Have you ever thought about getting into hydroponic indoor gardening as a hobby or money making scheme?

photo credit: Ryan Somma

Below is a list of advantages to hydroponic indoor gardening when compared to traditional soil based gardening:

1. Once you have made your initial set-up costs, hydroponic gardening is around 20% less expensive to run.

2. You can plant more hydroponic plants in a smaller area. This is because the roots do not need to grow as large as they have easier access to nutrients. This is despite your plants actually growing larger too!

3. Maintenance time is greatly reduced! There is of course no need to water hydroponic plants and weeding doesn’t exist either! All you’ll ever need to do is pick the plants once they are ready!

4. The yield is year round and permanent as you have full control over growing conditions and you will have made them optimum for whatever you are growing. This is great for when it’s off season as you can sell them for higher prices.

5. You can grow them anywhere; basement, living room, bedroom, corridor, attic, greenhouse, garage or rooftop.

6. Your hydroponic indoor gardening will result in a crop that is on average 40% larger. This is because you have created the ideal environment for them and they have constant access to nutrients.

7. As you will not be watering them, there is no danger of them being over or under watered. This is a common mistake with many novice gardeners.

8. For the reasons listed above, your plants will grow up to 50% faster. This is great if you have a large family to feed or you’re planning on selling them.

9. There is no need to have a garden for hydroponic indoor gardening. So if you live in the arctic or the desert you’re fine! More realistically, if you live in a high rise apartment block you can still do it!

Hydroponic Indoor Gardening is a fun and exciting hobby which you can realistically make a lot of money from! If you’re interested then you should learn more about Hydroponic Indoor Gardening!

Technorati Tags: environment, gardening, greenhouse, greenhouses/coldframes, home hydroponics, Hydroponics, plants, science

When selecting a new shrub for your yard you should consider several things. Growing conditions, height, width and insect problems are only few concerns. For more selection tips check out Planting shrubs and trees: time saving tips

photo credit: Gnosticgardener
After you have selected the right shrub for your yard you will want to
pick a site in your yard or garden area that meets the shrub’s climate and space requirements.

For example, planting a sun lover like hibiscus in the shade will result in a slow growth and decline, which will usually lead to disease and insect problems, followed by its demise. Planting a giant shrub like a viburnum against the foundation of your house will result in you clipping the shrub several times each year to keep it somewhat under control.

I usually research my shrub online or from a garden book and choose my location before I buy the plant. This way I can dig a hole and be ready to plant the shrub as soon as I get home. If I have pre-dug the hole I water the hole the night before I get the shrub.

If I find a shrub and bring it home, I water the shrub well and sit it in the shade, dig a hole, water the hole and plant the shrub the next day.

Why water a hole? It lets me see if the location drains well and I also make sure the surrounding water is damp and moist. This will help the shrub adapt to its new surrounding faster.

Other tips for planting a shrub

• Plant your container grown or balled shrubs in early spring or fall, while temperatures are mild. Bare root shrubs should be planted in early spring, so they have the rest of the growing season to get established.
• Dig a hole approximately 1 ½ times the size of the root ball. Amend the soil minimally. I use compost in the bottom of the hole and mix a small amount of compost in the soil that I have removed for the shrub. When roots encounter overly rich soil surrounded by a wall of clay, they tend to grow back into the amended area, producing a root-bound effect. Since my soil tens to be heavy clay this step is important for me.
• Tamp the soil back into the hole with your foot, eliminating air pockets. Air pockets cause poor drainage and the roots of the shrub will not breath properly leading to a sickly shrub that grows slowly.
• Water the shrub with a trickle from the hose, drip irrigation or with plastic milk jugs until the area is saturated. Continue providing one inch of water per week during the growing season.
• It’s best to reduce competition from weeds by installing a weed mat or 2 to 3 inches of mulch. Your shrub will grow better and you will have less work. You could also plant a shallow-rooted ground cover around the base of the shrub. Periwinkle is a good choice for a ground cover.
• When planting shrubs, plant in a group of three to five. Repetition and odd numbers are more pleasing to the eye and have a more natural look. If you consider your shrub to be a stand-alone specimen, plant some smaller shrubs in front of it to give a layered look. The addition of perennial flowers in the group will also add to the planting.

Shrubs add to the beauty and relaxation of your yard. They also make a great backdrop for flowers and soften the edges of your home and garden areas.

Technorati Tags: backyard garden, landscaping, planting shrubs, plants, shrubs

The best chance a gourmet has of getting delicious fruits and vegetables is to raise them himself and this is the best chance he has of keeping in good health too.
photo credit: Sistak

Good home-grown vegetables are both aesthetically better and more practical in terms of use. These are the reasons people who want to raise vegetables they cannot buy and then cook them in ways that will bring out priceless flavor.

It goes without saying that, just as the most brilliant cook can do only so much with stale and tasteless vegetables, so the most delicious vegetables any man ever grew can be quickly spoiled by bad, or even by merely unimaginative, cooking.

The usual fate of the stale vegetables we now buy is to be overcooked. In short, they never had much life, they lost in shipping most of the life they had, and the cook then cooks all the life out of them.

Now Lets start with your garden

Remember that the spot where you plant must have plenty of sun. You can build your own soil if you have to. But you can, not supply sunlight, except maybe by cutting a branch off a tree to let sunlight through or by taking down a board fence. If you live in a small town or in the open country and have a choice of sites, a good piece of ground is one that slopes just enough to drain easily.

If it slopes south or, better still, southeast so much the better. Dig a hole a foot deep and see what kind of soil you have. Normally the top few inches will be much darker and much more crumbly than what lies below. This is your topsoil: it is dark because it contains “humus” decayed vegetable matter. The subsoil below it may contain minerals but it lacks humus.

Put an ounce or two of each in a small container and find out from your County Agricultural Agent or from the Department of Agriculture in your state capital where to send them for analysis.

The analysis you get will tell you whether you need the three elements plants need most, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Results of the analysis can also show whether fertilizer and rain are significant factors in your garden.

Also it may be able to determine whether your soil is too acid and needs calcium. If it does, you should spread agricultural lime on it, not quicklime. Commercial lawn fertilizers and garden fertilizers are available which combine nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

If you can’t get your flower bed soil professionally tested, there are now on the market inexpensive “soil kits,” which are advertised in garden magazines and at Amazon.

Technorati Tags: container gardening, gardening, plant care, plants, vegetables