Growing Radish Some basic Facts

Radish is one of the easiest crops to grow. This is ideal for the beginners who are trying their hands on gardening.

A pH of 6 to 6.8 is ideal for growing radish. You can add other growing media with the soil to make it appropriate if the soil nearby is not up to that pH range. A list of the growth media can be found here. In normal cases fertilizers are not that necessary if you have put compost in the soil before planting the seeds. Avoid fresh manure or material which are rich in nitrogen.

Radish plant required direct sunlight at least 6 hours a day. Plant your plant accordingly. Put the seed in the soil at ½ inch depth and cover it with soil. The spacing between the plant should not less than 2 inch. Once the seedlings have grown about 2 inches in height thin them up to 3 inches apart. Lack of thinning can lead to inedible and shriveled roots.

Keep the soil moist by watering regularly. If s the soil is very dry it can result in radishes with very pungent flavor, whereas too much water can make the roots rot. If want to know more about watering check out my earlier blog.

Radish plants are not very much prone to diseases, on the contrary it is much more beneficial to other crops if you are thinking about companion planting. Planting radish along with cucumber or squash can reduce the beetle which affects cucumber or squash. It also attracts leaf bugs away from spinach. Sometimes there are some larva which attacks the radish roots. Crop rotation can resolve this problem. You can also add a good amount of wood ash to prevent these problems.

The best part of a radish as far as the beginners are concerned is that it matures very quickly. You can harvest your radishes with 3 to 4 weeks depending on the species. In case you are not sure of its size pull it out from the soil in case you find the radish is still immature, you can always replant it. It is always better to pull out a little immature radish than to take out over-matured. Oversize radishes can taste woody and unpleasant to the tongue.

The storage of this is similar to that of carrots. You need to cut off the leaves to eliminate any chance of further growth. Store them in refrigerator. You can use them for one or two weeks.

Radish are not very much known more their nutritional value, rather they are famous for their tasty addition to salads.

What do you think about this article. Share your thoughts.

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AES Mini Fish Farm Instructional Video

CCRES AQUAPONICS

Instructional Video for the Mini Fish Farm by Aquatic Eco-Systems.
Small scale aquaculture system.



CCRES AQUAPONICS

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Growing Cauliflower Some Important Points

Most of the people are really not sure about growing Cauliflower in their garden. Some might think it is too difficult for a beginners to try their hands on cauliflower and only an experienced gardener can come up with  great results. Though I agree that it is not as easier as some of the other vegetables which I have discussed earlier, it is also not a very hard nut to crack. Follow the points discussed in this article and I am sure you will not be disappointed.

 

Though primarily it is a cool weather crop, they are very sensitive to extreme temperature so it is sensible to start with a transplant. In case you want to start with seed plant them indoors in coconut coir or other media and make the seedling and then transplant in the garden. Using paper pot also helps preventing root disturbance while transplanting.

A pH of 6.5 to 7 is best for cauliflower. Just like Cabbage, Cauliflower also flourish in nitrogen and potassium rich soil. A little bit of organic matter from time to time will definitely help the plant. Make the soil loose up to a depth of 15 inch by using a tiller and mix 2.5 inch layer of compost with it. Plant the seedlings 20 inches apart. Like most of the vegetables it also require minimum 6 hours of direct sunlight everyday.

Make sure your soil has enough moisture. Don’t wait for the soil to dry out before giving water(want to perfect your watering techniques? Check out this article). This will cause the head to open up and become unpalatable. Whereas constant moisture would make large but tender head. A thick layer of mulch will also help to keep the moisture intact for longer period of time.

Once the head(also called “curd”) become the size of an egg, it is important to cover it(also called blanching) and protect it from the direct sunlight. This is important because it will make your cauliflower milky white in appearance. Missing this step can cause brown or yellow head, which may not taste so bad but definitely less aesthetic visually(don’t cover the heads in case you are using colorful varieties of cauliflower or it is of the self blanching type). While covering use plant’s own leaves, and tie them up using a rubber band or plastic tape. While covering the head don’t forget to leave some space for air circulation and future growth. Make sure the leaves you are using for covering the head is not wet. Otherwise it can cause rotting. So it is better to cover the head in the afternoon when the plants are usually dry. From time to time unwrap the covering to check on the growth of the head and any possible pest attack.

Cauliflower matures within 50 to 60 days. Though it depends on the variety of the plant, generally a mature head ranges from 6 to 10 inches in diameter. Once you find your desired size cut them with sharp knife below the head with some leaves to protect the head. Though it is best to eat right after the harvest, you can also store them well. Cover it with perforated plastic bags and put it in the refrigerator. For more on “storing vegetables” check out our earlier blog.

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Shoutyhalfhour

This blog post has been a long time coming but after I posted My Twitter Experience and was accused of being a troll by several people on Twitter, I thought now might be a good time to write it.
The whole thing began several years ago when I was sitting watching Gardeners World one Friday evening and getting exasperated at something and my dear husband posted to Twitter that it seemed #shoutyhalfhour was here again and it stuck. So before I go into the whys and wherefores I need to point a few things out!!
Firstly it is not a personal assault on the presenter. I do find Monty Don a tad patronising on the programme but he is only following a script and although it surprises me sometimes when things are shown that are so definitely wrong and I wonder why he hasnt picked up on it, he is a man doing a job.  Both his writing and his gardening programmes other than Gardeners World are fantastic as is the series on BBC Radio 4 that he is presenting at the moment.
Secondly much of the shouting is light hearted and positive. We all love to see Nigel and beautiful gardens such as Esther Rantzens which was shown on Friday evening. We all love to ooh and arr over the plants and really enjoy seeing what other gardeners and nurserymen are growing and producing.
However and here is the crux of #shoutyhalfhour, Gardeners World ought to be just that. A beautifully crafted programme which offers inspiration, tips, help and aspiration to gardeners young and old, ancient and modern, and whatever their skill base, and sadly this is rarely, if ever, achieved. Seeds are sown and rarely do we see them potted on or palnted out. Cuttings are taken but we never see the result, whether good or bad, and all of us that have ever worked in a nursery know that sometimes cuttings dont take and seeds dont germinate but that is never mentioned either. Every year we see a presenter planting seed potatoes and sweet peas and hear tales of blight and the horrors of not scarifying our lawns, but rarely do we see anything new, cutting edge or exciting. New plants and seeds come to the market every year so why not bring them to the fore?
Equally in the UK  we have a tradition of small nurseries, all of whom work really hard to produce beautiful plants, some of which would often be lost if it wasnt for a handful of people keeping them going. We have amazing bulb growers and companies working really hard to produce us blight resistant potatoes, and we never hear of these people. Occasionally a National Collection is shown, like the amazing Asters a few weeks ago, but there are a miriad of National Collections out there that could be shown and rarely are. Its been proven that a mention of a plant on Gardeners World means that on Saturday morning the garden centres are stripped bare of them, so why not look at what can be done for the British growers out there and support them?
Equally, and here is my personnal bug bear, make sure that the information given is correct and relevant. If you are showing how to take a hardwood rose cutting, make sure thats what it is. If you are discussing the Chelsea Chop, go into it properly and talk about the whole process or it makes no sense and it will go wrong. If you are showing how to put Dahlias to sleep over the winter, tell the viewer that youre doing it early for the sake of programming and that really its not necessary until after the first frosts have blackened the stems, or at all if you live in some areas. It is this sort of mis information that means people dont succeed and then feel that they cant do it or become too scared to even try. Sadly many are so far removed from the earth that they truly are fearful and so turn to Gardeners World for good, horticultural advice which often it just is not.
Gardening today is a whole mishmash of things. Often people have no gardens and become involved in community projects which are rarely, if ever, included. Our children ought to be inspired to garden too and yet I have yet to see a piece on gardening with children, although there are many great practitioners out there who do so and I can tell you, as one of them, that kids love to garden and are naturals as they dont worry it might not work. There are also some amazing gardeners up and down the country, many of whom open their gardens for the National Gardens Scheme, and many who dont, whose gardens would be an amazing inspiration to the viewer. There are awe inspiring allotments, school gardens, urban roadside projects, amenity landscapes and gardens, heritage landscapes, historic gardens, garden conservation projects, and many more, that are never mentioned and yet would inspire and offer not just help to folk who already garden, but to those who are also looking for ways to be able to garden.
As some of you are aware, The BBC are aware of some of these issues through viewers forums and I attended a meeting a few weeks ago where I was able to pass over 300 plus tweets I received from people saying what they thought was needed and they seemed to listen. Gardeners World is an institution to me and where I was inspired and excited by gardening from a very young age.. It horrifies me that there might be a generation who grow up without that and miss out on the wonders of working with the earth and learning all that there is to be learnt from the experience of gardening. Gardeners World is the only mainstream gardening programme that is available to us, although I have to say I have watched Beechgrove Garden this year and think a lot could be learnt from that, so it needs to be seen to be the best. We British are known as a nation of gardeners, so the presenter needs to be the Head Gardener for the nation as well as the patch being gardened on the show, so I beseech the BBC to up their game and improve the programme so that it becomes grea, aspirational TV.
And please never let any of us have to endure 6 minutes of how to jet wash a path ever again!!

Beautiful meadow planting this summer on a Bristol housing estate.

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Growing Bamboo Plants How to create a bamboo garden in your backyard

Bamboo is a giant grass. The best part of growing a Bamboo plant is that it grows very fast and in every spring you should expect to see a number of branches keep emerging. In this article we will share some information about growing Bamboo plants.

Though they are happiest in slightly acidic and loamy soil, Bamboo is one of the plants which will grow in almost any soil type. Just make sure that it has a good drainage capacity and you will have a lashing bamboo garden in a very short time.  To increase the drainage capacity you can add some soil less media with your soil.

While planting, it is important to protect the bamboo plant from very hot sun especially if your plant is very small in size. Best time to plant them is in the springs. Newly planted bamboos required frequent watering. Use organic mulch to cover the area. Mulching will help in water retention, weed protection and being of organic materials it will enrich the soil. Space them not less than 5 feet if you plan to form it dense. For some species you may require to give much more space. In case you are planning to plant a taller one, use some support to hold the plant. Sometimes strong wind can damage or even uproot the plant; so be careful.

Though in most of the cases bamboo plants take nutrients from the soil itself it is better to provide some fertilizers. Use compost for fertilization but focus on the ingredients which are more enriched with nitrogen (N). If you want to know more about the composting ingredients check out our earlier article.

It generally takes 5 to 6 years for a bamboo plant to mature. You can really give your desired shape by little bit of pruning. Cut just above the node. Depending on the size of the branch you want to prune use a chainsaw or a simple knife. There is very little chance that you can damage the plant by pruning. So don’t be hesitant.

Some times people feel very concerned about yellowing or loss of leaves of their bamboo plant; but it is a common phenomena and the degree varies from species to species. They are evergreen plant and generally shed their leaves to acquire new ones.

A Bamboo plant can also be grown in containers. We will discuss that in some other article.


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How to Grow Tomatoes Growing Tomatoes With Simple Tips Tomato Growing Tips

Tomatoes are one of my favourite vegetable. It is very easy to grow as well as enjoyable to eat. Though technically tomato is a fruit of the plant but we all prefer to call this a vegetable. If you take proper care of your tomato plants, the yield can be overwhelming.

Scientific name : Lycopersicon sp

The tastes of tomatoes are very sensitive to the surroundings. So rather than focusing on only one variety, it is always sensible to try 3 to 4 varieties. It will help you find out which is the best variety suitable to your locality.

Tomato Plants and Sunlight:

Keep your tomato plant to a place where the plant will get plenty of sunlight. The fruit formation of a tomato plant requires at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. You can read more about the effect of sunlight on different plants in our earlier article here.

Tomato Cage for Supporting A Tomato Plant:

A Tomato plant needs support for its growth. You need to build cage or stakes at the time of planting. Staking keeps fruits off the ground whereas a tomato cage help the plant to hold its upright position.

Tomatoes require plenty of water, specially during the summers. But while watering a tomato plant do not wet the leaves or the stem of the plant. Always put water directly into the soil near the roots(see watering guide for details).

Pruning Tomato Plants:

Take out any shoot that grows between the stem and main branches, these shoots always hinder the fruit growth. In gardening this process is called pruning of plants. With the same logic cut off the tip of the plant. It will help the plant to become more bushy with much more fruits.

How To Plant Tomatoes:

You can start either from seed or through seedlings purchased from nurseries. If you are starting from seeds, it is recommended to use seedling trays.fill these trays with potting soil and sow the seeds there. It is important to keep the trays indoor until the seeds germinate. Once they have grown up to 15- 20 cm you can transplant them outdoor. See transplantation techniques for detail.

Before planting the seedlings make the soil ready by tilling and mixing compost or manure with the soil. It is recommended to plant the seedlings 2ft apart.

It is necessary to keep the soil fertile. Add fertilizers two week prior to picking and two weeks after the picking.

Tomato Pests and Diseases:

Tomatoes are particularly susceptible to many pests and diseases. Horn-worms, Aphids, white-flies are few of the tomato pests which can reduce the production of the plant. Late blight (specially during monsoon) and distorted leaves are the common diseases to the plant. It is always wise to plant basil along with your tomato plant. Basil is a fantastic companion plant for tomatoes. It will help in distracting little pests from your tomato plant. This type of planting is called companion planting.

Harvesting Tomatoes:

Never pick tomatoes in green condition they will rot before get ripe. Leave them on the vine as long as possible. Never try to refrigerate ripe tomatoes. It will spoil the texture and taste of the perfectly ripe home grown tomato which is best eaten sun warm from the kitchen garden.

I hope these simple tomato growing tips helped you in growing tomatoes. Do these simple steps and you can enjoy your home grown favourite vegetable and also find the distinctive flavor and taste which are definitely missing when you buy those from the stores.

Thanks for reading. Keep your comments coming.

Read more about tomatoes: 
FAQs About Tomato Growing
Top 8 pests of Tomatoes
Simple steps to save tomato seeds 

Top Five Companion Plants For Tomatoes

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Growing Bell Peppers Some Useful tips

Back to growing tips. Today’s edition Bell Peppers. You can check rest of the vegetables by exploring the site.

Peppers grow very quickly. Depending on their variety they can become within 60 to 150 days (after transplanting). For the beginners we suggest you use the early varieties for growing. You can use your backyard or growbags to grow pepper. Just make sure receives 6 hours of sunlight in a day.

Though you can directly put the seeds in the garden, we strongly recommend that you first grow the seedlings indoor. It takes 2-8 weeks for the seeds to grow into a proper transplant. Now plant them into the garden where you intended to grow pepper. Give 12 to 15 inches gap between two plants.

Prior to transplant mix a good amount of compost with the soil. They are not a very hungry plant. That much of compost is enough for the plant. While using compost ingredients, make sure you don’t use a high amount of Nitrogen in the pile. This can result in lush foliage and lesser fruits. For more on C/N ratio read out earlier article.

Watering is very important in plants like pepper. They require a good amount of water but make sure the soil have proper drainage and the roots don’t get water logged. One of the solutions you can use is to add Perlite with the soil.

Pepper is a very good companion plant which goes well with plants like Tomatoes, Carrots and Basils. It is important that you provide some form of support to the plant. Once the plant stars growing fruits it becomes tough for the plant to strive without support.

Pepper is usually pest free. In rare cases spider mites or aphids attacks peppers. You can easily hand pick and remove them.


Harvesting:

Don’t wait for the peppers to fully mature before picking. Most of the peppers taste best when picked little early. Also it increases the yield. Use a sharp knife to cut the fruit from the plant.

It is best to eat them the same day you have harvested. You can also use a refrigerator to store them. You can get more on vegetable storing in our earlier article.






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Orchid Growing Basic Tips

Everybody love Orchids. They are very beautiful in their appearance and with so many colorful flowers. There are close to 30,000 varieties of orchids are known to people. They have a diverse range of habitat. They can be found from equatorial tropics to arctic tundra. One of the amazing ability of Orchids are that they can hybrid between species and also between genera which are closely related to it. 

Biology speaking the orchids are epiphytes, i.e, they cling on to some other objects while growing. It can be surface of the tree or stone. So the trick to grow orchids indoor is to simulate the kind of environment it is most comfortable with. 

The most popular variety of orchid which is grown indoors is the moth orchid or Phalaenopsis. The wide range of color and pattern gave it the common name of moth orchid. Unlike other varieties of orchids it lack bulbs. It has become very popular due to its tolerance to the indoor conditions. 

Some of the orchid varieties are very tough to grow even for the professionals. But there are also some varieties that are quite easy to grow. Moth orchid is one of them. You can also try Cattleya or Paphiopedilum.

 Some orchids like Moth orchid and Vandas grow in a single stem and leaves arrange in opposite to each other along the stem. Whereas Cattleya and others grow horizontally with branches.

It is really hard to generalize as there are so many varieties of orchids. But let me try to give you an idea which are generally similar for all the varieties.

It is best to plot your orchid in the south or east facing window. This two place receive the ideal amount of sunlight for their growth. If you are cultivating them indoor 8 to 10 inches away from the lighted bulb.

It is said that it is better to keep them thirsty than overflow them with water. As they generally a tropical plant. Rule of the thumb is to provide water once in a week. They have velamen(aerial root) which absorbs water from the climate. 60 to 80 percent humidity is ideal for orchid growing in case your climate humidity is very low you can use artificial humidifier to solve the issue.

It is very important for the growing media to be airy and permits proper drainage for water. The list of media can be found here.

It is important to provide fertilizers to the plant. Fish or seed weed extracts are usually good for the plants. These should be applied to the plant when active growth is at its peak.

The re-potting requirement of orchids can be different as per the different variety of plants. Some of them requires re-potting every year while others need the pot to be changed after 7 or more years. It is wise not to re-pot unless it is critical. Like so many plants orchids don’t like to be disturbed.

Are you interested or currently growing orchids? Share some of your experience with us.

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Peas A growing guide

Peas are cool climate plant. It prefers sandy loam soil with a great drainage facility. With a pH level of 6.5 to 7.5 is generally idea for peas. In case your soil is much more acidic than this add dolomite or lime with the soil to bring it to this optimum level.

Plant different varieties all at once and don’t make an attempt to plant them with some time gap. They will mature in different times and give you a longer time to harvest and enjoy the peas. Check your local garden shop for different varieties of seed available in your locality.

Peas are one of such a plant that requires very less fertilization. With the help of the nitrogen fixing bacteria in their roots they can manage their share of nitrogen. Though you have to add other nutrients from time to time you rarely need to add nitrogen. Excess amount of nitrogen can result in lush foliage and reduction in pods. Please keep this in mind in case you prepare your own compost, and add lesser amount of nitrogen rich materials.

For a good pea production you need to take care of the watering needs of the plant. Generally deep watering once or twice in a week will be sufficient. In the time of blossoming you need to provide extra water. A dry soil can drastically reduce a chance for a good pea production. A good sunlight is required for the fruit production so don’t ignore that.

Provide support as per the variety of the plant. For taller varieties you need to provide trellis, bamboo canes or netting. For dwarf varieties netting will be sufficient.

Please make sure not to plant peas or any legume plant in the same soil more than once in a three years.

Being a legume plant pea is very good in companion planting. It works well with most of the plants. Radish, spinach, lettuce all leafy vegetable all do well with peas. Cucumber and potatoes show special affinity towards peas. Just avoid garlic and onions for better pea production.

One important tip for harvesting. Don’t pull out the roots while harvesting rather cut off the stem above the ground level. The roots contain nitrogen fixing bacteria. Allow these root to rot down in the soil to increase the nitrogen content of the soil which will be beneficial for the next plant in that soil.

The root system of a pea plant is not very deep. So while picking the pods use both of your hands, one to hold the vines and pick the pods with the other one. To increase the pod yields you need to pick them regularly. The yield will be reduced in case the overly matured pods are left in the vines.

The best way to enjoy peas is fresh and direct from the plants. But in case your production is much more than daily consumption, you can definitely store in refrigerator or you can even dry them in sunlight and then also store them in containers.

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