Skip to main content

Posts

Hydroponics

Hydroponics are solution culture and medium culture. Solution culture does not use a solid medium for the roots, just the nutrient solution. The three main types of solution culture are static solution culture, continuous flow solution culture and aeroponics. The medium culture method has a soliad medium for the roots and is named for the type of medium, e. Sand culture, gravel culture or rockwool culture. There are two main variations for each medium, subirrigation and top. For all techniques, most hydroponic reservoirs are now built of plastic but other materials have been used including concrete, glass, metal, vegetable solids and wood. The containers should exclude light to prevent algae growth in the nutrient solution. Hydroponics are proven to grow plants 20-30% faster than those grown in soil. The word hydroponics stems from the greek word “hydro”, meaning water, and “ponos”, meaning labor. History is rife with storied examples of hydroponic gardening, from the legendary hanging
Recent posts

History Of Apple Trees

Apple trees were the most popularly grown fruit tree in colonial America and practically every settlement farm and backyard gardener planted this easily grown fruit tree, or easier, the seed of the apple could be planted to establish a permanent food supply. Growing these apple tree products could be eaten fresh or could be dried and preserved in many different ways to eat at a later time. Historical instances on the existence of apple trees are documented from folklore, legends, stone images on carved tablets, petrified slices of apples on plates for tomb offerings, and overwhelming numbers of references from Hebrew Bible scriptures and innumerable writings from poetry, songs, literary publications, and many other surviving accounts of all civilizations in the ancient world. One of the earliest archeological evidences of apple tree fruit comes from the remains of excavations from Jericho, Jordan, that has been dated 6500 BC by radiochemical analysis of carbon atoms. The petrified rema

THE CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES.

Before taking up the garden vegetables individually, I shall outline the general practice of cultivation, which applies to all. The purposes of cultivation are three to get rid of weeds, and to stimulate growth by (1) letting air into the soil and freeing unavailable plant food, and (2) by conserving moisture. As to weeds, the gardener of any experience need not be told the importance of keeping his crops clean. He has learned from bitter and costly experience the price of letting them get anything resembling a start. He knows that one or two days' growth, after they are well up, followed perhaps by a day or so of rain, may easily double or treble the work of cleaning a patch of onions or carrots, and that where weeds have attained any size they cannot be taken out of sowed crops without doing a great deal of injury. He also realizes, or should, that every day's growth means just so much available plant food stolen from under the very roots of his legitimate crops. Instead of l

Balcony, Patio, and Courtyard Gardening

People choose balcony, patio, and courtyard gardening for many different reasons. Some are moving from a large house to smaller accommodation, some don’t want the hassle of a large property, and some chose to live in rental property to avoid the high-cost of owning a home. Whatever the reason, this doesn’t mean we can’t garden. No space is too small for a small space garden. One plant in a container is a garden. In fact, ever more gardening options are available in terms of pots, half-barrels, window boxes, troughs, cast-iron planters, recycled materials – the list is unending with possibilities. Planning a Small Space Garden When planning your small space garden several steps are fundamental. The first consideration is to determine what purpose this space will serve. Do you want to grow vegetables, herbs, entertain family and friends, meditate, create a place of peace, healing, a memorial garden – the list is endless. Next, walk around your space and really look at what you ha

The Secret To Healthier Plants? Let’s Ask My Grandfather.

My Grandfather was an old school farmer from way back who depended on his crops for his living. He, like farmers then and now, knew that the secret to optimum yield and plant health begins in the soil. If the soil was just right and other conditions were favorable, his yields were higher and he could make a descent living that would get his family through the rest of the year. My grandfather also knew that the condition and health of the soil directly influenced the plants ability to resist disease and insects. Having to use any type of insecticide on his farm was virtually unheard of. And yet, he had no insect problem. So the question of what is the secret to healthier and more beautiful plants should really begin with the question of what is the secret to healthy soil. Many factors will influence the quality and condition of your soil. And at the top of the list is the ph (acidity or alkalinity) of soil. Most folks have heard about soil ph but very few know how important it is and t

Gardening Through A Drought Or How To Sprinkle Your Water Wisely

So you find yourself in the middle of the worst drought within living memory and your garden occupants are starting to sag, flag and wilt. Which plants should be watered first and which plants should receive the main quantities of the irrigation? You begin to feel like the leader of a third world country trying to spread your counties meagre budget across healthcare, military and education. Never fear, let me dampen your worries with some drought advice. First to receive the H2O Recent plantings are top of the list for regular watering, if water is available. New plantings such as bare-root trees or shrubs planted the previous autumn / winter, with newly planted perennials also at great risk from drought damage. You see these new plantings have not had much time to produce water-seeking roots, the type of roots that travel deep and wide for moisture. Because of this, we must supplement the plants natural water supply. During a hosepipe ban, recent plantings of annual bedding summer bed

History Of Mulberry Trees, ‘Morus Alba,’ ‘Morus Rubrum,’ And ‘Morus Nigra’

Mulberry trees were well known in the ancient civilizations of the world. They were famous fruit trees, because of the delicious berry fruits that were abundantly produced by fast growing trees—loaded with huge green leaves that were eaten by livestock, along with the berries, and the leaves were used in the Orient to fatten silkworms for the silk trade. General Oglethorpe, in 1733, imported 500 white mulberry trees to Fort Frederica in Georgia to encourage silk production at the English colony of Georgia. William Bartram, the famous early American explorer and botanist, described his encounter with mulberry trees near Mobile, Alabama, in his book, Travels, in the year 1773. Prince’s Nursery in 1774 offered for sale 500 white mulberry trees, ‘Morus alba’ and 1000 black mulberry trees, ‘Morus nigra,’ at Flushing, New York. Documents show that America’s first President, George Washington, bought fruit from this nursery. Mulberry trees were planted in the landscape of President Thomas Jef