Tag Archives: home gardening

Home Aquaponics and Available Kits!

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aquaponics system

You have probably heard of Hydroponics where vegetables and other plants are grown in a soilless mix with continual access to water laced with nutrients, but the popular thing now is called aquaponics.

Aquaponics grows plants, but it also grows fish, and we are not talking tropical fish. These are edible fish like tilapia and trout, but the option for koi and smaller fish like beta and goldfish are also available.

Aquaponics systems grow fish and plants in an integrated system where the fish waste provides food for the plants and the plants filter the water for the fish. It is a sustainable system that comes in a variety of sizes from tabletop sizes to outdoor systems capable of providing enough food to feed several families. Continue reading →

Indoor Window Garden!

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You can still garden if you live in an apartment with no balcony or yard or if you live in an area that gets cold in the winter and you want a winter garden. Modern technology is making it very easy to maintain a garden indoors or on a window sill.

You just need the right equipment and you must choose the right type of plants to grow.

Window sill gardens are perfect for the kitchen window. The best thing to grow in them are herbs to be used in cooking. It is wonderful to walk over to the windowsill garden, pull off a little thyme and throw it in the stew cooking on the stove, Dry herbs are great flavor enhancer, but fresh herbs have an even better flavor. Continue reading →

How Do Self Watering Planters Work?

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In many cases, self watering planters and containers are very beneficial especially if you live in a dry zone or are prone to forget to do the watering of the garden. The way self-watering containers work is that there is a reservoir at the bottom of the container that holds enough water for a long period of time.

The plant receives water from the reservoir through a channel of soil that works as a wicking agent pulling the water up through capillary action.

How Does It Work?

Continue reading →

Balcony Gardening Tips!

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Balcony gardens are a good option for those that live in apartments, and love to garden. Most plants including vegetables, flowers, herbs and some fruits grow beautifully out on a balcony during the summer months.

Balcony Gardening Requirements.

One of the most important requirements in starting a balcony garden is to assess how much sun the plants get. A good 6 to 8 hours is necessary so that flowers bloom, vegetables produce and herbs stay healthy. Some balconies are just not situated in the right direction to get that much sun, or they may be shaded by trees and other buildings. Continue reading →

Facts on Urban Farming!

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Urban farming has become very popular in the last few years. Growing food in heavily populated municipalities is becoming mainstream. Large cities often boast several urban gardens and farms and some may also have community gardens.

What differentiates an urban farm from a community garden or urban garden?

The urban farm actually sells their produce either to local restaurants or at farmer’s markets while community gardens and those in the backyard of a city lot are for consumption of the people that keep the garden maintained. Urban farms can also grow food that will be given away to a soup kitchen or at a food pantry. The food is grown and exchanged in some form of commerce to another person or entity.

Urban gardens appear on vacant lots, on rooftops or in brownfields; wherever there is a little bit of space on which to grow plants. Many times these little plots of farming land are self-sufficient. Continue reading →

Using Grow Lights to Start Seedlings!

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Grow lights are an essential gardening tool when starting seeds indoors during the last part of winter and early spring. The sun’s rays are not strong enough in the Northern Hemisphere to allow seeds to germinate and grow inside.

Seeds require light to germinate and put forth stems and leaves. Properly installed and used lights enable seeds to develop into strong plants that are planted outside at the earliest time in order to capitalize on the growing season.

Once the seed germinates and breaks through the seed casing, the stem and leaf pushes up through the soil. Once it gets there, the energy has been depleted and it needs a source of energy, which is the sun or light. If they do not receive enough light, they remain weak and are susceptible to fungi and other diseases. Continue reading →