Build A Fence Around Your Garden

Fencing is one the best way to save your garden crops. As they say Prevention is always better than Cure. Building a fence can be a great way to start living organic. It is a great alternative for traps, scare devices or repellents.

Depending on the types of animals you want your garden to protect from the fencing size varies. For example a 2 feet high chicken wire might work good for smaller sized animals but it will definitely not going to work against large animals like cow, deer etc.

Fencing Material:

Chicken wire: This is by far the most used form of fencing. It is cheap and provide good enough barrier to keep the pests at bay.

A 3 feet high chicken wire can save your garden from most of the small and medium-sized animals. Buy a chicken wire which is at least 4-5 feet wide. Bend it into a L shape. Position it around the sight in such a way that at least one feet of that wire should remain under ground.

Putting an underground barrier can save your crops from burrowing animals. Sometimes, animals become too persuasive and adding an electrical fence becomes necessary.

Here are some suggestions which you can do to reduce the cost of fencing:

1. Use recycled material which you already have in your hand or look for some give away materials from some junk dealer. It will definitely keep the cost to a minimum.
2. Use PVC pipes in stead of metal tubes.
3. Wire fencing is cheaper but can result in a larger sum in case your area is very large. Some times it is sensible to fence individual plants which are susceptible to pest attack rather than going for the entire area. It can really save your cost.

There are several other ways to built a fence than just using Chicken wires. Here is a look at the various other options which you definitely can try:

Hedge: A living fence or hedge can be a good and cheap option. They grow naturally and would keep other unwanted pests from entering into the garden.

Wood fencing: It definitely adds a charm to the surroundings but may not be a good idea if you are concerned very much about burrowing animals. Best solution for this would be to use it with chicken wire.

Brick or stone fencing:The best part of this form of fencing is that once it has been set up, it requires minimal maintenance. If larger rocks can be easily and cheaply accessed in your area then a dry stone wall is possibly the best option. It is a high security fence so if you are planning to move out in near future, this might not be a good idea to invest in it.

Bamboo fences: If you have a cheap supply of bamboos this can work very easily. Bamboos are strong and also look good aesthetically if used in fencing.

Picket Fencing: It is the most Traditional form of fencing. Look good aesthetically but the cost of maintenance can be very high. You need to paint it regularly to retain its charm and usefulness.

There are some cool tool available in the market to help you build a beautiful fence. You can buy them by from amazon

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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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Where Should You Place Your Aquaponic System

 Where Should You Place Your Aquaponic System

If you are decided to set up an aquaponic system in which to grow vegetables and fish for you and your family, there are some things which you should know. The types of fish, the seeds which can be propagated and the details about the appropriate water conditions are the basic notions you have to know before venturing in this activity. Once you know that you can start putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. Yet, another question arises: where should you place your aquaponic mini-garden?

where aquaponics, how aquaponics, build aquaponics

The answer is simple: you can put it anywhere you like as long as the place has enough light to offer the plants. As you probably know, the plants need light to prepare their food. If the place where they are put has no or few light, they will be unable to prepare their food, which in time will lead to their death. This is something you do not want! Yet, if you have a room (no matter if it is your kitchen, living room or garage) where there is a moderate light, then there is where you should place your aquaponic garden.

If you live in an area with extreme temperature or weather conditions, there are also some other things you will need to take into consideration. First, the temperature: your fish like to have a moderate temperature (usually varies according to the type of fish you choose), so you should monitor it to meet your fish’s needs. If you are in a desert are a you will need to keep them away from the direct solar rays, while if outside is freezing you will need to make sure that the water is warm enough to provide your fish a good environment.

You should also keep your fish and plants away from chemicals as they are quite sensitive to that, so the room where you keep your cleaning products will not be a great location for them. Rather go for airy places where the plants can feel good and with moderate temperature so that the fish will grow and develop properly.



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Aquaponics - Commercial aquaponics - Hydroponics - Grow bed

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Increase The Fertility Of your soil By Adding These Organic Ingredients

Creating a healthy and nutrient rich soil is a key to the success of your gardening Endeavor. Many of our gardening friends are complaining about the quality of their garden soil. Your soil may not be of very high quality or of ideal pH range but it is not very difficult to make an ideal gardening soil by adding some ingredients to the soil.

We have already discussed about soil conditioners like coconut coir which can increase the water retention capacity of the soil quite a fold. As an organic gardener we always want to promote different organic options rather than to adapt any quick fix chemical options. In this article we will discuss some organic elements which will increase the nutrient part of your soil. I have not mentioned any amount as it depends on the quality of your soil. It is best to test your existing soil before applying any of these ingredients.

Some of the elements which you can add to the soil are as follows.  

Lime:

Limes are generally added to the soil to increase the elements like Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulfur etc. These are basically three type of lime available in the market which you can add to the soil. They are Agricultural lime (this is actually Calcium carbonate), Gypsum (Calcium sulfate) and Dolomite (this is usually a mixture of Calcium carbonate and Magnesium carbonate). So depending on the condition of your soil you add the type best suits for your soil. Sometimes you use a particular type of lime whereas in many cases you need to mix the three. Apart from adding nutrients to the soil, adding lime can also control the acidity of the soil. Read Soil pH: A Basic Idea for more information.

Seed meal:

These are the byproducts of different oil seeds such as soybeans, sunflower, Mustard or cotton seed. Though these are primarily used to feed animals, you can use this as fertilizers. Depending on the part of the world you are living and the availability you can use any type of seed meal. This seed meal are very good source of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) for the plants. These are easy to store as they generally do not degenerate very easily if kept in airtight condition.

Bone meal:

Bone meals are used to increase the phosphate content of the soil. As per alternative to bone meal you can also use Phosphate rocks or bat guano, though the last two are relatively harder to find.

Kelp:

Using kelp can be a little expensive. But the best part of using kelp is that it provides the supply of trace elements, which are very hard to get from other elements. It also provides vitamins for plants and power of resistance from different stresses such as cold. Many people use different rock dust as a replacement of kelp, but it is best if you can afford kelp.

These ingredients along with compost from time to time will produce excellent results. Is there any other ingredient which you use? Share with us here.

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NIWA Smartphone Control of your Hydroponic Garden

I recently learned about a new product concept for an indoor hydroponic garden that looks like it has potential.

NIWA (www.getniwa.com) is a pretty slick looking 5 liter recirculating hydroponic system with lights and automation controlled from your smartphone.

Compared to the Aquafarm from Back to the Roots, this looks like a more serious food production system. The Aquafarm is a nice, compact system that can grow some herbs and is a good introduction to aquaponic gardening, the NIWA looks to be able to produce some serious food, and I suspect the price will reflect this increase in performance. NIWA claims to be able to grow tomatoes, strawberries, orchids, or medical plants.

Ive been in contact with Aga, one of the founders of NIWA, and asked about integration with a fish tank for an aquaponic system. While they havent yet worked with any aquaponic experts to determine what would need to be done to the system to integrate aquaponics, they will be offering a maker-kit on the kickstarter which will include the electronics and gear inside with instructions to build the system on your own. I can imagine this could be used to hack an aquaponic version.

Some of my favorite features:

Automatic nutrient and irrigation adjustment for different plants. You dont have to do additional research, just tell NIWA what youre growing, and the nutrients and irrigation cycles are adjusted to optimize growth. Or, if you want to experiment, you can manually adjust the settings.

Automatic heating, ventilation, humidity, and lighting control. NIWA claims to monitor climate. In the system and automatically adjusts for optimal growth. If there is enough light in the room, the lights will be off.  If the room isnt bright enough, NIWA will sense this and turn on the grow lights.

Cloud connectivity lets you monitor and adjust the system from anywhere with an internet connection.

NIWA is getting ready to launch their kickstarter campaign on Monday, May 12, 2014.

The kicstarter prices are not too bad.  I dont know if itll fit into my budget, but I definitely want to try this thing out!

www.getniwa.com

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Water The Most Important but Negelected Factor in your Gardening

Water or H2O is one of the factors in absence of which your gardening dream will never fulfill. Though every gardener knows the importance of water, not every one of us are aware of the different techniques which if followed, can maximize the impact of water to your gardening. This blog focuses on some of those points.

The quantity of water in the soil is very important to the plants. Too little or too much watering both can be detrimental. As for the beginners, plants prepare food by using water, sunlight and Carbon Di-oxide(CO2) with the help of Chlorophyll(which is present in huge quantity in the leaves). This process is called Photosynthesis. Now with out water the plant can not complete the process and thus dies out. In case you put too much water the over wet soil can damage the roots, and can also become prone the many diseases and growth of many fungi.

So now the most important question: How much and how often should I water? Well, the best answer is its depends on your judgement. 

Just do a soil test. Pick up a little amount of soil and try to make a ball out of it. If it crumbles in your hand that means it needs water quickly. If you are able to form a ball with the soil, without making you fingers stained,then that means the soil has the perfect amount of moisture. In case your are able to form a ball, but your fingers become wet that means the water content in the soil is high and no need of further watering. 

How often you need to water the plants depends on the climate your plants are in. If the climate is warm and the plants are in direct sunlight you might have to water them very frequently. Likewise in rainy seasons(check out my blog on gardening in the Rain for more details) the watering needs are very less. Type of soil is also an important factor in watering. Soil less media such as Peat moss and Coconut Coir does not require that much water which is required in normal soil. Last but not the least watering also depends hugely on the type of plant. If the plant is fruit bearing one, or have shallow root system you need to water much more frequently than the rest of the plants in your garden.

Morning is the best time for watering your plants. It allows the plant to take up the water and get ready for the heat or the dampness of the day. It also helps the plants to fully utilize the water for their food preparation. The next best option is in the evenings, just make sure you put the water to the roots only. If the stem and the leaves stays wet during night can invite many diseases such as mildew and molds. Try to avoid watering in mid-days as it can be wasteful. Due to the increased heat, moisture evaporates from the soil before the roots can absorb it. But never stop giving water to the plant in the mid-day even after seeing the soil is dry, just because it is not the optimal time for watering.

While watering make sure you water thoroughly once a week making your soil well moistened rather than a brief sprinkle every day. Always give water to the roots i.e, at the base of the plant rather than giving the whole plant a shower(Dont take the picture above too seriously).

People spend lots of time and money on landscaping, and other garden related activities but rarely spend much time on watering which at times results in death of so many plants in the garden. If we take a little effort and apply common sense, 75% of the plant’s death in the garden due to lack  of proper watering system, can be prevented. 

Enjoy Gardening. 

Please let me know what do you think about the article by commenting bellow.

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Growing Spinach of Your Own A Basic Idea

Spinach is one of the vegetable from our list of easiest to grow vegetables. It is very easy to grow and maintain.

Though spinach is famous for iron, there are several other elements which are far more in spinach than the iron. Vitamin A and K are more abundant in spinach. If you want to take the best of iron from spinach add some slices of oranges to increase the absorption. 

Spinach is a winter crop. Some variety can even survive frosts also. It can mature within a month or so. Though it requires full sun but much heat can result in early bolting of the spinach.

The ideal pH for spinach is 6.5 to 7. Add lime to reduce the acidic nature of the soil in case pH is less than this level. Mix compost along with water prior to planting the seeds. Put the seeds ½ inch deep and at 2 inches space. It is wise to plant spinach with a little space in between. This can prevent many problems due to moisture in the air. If you are using container planting you can put 3 seeds per pot with a minimum gap of 1 inch.

DO NOT grow spinach in the same soil where beets or chard has grown earlier. These have similar requirements from the soil and also they are nest to the same kind of parasites as of spinach.

When the plant reach a size 1/3 of its full height,You can add nitrogen-rich fertilizers to the soil. You can also avoid fertilizers if you had added enough compost at the start.

Water the plant regularly. Mulching is a good idea to restore soil moisture. When seedlings sprout to about two inches, thin them to 3-4 inches apart.

After about six weeks of planting pinch off leaves for your kitchen purpose but keep the central structure intact. These will produce seeds in the later stages. In case you do not require seeds you can pull out the whole plant.

Cliff off any leaf which turned yellow. This will increase the flow of sap to the main plant and the other healthy leaves.

Don’t wait too long for harvesting. After maturity the leaves will turn bitter. You can either take out the leaves from the plant or you can cut the whole plant near the roots and enjoy your spinach with your family.

By growing spinach in your own house you can be rest assure about the quality of the fertilizers. To get greater yield chemical fertilizers and pesticides are applied continuously these days. It is always better to avoid those spinach.

The famous cartoon character Popeye have made spinach very popular among the children. Though you will not get the instant gratification of building up large muscles, its benefits are definitely worth mentioning. There are so many benefits of eating spinach. You can eat them both cooked or raw. It helps preventing osteoporosis, fighting against cancer and heart diseases. And last but not least it will definitely add flavor to the taste buds.

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GROWING POWER

 CCRES AQUAPONICS

promotes

GROWING POWER , Inc

Growing Power is a sustainable urban agriculture center located in the city of Milwaukee. It was founded by Will Allen to introduce healthier food options to the urban community, while simultaneously demonstrating a sustainable model for local food production.

In 1993, Growing Power was an organization with teens 

who needed a place to work.  

Will Allen was a farmer with land.  

Will designed a program that offered teens an opportunity to work at his store and renovate the greenhouses to grow food for their community.  What started as a simple partnership to change the landscape of the north side of Milwaukee has blossomed into a national and global commitment to sustainable food systems.

Since its inception, Growing Power has served as a ”living museum” or “idea factory” for the young, the elderly, farmers, producers, and other professionals ranging from USDA personnel to urban planners.  Training areas include the following: acid-digestion, anaerobic digestion for food waste, bio-phyto remediation and soil health, aquaculture closed-loop systems, vermiculture, small and large scale composting, urban agriculture, permaculture, food distribution, marketing, value-added product development, youth education, community engagement, participatory leadership development, and project planning.

GROWING POWER 

GROW

 

The simple truth is that it all starts with the soil.  Without good soil, 

crops don’t get enough of the nutrients they need to survive and 

when plants are stressed, they are more prone to disease and pest 

problems.  That’s why we grow our own compost and vermicompost –

10 million tons of it a year.  That compost goes onto every growing bed 

we raise crops on.  Because we know what goes in to the compost, 

we aren’t worried that the soil is contaminated with lead or other 

chemicals that humans just shouldn’t eat. 

At Growing Power, we raise all of our crops sustainably, which is a term that means we grow produce

at or above current organic standards but we have not been certified organic by the U.S. 

government.  Currently, it just is not a priority of ours.  We would all much rather be in the fields than 

filling out lots of paper work for the government. 

 

To grow sustainably means that we do not use any synthetic chemicals –  fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides – on any of our crops.  We prefer to do  things the old fashioned way; we hand pick weeds, we control pests with  beneficial insects such as ladybugs, and we use foliar compost tea to help  control pest and bacteria problems.  As a very last resort, we use only  certified organic pesticides like Neem oil and Pyrethrum, a pesticide made  from Chrysanthemum leaves.

In addition, we buy all of our seed from reputable seed companies who do not treat their seeds with pesticides or other chemicals.  Seed companies that we often use are Johnny’s Seed and Seed Savers.  These are seed companies that we trust and who are committed to helping their communities.

 

Ready, set, seed!

This is how we seed our pots of greens and herbs – all 20,000 of them.

First, we fill the pot with compost.  Next, we add worms that will continue to break down the compost in the pot and supply the crop with nutrients over the growing period.  Then, we sprinkle seeds across the soil.  Finally, we cover the seed with coir, a sustainable peat moss substitute made from coconut fibers which helps with water retention.

Unconventional Hoop Dreams

Will Allen is an excellent basketball player.  In fact he played professionally for six years. Fortunately for Growing Power, Will likes to farm too.  The Chicago Lights Urban Farm at Cabrini-Green is the perfect combination of both of his passions.  The entire garden is built on an old basketball court – literally, on top of concrete.  

More info about GROWING POWER  at: 

http://www.growingpower.org/index.htm

CCRES AQUAPONICS

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Standing up for your beliefs

I went to bed, under my nice warm duvet in my comfortably heated flat, last night, in the full knowledge that there were protestors sleeping in freezing temperatures in the trees on our beloved plot, to try to keep the chainsaws at bay. Over the weekend they had slipped onto the land where the trees are and begun to set up a camp in the trees, determined to try to stop the chainsaws that were originally set to begin today.

So today I went to site, mainly to say thank you but also to see how things were and chat with other people about the protest and their part in it. What I found was a group of people aged from 1 right up to folk in their 70s. A group of people connected to the land, not necessarily at that site, but to land all across the city. A group of people who have worked on many different community projects that rely on our land to survive. Community projects that change and improve lives and if you have any doubt of that, please read Mrs Seven Storeys Up on this blog.

There have been plenty of news stories about this today, which is great as its been nigh on impossible to engage with any national papers until now. But I think its important to keep reminding people of a few vital points. Primarily, Bristol has the title of European Green Capital in 2015 ànd however much it is widely understood that improving the transport system must be a part of that, concreting over Grade A soils cannot possibly be. A good transport system, which connects the whole city and its suburbs well and efficiently is definitely needed in Bristol. Metrobus however, is not it as it misses out large pieces of the city(an estimated 100,000 people in East Bristol alone) and fails to support any of our hospitals or schools. The cynic in me thinks it moves people from South Bristol where there is a lack of local employment, up to huge business parks in South Gloucestershire. Business parks that are full of call centres and retail areas where people are unlikely to be earning the Living Wage. Hardly the jobs of dreams or the local jobs for local people that we should be encouraging.

We are also in the International Year of the Soil. A year in which we should be looking at the damage we have done to our soils since mass use of agro chemicals was brought in post the 2nd world war. A year in which we should be looking after our soils, encouraging good practise in order that we begin to repair our soils. A year where we look at how, going into an uncertain future, we protect the good soils we have, many of which are in urban areas where great soils such as that at Stapleton and on our Blue Finger are. After all its not as if we have unending amounts of best and most versatile soil-there is less than 3% of such soil across the entire UK.

But for me, whats most important is that we start to appreciate locally grown food on local land. Food grown by local producers, that support their community by producing top quality produce that keeps the local economy buoyant. Unless we start to fight for our land, this cant happen. Remembering that not just an allotment site but an award winning community food project, Feed Bristol, is at risk here, I ask you to look for your local community project and support it. You never know when it might be gone, possibly in the name of progress. 

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