The economy has the nation in a pinch. Your grocery bill expands while your paycheck continues to shrink. Your gas tank eats $30 to $40 every time you fill up. Considering the devastated economy, you’re probably never going to see a raise this year even though prices are going up. Sometimes it can feel like you’re wrestling an alligator just to make ends meet.
photo credit: NatalieHG

You’re going to have to do something about your budget. Penny pinching begins with the grocery bill. More people are beginning to raise their own food in their home, growing their own indoor vegetables in whatever free space they have. All it takes is a few feet of extra space to harvest a fresh indoor vegetable garden, cutting your grocery bill down to size.

Making every dollar work for you makes economical sense, especially when it comes to a LED UFO light. They use very little energy, generally just a little more than a typical living room lamp. A 90-watt growing LED light can produce as much light as a 400-watt HPS bulb and cover 12 feet of space. The lights aren’t even noticeable on your electric bill, no more than leaving the front light on all night.

LED lights may be a little more expensive, but keep in mind they virtually last a lifetime. While HPS lights lose their power after only a couple of growing seasons, LED lights produce optimal light for decades. If you plan to grow indoors for more than a few seasons, they are absolutely worth the money.

Because the lights produce little heat, there’s no danger of heat damage to your plants. You don’t need to worry about using fans or air conditioners.

An LED UFO light is simple to install. Conveniently hang it from the ceiling and plug it in. You don’t have to mess with cumbersome ballasts, and you don’t need any fans. With growing LED lights, setting up a growing process couldn’t be simpler.

There’s also no need for an electrician. Since all you have to do is plug the light in, there’s no complicated wiring to configure. It’s safe with little risk of fire.

With indoor gardening, you can enjoy fresh tomatoes, lettuce, herbs, green peppers throughout the year, even if you live in the city. LED lights let you grow indoors with no carbon footprint. You’ll save money growing your own food, and you’ll live healthier. When you enjoy a complete diet of fresh organic tomatoes and herbs, you really feel the difference, beginning with your energy and vitality. Your food will not only taste better, but you’ll be healthier and enjoy more energy every day.

Technorati Tags: container gardening, gardening tips, Growing LED, indoor plants, vegetables

It’s fun to grow different plants, particularly plants that people don’t expect to see growing in your yard or home. So when a friend offered me cotton seeds I couldn’t turn them down. I received 12 white cotton seeds and 12 pastel cotton seeds. Now living in my zone 5 climate these plants need to be planted indoors.
photo credit: cliff1066

Once started the cotton plant is not that hard to care for. I started my seeds in four-inch pots with rich fertilized soil. You can also use regular potting soil but add plant fertilizer to enhance the soil.

Place 4 seeds in each four-inch pot. Water the seeds and place in a sunny area. I often will cover new seeds with a plastic cover to keep in the moisture. It acts like a greenhouse and helps the seeds to sprout quicker. When the seeds begin to sprout remove the plastic so that the plants can breath.

Once the seedlings have begun to grow, leave the healthiest looking seedling to grow in each pot. I remove the smaller ones and repot them. My nephews always enjoy these plants or I will take them to a retirement home for them to grow.

When the plants outgrow their original pots transplant them into 12-inch pots. Usually when the plants are developing their second set of full sized leaves they are ready to be transferred. After you transfer the plants, water them well and add some fertilizer to help with transplants shock. I give the plants a few days with less sun to recover then move them back into a sunny area.

Cotton plants thrive with a typical tomato feed that can be found in most garden centers, nurseries or online stores. The tomato feed is high in nutrients, which benefit the cotton plant.

Water the cotton plants regularly, usually once a week. I grow my cotton plants on my patio and bring them in the fall at night when the temperatures start to cool. Cotton is more of a warm weather crop so if your climate is a cool climate they may benefit from being brought in at night.

When the flowers of the cotton plant begin to die off, the ‘bolls’, which hold the cotton seed, begins to form. Cotton plants that are grown outdoors will drop their bolls at the end of the season when the plant is dying. Indoor cotton plants need to have the bolls picked.

Cotton plants are fun and unique, particularly the pastel colored cotton, but the plants have prickers and can scratch you so you need to take care around them.
photo credit: chadmiller

I remember my first time I picked cotton at my cousins farm in Georgia. The cotton took a little getting used to in order to pick it properly without scratching yourself and ripping the boll. But it was a fun adventure and a field of cotton is a pretty site.

Technorati Tags: container gardening, cotton boll, how to grow cotton indoors, indoor plants, plant care, starting seeds

Easter lilies have a grace and beauty that is their own. They also signify spring and are an extremely popular Easter flower. Their pretty blooms and amazing fragrance fills any home or garden with beauty.
photo credit: Koshyk

Forcing the lily to bloom in early spring for the Easter holiday makes the lily plant seem rather fragile. Forcing a plant takes a toll and the response is fast flowers and blooms but also the fast decline in the plant. But with a few simple steps the life of the lily can be extended for you to enjoy longer.

First, choose a healthy plant with dark green foliage. You will also want the flowers to be in various stages of bloom. The plant should have 2 to 3 partly opened flowers and several unopened buds. These buds will bloom in the next several days.

The decorative foil around the plant’s pot adds more flair to the flower arrangement but it will need to be removed for the health of the plant. Water the plant when the soil feels dry, but do not over water. Also make sure the plant does not sit in standing water. This is why I always set a plant on pebbles and plant tray.

For the best watering results, hold the lily plant over a sink and allow the water to drain out through the holes in the bottom of the pot. Using this method you will the soil has been well saturated and that the plant is properly drained.

Easter lilies thrive in cooler temperatures around 60 to 65 degrees so keep the plants away from a heater. Also avoid sitting them in a drafty area. I place my lily plants in front of a window in bright, indirect sunlight. Do not keep the plant in direct sunlight.

Also remove any flowers that have started to wither. Even withering flowers take energy and the small buds will be affected.

As beautiful as the lily is the plant is very toxic to cats so place the plant out of reach of any small animal or child.

After the lily plant has died down, pull off the dead stems and let set for a few weeks. Lilies will re-flower if left alone or planted outdoors. They are actually a hardy plant and can grow up to eight foot tall in the right environment. So save the bulbs for later planting as  the lily is a beautiful plant and adds to any garden.

Technorati Tags: flowers, indoor plants, plant care