Plant Gardens 101

For anyone starting out with indoor or hydroponics gardening, using grow light kits can help you get started on the right foot. Making sure you provide a stable, managed environment can make all the difference in your garden’s success. While it is possible to purchase indoor grow lights and other components that you’ll need separately, starting out with a kit can be a much simpler solution.

Benefits of using grow light kits

The most significant benefit of any kit is that it is ready to use immediately. While this his hugely convenient, new and seasoned gardeners alike will appreciate that kits are failsafe. The components included in any grow light assembly must integrate correctly in order for a lighting system to work correctly. There are different types of ballasts, bulbs and reflectors. An HPS grow light, for example, must be paired with a suitable ballast in order to work properly. The risk of pairing incompatible components is completely eliminated by the use of grow light kits. (more…)

Most Japanese Maple seeds ripen in the fall. Watch the tree and wait for the seeds to turn brown. The seeds are ready to be harvested when they are brown and can be easily removed from the tree. The seeds are attached to a wing, it’s best to break the wing off before storing or planting the seeds. Japanese Maple seeds have a very hard outer coating as do many ornamental plants. Under natural conditions the seeds would have to be on the ground for almost two years before they would germinate. All that happens the first winter is the moisture softens the hard outer shell, and the second winter germination is beginning to take place.

In order for all of this to happen in the proper sequence so the seedlings actually sprout at a time of the year when freezing temperatures or hot summer sun doesn’t kill them, takes a tremendous amount of luck. (more…)

The botanical name for lamb’s ears.