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Why Micro-Gardening Could Go Big
Most urban consumers are happy to leave farming to the farmers, but for those with a green thumb, it is getting easier to garden in the city. That's thanks, in part, to DIYers sharing ideas for reusing old materials to garden in and a new range of tools designed to get many more people involved with growing some of their own food.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has lately been talking about micro-gardens as critical way to help the urban poor get more food on the table. The FAO defines micro-gardens intensively cultivated small spaces — such as balconies, small yards, patios and rooftops. Many rely on containers such as plastic-lined wooden boxes, trash cans and even old car tires.
While it's probably tough to sustain a family on a micro-garden, FAO research shows that a well-tended micro-garden of 11 square feet can produce as much as 200 tomatoes a year, 36 heads of lettuce every 60 days, 10 cabbages every 90 days, and 100 onions every 120 days.
Sure, micro-gardens can easily be created out of plenty of scrap materials: potatoes grown in a bucket or trash can, for example, orwooden pallets turned into an herb garden. Anne Gibson, an Australian who runs The Micro Gardener website, has aggregated many of the most creative ideas. And for folks who don't want to DIY it, several companies are also making it easy to start a micro-garden with an array of new products.
Earth Starter is one such start-up. This month, the company launched a Kickstarter campaign to manufacture more of its all-in-one roll out garden tool, called a Nourishmat. The Nourishmat, which is inspired by Square Foot Gardening, makes it easy to grow a lot of food in a 4-foot by 6-foot space by turning a plastic mat into a garden planting guide.
The mat comes with seedballs (seeds mixed with clay and worm castings to enrich the soil, and chili powder to keep pests away). To plant, you simply lay out the mat on top of a bed of soil, then stick the seedballs for the 18 different vegetables and herbs in their respective holes. (Urban residents who may have soil contaminated with lead and other heavy metals will have to build a raised bed and fill it with clean soil.) The mat also doubles as a weed barrier.
John Gorby and Phil Weiner, who founded in the company in 2011 while they were undergraduates at the University of Maryland, College Park, believe that there's a big market of people who want to garden but need this kind of help.
"Everyone in the world should have a victory garden," says Weiner, referring to the food gardens that thousands of citizens of the U.S, U.K. and elsewhere planted during WWI and WWII to improve their food security.
"But the most common excuses we heard for why more people don't spend more time gardening were 'I don't know what I'm doing,' or 'I don't have time,' or 'I don't have space,' " Weiner tells The Salt. He grew up gardening with his family in Washington, D.C.
So far, Weiner and his partner have beta-tested the product with people in 22 states. They estimate that users can grow $200 worth of produce in one season and 25 to 30 pounds of food in a year. The mats can be replanted for three to five years, Weiner says.
Right now, the mats are only available to people who donate to the Kickstarter fund, but Weiner and Gorby hope to raise enough money to eventually manufacture them on a big enough scale to sell nationwide. Weiner says he expects to charge $40 for the basic kit, and $79 for a deluxe kit with an irrigation system.
Nourishmats may be an intriguing option for people with small yards, but what's an apartment dweller to do? Fortunately, there has been an explosion in indoor or balcony hydroponic systems. We covered the window farming movement a few years back, and it's still going strong.
And recently, Treehugger.com put together a slideshow of 12 different plug-and-play hydroponic systems for indoor micro-gardening, ranging from aeroponics, a method of growing plants in hanging containers with little to no soil, to aquaponics, which involves growing plants (or fish) directly in water.
Plastic and ceramic pots and wooden boxes are also tried-and-true containers for gardening on balconies and deck, but there's been innovation in these containers, too. A few companies have developed polypropylene bags – designed to be porous and lightweight – for growing potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and other crops. According to Gardener's Supply, one company that sells these grow bags, polypropylene fabric is superior because it "'breathes' and 'air-prunes' roots."
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hydroponic gardening
to HDIY Hydroponics - An Introduction ydroponics
Of all of the forms of horticulture used over the last 10,000 years hydroponics seems to be the most misunderstood. Simple hydroponic gardens do not require a university degree to create and with a little practice anyone can grow just about anything, often with better results than organic gardening. Successful hydroponic gardening can be a joyfull and rewarding experience and simple hydroponics systems can be created with a minimal investment of time and money.
The word hydroponics is derived from the greek words hydro, meaning water, and ponos, meaning labour. It refers to the many methods of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil. The plants may be grown with their root systems suspended in the nutrient solution or in an inert medium, which replaces soil and provides an anchor point for the plant root to grow. There are many different types of growing medium such as perlite, various volcanic rocks or clays and mineral wool. In nature the soil acts as a reservoir for the nutrients plants require but the soil itself is not necessary for the plants to grow. Many different plants will grow in hydroponics but some respond better to others to this gardening technique.As with traditional organic gardening, where plants are grown outside in soil, understanding how a plant produces food and grows is an important key to a successful DIY hydroponic garden. Plants need six simple things to flourish - light, air, water, nutrients, heat and a place to spread their roots. Of course, the light must be in the correct spectrum, the air must be warm and rich in carbon dioxide, the water must be abundant and not cold and the growing medium must also be be warm and contain the appropriate levels of nutrients.
Gardening indoors is very different to outdoor cultivation and we shall endeavour to cover both circumstances adequately. In an outdoor environment growing with hydroponics is easy with nature in control of climate and light source. In an indoor environment all aspects of nature must be recreated before successfull growth with take place. If any of our six essential requirements for successfull plant growth are absent or inadequate the plants will suffer as a result. Indoor cultivation does have its advantages not in the least being complete control over the growing environment and photoperiod. Indoors it can be whatever season you choose it to be.
Whether you choose to garden indoors or outdoors one key element gained with hydroponics is control. You control the amount of nutrient solution delivered to the garden and decide what strength it shall be. The success of a hydroponic garden lies in the ability to fine tune the nutrient delivery to be optimum for the crop that you are growing.
If you are just starting out in the wide world of DIY hydroponics dont be discouraged by less than optimal results. Make notes of what you do as you do it and use these notes to backtrack and get an idea of what may have gone wrong. Hydroponics is not an exact science in some respects as the environment you create can be markedly different to the environment created by the efforts of someone else. Experiment and try new things and you will soon find yourself with a wealth of knowledge and a good healthy garden to show for it.
Read on!
Hydroponic Gardening
Hydroponic Gardening
What is hydroponic gardening?
The dictionary's definition of hydroponics is; "cultivating plants in water." But a more practical definition is: "growing plants in a water and nutrient solution, without soil." Hydroponics allows a gardener to grow plants, fruits and vegetables in a more efficient and productive manner... and with less labor, time and gardening area needed.
Hydroponics is the term used to describe any way in which plants can be grown without soil. These methods include growing plants in containers of water or other soil-less mediums, including sand, crushed rock, gravel and vermiculite.
The advantages of hydroponic gardening
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The science of hydroponics proves that the only things needed to grow plants are water and a method of delivering the plant's food to the root system. The soil itself is simply the backbone for the roots so they have a stable place to grow.
Although hydroponic gardening can be done outside, the majority of it is done indoors or in a greenhouse. Because hydroponic gardening is so efficient, very little space is needed compared to a conventional outdoor garden. In hydroponic gardening, you provide the exact nutrients that your plants need by directly feeding the root base, without ever having to stress the plant due to lack of nutrients or water.
Why was hydroponics invented ... and why is it needed?
If soil everywhere was of high quality, if everyone who wanted to grow plants owned the ground to plant it on, and had the time to cultivate it ... then hydroponics may have been only used in the most necessary circumstances.
But the truth is, soil varies greatly in its quality and consistency. When we plant outdoors in the best of soils, large amounts of fertilizer is needed for proper growth. Many of us, especially city-dwellers, townhome owners or apartment and condo-dwellers lack even a small plot of land to grow plants.
Even if you live in the tiniest of apartments you can raise fruits, herbs, vegetables and flowering plants. You can raise plants hydroponically in pots, or individual containers and adapt your hydroponic garden to any size space available.
Before we go into detail on what you can grow and the different methods of hydroponic gardening, it's important to get a clear understanding on ...
What can I grow in my hydroponic garden? A better question is; what can't you grow in a hydroponic garden. The list of what you can grow hydroponically is only limited by the ease of which the plants can be grown. You can grow most house plants, flowering plants, vegetables, several different kinds of fruits and many different kind of herbs.
The 4 main methods of hydroponic gardening: The methods of hydroponic gardening can be divided into 4 broad categories - each category is defined by the method of nutrient delivery.
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In deep water culture (DWC), the plants are grown with the roots drenched in nutrient solution. In an aeroponic system, the plants’ root systems are misted with nutrient solution while they are suspended above the nutrient chamber or reservoir. In an ebb and flow system, the nutrient solution floods a tray filled with plants on timed schedule. The fourth main method is a drip system, where the nutrient solution drips into the growing medium.
Veggies and Herbs That Grow in Hydroponic Tents
Veggies and Herbs That Grow in Hydroponic Tents
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Chris_Scorthorne]Chris Scorthorne
A survey conducted last year, found that a large number of people in the UK and Ireland are looking to adapt to a style of cooking where food can be sourced directly from the kitchen. In another 30 years, their idea of a green space extends beyond their garden, with the kitchen and garden merging as one. Thanks to the hydroponic technology, this dream isn't unattainable. In fact, of late, the sale of hydroponic grow tents has seen a positive trend.
We aren't new to the hydroponics technology; the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, as described by Greek historians Diodorus and Callisthenes describe a garden that modern scientists typify as vertical gardening.
For the uninitiated, the concept of hydroponics is the process of growing plants without the need for soil. Thus, instead of placing plants on a bed of soil, they are placed on a bed of nutrients and supported by water. Because vegetables are grown indoors with the help of an indoor light source, seasonal vegetables including the exotic ones can be grown all year round.
Besides helping gourmet restaurants with a year round supply of fancy ingredients, hydroponics also aims to serves a larger purpose; of helping countries battling a food crisis. For instance, the Child Development Support Corporation, which has a 250 square foot hydroponic garden, where vegetables are grown to be given away for their food pantry program. The technique is known to be very helping in drought conditions to not only feed humans but cattle and other livestock. Forage grown through the hydroponic system is known to be ready for harvesting in as little as a week to 10 days. In places where fertile land seems to be scarce, the technique is known to be used effectively by farmers.
There are several products that help people grow their vegetables through the hydroponic system. From grow lights to growing media products like Rockwool, coir etc. and plant nutrition products.
If you've heard about the technique, but don't quite know how to go about growing vegetables in your kitchen, you can always sign up for the several courses on the internet. Most of them are free and held by people looking to share their knowledge and love for hydroponics.
If the technique were to gain mainstream popularity, growing food would no longer involve going to the local super market. It would just be a case of looking for the freshest of produce from the kitchen!
The [http://www.greenspirit-hydroponics.com]hydroponics system is the perfect answer to the growing food crisis all over the world. Chris Scorthorne is an experienced horticulturist who has been writing extensively on hydroponic products including [http://www.greenspirit-hydroponics.com]grow lights.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Veggies-and-Herbs-That-Grow-in-Hydroponic-Tents&id=6594095] Veggies and Herbs That Grow in Hydroponic Tents
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Chris_Scorthorne]Chris Scorthorne
A survey conducted last year, found that a large number of people in the UK and Ireland are looking to adapt to a style of cooking where food can be sourced directly from the kitchen. In another 30 years, their idea of a green space extends beyond their garden, with the kitchen and garden merging as one. Thanks to the hydroponic technology, this dream isn't unattainable. In fact, of late, the sale of hydroponic grow tents has seen a positive trend.
We aren't new to the hydroponics technology; the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, as described by Greek historians Diodorus and Callisthenes describe a garden that modern scientists typify as vertical gardening.
For the uninitiated, the concept of hydroponics is the process of growing plants without the need for soil. Thus, instead of placing plants on a bed of soil, they are placed on a bed of nutrients and supported by water. Because vegetables are grown indoors with the help of an indoor light source, seasonal vegetables including the exotic ones can be grown all year round.
Besides helping gourmet restaurants with a year round supply of fancy ingredients, hydroponics also aims to serves a larger purpose; of helping countries battling a food crisis. For instance, the Child Development Support Corporation, which has a 250 square foot hydroponic garden, where vegetables are grown to be given away for their food pantry program. The technique is known to be very helping in drought conditions to not only feed humans but cattle and other livestock. Forage grown through the hydroponic system is known to be ready for harvesting in as little as a week to 10 days. In places where fertile land seems to be scarce, the technique is known to be used effectively by farmers.
There are several products that help people grow their vegetables through the hydroponic system. From grow lights to growing media products like Rockwool, coir etc. and plant nutrition products.
If you've heard about the technique, but don't quite know how to go about growing vegetables in your kitchen, you can always sign up for the several courses on the internet. Most of them are free and held by people looking to share their knowledge and love for hydroponics.
If the technique were to gain mainstream popularity, growing food would no longer involve going to the local super market. It would just be a case of looking for the freshest of produce from the kitchen!
The [http://www.greenspirit-hydroponics.com]hydroponics system is the perfect answer to the growing food crisis all over the world. Chris Scorthorne is an experienced horticulturist who has been writing extensively on hydroponic products including [http://www.greenspirit-hydroponics.com]grow lights.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Veggies-and-Herbs-That-Grow-in-Hydroponic-Tents&id=6594095] Veggies and Herbs That Grow in Hydroponic Tents
Hydroponic Lettuce
Hydroponic Lettuce
Need tips to grow your own yield of fresh hydroponic lettuce? This article will guide you through the steps as to how you can grow a healthy homemade bunch of lettuce, the hydroponic way.
The hydroponic way of vegetable production is gaining a lot of popularity these days. This method enables the growth of any terrestrial plant with the use of minerals and nutrients in only water and no soil! If this is your first time in the field of hydroponic gardening, then there can be no better choice than growing hydroponic lettuce! The reason why I say this is because, whenever we try a technique for the first time, it is more likely to make some mistakes, unintentionally of course! Not all vegetables have the capacity to take the beat. For example, if you end up making even the slightest mistake while growing strawberries the hydroponic way, you might not be able to reap any benefits from your efforts. However, in the case of hydroponic lettuce production, you can afford to make mistakes and still end up reaping some benefits of your efforts!
How to Grow Hydroponic Lettuce
Once you have successfully taken care of the initial arrangements, all you have to do is wait for the lettuce to beautifully grow under your care and supervision. In fact, growing lettuce in the hydroponic way gives you a better yield with more than 40% larger the size if the normal lettuce grown in the soil. This is because the roots of the lettuce are able to absorb the hydroponic nutrients directly from the water solution, whereas in the soil, it had to absorb the nutrients which were already absorbed by the soil. If you plant the seeds of the lettuce at every 4 weeks gap, then you will have your own supply of homegrown lettuce seeds all throughout the year. Here is what you need to do in order to grow hydroponic lettuce.
Step #1: Get a good set of Oasis Root Cubes, depending upon how much of lettuce you want to grow. Place one lettuce seed in each root cube and leave the cubes in a dish of water for 2 weeks, allowing the seeds to sprout. Keep a check on the water so that it doesn't try up.
Step #2: Get an opaque plastic container with a lid. The capacity of the container should not be more 5 gallon and it should have a tight fitting lid as well. It is important for the container to be opaque so that it limits algae growth. Reading through this article on homemade hydroponics would also be useful for your preparation.
Step #3: Get some planting cones made of plastic and place them evenly on the lid while giving enough space in between two seeds. The reason why you should take care of the space is because lettuce leaves tend to grow huge in size. Therefore, if the planting cones are placed too near, the lettuce plants may become overcrowded and overshadow other leaves preventing the plants from absorbing enough light.
Step #4: Trace the outlines of the planting cones on the lid and cut the outlines carefully. Once the outlines have been cut from the lid, place the plastic cones through these holes. Ideally, you should have at least 4-6 plastic cones fit on the lid.
Step #5: After 2 weeks when the seedlings of the lettuce have begun to sprout, it's time to take care of the water solution containing essential nutrients for the lettuce growth. You have many premixed hydroponic solutions available in the market for the purpose. For your 5 gallon water container, take about 2 full teaspoons of the premixed solution, and mix it up with 1 teaspoon of Epsom salt and 2 teaspoons of calcium nitrate. Mix all these ingredients in 1 cup of water until all these ingredients are dissolved properly. Pour this solution into the 5 gallon container with 1 cup water at the same time. Once the mixture is dissolved, fill the container up to the top with water.
Step #6: Once the container is ready with the nutrients and minerals solution, place your baby plants which have sprouted in the past two weeks in the planters. Place the lid containing the plastic cones in the container and use a duct tape to strap it down. This will prevent them to move from their place. After that, place the Oasis Root Cubes containing the seedlings in the planting cones. To take care of the water, you can also go for some homemade hydroponic systems like an ebb and flow or NFT water culture system, or you can constantly check the container and add more water to keep the level till the top.
Step #7: Once you have planted the lettuce seedlings, the next step is to take care of the sunlight. It would be ideal to place the container near a window so that your lettuce seeds get enough sunlight. You can also use a high intensity metal halide light or a fluorescent light, or a combination of both, as the lettuce plant needs a lot of light.
Once you have taken the necessary steps, all you need to do is to wait patiently for about 4 to 5 weeks till you actually reap the fruits... oops, I mean the lettuce of your labor. You know what's the best part of growing hydroponic lettuce is? You can harvest it and directly toss it into your salad, without worrying about cleaning it and removing the soil from the leaf.
By Shalu Bhatti
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/hydroponic-lettuce.html
Need tips to grow your own yield of fresh hydroponic lettuce? This article will guide you through the steps as to how you can grow a healthy homemade bunch of lettuce, the hydroponic way.
The hydroponic way of vegetable production is gaining a lot of popularity these days. This method enables the growth of any terrestrial plant with the use of minerals and nutrients in only water and no soil! If this is your first time in the field of hydroponic gardening, then there can be no better choice than growing hydroponic lettuce! The reason why I say this is because, whenever we try a technique for the first time, it is more likely to make some mistakes, unintentionally of course! Not all vegetables have the capacity to take the beat. For example, if you end up making even the slightest mistake while growing strawberries the hydroponic way, you might not be able to reap any benefits from your efforts. However, in the case of hydroponic lettuce production, you can afford to make mistakes and still end up reaping some benefits of your efforts!
How to Grow Hydroponic Lettuce
Once you have successfully taken care of the initial arrangements, all you have to do is wait for the lettuce to beautifully grow under your care and supervision. In fact, growing lettuce in the hydroponic way gives you a better yield with more than 40% larger the size if the normal lettuce grown in the soil. This is because the roots of the lettuce are able to absorb the hydroponic nutrients directly from the water solution, whereas in the soil, it had to absorb the nutrients which were already absorbed by the soil. If you plant the seeds of the lettuce at every 4 weeks gap, then you will have your own supply of homegrown lettuce seeds all throughout the year. Here is what you need to do in order to grow hydroponic lettuce.
Step #1: Get a good set of Oasis Root Cubes, depending upon how much of lettuce you want to grow. Place one lettuce seed in each root cube and leave the cubes in a dish of water for 2 weeks, allowing the seeds to sprout. Keep a check on the water so that it doesn't try up.
Step #2: Get an opaque plastic container with a lid. The capacity of the container should not be more 5 gallon and it should have a tight fitting lid as well. It is important for the container to be opaque so that it limits algae growth. Reading through this article on homemade hydroponics would also be useful for your preparation.
Step #3: Get some planting cones made of plastic and place them evenly on the lid while giving enough space in between two seeds. The reason why you should take care of the space is because lettuce leaves tend to grow huge in size. Therefore, if the planting cones are placed too near, the lettuce plants may become overcrowded and overshadow other leaves preventing the plants from absorbing enough light.
Step #4: Trace the outlines of the planting cones on the lid and cut the outlines carefully. Once the outlines have been cut from the lid, place the plastic cones through these holes. Ideally, you should have at least 4-6 plastic cones fit on the lid.
Step #5: After 2 weeks when the seedlings of the lettuce have begun to sprout, it's time to take care of the water solution containing essential nutrients for the lettuce growth. You have many premixed hydroponic solutions available in the market for the purpose. For your 5 gallon water container, take about 2 full teaspoons of the premixed solution, and mix it up with 1 teaspoon of Epsom salt and 2 teaspoons of calcium nitrate. Mix all these ingredients in 1 cup of water until all these ingredients are dissolved properly. Pour this solution into the 5 gallon container with 1 cup water at the same time. Once the mixture is dissolved, fill the container up to the top with water.
Step #6: Once the container is ready with the nutrients and minerals solution, place your baby plants which have sprouted in the past two weeks in the planters. Place the lid containing the plastic cones in the container and use a duct tape to strap it down. This will prevent them to move from their place. After that, place the Oasis Root Cubes containing the seedlings in the planting cones. To take care of the water, you can also go for some homemade hydroponic systems like an ebb and flow or NFT water culture system, or you can constantly check the container and add more water to keep the level till the top.
Step #7: Once you have planted the lettuce seedlings, the next step is to take care of the sunlight. It would be ideal to place the container near a window so that your lettuce seeds get enough sunlight. You can also use a high intensity metal halide light or a fluorescent light, or a combination of both, as the lettuce plant needs a lot of light.
Once you have taken the necessary steps, all you need to do is to wait patiently for about 4 to 5 weeks till you actually reap the fruits... oops, I mean the lettuce of your labor. You know what's the best part of growing hydroponic lettuce is? You can harvest it and directly toss it into your salad, without worrying about cleaning it and removing the soil from the leaf.
By Shalu Bhatti
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/hydroponic-lettuce.html
Hydroponics Tomatoes
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