Category Archives: Gardening
hydroponic gardening,indoor gardening,hydroponics
Hydroponic gardening, (from the Greek words hydro, water and ponos, labor) is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, mineral wool, or coconut husk.
In the 19th century, researchers discovered that plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. In natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissolve in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When the required mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant’s water supply artificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive. Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics. Hydroponic gardening is also a standard technique in biology research and teaching.
Hydroponic gardening is often defined as “the cultivation of plants in water.” Research has since determined that many different aggregates or media will support plant growth; therefore, the definition of hydroponic gardening has been broadened to read “the cultivation of plants without soil.” Growers all over the world are using hydroponic gardening techniques due to the lack of a large water supply or fertile farmland. Home gardeners have used hydroponic gardening on a smaller scale to grow fresh vegetables year round and to grow plants in smaller spaces, such as an apartment or balcony.
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Greenhouses and nurseries grow their plants in a soilless, peat or bark-based growing mix. The nutrients are then applied to the growing mix through the water supply. Therefore, this is also a type of hydroponic gardening. Soilless gardening offers many advantages to the home gardener. Since a sterile medium is used for hydroponic gardening, there are no weeds to remove, and soil-borne pests and diseases are minimized, if not eliminated completely.
Properly grown hydroponic plants also are healthier and more vigorous because all of the necessary growth elements are readily available. The plants can mature faster, yielding an earlier harvest of vegetable and flower crops. Hydroponic gardening uses less space since the roots do not have to spread out in search of food and water. This small space requirement makes hydroponic gardening ideal for home gardeners, and it makes better use of greenhouse space.
The big advantage to hydroponic gardening is the ability to automate the entire system with a timer. Automation reduces the actual time it takes to maintain plant growth requirements. Automation also provides flexibility to the gardener as one can be gone for long periods of time without having to worry about watering the plants.
Hydroponic gardening offers many advantages for commercial agriculture. Cultivating plants without soil eliminates the need for vast farmland and allows crops to be produced in greenhouses or even in the desert sands. Hydroponic gardening techniques also allow for precise water and nutrient application directly to the roots of each plant. Water is reused in these systems and less is lost through evaporation and run-off. Therefore, arid lands, such as deserts, can be transformed into productive lands using limited amounts of water.
Growing plants with hydroponic gardening is not difficult if one understands the basic principles. As long as plant growth requirements are met, there are numerous hydroponic systems that can be used.
HydroponicGarden.net is a website dedicated to hydroponics awareness, education and supplies. Drop by and discover the choices you have for your Hydroponic Gardening.
Article from articlesbase.com
Important Choices in Choosing the Best Garden Sheds in Ireland!
We Seriously Recommend You Take Just a Few Moments to Read This Before You Buy Your Garden Shed…
You Might be Very Glad You Did!
When it comes to choosing the best garden sheds for your garden, whether it is for storing gardening equipment, the children’s bikes and toys or for your household tools, there are a few things you absolutely must take into consideration before you make your final choice.
1. What is the garden shed for?
The most important thing you need to decide is what you will mainly be using the shed for. Is it just for storage, or do you intend to use it as a potting shed, a playhouse, or as a workshop perhaps? This is important not just for estimating the size of the shed required, but also from the perspective of adding extra windows, or a veranda such as those found in garden cabins. Be sure to consult with the other members of your household, just in case they have other plans for using the shed that you may need to take into consideration.
2. Will the shed fit?
Once you have a fair idea of what the shed is for and whether you need to add any extra features, you can estimate the size required. Measure your garden, and the location where you intend to put the garden shed. Mark out the area and check it carefully to see if there are any potential access problems, or whether the shed will block the light from important areas of the garden and home, such as near a window. Always check the measurements as if the door of the shed is open to make sure you can get things into and out of the shed without problems. Have you left sufficient room around the shed to be able to get around it for inspection, maintenance and lost toys…!?
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3. What size do you need?
Of course this will depend on how much room is available in your garden. Many modern houses have small back gardens and you will not want to take up any of this precious room with large sheds. In these cases you should opt for a neat, small size shed where possible. However, do bear in mind that the amount of stuff that people tend to store in their garden sheds tends to be far more than they first anticipated, so unless you are constricted for room, it is better to choose a size that is bigger than you originally think you need. This is particularly relevant if you have a family, or a large garden. Simply by upgrading your lawnmower in a few years you could require a lot more extra room, not to mention the odd bike or two….
4. What finish is the best choice?
The wood used in the construction of the garden sheds can vary depending on how the timber is treated. There are various options available. The most common choices are
Rustic & Rough: This is where the wood is in both untreated and unplanned and has a rough finish. These sheds are usually the cheapest choice, but will need regular maintenance.
Smooth Finish: this is untreated wood which has been planed smooth for a more attractive finish. These will require treating with preservative every year or two to prevent decay.
Pressure Treated: This is where the wood use to construct the garden shed has been pre-treated with wood preservative under pressurized conditions to force the preservative deeper into the wood fibres. These sheds are obviously slightly more expensive than untreated wood sheds, but more than pay for them in both financial and practical terms as they require very little maintenance to preserve them from rot and decay, the main causes of sheds falling into disrepair in Ireland.
5. Who is going to build it?
That’s often the hardest question to answer. It might be that you are the kind of person who likes to give up their precious free time and spend their weekends trying to put together the bits and pieces from the plans. Perhaps you have friends or relatives you could enlist, who might know what they are doing, but beware the enthusiastic “amateur expert”. The best option is to deal with the professionals. You can choose garden sheds suppliers who also includes assembly as part of their service. That way they come with the right tools for the job, the entire structure is up and finished in a few hours, ready for you to use with no fuss or effort on your part.
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We SUPPLY, DELIVER and ASSEMBLE ALL OUR GARDEN SHEDS, so that you don’t have to worry about a thing!
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