How Do Hydroponic Gardening Systems Work?

The idea of hydroponic gardening (gardening without soil), has been around since the time of King Solomon. There are a few advantages with hydroponic gardening over traditional gardening -for example the rate of growth of a hydroponic plant can be up to 50% faster than a soil plant grown under the same conditions.

And the yield of the plant is also greater!

Gardening

The reason for this is that the plants get their nutrition fed directly into their roots from nutrient rich water. Since this water is so high in nutrient content, the plant does not need large roots to search for nutrition. And since the plant expends less energy in growing roots it has more energy available to be productive above the rootline! Hydroponically grown vegetables are healthy, vigorous, and consistently reliable. This form of gardening is clean and extremely easy, and it requires very little effort.

Hydroponic gardening is also beneficial to the environment. For example hydroponic gardening uses considerably less water than soil gardening because of the constant reuse of the nutrient solutions. And also, fewer pesticides are necessary in hydroponic crops -they are not as necessary. And topsoil erosion is not even an issue since hydroponic gardening systems use no topsoil.

How exactly does a hydroponically grown plant get its nutrition -nutrition it normally gets from the soil? Well, these nutrients come in liquid or powdered mixes and can be purchased at a hydroponic supply store. And like soil, hydroponic systems can be fertilized with organic or chemical nutrients. But you should know that an organic hydroponic system can be considerably more work to maintain since the organic compounds have a tendency clump.

Hydroponic systems are normally categorized as passive or active. An active hydroponic system moves the nutrient solution with a pump. A passive hydroponic system relies on the capillary action of the growing medium or a wick.

In a passive system the nutrient rich solution is absorbed by the medium or the wick and passed along to the plant's roots. But a downside with this method is that they are usually too wet and do not supply enough oxygen to the root system for the best growth rates.

Hydroponic systems are also characterized as recovery or non-recovery. In recovery systems, the nutrient solution is re-circulated for reuse. In a non-recovery system however, the nutrient solution is not recovered.

You may be unsure of whether to buy or build a hydroponic system. If you have an 'engineering mind' and want to build one, consider buying one first just to get familiar with the inner workings. Buy a system which does not cost a lot of money. It will give you a better understanding of how hydroponics works and the hands-on experience can be worth the cost of the system as you will be able to reuse the parts when you decide to build one.

Hydroponics gardening is a popular and growing hobby and many are finding this to be fun, exciting, and easy to get started.

How Do Hydroponic Gardening Systems Work?

Growing Hydroponics can be a fun and productive new way of gardening for you. We have tips and resources to get you started fast! Article: Hydroponic Gardening Author Tony Buel

Different Types of Decorative Garden Fencing

There is more to a garden than just flowers and vegetables. Often, people want their gardens to also be aesthetically pleasing. This can be done several ways, one of which being decorative garden fences. These fences come in many different types including wood, bamboo, and vinyl. Each of these options have different attributes setting them apart from each other. There is something for everyone with these three types of decorative garden fencing.

Wooden fences are an option for people looking for a country look. One type of wooden fence is split rail which will give your garden a rustic look. Wood can be a good option for people looking for an easy fence to install. They can be found ready-made at most lumberyards and home stores. These ready-made fences can usually be put together in a single day. Be sure to research the wooden fence before buying it because some of these types of fences require extra attention to avoid rot.

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Bamboo fencing can be used to bring an exotic look to your garden. It is also an option for those who are environmentally friendly. Bamboo is actually grass instead of wood. Therefore, the supply replenishes itself much more quickly. There are many different types of bamboo decorative fences. Most home improvement stores will carry the fences and everything needed to put them up and maintain them. Because it's a natural product, bamboo can sometimes require extra care. There are a few different treatments for bamboo fencing that can be used to prolong its beauty. Even with this extra care, bamboo fencing is a great option for a beautiful, environmentally friendly fence.

Vinyl fencing is an option for people looking for low maintenance decorative garden fences. Vinyl will not need any special chemicals or treatments for its upkeep. Also, vinyl is able to withstand harsh environmental elements making it a great option for people who live in an area with harsh seasons. Vinyl fencing comes in many different looks. If you're looking for the look of a wood fence but don't want to deal with the necessary upkeep, vinyl fencing that imitates the look of wood could be the answer.

If you're looking for something to add to your garden, a decorative fence could be the solution. Choose between different types such as wood, bamboo, and vinyl. Be sure to research which materials are suitable for where you live to get the most out of your decorative garden fence.

Different Types of Decorative Garden Fencing

You can learn more about garden fence panels, and get much more information, articles and resources about garden fencing by visiting Garden Fence

Can Plants Grow Without Soil? Hydroponic Gardening is the Answer!

Hydroponic Gardening is the system in which plants can be made to grow without soil. Using hydroponics to grow plants can be beneficial for many growers since it allows plants to be grown much faster and many times with less problems.

Plants are grown in a solution which consists of water and dissolved nutrients required for the particular plant. There are several hydroponics techniques and systems that are used in producing thriving plants

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The different types of hydroponics systems and techniques include the nutrient film technique (or NFT), aeroponics, and the aeration technique.

With the aeroponics technique, plants are secured using rigid pipes, screens, or films. The nutrients are dissolved into the plants' water supply and the plants' roots are suspended within the water. The plant then obtains its food nutrients directly from the water or from an air mist which is sprayed directly onto the plant roots.

Hydroponic gardening also requires the use growing media. Different mediums can be used which have to retain the food rich moisture. They must also be able to physically support the plant roots. The following have been the most effective media so far: expanded clay, perlite, styrofoam, sand, rockwool, vermiculite, pea gravel.

Many types plants that can be grown in a hydroponics system. Some plants will grow better in hydroponics system than others, but some of the most popular are lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, watercress, and various other edible plants.

Tree seedlings and flowers can also be grown using hydroponics. Hydroponic greenhouses have been producing millions of plant seedlings every year. These are then transplanted and grown at other locations where they are later planted into soil.

If you are just a beginner at hydroponic gardening, you will no doubt be satisfied with the quality of your crops and the faster rate of growth. Hydroponically grown plants will grow and mature faster and yield an earlier harvest of vegetable crops.

There are many benefits to growing your own plants in a hydroponics system. Hydroponic gardening doesn't require a fertile farmland or a large water supply growing plants. Vegetable and plants can be grown year round. Hydroponic vegetables and plants in almost any small space, or a basement, or even an apartment balcony.

The hydroponic systems require less space because the plant roots don't have to spread and search for food and water. The smaller space requirement makes hydroponic gardening perfect for limited space home gardeners.

Hydroponic plants can also be grown in nurseries and greenhouses as well. The benefit of growing these plants without soil in a sterile medium includes not having to remove weeds or dealing with soil-borne pests and diseases. And since all the nutrients necessary for the plant are readily avaliable to it, the plant is noticeably healthier than the plants grown in soil.

The greatest benefit to hydroponic gardening is the ability to automate the hydroponics system with timers and remote monitoring equipment. This reduces the time it takes to maintain the plants and the growing environment. It also allows the grower to leave their system for long periods of time without worrying about watering plants.

Hydroponic growing without the use of soil is not simple, but with time it will become an easy routine. Hydroponics offers the advantage of many techniques that can be beneficial to your plants and produce a richer and healthier plant.

Can Plants Grow Without Soil? Hydroponic Gardening is the Answer!

Author of Hydroponic Gardening: Tony Buel Hydroponic Gardening Article Found at: Hydroponic Gardening -Grow Without Soil

Building My Own Garden Shed - Do I Need Planning Permission For My Garden Shed?

There are two planning aspects that apply to building your own garden shed even although you may not require building consent:

Firstly, you must still comply with the conditions that exempt you from having building consent. If the completed shed should exceed these restrictions then you will, of course, need to get retrospective planning permission. This situation might occur for example when your neighbors complain to the local planning inspector that you have built your shed too close to their boundaries, or you have exceeded the permitted height. If you might sell your house in the future the importance of your shed complying with building restrictions, or building consents may be important. The first thing prospective buyers will do when they see your shed in the back yard is to check whether it was built within the law.

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Secondly, building your shed must comply with prescriptive building codes that spell out exactly how something has to be constructed. Building codes are to maintain standard procedures to comply with building practices as well as protecting public health, safety and general welfare. Building a shed may not be as important as a larger building, but it still needs to comply with building standards.

Buying garden shed plans from a reputable business on the Internet will be more successful than getting plans drawn up by a local architect. This is because an internet business sells hundreds of plans of different kinds to choose from, and rely on feedback from buyers field tests to achieve the highest possible standards. Architects blueprints may only be a schematic diagram with of-the-shelf specifications you may not understand. Downloaded plans are so prescriptive and detailed, that anybody can easily build a garden shed to the highest standard. The plans are, in fact, a carpentry training course. This is like a qualified carpenter working at your home.

One of the best parts of deciding to build your garden shed is that downloaded plans only cost between and . Prescriptive plans downloaded from the internet are a tiny fraction of the costs of your shed. A selection of different shed plans is a cost effective way of choosing what a shed might cost you as materials lists are provided even down to the size of nails you need.

In conclusion, the majority of garden sheds do not require approval under building regulations. Check with your local Building Inspector to make sure if building consent is required or not. Even if you do not require building consent, you will need to comply with the exemption conditions, and the building must be constructed according to building codes of practice. Downloading plans on the internet will give you the best choice of plans, and provide you with the most prescriptive method of construction. It will also be a great woodworking training course.

Building My Own Garden Shed - Do I Need Planning Permission For My Garden Shed?

John Heatley the Author of Building My Own Garden Shed - Do I need Planning Permission For My Garden Shed? wrote this article from experience building his own garden shed. If you need more information about building your garden shed and selecting plans from 12,000 Shed and Woodworking Plans, or download your free storage shed plan go to http://www.PlansForGardenSheds.org

Garden Wedding Decorations for the Modern Bride

Many brides are choosing to get married outdoors these days, in part because so many couples don't live lives that are deeply religious so there is no strong church affiliation. If you are looking for a venue for your wedding and want something a little more modern, the getting married outdoors is the ideal choice. By finding unique garden wedding decorations, you will be able to create a magical wedding that everyone will remember.

What Do You Need?

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When you are having an outdoor wedding, the garden wedding decorations that you will need will have to be slightly different than what you would use indoors. There are several reasons for this, not least of which is the weather. Ideally, you will want to plan an outdoor wedding when there is absolutely no chance of a weather-related situation, but Mother Nature often has more in store for us than she tells us. So, the garden wedding decorations that you have should be wind-proof and definitely able to stand up to the rain.

Where Can You Get Them?

When you see photographs of an outdoor wedding, most of the plants and flowers that you see there are natural foliage. But, if you are getting married in a setting that does not have a lot of foliage, then you might need to bring your own in for the day. You can do this either by using natural flowers or by using silk or other types of artificial plants. In many cases, you can rent these for the day and no one will ever know that they aren't natural.

The Altar

Because you will be getting married outdoors and not in a church, you will need some kind of altar or centerpiece where the bride and groom stand. This can often be done by renting or buying an arbor or arch and threading real or artificial flowers and vines through it. You can achieve the same effect by getting a couple of large artificial trees.

Garden Wedding Decorationsfor the Seating

Because the seating area is the only area of the actual wedding ceremony where your guests will be situated, you might want to save the fresh flowers for the seating. The last chair on the aisle may have fresh flowers tied onto the side or the back, or you may even want to put rose petals down on the ground, all the way down the aisle.

What Else Can You Do?

One of the best things that you could do if you are looking for garden wedding decorations is to look online where you will see what other brides have done. You can use some of their ideas and combine them with your own, in conjunction with the setting you have chosen and the area of the country where you will be located. Ideally, your garden wedding should be completely unique and a reflection of your style, and if it is, everyone will be sure to enjoy the big day and the effort that you put into it.

Garden Wedding Decorations for the Modern Bride

Steven Barnhart is co-owner of six e-commerce websites. Our passion is bringing high quality pre screened products to your doorstep. By doing so it will enrich your life, the life of a friend or loved one. Looking for unique garden wedding ideas? Browse our wedding store for ideas and wedding planning! Garden Wedding Ideas

Gardening - Hibiscus Plant Care

The hibiscus is a beautiful plant that makes large, brightly colored flowers. They can be kept inside or outside and only need a small amount of care in order to bloom. If you care for this plant properly, you will be well rewarded.

The hibiscus is a tropical plant and therefore, the most important care it needs is to be kept warm. It needs to be kept in temperatures that remain between sixty and ninety degrees most of the time. If the temperature goes beyond this range for just a short time the plant will probably be okay, but it might lose some leaves or flower buds.

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If the temperature is regularly going below fifty degrees, it will stop growing and flowers will stop blooming. Temperatures that go below freezing will hurt the hibiscus. If it stays below thirty degrees for many hours, the plant will most likely die. Even though this plant is tropical, it cannot get too hot either. If it gets above 95 degrees, the flower buds will probably fall off. However, the plant will live in these conditions if given enough water.

When it is hot, the hibiscus needs lots of water regularly. However, don't flood the roots or let the plant sit in water. If the leaves get droopy, this means it's not getting enough water. When cold, do not water the plant as much. Only water the plant when the soil gets dry. During cold months, if this plant is watered too much it may develop a fungus disease which attacks the roots. This can kill the plant, so if it is cold it's better to let the plant get too dry than to over-water it.

To keep your plant healthy, you will need to feed it. Get a high quality plant feed that is high in potassium and follow the directions on the package. Don't get anything that is high in phosphorus such as "super bloom" fertilizers. This can hurt the plant. Hibiscus likes to be fed in small amounts regularly rather than larger amounts less regularly.

You should also try to keep bugs off your plant as much as possible. Spraying the plant with a hose will get most bugs off, but there are also some products on the market that rid plants of bugs.

You should keep your plant in soil that has good drainage. When you move the plant, don't go up in pot size very drastically. If you currently have it in a two gallon pot, move it to a three gallon pot next. Don't jump up to a bigger size.

Hibiscus only needs between two and four hours of direct sun a day. It needs plenty of shade during the day. If your flower buds are falling off before opening, this may be a sign that your plant is getting too much sun.

If these plants have adequate care, they will make large, gorgeous flowers that come in many colors, such as white, pink red, bright pink, mauve, raspberry, dusty rose and plum. You are to enjoy this beautiful plant.

Gardening - Hibiscus Plant Care

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Gardening

Importance of Gardening Direct

Gardening is one of the most intimate tasks between a gardener and his garden. What the garden requires is an immense amount of attention and care. Soil is the most important aspect that needs preparation before the actual plantation starts. Compost and fertilizers are the prime requirement of every healthy and beautiful garden.This makes the soil a viable ground for the plants and then tress to flourish luxuriantly. Moreover, manure also plays an essential part to make the soil fertile and rich in fundamental nutrients. Sheep manure is the best available manure in the market. This is the best quality manure that can be used for the plants to grow at an increased rate. There are exclusive gardening shops to help one to learn and understand more about gardening products. Gardening Direct is one such source that specializes in gardening supplies.

Apart from taking care of soil, one needs to give attention to the planting of seeds. This means that the actual process of the planting of seeds plays a vital role in the process of gardening. Once the soil gets prepared for plantation, next in line is the part to be played by seeds. The actual method of laying these seeds is written on the seed packet. These instructions must be rigorously followed. If one wants extra advice then the online source such as Gardening Direct can always give special advises such as the correct procedure of going about the actual process. Apart from the purchase of seeds, another option available to the gardeners is to purchase young plants or shoots that can be planted for further growth. These young shoots are readily available from the market.

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Now if we move our attention to the aspect of care and precision that the garden and the process of gardening requires then it is the use of pesticides that can kill and remove the pests attacking the plants destroying them in a large number. These pests can be destroyed manually or with the help of chemicals available in the gardening supplies stores. Gardening Direct takes care of all these necessitate that one might need in order to develop a garden.

A garden left to grown without giving any attention to the pests that bear the capacity of destroying the entire group of vegetables and plants, will be a deed of extreme foolishness on the part of the gardener.
Therefore, gardening is an act that demands extreme attention in order to save it from the hands of destruction and make it bear the fruits of effort supplied by the gardener. It is for the individuals to take care of these details in order to turn the garden for the advantages that it is meant for. Therefore, gardening is a wholesome experience that demands special care and attention.

Importance of Gardening Direct

For more information about gardening direct, simply visit http://www.gardeningtools.org.uk/what-makes-gardening-direct-attractive-to-their-2-million-customers/

What Is Vertical Gardening?

Have you ever dreamed of harvesting your own fruit and vegetables, fresh from the garden? Have you ever baulked at rising produce prices, and spent an arm and a leg on fresh produce only to take it home and find it bland? Have you ever wished you had a spacious backyard to grow your own corn and strawberries, but gave up your dreams because you work in the city and live in an apartment?

What if I told you that you can harvest as much fresh fruit and vegetables as you'd like from your very own garden with only the space on your balcony or windowsills.

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You might think it is a crazy idea right?

With today's vertical gardening techniques, you can grow your own produce as long as you have somewhere sunny, be it a balcony, porch, or alleyway along a fence. With vertical gardening, you train your veggies to grow up, not out.

So what exactly is vertical gardening and why can it give you season after season of satisfaction and impressive crops of fruits and vegetables?

Vertical gardening relies on the fact that plants will grow where ever there is light, nutrients, and support. This means that even if your cucumber vine is growing from a pot straight up a wall, it will still produce!

Long ago, it was commonly thought that only with expansive amounts of land can one grow produce. The problem was that before the advent of pots, irrigation, and soil conditioners, each plant relied strictly on what was in the soil beneath it to survive.

This meant that a given plant would consume a large amount of soil in order to produce a given amount of fruit.

Today, we can engineer optimum conditions for a given plant in a milk jug, and watch it produce many pounds of vegetables. This is possible through the application of science and careful planning of your garden well before planting the first seed.

Do not be discouraged, although the process may seem labor intensive and difficult, it truly isn't. After only a few weeks you will understand most of the theory and after a single season you will become a seasoned professional at growing your own produce indoors or in small spaces. Imagine covering an entire wall with bean vines, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

Imagine the satisfaction you will get when you bite into your very own produce, which will taste many fold better than that which is available at the store. This and much more is possible with vertical gardening!

So, if you have decided that vertical gardening may be something you would like more information about, scour the Internet for more info. You will be surprised at the resources available, and I am sure if you set your mind to it you could be harvesting your own fruit and veggies this year. Vertical gardening may be bringing fresh produce to a balcony near you soon.

What Is Vertical Gardening?

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Gardening Supplies

Before you begin any garden, you have to make sure you have the right supplies. If you start digging up your yard and find out that you need a garden hoe to do this and a trowel to do that and you don't have those tools, you will be stuck with an ugly yard and nothing to do. Before you start anything, you need to be prepared.

In order to figure out what you need, go through the steps of the gardening process and figure out what is necessary for each step. First, you need to cultivate the plot and prepare the soil. In order to do this, you will need a tiller. A tiller is motorized and easily breaks up the ground before you. They are very efficient and easy to use, but can be expensive.

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If you don't have the budget for a till, you can replace it with several tools. Of course, you will need a shovel for the initial digging. If you have especially tough, rocky land, you may need a pickax to help you with the initial digging. Once you've broken up most of the dirt and removed the tough grass on top, a garden hoe will be necessary to further break up the soil.

A hoe is small on the end and can be used to chop any chunks and left-over grass and roots. You should use a cultivator to remove rocks and other large pieces that don't belong.

When you begin planting, you will need some smaller tools. A trowel will prove invaluable to any gardener. They are used to transplant and help remove weeds. A trowel is simply a small hand shovel. You can also get a cultivator in a hand size.

Once your plants of started growing, you may need to prune them from time to time. For this, you will need some shears. Shears will help keep your bushes from over growing and by clipping back your plants, they will grow healthier and stronger.

Some other tools you may find useful include a hose, wheelbarrow, circle hoe, and fertilizers. You can use a watering can to water, but if you have a large garden, a hose will be much faster and more efficient. A wheelbarrow can help with gardening and any other yard work. A circle hoe is great to help weed your garden without killing your plants. It's important to keep up your garden by weeding it and keeping it watered on a regular basis. Let these tools help you keep a beautiful healthy garden the whole season.

Gardening Supplies

Want more information about tools for gardening and where you can get them? Go to StartaGarden.com and you will find all the information you need.

Raised Bed Gardening - Getting the Soil Mix Right

OK, you have built your raised bed but now you have to fill it with a soil mix. This is where you need to be thinking before you build your raised beds of how deep to make them. A 3 foot deep bed takes six times the soil mix than is needed to fill a 6 inch deep bed so get your planning right at the start. I am going to discuss what I did when I sent my first High Density Gardening raised bed up.

My beds are 6 inches deep and I am amazed at what I grow but these are on the top of an old lawn. I would think about a deeper bed than this if you are building on a concrete base.

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If you followed the square foot gardening method, it recommends a third peat, a third vermiculite and a third home made compost. If you want to be organic you should not use peat and although it is 100% organic it is not a sustainable product. The other problem you will have on first starting up your raised bed garden is that you are unlikely to have any home made compost. Finally, vermiculite is made from a rock and is heated to a high temperature to expand it into the state we are all familiar with. I guess this is organic but the use of the high temperatures, over 1000 centigrade is not very environmentally friendly.

What I did when I built my first raised bed in my High Density Garden plot was to create a mix of the following ingredients. Top soil, peat, coir and well rotted horse manure. I mixed these in roughly equal quantities of a quarter each.

The top soil is just soil I had lying around from earlier gardening projects but I also bought a couple of bags from a local garden centre to finish the top of the raised bed off. However, do not make the same mistake I made. My father decided he would help out by brining me some top soil. He lives about 20 miles from me and what happened is that I ended up with weeds in my raised bed which do not grow round here. The topsoil I bought in bags had been sterilized so there were no weeds there.

The peat I used was old peat I had used in the greenhouse to grow tomatoes and cucumbers in. I know I should not use it and this year I have tried organic growing medium but I am not as impressed with it as with peat. I only used peat when setting up the raised bed vegetable gardens and this was peat I had used in the greenhouse to grow tomatoes and cucumbers in. I now grow my toms and cucumbers in organic growing medium and reuse this in the garden as well.

The coir I used is great stuff and is made from the waste product during coconut harvesting. It is 100% organic and is fully sustainable. I buy it in compressed blocks and re-hydrate it. The coir also has a great moisture holding capacity and this helps in your raised beds.

I used well rotted horse manure in the bottom of the beds. This is put down in a thin layer and then the other ingredients added on top and I just mix it all together as best as possible but at the same time trying not to disturb the horse manure in the bottom of the bed.

Every time I now add a new crop I just mix some of my home made compost in to the soil mix which does two things. The first is that it adds a source of food for the plants and the second is that it make up for settling of the soil mix and soil mix lost on plants.

By using a soil mix like this one it is very light and very friable or easy to work. Plant roots can easily grow down into your soil, moisture gets down to the roots easily and the added coir helps to retain moisture in the soil mix and the final thing is that it is very easy to pull weeds out as they do not have a good hold in this light soil mix when young. If you get the soil mix for your raised beds right it makes gardening much more enjoyable and easier and your crops will be healthier for it.

One final point is to get your home made compost pile started as you will need to use this in the future to add to your soil mix. You can download a free worksheet on how to build a hotbox composting bin from the High Density Gardening website here.

Raised Bed Gardening - Getting the Soil Mix Right

Ric Wiley is an internet writer and gardener. His website about High Density Gardening can be found at http://www.highdensitygardening.com/home.html and his latest ebook is High Density Gardening.

How to Start a Vegetable Garden From Scratch!

1. Plot out your garden area. Decide on what you want to plant and how much room you will need to grow those plants. Also, the amount of sunlight is very important in picking out the proper placement of your garden. You will want an area that gets direct sunlight most for the day. Something else to take into account is the drainage of the land. You will not want your garden in a depressed area of land because water will tend to flood those areas and won't drain properly. I prefer using a slightly sloped piece of land or a flat piece of land that retains and drains water properly. Once you have chosen the location and size of you garden you will want to mark the boundaries of the garden with stakes or flags.

2. Next is the part of the job that will likely take the most time, preparing the soil. Preparing the soil means two things to me:

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A. Cutting and removing the sod. You have several options when deciding how you want to get rid of the grass and get down to the soil. If you have a very large garden you may want to hire somebody or rent the equipment (bobcat) to tear up the grass. If you own a rototiller (you can rent one), you can use this to remove the sod. There a two main types of tillers, front tine or rear tine. Rear tine tillers have the blades in the back of the machine and typically are a bit easier to use due to the fact that you (as the operator) get more weight/leverage over top the blades. Front tine tillers have the blades in the front and can be a bit harder to use on hard sod or compacted soil since there is not as much weight/leverage over top the blades to make them bite in as well as a rear tine tiller. If you have a very small garden area then you may also choose to use a shovel to tear up the sod. Personally, my brother and I used a tiller to tear up a rather large patch of land for our garden. We would run the tiller over the grass to break it up then rake the grass clumps into one large pile in the corner of our garden, which eventually decomposed to plain dirt. We had to run the tiller over the garden area several times and rake clumps of grass each time before we had a workable dirt area. This can be a back breaking task so make sure to take your time and rest occasionally.

B. Getting the soil ready to plant in. Plants will produce their best when they have a healthy, somewhat loose, soil to grow in. This means that you want a nutrient rich soil that retains just the right amount of moisture. You can take soil samples into many garden centers to get a test done. A soil test will tell you what you need to add or balance out in your soil. The three key nutrients in soil that you will need to worry about are: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Any and all of these nutrients can easily be added using organic or non-organic methods. Ask your garden center what you should use for your soil. I was fortunate with my garden because the land we put our garden on used to be old farm land and was great soil. We simply tilled the soil several times to loosen it up before we created rows.

3. Next you will want to create your rows and plant your seeds or seedlings. To do this, follow the directions for row and seed spacing on the back of your seed packages (you can also find all your planting information at the website listed in the resource box below). Many plants require 24" to 36" between rows. Make sure to leave adequate room between your rows to allow you to walk and/or till between them. I like to mark where my rows will be, by driving stakes into the ground on each end of the row and tying twine between the stakes (I use a tape measure to mark the distance between my stakes).

How to Start a Vegetable Garden From Scratch!

Steve Gunther is passionate about vegetable gardening. Though only introduced to gardening himself a couple of years ago, he has immersed himself in the gardening community. Steve is currently starting a website dedicated to vegetable gardening [http://getready2garden.com/] and a blog: http://getready2garden.blogspot.com/

Cleaning Rain Gutters With a Garden Hose

Clogged rain gutters can do a severe damage to your home. The water overflows through the eaves and flow along the walls and accumulated in the foundation. The water flowing in this way not only damages the walls but also damages the foundation of your home. It is necessary to remove the clogging and clean the gutters to ensure the smooth flow of water away from the home. Water damage can lead to costly repair work. So it is better to maintain and upkeep your rain gutters to avoid these damages. Although many methods are used to clean the gutters, garden hose is one of a tool which can help you clean the rain gutters and remove the clogging.

Required Items

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Following items are required to clean the rain gutters with water hose:

- Metal coat hanger
- Goggles
- Heavy rubber gloves
- Garden hose with variable nozzle
- Large S-shaped hook
- Bucket
- Garden hand shovel
- Ladder

Steps

1. You need to start from the area attached to a downspout. To do this, set up a ladder properly. Make sure that the ladder is secure enough to fall away. You can take help from your friend or any other partner to hold a ladder for you while you do your work upside.

2. Wear the gloves to prevent any cut from sharp edges. Remove the debris dirt and other accumulated leaves from the gutter. Put the garbage into the bucket.

3. Use the metal coat hanger with a hook to clean the any hard accumulated debris on the opening of the downspout. Wire can also be effective to clean the areas where your hand cannot reach easily.

4. Now take a garden hose and spray water to remove the remaining debris. Look that the water flows out from the downspout freely. If you see that the water is not coming out freely then downspout may be clogged. Change the nozzle setting and spray the water directly into the downspout with hard thrust of water.

5. Move the ladder to the next section of the gutter. Take away all the debris or dirt and spray water into the downspouts to remove the remaining debris.

6. Repeat the same process on all the installed rain gutters to remove any obstructive material from them and also from downspouts to ensure the free flow of the rain water. For every movement, make certain that the ladder is on stable surface to prevent any injury.

Precautions

- If your home is surrounded by trees, downspout baskets are the best affordable investments to prevent clogging.
- Cleaning gutters do not mean to just clean the debris. It includes the inspections of different areas associated with rain gutters like, brackets, hangers etc. keep examining these for possible damages to prevent major repair afterwards.
- Always use goggles and gloves for protection.

Cleaning Rain Gutters With a Garden Hose

You might be interested in learning about How to Use Color in Your Home Design and also How to Plant in Containers.

How To Repel Snakes From Around Your House, Garden Or Farm

Snakes tend to follow their prey which usually like to stick to the edges of walls, fences, the base of trees, etc. These are the places where snakes are most likely to pick up on fresh scents of mice, rats and other rodents.

Some studies have shown that it is possible to use some substances that have a pungent and long lasting nature which effect the snakes smelling mechanism in such a way that it will prefer to leave the vicinity of the substance.

Garden

Naphtalene is one such substance. Naphtalene is the substance used in moth balls (and you know how pungent that is). Moth balls are really just any one of certain kinds of wax balls that have been infused with naphtalene. Naphtalene can also be bought in liquid form from specialized dealers. In my experience you can spray it onto to porous stone, concrete, wood, dry leaves, trees, etc. All these places are good places upon which to spray naphtalene just as long as they are not washed with water afterwards.

In small areas moth balls may be good because the substance is trapped inside a wax ball and therefore it's release will be slow and over a prolonged period of time. In larger areas you will need to buy naphtalene in liquid form and to spray it directly onto surfaces. Application should be repeated every two months during the snake season for best results. Naphtalene will not harm the envronment or cause any lasting damage to the snake. It will simply cause it go to look for food elsewhere.

If you use this substance to repel snakes you will have to keep the rodent population in check through other means on your own. Snakes help you with rodent control and the fact that they also pose potential a threat to you is merely an unfortunate accident of nature.

A good natural method of controlling mice and much more effective than snakes it to encourage the presence of a barn owl (or two) on your property. They will eat many mice in a single night. Snakes will only eat one every few days. Nesting boxes for owls can be bought at specialist dealer shops or on the internet.

How To Repel Snakes From Around Your House, Garden Or Farm

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Bio-Intensive Gardening

This old method of home gardening is simply related to organic gardening although there's a little twist on the application. It involves the process by digging the plots the same size with the plot at a 1-2 feet depth. Inside the dug portion, all the garden wastes, grass clippings and other plant waste materials are deposited to lay there for a couple of weeks to decompose. This is duplicated to other plots alternately in the garden.

7 Ways You Can Apply Bio-Intensive Gardening

Gardening

1) Clear the area of all weeds, grass clippings and other waste materials.

2) Put garden waste, grass clippings and other yard wastes in certain place.

3) Layout your garden according to the size of plots you want. It can be 1m X 10m length or 1m X 20 m length plot if your area is wide.

4) On the first row or plot dig the soil according to the size and length of your plot 1-2 " depth. Place the dug soil on the side of plot to make easier to return them back.

5) Gather all you wastes, grass clippings and other landscape wastes and put them inside the dug plot. Press them properly to compress inside the dug portion.

6) Return the dug soil back into the plots where the grass clippings are deposited and compact them to cover the whole plot. It makes the dug soil raised higher above the soil at around 1 foot high.

7) Make another dug area alternately with your plots until all your waste materials are totally buried under the soil.

After a couple of weeks, you can plant on top of the raised dug plots. The garden wastes are now totally decomposed and you can utilize planting other crops alternately.

Bio-Intensive gardening is effective in areas near urban centers and other populated locations. And this is recommended from environmentalists group since it's favorable for organic gardening.

Bio-Intensive Gardening

Cris Ramasasa, Freelance writer, writes about home gardening and Internet marketing tips. You can get a copy of his latest ebook "Discover How to get started in Flower Gardening" and "Vegetable Gardening Made Easy", also get lots of tips, Free articles, and bonuses at: http://www.crisramasasa.com

How To Fertilize Your Vegetable Garden

Fertilizer is an important part of a successful garden, but using the wrong one or using the right one the wrong way can cause problems. Overuse is one of the most common problems, especially in the case of slow-release fertilizers.

Slow release fertilizers are designed to release their nutrients over a period of time and if you apply them too often, you may wind up overlapping the new with the old that has not fully released yet.

Gardening

Always make sure you read the directions for the fertilizers you're using in your garden. In most cases, they will say how often they should be applied.

There are 3 components to fertilizer: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. They're rated by the amount of each of these ingredients. They will have a number, such as 20-20-20, which indicates how much of each is included. The first number is the nitrogen content, the second is the phosphorus and the third is the potassium.

Each of the three components of fertilizer promotes different types of growth. Nitrogen promotes leaf and stem growth, phosphorus helps with fruits and strong root systems and potassium helps to strengthen the plants.

Initially, a complete fertilizer will help to get your plants started properly. After growth has begun, be careful not to over-fertilize with nitrogen, which can make the plant put too much energy into growing leaves and stems, making the fruit growth suffer in turn.

There are many types of fertilizer available, some chemical based and others organic. Consider where you will be using them when choosing which type to use. If you're growing vegetables that you will be eating, you might want to think twice before using chemical fertilizers - after all, would you want to put that stuff in your body?

How To Fertilize Your Vegetable Garden

Dave Truman offers advice about choosing the right fertilizer and other vegetable gardening topics on the Vegetable Gardeners website. Get your free copy of our 3 special reports on getting your garden started right at http://www.vegetablegardeners.com