What Are The Basics To Hydroponics Gardening?
June 6, 2010 by Michael Wilson
Filed under Hydroponic Gardening
Hydroponics gardening is a great way to have fresh, homegrown produce all year round from a small space with minimal water. The equipment to start this type of garden is inexpensive and depending on the size of your crop, you may find that it’s easier to manage than your ordinary garden.
If you’re not familiar with hydroponics gardening, you should know that when you choose to grow your vegetables in this way, you’re not using any type of soil. If you’ve ever “forced” a tulip or other bulb, then you know all about this type of gardening. With this type of gardening, you are more able to control the plants environment and provide it with the nutrition it needs as the need arises.
So, if your tomatoes look a little limp, you’ll be able to help them right away by adding nutrients or water or light and see results right away. You should know, though, that this type of gardening requires you to know about plants and what they need to grow, so you should start educating yourself about these things before you get started.
Why Should You Try Hydroponics Gardening?
Hydroponics can have many benefits, so you need to make sure that you know what goes into this type of gardening before you get started and know how to simplify the process to meet your needs. A few basics, though, will really help you to get your gardening started off on the right foot.
- You need a growing medium in hydroponics gardening. Choose something such as Rockwool, perlite, coconut fiber, gravel, sand, or air. You might be able to find kits which are helpful to you in your gardening store.
- You should have a good growing tray for your plants
- One of the most essential ingredients for hydroponic gardening is light. You can use natural, artificial or a combination
- You’ll need an air pump to give oxygen to the nutrients
- A way to water your garden
- You will also need nutrients, or micro-nutrients to ensure that your plants grow healthy. These include magnesium, sulfur, calcium, cobalt, iron, copper, boron and zinc and manganese. These nutrients will help to ensure that your hydroponic garden grows healthy, but also offers you the health benefits which you seek. You will also need a good fertilizer, but consider a kind that is organic for best overall health benefits to you.
- You’ll also need to have a way to monitor the pH balance of your plants. If the pH balance is off in your hydroponic garden, your plants won’t be able to absorb the nutrients it needs to grow strong and be healthy for you.
So, now you have some of the basics of hydroponic gardening. You should know that you can set up a little garden of this kind anywhere in your home, or if you have a greenhouse that works, this might be a great place to start yours. If you’re looking for a way that you can grow healthy fresh vegetables all year long, then hydroponic gardening might be what you really need.
Garden Fountains Are A Beautiful Addition To Any Landscape
May 16, 2010 by Michael Wilson
Filed under Garden Fountains
Garden fountains add audio and visual enchantment to any garden landscape. A beautiful garden fountain nestled in the vegetation of a wonderful garden adds the visual of crystal clear water trickling through the structure. The sounds of a garden fountain are soothing to the senses. People devoted to gardening usually use fountains to add ambiance and character to their gardens for the previously mentioned reasons, and more.
However not all garden fountains are suitable for every garden, so it’s important to understand the pros and cons of having a certain type of garden fountain. Fountains come in a multitude of sizes and if you purchase one that’s too big, it can overwhelm your garden. If it’s too small, it may not make enough of an impact. Therefore, a big con of owning a garden fountain is buying the wrong size. On the flip side, getting the right size fountain can be beneficial in many ways, including giving back to the wildlife like birds, who can use the fountain. They also look beautiful if set into any garden pond design.
Another con for some would be the fact that there is upkeep necessary to enable the garden fountain to work properly and continue looking nice to the eye. But with good upkeep, this is turned into a pro as the beauty of the fountain will add great value to any garden.
Different Types of Garden Fountains
Garden fountains can be free standing structures, or these could be placed on a wall somewhere in the landscape. These could be small structures or these could be quite large with several tiers. The wall fountains can be placed in a garden with limited space to achieve the same soothing sounds of a larger fountain. These lovely fountains could be made of stone or sturdy plastic depending on the budget.
These can be ordered in different shades to add to an established décor in a garden. The fountains available also come in different shapes and sizes as mentioned before, and some offer the ability to connect with others in order to create a big centerpiece. Some fountains have the latest solar technology with panels to operate the pump without using electricity, and other fountains are designed to recycle the water. Choosing fountains that don’t require electricity and recycle its own water are great ways to stay environmentally conscious as well, and while it’s something you can be proud of, a great benefit is that it’s something that is easy to keep up.


