Garden Tips

Choosing Grow Lights for Hydroponics Gardening – Intro

One can enjoy hydroponics gardening any season of the year, but it is especially rewarding during the cold and dark winter days. Being a type of indoor gardening, this system implies growing of plants in a special growing medium, supplied with nutrient solution, instead of soil. Similarly to other indoor gardening methods, with hydroponics gardening it is necessary to use grow lights, which allow plants to grow, make food and reproduce themselves through flowers or fruits. For this purpose HID lights are commonly used. There are several types of HID or high-intensity discharge lights: for example, metal halide grow lights and HPS grow lights. Every HID light requires digital ballast, which is necessary in order to control electrical current within the lamp, and thus provide its seamless functioning. Supplying light with a reflector is highly recommended as well, since it allows pointing the light in proper direction and increasing the light, produced by the bulb itself. Other type of grow lights are cost-effective and lightweight LED lights, where light-emitting diodes are used to produce light in colors beneficial for keeping up plant growth. The use of any of these lamps is highly effective for hydroponics growing.

Metal halide lamps contain aluminum arc tube, filled with argon, mercury and a variety of specific metals. It is a set of different metals that provide a particular color of the light, produced by the lamp. The argon gas works to start a lamp, when electric current is introduced at the electrodes on either end inside the arc tube. Under the effect of electric current mercury and metals start to vaporize and the light is produced. The key benefit of these lamps is that being small in size they produce a significant amount of light.

HPS grow lights, also known as high-pressure sodium lights, also have an aluminum arc tube inside, similarly to metal halide lights. However, the filling of the tubes is different: in case of HPS there are sodium, mercury, and the Xenon gas inside. Both metal halide lights and HPS lights require ballast for stabilizing electric current and providing smooth performance.

LED grow lights are small, but work very efficiently providing a lot of bright light. In general, they are similar to the lights, used for decorating Christmas tree. The light is produced when electric current moves between the two crystals inside a diode, which works as semi-conductor. Furthermore, LED grow lights usually have a reflector and a lens to direct the light where it is needed.

 Along with being cost effective and energy saving, there are multiple different color spectrums to choose among in order to suit specific plants needs in the best way. So, irrespectively to what type of grow light you choose, it will work accurately and provide effective growth of your indoor plants.  

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Plant Grow Lights: The High Pressure Sodium Light

If you garden in an indoor setting, some of the most important pieces of equipment you will need are proper grow lights.  These lamps will ideally mimic as closely as possible natural sunlight for optimal plant growth and development.  One popular choice with growers is the high pressure sodium light.

The high pressure sodium light, which are often called HPS lamps or HPS lights, are favored by indoor gardeners who are growing plants that they wish to grow fruits or flowers.  The HPS lamps give off light in the red and orange color spectrums, and plants need this light spectrum in order to bring on fruiting and flowering.  If seedlings were being grown, they would prefer a blue light spectrum, which helps plants to produce vegetation, necessary at the early growing stages but less beneficial when the plants reach maturity.

HPS lights last a long time, even as long as two years.  They cost less to run than incandescent grow lamps do as well.  They produce six times the amount of light as an incandescent bulb does using the same watt of consumed energy to do so.

HPS lamps will need to be used in conjunction with other indoor gardening equipment.  This will typically include a ballast.  A ballast is used to control the electrical current flow to the light bulb.  Because HPS lamps tend to run at a high temperature, some type of a cooling system will need to be in place.  These are often used together with reflectors, which help to increase the spread of the light to a larger area of growing surface.  

A high pressure sodium light can also be combined with a metal halide light bulb, which emits light in the blue spectrum.  If these two bulbs are placed in the same reflector, they can produce all the light that a plant needs to grow from infancy to maturity.

In addition to the high pressure sodium light, many growers are turning to the LED grow light for indoor garden lighting.  An LED grow light runs cool, eliminating the need for cooling systems, and they are very light in weight, an important consideration when the light fixtures must be hung and the height adjusted above growing plants.  They also use the least amount of energy of any of the HID grow lights to run, making them economical to use in a greenhouse setting, where several lights must be purchased and used.

All of these grow lights are available online from grow light merchants.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Causes to grow your own organic vegetable garden

During the last decades there has been a change towards mechanization and homogenization of farming, which uses pesticides, additives, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers and mass-production techniques. All this is clearly affecting mankind’s health, and new diseases are spreading rapidly amongst humans and animals (bird’s flu being the most recent one).

The World Health Organization produces reports to show how the use of chemicals and other products on food, coupled with the manufacturing processes involved, are actually a threat for our health.

If you have space for a few pots or even a small piece of land, it is a wise decision to grow your own organic vegetable garden. Today I’m presenting you with seven reasons for doing this:

Want Tips To Grow Vegetable Garden On Roof,visit

http://www.dietbuzzer.com/blog/some-great-surefire-tips-for-weight-loss-success.html

You will have no additives in your vegetables. Research by organic food associations has shown that additives in our food can cause heart diseases, osteoporosis, migraines and hyperactivity.

There will be no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers used. These chemical products are applied to obtain crops all the time regardless plagues or weather conditions, and affect the quality of the vegetables. Besides, pesticides are usually poisonous to humans.

Your vegetables will not be genetically modified (GM). Antibiotics, drugs and hormones are used on vegetables to grow more and larger ones. One of the consequences of this practice are vegetables which look all the same and are usually tasteless. Besides, we end up consuming the hormones that have been used on the vegetables, with the potential risks for our health.

Eating your own organic vegetables will be much more healthy for you. They will not contain any of the products or chemicals named above, and they will be much more natural than any ones you would find at the supermarket. Your health will not be at risk because you will then know that nothing has been added to your vegetables.

Your own organic vegetables will be much more tasty. The use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics make vegetables grow unnaturally and take the taste away from them. With organic vegetables, your cooking will be enhanced as their flavour will show fully.

Organic farming is friendly to the environment. Because you won’t use pesticides or other equally harming products on your vegetables, you will not damage the soil or the air with the chemical components.

When you grow your own organic vegetables you are contributing to your own self-sustainability and the sustainability of the planet. Small communities have been founded where members exchange products that they grow naturally, thus contributing to create a friendly and better place for us all.

For more Information About Vegetable Garden,Visit

http://www.dietbuzzer.com/blog/are-you-spending-money-on-weight-loss-clinics.html

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

How Hard Could it be to Start a Garden and Grow Stuff?

Ah, to this day I still remember my first gardening experience. It was such a disaster that I didn’t think I would ever want to garden again. I almost decided to turn my casual hobby into the most rage-inducing topic you could possibly bring up to me.

It all started a few weeks after I moved in to my first house. I was excited just to have my own grass to mow, since I had been in apartments and condos for quite a while. In between plans to paint walls and renovate the inside to exactly how I like, I thought it would be a good idea to start a fruit garden so that I could have some fresh produce and put my yard to use. At that point I didn’t really know anything at all about gardening. But still in my spunky youthful years, I decided I didn’t need help. How hard could it be to start a garden and grow stuff? After all, for more details visit to www.101-save-money.com it happens in nature all the time and nobody even has to do anything. I already had a grassless patch in my yard where it looked like the previous owner had attempted a garden. But any attempt they had made turned out to be an utter travesty. The area was full of rocks and weeds, with no signs of any agreeable plants. I spent several hours of work spread over several days to clear out the entire area, leaving nothing but dirt. At that point, however, I didn’t realize the difference between “dirt” and “soil”. I was dealing with barren, hard, nutrition less, and unforgiving land.

I made some attempt at making my garden look nice; although I think even Martha Stewart would have had difficulties. I took some stained boards that were sitting in my basement (quite convenient, no?) and used them as a border for my garden, to keep out all the pests that couldn’t jump more than a foot (I figured I would be safe from lawn gnomes). I used the pile of rocks I had collected from the garden to make a creepy shrine looking thing in front of it. I don’t know what I was thinking when I did that. I went to the store that very day, for more details visit to www.art-of-astrology.com and picked out whatever looked tasty. Strawberries? Sure! Yeah! I hacked away a hole in the rock-hard ground and poked the seed in. After that, I think I watered it faithfully every day for several weeks before realizing that it was not going to grow anything. But even after I had that realization, I continued to water in hopes that my seeds would pull a last minute sprout on me. But I knew there was no hope, and I was heartbroken. After all those hours of pulling up weeds and tossing rocks into a pile, I had no fruit to show for my labor.

So, feeling dejected and betrayed, I logged onto the internet and searched for a guide to gardening. I quickly ran across a site that led me to realize the true skill required for gardening. It was then I learned about soil consistency, nutrients, ideal watering conditions, seasons, and all those things. After I read up on my area and how to grow fruits, I learned exactly what to do. I learned how to get the ideal soil, when to plant the seeds, how much to water, etc. Just a night of browsing the internet and printing off sources, and I was totally ready for the next planting season. If you’re in the position I was, and you’re just itching to start a new garden… I urge you to learn from my mistake. Make sure you do plenty of proper research on the types of plants you’re trying to grow, along with the climate. Spend money on good soil, good fertilizer, and good garden tools. Hopefully you don’t have to go through the emotional disaster that I went through.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Basic Indoor hydroponics Gardening Guide – Indoor Grow Lights for Hydroponics Systems

A great indoor garden requires a good grow light. It could mean the difference between success and failure. Having the right hydroponic light is the single-most important and costly decision in setting up your garden.

 Hydroponic grow lights come in three main types:

Incandescent lights

These are the usual lights found in homes. They are generally a poor choice for garden grown lights because of their limited light spectrum and inefficiency.

HID (High Intensity Discharge) grow lights

Producing more light (up to 10x more lumens/watt than an incandescent light),are more efficient. Drawbacks would be, they produce more heat, generally more expensive than incandescent lights and requires the additional expense and maintenance with ballast. It takes around 100 hours before hydroponic HID grow lights reach their optimum working conditions, or until they reach light intensity and color stability. 

Natural Sunlight

Expense for acquiring artificial lights can be skipped by using sunlight. This is done with the use of solar room, greenhouse or large windows which allows plenty of sunlight. Or you can do this outdoors; hydroponics does not necessarily mean the cultivation of plants indoors but it growing plants without the use of soil.

Basic setup for an indoor garden is 1000w of lighting for and area of 16-25 square feet of plant area. Reflectors and/or light movers should also be considered as they improve efficiency of the indoor hydroponic gardening system. Ballast may also be needed as numerous hydroponic grow lighting require igniting.

 Some Basic Facts

Before plugging in your grow light

Different plants require different levels or types of lighting, this paragraph would deal on some simple know-how on how to make an effective lighting setup. In setting up your garden, it is essential that you determine your growing area in order to determine the best lighting setup for you. Light is an essential factor in the growth of plants, it is important that the lighting solution you chose for your garden is adequate for its size. A poor or ill advised decision would certainly reflect on the quality of plants you produced. Inappropriate budgeting like cost cutting specially on lighting would just prove to be uneconomical and inefficient in the long run.

A general rule for lighting that area coverage is determined by a light wattage output. Reflectors might be used to increase the light area and reach corners but effectiveness is still determined by this formula.

Day and Night Cycles

The type of plant and its stage of growth generally determine the amount of light needed. A common cycle is that with 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness which is recommended for its vegetative growth phase.

For seedlings, a continuous light source is needed until the first real leaves appear. When the leaves appear, the regular 18/6 light cycle is used. Fluorescent or incandescent lights are best for seedling because of the low heat and soft light they generate. Automated timers maybe used to ensure consistent light cycles. Inexpensive timers are also available; this can be found any hardware or Home Depot/ Lowe’s type store.

Light and Photosynthesis

The plants exposure to light intensity, duration and light color directly affects the amount of energy needed for photosynthesis. The color of the light, Blue simulates the summer sun, Orange for autumn seem to stimulate photosynthesis best. The light spectrum produced by metal halide bulbs (Blue lights) and high pressure sodium bulbs (red/ orange lights) produce this effects. HID grow lights produce these effects owing to their popularity to hobbyist and professionals. Combination of metal halide and high pressure sodium bulbs provides the complete spectrum of light produced by the sun.

Use Caution When Working with Lights

The combination of water, electricity and chemicals in such a closed-in space makes the grow room one of the most dangerous places in your house. Keep in mind to separate your ballast by elevating it from the water-containing areas of your hydroponic growing system. 

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Netting Grow Tunnel, Ideal for spring, autumn & summer

• Size: L 310cm x W 50cm x H 40cm
• Ideal for spring, summer and autumn use.
• Pre-assembled, ready to use 3 metre cloche with strong netting cover.

Netting Grow tunnel
Pre-assembled, ready to use 3 metre cloche with strong netting cover.
Ideal for spring, summer and autumn use.

Size: L 310cm x W 50cm x H 40cm
L 122in x W 20in x H 15in

Protects yound plants from bird damage .
Ideal protection for strawberries.
Also protects plants from other insects and animal pests.
Simply open out and push wire hoops into the ground.
Easy to access plants via the lift up sides.
Elasticated and closure with clips and ground pegs.

Grow it!
For delicio

Price: £11.49

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Seven reasons for you to grow an organic vegetable garden of your own

In the last ten years there has been huge advancements in technology which has led to homogenization and mechanization of farming. Now farmers have access to herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, mass production, additives and pesticides. This is most definitely affecting the health of mankind. New diseases, like bird flu, are spreading very quickly among humans as well as animals.

The W.H.O. (World Health Organization) has produced certain reports that show how chemicals as well as other dangerous products that are used in our food along with the process in which the food is manufactured is actually threatening our health.

If your garden has a little extra space where a few pots can fit, you should consider growing an organic vegetable garden of your own. Here you can see seven reasons why this would be good for you:-

1. There are no additives in organic vegetables – Many organic food associations have studied and concluded that additives in the food you eat can lead to osteoporosis, migraines, hyperactivity and heart diseases.

2. There are no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides – These chemicals are applied on crops so that they can be grown irrespective of weather conditions or plague and they greatly affect quality of the crops. Also, most pesticides are poisonous to human beings.

3. No genetic modification [GM] of vegetables – Hormones, drugs and antibitoics are used on many vegetables to get more, larger vegetables. This practice has one consequence. That the vegetables all look similar and are pretty much tasteless.

4. Eating organic vegetables made yourself is healthy – These vegetables won’t have any of the chemicals or products mentioned above. They are much more natural as compared to any ones that you may find at a super market. You won’t be risking your health as there will definitely be nothing dangerous added in your vegetables.

5. Home grown organic vegetables are more tasty – When pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and synthetic fertilizers are used to grow vegetables, they grow un-naturally and have no taste. When you grow them yourself you will be able to experience their full flavor.

6. Growing organic vegetables is environmentally friendly – Since you are not using pesticides or any  other harmful substances, you won’t damage the air or the soil with these harmful components.

7. If you grow organic vegetables of your own then you are adding to self sustainability as well as sustainability of our planet. There are many small communities across the country where vegetables are grown naturally and then exchanged between the members and this creates a better, much more friendly place for everyone.

Lastly, growing organic vegetables simply means that we will not add anything, that they are not naturally meant to have, to help them grow. As you will be able to guess, fertilizers, additives, hormones or pesticides are all components that are not found in food that is grown naturally. To take good care of your own health, you should grow organic vegetables of your own. All you need is a few pots.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Grow Lights in hydroponics gardening

Along with water,  hydroponics plant nutrients, Co2 and oxygen, grow lights is the key basic component, required by plants to live. Providing additional light is necessary for indoor gardening. Furthermore, light should resemble the sunlight as much as possible. In order to achieve that goal several types of lights are used: incandescent, fluorescent, high intensity discharge or HID lamps and sulfur lights. While there are many other types of lighting, only the mentioned above are recommended for indoor gardening. The major concern with other types of lights is that they do not produce light in the appropriate spectrum, required by plants.

Though typical widely used incandescent lamps fit any ordinary light socket, this type of lighting is considered to be the least effective in lighting your garden in comparison with other types of lighting. Incandescent lights produce light in the red spectrum; that is why such lamps are commonly covered with a blue coating in order to increase the amount of blue spectrum in the produced light. In general, incandescent lights are considered to be poor options for indoor gardening needs.

In comparison with incandescent lamps, fluorescent lights produce more light with lower energy consumption. However, the light, produced by fluorescent lamps, is not intensive enough and cannot penetrate more than 6” – 8”. Light, produced by fluorescent lamps, is usually simply insufficient to provide normal growing of plants, vegetables and flowers. The only application, where it is possible to use fluorescent light, is growing seedlings, cuttings, or some particular plants with low light requirements, such as orchids.

High intensity discharge lights, also known as HID lights, are currently the most effective lights for indoor gardening. Metal halide (MH) and high pressure sodium (HPS) grow lamps are two major types of HID lights. Each type produces light in a particular range: for example, metal halide lights generate blue spectrum light similar to the full summer sun, and high pressure sodium lights produce light in red and yellow spectrum, resembling the autumn sunlight. 

Though high pressure sodium lamps usually are more expensive (by about 10%-20%) than metal halide lamps, they are more durable with extended lifecycle. Besides, HPS lights feature higher lumen output (97-150 lumens per watt consumed) and lose only about 5% of their brightness after one year of use (for comparison, MH bulbs produce about 70-115 lumens per watt and  lose up to 15-20% of their initial brightness within a year). 

Irrespectively to the particular type of lighting in use, it is recommended to replace lights on the timely manner: MH bulbs – after 12-18 months, and HPS bulbs – after 24 months of work. Basically, metal halide lamps is the more preferred type of lighting for plants, when they grow, and high pressure sodium lamps suit best for flowering plants. However, the discussion on which type of lighting is best is still open among gardeners. Each type of lights offers its own advantages, as well as disadvantages, so it is often a matter of personal choice, preferences, growing environment and needs. The scope of this article is to provide plain information on the available types of lighting for indoor hydroponic gardening, while leaving readers enough space for personal decisions on which product to prefer.  By the way, recently a new type of lights appeared. The so-called conversion systems allow switching between MH and HPS lights when it is necessary simply by changing the bulb. Though this type of lighting offers certain benefits, conversion systems are still pretty expensive. More information on particular types of HID grow lights used in hydroponics systems will be provided in the next set of hydroponics guides.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Vegetable Container Gardening – Can You Grow Just Any Vegetables in Containers?

Vegetable container gardening is a fast-rising trend, particularly among vegetable growers that do not enjoy the luxury of big backyard spaces. And if you’ve had some success with container growing, you can’t help but wonder: Is it possible to grow any vegetable in containers?

Technically speaking, it is possible as long as you provide them with the basic conditions for growing plants. But vegetables are grown not for their beauty, scent or medicinal application. They are grown to be eaten. And as with any type of food, we always prefer the bigger, tastier and healthier (although not always) variety. So the underlying question should be: Is it possible to grow any vegetable in containers that will yield big, great-tasting produce?

The answer is most likely but can be very difficult at some extent. Why? Because not all vegetable are suitable for container gardening. Some can be easily grown in pots while others, although possible, will require too much effort and yield very little success. Tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, peppers, beans, eggplants, radishes, lettuce, and zucchinis are among the best plants for pot growing. Vegetables with large produce such as squash, pumpkins, corns and melons are better left planted in the ground than in containers.

If you’re really bent on growing vegetables in containers, you must always consider the size of the root system and how much space they will need, and how much the plant will grow upon maturity. These things can help greatly in determining what type and how big your container should be. And since they do not have more soil to grow on, you must also compensate for the other things that they need such as nutrients and water. Potted plants, especially vegetables usually require twice as much as fertilizer and water than they would if they were planted in the ground.

But in general, most vegetables do well in organic container gardening. Miniature or dwarf varieties are instant favorites but regular plant breeds are also favored because they produce bigger crops. Tall and viny vegetables like some indeterminate type of tomatoes and beans, must be fitted with stakes to support their height or placed near a vertical structure where they can climb. Crops that develop in the roots like carrots and radishes must be planted in deep containers. Vegetables that bear “fruits” such as cherry tomatoes, bell peppers and eggplants should be grown alone in their containers.

Vegetables container gardening is not nearly rocket science. If you’ve grown some plants and vegetables, you’ll probably do well growing vegetables in container. But you must also remember that some plants are more suitable to grow in the ground than in pots.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Grow Your Own Vegetables in Your Garden or Backyard

<!– @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } –>

Many people are fond of growing vegetables in their garden, if you are among those, who want to grow vegetables in the garden then with the help of vegetables seeds and some useful techniques, you can easily Grow Your Own Vegetables in your backyard or garden.

Many nursery shops keep varieties of Veg Seeds in their store; you can select the one, which requires specific efforts, and grows in less time. Some of the Vegetable Seeds are cumin seeds, which are also known as jeera. It is warm and sharp in taste and its smell remains in the food for long time as it adds a special taste and flavors in the food. Cowpea-Kokand and sadabahar, these types of crops can be grown in all the season and takes about 45 to 50 days to germinate. It is a bush with medium height. Brinjal seeds- these seeds are used to grow high variety of brinjals and takes 75 to 80 days to harvest.

After selecting vegetables seeds, consider buying pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers. Pesticides and insecticides avoid soil diseases and pest. Tomato feed act as a good fertilizer for soil when you prefer growing fruits like strawberries after harvesting. Tomato is a common vegetable, which is grown by most of the people in their garden.

If you are new to agriculture then it is suggested to take help of some experts or any person, who has experience of growing vegetables in home as experts can provide some useful tips of growing vegetables and also they can help you in sorting out your queries related to farming. Farming is not that tough, as it seems to be although it requires efforts and time.

If you have less space at your home or have a small area garden then you can prefer growing vegetables in pots and containers. Many people live in apartments and multistory buildings, in which they have no space for garden. Thus, they can grow vegetables in containers and pots. It is economical also as less money is spent on the victuals.

Thus, any person can grow the vegetables in their garden although they need some expert’s advice. Even you can provide your family members and children a healthy diet by growing vegetables at your place. This makes children to adapt a habit of eating healthy and nutritious food.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites