Plant Gardens 101

Starting Seeds for Hydroponics Use
This is a quick and simple tutorial for germinating seeds. Most people growing with hydroponics will start from either seeds or clones. But at one point or another you will always start with seeds as they are easier to obtain in most cases for clones. Starting seeds with the intent of moving them into a hydroponics system is a bit different than starting them in soil. this guide will cover starting seedlings and moving them into a hydroponics grow box.

Germinating seeds:

1. Place a moist paper towel on a ceramic dish.

2. Fold the paper towel up and around the seeds.

3. Place another ceramic dish upside down on top of the bottom dish. (more…)

Nebari are the surface roots of your tree.

When they are thick and spreading in an even radial fashion [Typical for an upright tree.] they really do help to give your bonsai that ‘Aged Big Tree’ look.

As John Y. Naka said: “Don’t make your tree look like a bonsai, Make your bonsai look like a tree.”

Here is a Ficus b. cutting that I recently pruned back hard.

A better shot of a soil ingredient to show the particle size, This is a handful of {mostly} pine bark, [The organic component of my soil. Yes, It is wet.] (more…)

Growing onions from seed can be hard and frustrating for those new to growing their own vegetables, particularly in the cooler areas of the United Kingdom, which is why so many of the shop bought one come from Spain.

The alternative solution is to grow them from what are know as “sets”. Basically “sets” are small immature onions already partially grown by a specialist wholesaler from seed one year, and available for sale to be planted by gardeners the next year to grow into mature plants with out the need to grow from seen.

Whilst all plants require good quality, well drained soil, sets are nowhere near as demanding to grow ideal for those new to gardening and growing their own vegetables.

They are well suited to growing in raised beds and like soil with a lot of well-rotted manure in it. Once the manure is dug in then you need to rake the top soil into a fine a tilth as possible. Then you need to firm down the bed by walking all over it or standing on a plank to firm up the soil.

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(1716–1783)

One of England’s most famous garden designers. He got his nickname from his conviction that all gardens had “capabilities” within them (awaiting his redesign). Before him, most English estate gardens were laid out in geometrical symmetry. Brown, applying the principles of “naturalism,” emphasized asymmetry, using serpentine curves and trees planted in loosely scattered groups. His gardens gave the estates a parklike look.