Can I join a community garden?

Can I join a community garden?
Community gardens grow more than produce. Besides the added benefits of exercise, better nutrition and family recreation, friendship and understanding often blossom across cultures as gardeners work side by side.

Read more on San Diego Union-Tribune

If plants need bees and or insects to polinate them how is it possible to grow vegetables?

in a dirt free, bug free environment

Growing Indoors is a Full Time Job

Hydroponics gardening is a type of growing indoors where plants are grown in a method other than top-soil. Usually, this refers to allowing the plant roots to suspend in a tray of water that is concentrated with nutrient solution. This allows the plants to absorb the necessary nutrients required for optimum growth. Due to this, hydroponics gardening tends to use the nutrients more efficiently and produce superior blossoms and yields.

Most gardeners that use the growing indoors methods tend to use the Ebb and Flow method that uses a pump to flood the plant growing tray with the nutrient solution on a continual and consistent basis. Technology assists in the monitoring of the environment to determine the required amount of nutrients to provide for optimum plant growth. Growing indoors using this system allows the use of a variety of mediums.

Hydroponics supplies, such as Gravel and Grow rocks, allow plants to get nutrients provided by the solution when are placed at the bottom of the grow tray. Gardeners, with small plants growing indoors, may opt to using individual plant pots that can be moved around easily if needed. However, with this Ebb and Flow hydroponics system you need to be aware of power failures as roots can dry out quite quickly if this system is not kept operating at all times.

The Water Culture method is another common hydroponics system method that uses a raised gardening system. Within this method the plants are suspended on a Styrofoam platform which floats within the nutrient-rich water where an air pump is used to give oxygen to the plants by creating bubbles. This hydroponics method is perfect for leaf lettuce and other fast water-growing plants. This indoor gardening system is best used within a classroom setting to assist in the demonstration of the basics of growing plants.

The easiest and simplest hydroponics system of indoor growing is the Wick method. This is due to the fact that there is no expensive equipment to buy and does not require any moveable parts. With this method the gardener puts the end of the wick in the nutrient solution, while the other end is placed in the growing medium. However, one drawback of using this hydroponics system is that it is not ideal for large plants, as they tend to use up your supplies of solution and water faster than the wicks can supply the nutrients to the system.

If you are in the market for a hydroponics gardening system there are a variety of systems that you can choose from. Between the practically maintenance free systems to others that require a bit more attention, gardeners of all levels – be it hobbyists or the professional – can enjoy growing indoors year-round.

How to Grow House Plants from Tip Cuttings : Other Ways of Growing House Plants from Tip Cuttings

Learn other ways of growing houseplants from tip cuttings in this free home gardening video from our plant propagation expert.Expert: Nicole Pantaleon Bio: Nicole Pantaleon has a BS in Plant & Soil Science from the University of MA. She has been a grower at Five Acre Farm since 1996. Filmmaker: Christian Munoz-Donoso

From Fluorescent to High Pressure Sodium and Metal Halide, Grow Lights Help You Flex Your Flower Power

If growing plants indoors is something that interests you, then you’ll most likely need grow lights to help accomplish the job. A grow light provides the special lighting and light spectrum that plants need to grow and thrive, and there are two types of lights that accomplish this: high intensity discharge lights, and fluorescent lights. High intensity discharge grow lights come in two varieties — the metal halide grow light (often referred to as MH), and the high pressure sodium grow light (often referred to as HPS). The metal halide light is designed to nurture plants during their growing cycle. The growing cycle applies to pants that are non-fruiting and/or non-blooming.

The high pressure sodium lights are designed for those plants that are in the fruiting or blooming processes. The HPS grow lights come enhanced with the blue spectrum (this is used for vegetative growth) or the red spectrum (this is used for the flowering growth). The nice thing about these types of grow lights is that they can be used throughout the entire growing, fruiting and blooming process for most plants. Fluorescent grow lights do not emit as much light as the other types of grow lights that are available on the market, and so they are not intended to be used during the plant cycle, since the lack of a bright light will yield only small growth results. Instead, fluorescent grow lights should have its softer and gentler light used to help seedlings and cuttings begin to generate growth. Fluorescent lighting is best used to help nurture young plants and blooms.

No matter what type of grow light systems you have, it will use some kind of ballast system which enables the bulb or tube to generate enough energy to strike and give off light. Typically, metal halide grow lights and HPS grow lights run from remote ballasts. A remote ballast is a special configuration in which external boxes contain the electronics and wiring needed to pre-heat the lamp, and then keep it running. Why should you use grow lights? Well, look at a plant as if it is a factory that manufactures goods from raw materials and products. Factors need energy to run, and so do plans. The energy source that enables them to grow comes from grow lights (hence the name). Usually, it is natural sunlight that is used to feed plants with the energy they need, but grow lights can be a reliable and suitable substitution.

The Fitzurka garden in Robinson is filled with family and food — lots of food

The Fitzurka garden in Robinson is filled with family and food — lots of food
Patty and John Fitzurka live in a hidden corner of Robinson, close to the railroad tracks, on a short street with neatly kept older homes.

Read more on Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

how long does it take for zinnias to grow flowers?

I’ve had mine for a while and i havent seen any thing i feed it good fertilizer but nothing

How hard will it be to take indroductory microbiology, zoology, and botany if you have not takes gen bio 2?

I took the first general bio and did good but i don’t have room on my schedule

Learning How to Plant a Vegetable Garden Can be Fun

Learning how to plant a vegetable garden is not hard, but without careful planning and proper follow through, your garden may perform poorly.  If done correctly it pays off with big benefits in so many ways.  Before you know it you will be picking perfectly ripe, perfectly delicious tomatoes without having to wonder what chemicals went into growing them.

The most important part of successful gardening is to properly prepare the soil.  A routine soil test gives information on any lime requirement, phosphorous and potassium needs and estimated nitrogen requirements. A good soil mixture contains two parts loam, one parts and, and one part organic matter and many pre-mixed soil mixtures are available at garden centers.  When manure is added to the soil, it must be composted prior to planting, because fresh, hot manure will also burn your plants.  Vegetables need a lot of nutrition to grow well, so the better you prepare the soil before planting, the better chances you have of producing a bountiful crop. For information on soil testing, call your local county extension educator or the local university soil testing laboratory.

Planting a vegetable garden is not hard, but without careful planning and proper follow through, your garden may perform poorly.  Tilling the soil in late fall facilitates earlier spring planting.  Cool versus warm planting periods are determined by your choice of cool-season vegetables and warm-season vegetables.

Successful vegetable gardening involves far more than just popping a few seeds into the ground and waiting for a tomato to appear. When sowing your seeds stretch a string between the two stakes you set to mark the row, or use a straight piece of lumber, and use it as a guide to open a ‘V’ shaped furrow with the corner of your hoe.  Tear the corner of the seed package off and use your finger to tap the package lightly as you move down the row, carefully distributing the seeds evenly. Larger type seeds may be placed individually in the row.  You will want to plant extra seeds in each row to allow for failed germination, and for thinning.  Cover the seeds with fine soil (no clods or rocks).  After the seeds sprout, the weaker seedlings should be pinched off to give the rest enough room to grow.

Vegetables that are leaves or stems, such as cabbages and onions, can usually be harvested over a long period as they are needed.  Vegetables that are the fruit of the plant, such as peas, beans and tomatoes, should be picked every two or three days to get them when they are first ripe.  Any vegetable garden should receive a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight during the day and grow best on soil that is well drained. Vegetable gardens do not always have to be laid out in large plots in the backyard; you can grow them nearly anywhere as long as all their growing conditions are met and your choice of plants will be largely determined by the likes and dislikes of your family.  If the same garden plot is used for vegetables for many years, your crops should be rotated, so that each type of vegetable is in a different position during the following season. 

Planting a vegetable garden is hard work but for both the beginner and experienced gardener the rewards can be delicious.

An Idea Takes Root In Fair Haven

An Idea Takes Root In Fair Haven
In a garden tucked between two industrial buildings on James Street, Wanda Albandoz filled up a crate of organic kale, string beans, basil, and tomatoes for her family—produce that she had a hand in growing. Meanwhile, Albandoz has lost 30 pounds in five months.

Read more on New Haven Independent