Hydroponic Indoor Gardening

Q. I would like to plant some herbs and vegetables indoors, so that I can have fresh product during the winter.

I don’t have a lot of room and even less knowledge. Is there something simple that would allow me to do this?

A. You are in luck. There is a company that provides indoor hydroponic growing of herbs, vegetables and even tomatoes – no soil. The growing system is attractive and can sit on any counter and because there is no soil you don’t have to worry about bugs!

Follow the link for further information.

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Organic Fertilizers - Have Their Drawbacks!

There is a lot of confusion on what truly can be designated an organic fertilizer. An organic fertilizer contains nutrients that have been derived, in one manner or another, from an organism. As an example, organic fertilizers may be manufactured from cottonseed meal, an emulsion derived from fish, animal manure, sewage sludge, and bone meal or a combination of some or all of the aforementioned items.

Some fertilizers that call themselves organic are made from Urea, which is made from inorganic products hence at best it is a synthetic organic fertilizer.

If a product is sold as a fertilizer in North America, it must state the NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) formulation on the package. In order to avoid having to guarantee a NPK of a product, many manufacturers will sell their fertilizers as soil conditioners. A soil conditioner does not have to state the nutrient formulation of the product. One of the reasons that manufactures do not want to state a guaranteed nutrient formulation is that with organic products the nutrient levels vary dramatically from batch to batch. Organic products that are made from sewage sludge and manures will only have small amounts of nutrients present in the formulation.

Some organic fertilizers are fortified in order to bring up the nutrient levels and to allow the manufacturer to maintain a guaranteed level of formulation.

Organic fertilizers work best in moist warm soils as it is the organisms in the soil that breakdown the fertilizer which is what releases the nutrients into the soil. Because an organic fertilizer must be broken down in order for it to provide any nutrients to the soil, organic fertilizers are classified as very slow release and a gardener must determine if a slow release is what any specific plant variety might need.

It is also important to understand the side effects of the organic fertilizer. As an example, cottonseed meal is acidic. If you are growing plants such as azaleas or rhododendrons, an organic fertilizer derived from cottonseed meal may be the exact product you are looking for. The common formulation for cottonseed meal is 7-3-2.

With an organic fertilizer such as blood meal, derived from the blood of cattle, one must be cautious because it has a very high nitrogen content and if not used carefully can easily burn plants.

Organic fertilizers have there place in the garden, but they are no different than synthetic fertilizers in the fact that you must understand the formulation of the product and how it might negatively affect the specific plants that you are trying to enhance.

Read and follow the manufacturers instructions and guidelines before usage! For additional information on organic fertilizers, follow the link.

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Australia’s Drought – It Could Happen Where You Live!

Australia may seem like a long way away for many of us, but what they are experiencing could happen in any country.

For whatever reason weather patterns are changing, Australia is in a drought, it has been going on for six years and if they do not get heavy rains in the next six to eight weeks, they are going to implement rationing. This is not rationing where you cannot water lawn on certain days of the week, this is serious rationing whereby they are going to stop any irrigation of farmland in order to conserve water for urban needs.

The economic consequences, of the water rationing, will be bankrupt farmers and exceptionally high prices for Australians when they try to buy any fruits, vegetables, grain, and meat products.

It was recently announced that the Australian government had signed a technology pact with Israel in the area of water conservation. Israel turned desert into cultivatable land and are experts in water conservation and drip irrigation.

Drip irrigation is what we should all be practicing, there are fresh water shortages everywhere in the world and one of the best conservation methods is drip irrigation not only on farms but at home as well.

To learn more about drip irrigation follow the link below.

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Tree Pruning

Proper tree pruning is critical to the longevity of the tree. As well, proper tree pruning provides you with a tree that is safe, strong, healthy, and attractive. If you understand the how, when and why to prune your trees and then by following a few simple principles you can reach these objectives with ease.

For fruit trees, proper pruning will stimulate the production of fruit, both in quality and quantity.

We have recently added a 6 part series of detailed information on the proper pruning of trees. Follow the link below for access to the articles.

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Water Features, Mosquitoes, and West Nile Virus

Water features can be a beautiful addition to any landscaping. Fountains, birdbaths, waterfalls, and ponds provide an enhancement and peaceful tranquility.

With spring upon us, many homeowners are considering their landscaping and with that may come the addition of a water feature. The dilemma is that water features can be a haven for mosquitoes and mosquitoes can carry West Nile Virus and other diseases.

So what can a homeowner do?

Mosquitoes enjoy the luxury of standing water, which is why tires, wheelbarrows, pots, pans, and pails should never be left outside in a position where they can collect water. For the same reason birdbaths are attractive areas for mosquitoes to lay their larva.

If you want to have a water feature incorporated in your landscaping, the water should be continuously filtered and aerated utilizing outdoor pumps and filtering systems specifically designed for the task.

For additional information on how to protect your family from West Nile Virus when landscaping, follow the link.

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The Proper Method For Planting Trees

Every year more than one million trees are planted on public and private properties throughout North America, these are not the trees are not planted as a part of a reforestation project, they are the trees that we use for personal and community ambience. Of these trees, less than 50 percent will survive more than two years.

Shock From Transplanting:

The greatest transplanting shock comes from the loss of the tree’s root system that occurs when the tree is dug-up at the tree farm. Placing the tree in shock makes it much more vulnerable to disease, insects, drought and other potential life threatening situations. The transplant shock lasts until the root system is fully replaced to the level it was prior to being removed from the tree farm. Most trees that die after being transplanted do so during the period of time prior to restoration of the full root system. Although there is no method of transplanting that will guaranty that a tree will not die, regular care and good gardening practices, for a three-year period following the transplant, will definitely improve the trees likely hood of survival.

For the balance of this article and information on how to protect your tree from shock follow the link.

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