careful gardening can you cease the growth of this fungus. Preventing Powdery mildew is fairly easy. It is enough to spray general fungicide in the centre of your garden. Preventing Pythium Blight To those who live in the north and grow perennial Rye grass as well, they should always rememberl not to leave the grass wet at night. A dangerousl garden fungus called Pythium Blight may attack wet grass because this fungus llikes to grow typically in humid condition,mostly during the night. It is easy to notice Pythium blight early in the morning. The fungus takes the shape ofwhite cotton candy on the lawn. It attacks rye grass mainly along driveways and sidewalks, because the soil there is usually moist. Pythium blight can be controlled by watering early during the day. Fire Blight Another type is Fire Blight, which definately prefers to grow during summer than any other season. This garden fungus often attacks Pyracantha, crabapple trees, cotoneasters, and Apple trees. If at least one of the branches turns red and dies, that is the sign that the plant is affected by Fire Blight. This Fire Blight can be prevented little by pruning the affected branch. It is essential to remove it from the main plant as far as possible. Most importantly, all the infected branches should be burnt since Fire Blight is highly contagious. The shears used for cutting should be properly washed with alcohol in order to prevent the spread of the deadly garden fungus to other parts of the branch. Shotgun Fungus A little gem like fungus, which prefers to grow in mulch and tends to swell, has been called as "Shotgun Fungus". It is extremely dangerous as it can fly up to 8 feet in the air. It will spatter your house and garden with tiny brown specks. They will stick to your house or windows as if they were glued. Very often we blame spiders and other insects for those dark tiny specks.Unfortunately, nothing can be done to prevent this garden fungus, however you can do something by keeping the mulch loose so that air can circulate freely inside to keep the fungus out. Even though mulch is useful, do not let them get packed, it should be removed it at least once a year and also rake it flat so that it will look like you ve just mulched.

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• Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

For those desiring a different gardening experience while giving amusement to adults and children alike, carnivorous plants are the right choice. There are five different kinds of carnivorous plants. One of the best known species, the same family that the Venus Flytrap contains, is the snap trap family. Snap traps use a mouth that snaps around its pray, where the plant will consume anything it catches. Among some of the most unique carnivorous plants are Flypaper traps. These plants ooze out a glue which ensnares and breaks down bugs for food. These carnivorous plants are to be treated carefully in the residence, as the secretions are likely to irritate the skin. The third type are pitfall traps. They require the prey tumbling into the plant without a possibility to escape. Unique in their triggers for eating, they must undergo evolution frequently, as liquid can gather in the heart of the plant in addition to the insects that are consumed by the plant. These plants vary from colorful to ugly, and do not posses hinged parts like their snap trap relatives. Bladder traps are certainly a trademark of carnivorous plants. The osmosis of water that creates a suction within the body of the plant is what makes these plants function.. Once a bug oran aquatic species has fallen into the trap, it’s almost impossible for it to run away. Unlike numerous carnivorous plants, they are more frequently found underwater than on the surface. Some types of bladder traps, like the Bladderwort, do not have roots, which makes them an interesting benefit to any collection. Last but not least, the lobster pot traps are definitely among some of the most interesting carnivorous plants that you can think of. These plants survive by giving insects a simple way to gain entry, but very little chance of departure. In the case of the Corkscrew plant, the innards of the plant have barriers that point downward and a y-shaped flip form that prevents the prey from getting away. The exotic shapes of lobster pot traps are closely attached to their evolution to stop the escape of insects. For those desiring something even more different, there are several types of plants that fail to meet some of the requirements of carnivorous plants, but posses similar characteristics. An example of those plants is the Brocchinia Roridula as well as the members of the Martyniaceae species. These species do not have one of the three necessary features, which is to lure, kill and digest prey, to be considered as a 100% carnivorous plant. Carnivorous plants are best kept out of reach of babies and young children. While the majority of them are not able to cause any major harm to humans, eating one of these species should be avoided, because of the digestive enzymes that the plant uses to break down prey.

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