A Fall AquaPot Design!

Aquaponics combines hydroponics (growing plants in water) and Aquaculture (growing fish in captivity). It’s easy to do in your backyard and can produce a free, sustainable food source in a small amount of space.

The hydrangea originates from southern and eastern Asia and North and South America. It is a very popular shrub that can be either deciduous or evergreen. There are two main flower types in hydrangeas, mophead flowers which are large and round and resemble pom-poms, or lacecap which are flat flower heads with small fertile flowers in the centre surrounded by more showy larger sterile flower heads around the outside. Flowers come in various shades of pink, white, purple and blue. Here is a short guide on how to grow hydrangeas and some of my favourite varieties.

Using compact fluorescent grow lights in your greenhouse or in your indoor garden, you can work to increase your plant yield as well as also reduce the cost of your indoor grow light energy costs. Something as simple as creating a small reflector and getting some CFL light bulbs, can help you to make a very small vegetable garden within your home, or be modified to work on a large scale system for energy savings as well.

The growing season is just about over. The tasks of pulling the summers’ plants out and raking up the garden will begin soon. No more weeding, picking, watering, etc. What will we do to substitute for this favorite pastime? Let’s extend the season a little by preparing a box garden that will be “critter proof, relatively weed proof, and yet provide enough satisfaction in our harvest next year. This is a challenge mostly for those who have a garden but want to reduce the size or for those who do not have a garden due to lack of space. A box garden is both cheap and efficient and can yield substantial rewards.

Sharpening a blade on either a human-powered or self-propelled lawn mower is an essential step in seasonal maintenance. If the blade on the lawn mower gets too dull, the machine isn’t able to cut the grass as intended, which might well leave the grass ripped or ragged and more susceptible to damage from sunlight and disease.

Children have a natural curiosity about the outdoors so encouraging their interest in gardening is not difficult. Gardening has all the attributes that capture a child’s imagination, nature, colour, smell, touch and above all else mud! Getting children interested in gardening is also a great way to encourage them to care for wildlife and the countryside around them. A good starting premise I always think is – keep it simple and make it fun. Just make sure you are sensible about basic safety in a garden environment. Here are a few tips that will give your budding little gardeners a helping hand.

It’s the hottest part of the year, so you need to keep on top of watering your plants to make the most of it. Water at the beginning or end of the day to stop it evaporating in the heat and give it time to soak in.

Wire hanging baskets are a popular choice for displaying colorful foliage or masses of flowers. This article will teach you how to plant in these baskets to get glorious results.

Hostas are herbaceous perennial plants that vary in size from miniature varieties to over 30cm in width. With their broad leaves in various shades of green, they make excellent focal points in shady areas of the garden. They are also grown for their flowers which are often fragrant. Here is a short guide on how to grow them and some of my favourite varieties.

Although the temperature still feels like summer, now is the time for Southern California gardeners to plant cool season vegetables for a spring harvest. Prepare Soil for Fall Garden: After the spring and summer growing season, garden soil needs a pick-me-up. Remove nonproducing vegetable plants, loosen the garden soil and mix in a two-inch layer of organic compost.

The benefits of having a windowsill herb garden are numerous. The act of tending to the garden is relaxing and rewarding. The ability to add fresh herbs to one’s cooking gives even the simplest dishes a richer, more elegant taste and presentation.

We’ve all heard about the advantages of composting, the good it does for our eco system, our landfills and our communities. Take it one step further, and compost with the help of worms in your own kitchen or dining room. Manufacture a great product from your kitchen scraps to nourish your flowers, your plants and you.