Posted on Nov 18, 2008 under garden, gardening, growing vegetables, organic gardening |
Every spring, people dust off their trowels and take out the gloves, getting ready for another gardening season. They often convince themselves that that this year it will be different. You will have beautiful flowers, an awesome display of colors and the whole neighborhood will pause in your front lawn to admire
your handiwork.
Does it have to be an illusion? No way.
The reality is, you can start planning and preparing your garden at any time and expect to have a beautiful garden to enjoy all year long. It just takes a little planning and prep work and you’ll have the garden of your dreams.
One important step that some people tend to forget is that you have to plan the “perfect garden” for you and your family. Take the time to measure-out the space you have set up as your garden area and give it a second and third look. Evaluate the soil and even test it to see if you may need to add some organic fertilizer or nutrients.
Some other questions might be: Does the space you chose get enough sunlight? How is the irrigation?
It doesn’t matter whether your area has the best of all of this, just make sure it is what you need for your particular garden planning. Some plants need little water, not a lot of sunlight and tough soil. You just need to be aware of this, as you will want pick plants that are suitable to your environment.
Talk with people at your local greenhouse about setting up a garden you like. They can offer suggestions as to how to structure your garden and to put out your plants so you get to enjoy. You’ll certainly want to be able to take care of them easily. Obviously, some plants are more maintenance free than others.
It only takes a little bit of prep work and a little expert help and you’ll be on your way to having the sort of garden you always wanted. With a little planning, you’ll be ready to enjoy the fruits of your labor all year long.
Posted on Oct 24, 2008 under growing vegetables, vegetable gardening |
If you long to grow your own vegetables but you’re surrounded by concrete or live on a piece of land too small for a vegetable garden, don’t give up hope. The answer for you may be container vegetable gardening. Container gardening makes it possible to grow vegetables on patios , tiny balconies or the rooftops on high-rise buildings and with just a few exceptions, the same methods used in regular vegetable gardening also apply to container gardening.
The best containers for vegetable gardening are those that are light, portable and often free. There’s no need to spend a lot of money on expensive containers made of wood or pottery. You can of course, if that’s what you want, but half the fun is in finding unique containers for your vegetable garden. Drainage holes can be drilled in the bottom to keep the plant roots from sitting in water and small containers can be grouped inside larger containers such as wooden crates or larger tubs to keep them from blowing over. Containers should set on bricks or small blocks to help with drainage and prevent mold from growing under them.
Finding the Light
You can place your containers almost anywhere as long as there is plenty of light. Vegetable gardening requires a lot of sun and while plants prefer full sun all day long, you can make up for some loss of light by growing them against a light colored wall that reflects the light and heat back onto the plants. You can also place light reflective material behind your vegetables to help them take optimum advantage of the sun. Also turning containers during the day helps to expose the entire plant to the light.
One important thing you have to consider in vegetable gardening is the type of soil you will need for your containers, which should be light weight, and drain well. The best soil is actually a soil-less mix which is light weight and allows roots to grow faster, making for larger plants and more vegetables. Most vegetables like to be grown in soil at least one or two feet deep, and larger plants need more soil so take that into consideration when planning out your vegetable garden.
Finding the Space
To take advantage of limited space, stair step your container vegetable garden on benches, or use a step ladder or boards placed on cement blocks to create your own mini terrace. Even vegetable plants can make a beautiful garden setting if they are grouped or mixed in with a few flowers. Some vegetable plants can even be grown in hanging pots, such as lettuce, small cucumbers and tiny cherry tomatoes.
So if you’re a green thumb at heart, living a city life and wishing you could do a little vegetable gardening , you can make it a reality with container gardening. It might take some added creative and work, but what true blue gardener ever let that stop them?
Posted on Oct 19, 2008 under growing vegetables |
Keep Your Food Safe From Deadly Pesticides and Herbicides by Growing Hydroponic Vegetables at Home
Author: Rory Larkey
Hydroponics is a great, fun and clean way to grow plants indoors by supplying water, nutrients, and oxygen to their roots. Hydroponic growing is perfect for fruit bearing crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce and herbs. By synthetically controlling every aspect of the garden, almost any kind of plant imaginable can be grown using hydroponics! The majority of hydroponic gardeners plant crops similar to what they would grow in a soil garden. If it can be grown in a pot with soil it can also be grown by using hydroponics with a soilless medium. In your indoor Hydroponic garden you must be the sole creator of all aspects of the plants environment
A plant doesnât require soil to grow. There is no soil in a hydroponics garden, so the plants need to be anchored some how. There are many items which can be used to support plants, these are called soilless mediums. Clay pebbles and Rockwool are the most popular medium. These soilless mediums work best because they are pH neutral and provide plenty of support for plants. They retain moisture, and allow for good air circulation.
pH is one of the most disregarded aspects of gardening, pH is very important in hydroponics gardening. pH is measured on a scale of 1-14 with 7 being “neutral”. Anything lower than 7 is acidic and anything above 7 is alkaline (bases).
All plants require a certain pH level in order to produce optimum results. The pH level will vary from plant to plant, but in general the majority prefer a slightly acidic level (between 6.0 - 6.5), though most plants can still tolerate an environment with a pH of between 5.0 and 7.5. The preferred method of checking and adjusting pH levels is to use a pH meter. pH adjustments can be made by simply adding a small amount of pH up or pH down solution to your reservoir.
Starting your garden out by planting seeds can be one of the most enjoyable parts of gardening. Seedlings donât require as an intense amount of light as does a more mature plant. You will want to use a florescent light about 2â above the top of your seedlings. Too much intense light and heat will burn them up and kill them. You will need a propagation tray and humidity dome. Use these to keep your medium and seeds in the perfect environment.
The preferred method for growing vegetables, flowers and herbs year round is with HID lighting, it stands for High Intensity Discharge Lighting, which is a special type of lighting that is much more intense than any other grow lights.
Decide what size of light to use.
First you need to figure out the square footage of your indoor garden. To do this you will need to measure the space.
This is how to find the square footage of your grow space. (Width x Length= Square Feet) Example: if you want your indoor garden to be in your closet which is 3âx4â, you will find this room to be 12sq.ft. (You will also want the height of your room to be at least 4â above the canopy of your plants.) For most grow operations an 8-10 foot ceiling will work fine. This will allow you to keep your lamp at least a minimum of 18â above the top of your plants. (HID lights get hot and can burn the tops of your plants.) Next you will need to know how many watts/square foot of light your plants will require. For Example, tomatoes need to attain around 40-50 watts per square foot for optimal growth. You then would take 50 watts x 12sq. ft. = 600 watts. This means that you will need a 600watt light to maintain your plants optimal growth in this particular garden. (Plants wattage needs x Square Feet = HID light requirement.)
There are 6 basic types of hydroponics systems
1. Drip
2. Wick
3. Ebb and Flow
4. Water Culture
5. N.F.T
6. Aeroponic
A basic Drip system may be the most common of all the hydroponics systems. Drip systems are very easy to use and maintain. An inexpensive submergible pump is used to pump up the nutrient solution onto the soilless medium and onto the plants root system. The nutrient solution then drips back into the reservoir continually repeating this cycle allowing oxygen to be pushed into the solution naturally as it rises and falls. A Drip system can be built as easy as using a new clean 5 gallon bucket, and purchasing a custom made net to hold your medium, and a small submersible pump. The 5 gallon bucket allows for a lot of space for roots to grow.
A premixed nutrient solution is the best way of knowing that your plants get a well balanced diet. There are many brands and types of good hydroponics nutrients on the market. You can be sure that these premixed solutions contain all of the necessary trace elements. Hydroponics nutrient solutions quality is identified by three different numbers such as 15-10-15. These numbers stand for the percentages by weight of the three most primary nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.
Most plants prefer to be between 55-80 degrees F. with the average tempatures at around 72 degrees F. When the lights are on they are a great source of heat as well as light. If temperatures should become too high, exhaust blowers will work well to reduce the temperature. Exhaust blower fans can be easily linked to a thermostat controller to ensure that your room never reaches the high temperatures that can have a negative effect on plants and growth rates. Intake and exhaust fans are rated by there volume of air movement in cubic feet per minute. You will need to know how many cubic feet your grow room has, to do this you measure the length x width x height of your grow space. For a space 3′x4′x10′ you will have 120 cubic feet of air space.
Posted on Oct 12, 2008 under growing vegetables |
The majority of people know that eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day is very important. Also, by eating fruits and vegetables of a variety of different colors, one can get the best all-around health benefits. Each different color fruit and vegetables contains unique health components that are essential to our health. Fruits and vegetables are very important to our health because they are whole foods, created by nature, that are rich in a large amount of nutrients. The processed foods that we so commonly eat, can never compare to the health benefits provided by strawberries or broccoli, which have fiber, vitamins, and enzymes built right in. The phrase “eating a rainbow” of fruits and vegetables is a simple way of remembering to get as much color variety in your diet as possible, so that you can maximize your intake of a broad range of nutrients. The colors of fruits and vegetables are a small clue as to what vitamins and nutrients are included. By getting a variety of different colored fruits and vegetables, you are guaranteed a diverse amount of essential vitamins and minerals.
When eating red fruits and vegetables including tomatoes, berries, peppers, and radishes, you take in nutrients such as lycopene, ellagic acid, Quercetin, and Hesperidin, to name a few. These nutrients reduce the risk of prostate cancer, lower blood pressure, reduce tumor growth and LDL cholesterol levels, scavenge harmful free-radicals, and support join tissue in arthritis cases. Carrots, Yams, Squash, Papayas, and other orange and yellow fruits and vegetables contain beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, flavonoids, lycopene, potassium, and vitamin C. These nutrients reduce age-related macula degeneration and the risk of prostate cancer, lower LDL cholesterol and blood pressure, promote collagen formation and healthy joints, fight harmful free radicals, encourage alkaline balance, and work with magnesium and calcium to build healthy bones. White fruits and vegetables, including mushrooms, white tea, flaxseed, and pumpkin, contain nutrients such as beta-glucans, EGCG, SDG, and lignans that provide powerful immune boosting activity. These nutrients also activate natural killer B and T cells, reduce the risk of colon, breast, and prostate cancers, and balance hormone levels, reducing the risk of hormone-related cancers. Wheat grass, barley grass, oat grass, kale, spinach, cabbage, alfalfa sprouts, mustard greens, and collard greens are all examples of green vegetables that contain chlorophyll, fiber, lutein, zeaxanthin, calcium, folate, vitamin C, calcium, and Beta-carotene. The nutrients found in these vegetables reduce cancer risks, lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol levels, normalize digestion time, support retinal health and vision, fight harmful free-radicals, and boost immune system activity. Blue and purple fruits and vegetables such as blueberries, pomegranates, grapes, elderberries, eggplant, and prunes contain nutrients which include lutein, zeaxanthin, resveratrol, vitamin C, fiber, flavonoids, ellagic acid, and quercetin. Similar to the previous nutrients, these nutrients support retinal health, lower LDL cholesterol, boost immune system activity, support healthy digestion, improve calcium and other mineral absorption, fight inflammation, reduce tumor growth, act as an anticarcinogens in the digestive tract, and limit the activity of cancer cells.
These nutrients that are found in the above-listed fruits and vegetables can have a significant impact on our health. Quercetin, which is found in apples, onions and other citrus fruits, not only prevents LDL cholesterol oxidation, but also helps the body cope with allergens and other lung and breathing problems. Ellagic acid, which is mainly found in raspberries, strawberries, pomegranates, and walnuts, has been proven in many clinical studies to act as an antioxidant and anticarcinogens in the gastrointestinal tract. This nutrient also has been proven to have an anti-proliferative effect on cancer cells, because it decreases their ATP production. The best-known of the carotenoids, beta-carotene, is converted into vitamin A upon entering the liver. Although being known for its positive effects on eyesight, it has also been proven to decrease cholesterol levels in the liver. Clinical studies have proven that lycopene, mainly found in tomatoes, may decrease the risk of prostate cancer, as well as protect against heart disease. Lutein, which is found in blueberries and members of the squash family, is important for healthy eyes. However, it does support your heart too, helping to prevent against coronary artery disease.
Along with the above stated nutrients, there are even more nutrients found in fruits and vegetables that provide a great deal of support to our body. Almost everyone has heard of vitamin C, which keeps our immune system strong; speeds wound healing, and promote strong muscles and joints. This nutrient is scattered throughout the spectrum of fruits, but commonly associated with oranges and other citrus fruits. Potassium, which is the nutrient most Americans are deficient in, does great things for our hearts, and lowers blood pressure. Another good food component many people don’t get enough of if fiber, found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Flavonoids, which include anthocyanins, flavones, isoflavones, proantocyanidins, quercetin and more, are found almost everywhere. They are responsible for the colors in the skins of fruits and vegetables and help to stop the growth of tumor cells and potent antioxidants. They also can reduce inflammation. Beta-glucan, found in mushrooms, stabilizes and balances the body’s immune system by supporting white blood cells. EGCG is found in tea and has been shown to reduce the risk of colon and breast cancer. It boosts the immune system and encourages T-cell formation, which defends our body against sickness and disease. Lastly, bioflavonoids, which are found in citrus fruits, are considered a companion to vitamin C because they extend the value of it in the body. These nutrients have the capabilities to lower cholesterol levels and support joint collagen in arthritis cases.
The number one excuse for not eating the required five servings of fruits and vegetables each day is they are too expensive. However, as compared to the amount of money spent on prepackaged, processed, and fast foods, most fruits and vegetables (with the exception of those that are not in season) are not all that expensive. Because frozen fruits and vegetables retain the majority of their nutritional value, they can be an excellent alternative when certain foods are out of season. Someone who is not able to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables each day can also drink fruit and vegetable drinks in their place. Although this shouldn’t become a habit, fruit and vegetable drink mixes can be an excellent substitute when you’re rushed or traveling. The need for fruits and vegetables in our diet is growing rapidly with the type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol, hypertension that result from the “Typical American Diet” of fatty meats, processed sugars, and refined grains. Great fruit drink Mixes and vegetable mixes can be found at your local health food store or internet health food store.
Posted on Oct 01, 2008 under growing vegetables |
Now wouldn’t it be more fulfilling to eat vegetables that come from your very own garden? It feels great knowing that your very own hands have helped grow the vegetables that are in your salad or dish. We have to bear in mind though that growing vegetables is not easy and can sometimes be downright frustrating. But with a lot of patience and hard work you’ll soon be tasting the fruits of your hard labor.
In growing vegetables it is important that the seeds have been properly planted. You have to ensure that the soil is moist and rich in nutrients to help your seeds grow. The seeds must not be planted in loosely packed soil so as to prevent having air spaces that would tend to dry or shrivel the tiny roots once it starts to grow. It is vital that the soil touches the seed to enable it to take root immediately when it starts to germinate.
It is a must for you to know the different needs of the different types and kinds of vegetable that you may be growing. Each vegetable requires different spaces for it to grow and different depths for it to be planted on. Knowing information like these is important so that your vegetables get the right amount of care and tending. Some plants would require having much more water than others so you should try to separate them. When you plant vegetables, you can’t expect all of the seeds to develop so heavy seeding is quite alright. To help your vegetables grow beautifully, fertilize the land or better yet sprinkle some food for your plants.
Now, that you have started to grow your vegetables you need to undertake measures to make sure that your vegetable garden lasts long. Water them regularly and consistently check that they are in good shape to make certain that they will continue to produce and bear fruit. If you encounter any problems, take the necessary action or preventive measures. One of the things that you should avoid doing is to leave your vegetables to over ripen. Harvest them so that your plants will continue to produce. When plants go to seed they stop producing.
If you see any signs of weeds, weed them out. Weeds are one of the pests that could choke your plants since these weeds compete with them for water and nutrients in the soil. Vegetable plants have a life span so consider planting in intervals so that you have new ones to replace the early ones that may have reached their end in producing.