Gardening

By Michael J. McGroarty

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Having an ample supply of good rich compost is the gardeners’ dream. It has many uses, and all of those uses will result in nicer plants.  However, composting can be time consuming and hard work.  I place a reasonable value on my time, so spending hours and hours turning compost piles doesn’t qualify as a worthwhile exercise, at least in my book.  Nonetheless, I do compost, but I do so on my terms. I built two composting bins.  Each bin is five feet wide, five feet deep, and four feet high.  I built the bins by sinking 4” by 4” posts in the ground for the corners, and then nailed 2 by 4’s and 1 by 4’s, alternating on the sides.

I left 2” gaps between the boards for air circulation.  The 2 by 4’s are rigid enough to keep the sides from bowing out, and in between each 2 by 4 I used 1 by 4’s to save a little money.  The bins are only 3 sided, I left the front of the bins open so they can be filled and emptied easily.  [read the rest of this post...]

Tags: compost, compost bin, composting, soil preparation

Most of us want to enjoy fresh and healthy salads on our dining tables. However, in today’s modern generation where even food is being processed through the advancement of technology, it’s hard to count on that. Most of the food being sold in the market now underwent certain processing which lessens its quality. Furthermore, vegetables have become more expensive due to the use of costly modern farming tools and products. So what is the solution?

There is now a better way for all vegetarians to enjoy a fresh and free salad in the comfort of their homes. The solution to this dilemma is growing vegetables indoors. Let’s get started!

Tip # 1: Plan it out
Create a plan for your indoor garden. If you want a beautiful garden, you build a dish garden. If you want the more convenient type which is less costly, you can simply grow your vegetables in pots. It’s all up to you. [read the rest of this post...]

Tags: indoor garden, Organic Gardening, Vegetable Gardening

By Kim Shackelford

Did you know soilless culture of plants? Hydroponics is a new way of it, it is also called nutrient solution culture. The core is to fix plant roots straight in the colonization basket inside which nutrient solution replace natural soil to supply plants with water, nutrients, oxygen, temperature and other growth factors, so that plants can grow normally and complete its entire life cycle.

People find growing plants with new technology is a right choice, because numerous consumers like this kind of plant. These plants have the strong points of being clean, elegant and pollution-free.

When the plant is still the seed, one growing medium is essential. It may be put on the bottom of a pot if we grow plants on soil, it can help to promote matrix ventilation and accelerate the leakage. In hydroponics, it will help to fix the root of the plants. Therefore, it is best to take it seriously as to what kind of growing medium you will choose. You need to use gravel, peat moss, sand and the alike. We do not recommend using rockwool and we should definitely avoid using vermiculite, with which asbestos fibers are mixed to bring about disasters to one’s breathing system. [read the rest of this post...]

Tags: Gardening, hydroponic gardening, hydroponics

What exactly is Aquaponics and how does it work? In order to answer this question, one has to understand that Aquaponics was developed by combining two other methods, which reinforced the strengths of each. Hydroponics crossed with Aquaculture is where Aquaponics comes from and makes for a very successful form of gardening.

Hydroponics is a method of gardening where there is no soil, and the plants are instead grown in water. Plants get their nutrients from soil, and since soil is not present in this style of gardening, Hydroponic farmers have to put nutrients, salts and minerals into the water, so that it becomes full of nutrients for the plants to grow and thrive in. But this is also where the problem in Hydroponics comes in: the nutrients, salts and minerals added to the water have a tendency to build up over time to levels that are actually harmful to the plants.

Aquaculture is where fish are raised in tanks and rely on people to feed them, instead of swimming around in the wild and foraging for their own food. The tanks are made and maintained in order to mimic the fishe’s natural environment as closely as possible, and these tanks are heavily stocked to maximize production. [read the rest of this post...]

Tags: aquaponics, hydroponics