1.Hedge clippings: Instead of burning or direct composting, beg, borrow or even buy, if the quantity justifies the price, an electric garden muncher.
Branches up to an inch in diameter are posted into a slot and the machine munches them up into small chips. Spread these chips thickly around shrubs or fruit trees to help keep moisture in, and control the temperature of the soil.
2.Food Waste: All food waste must be composted. Composting is becoming quite an art form, and special composting bins can be bought, or very simply made.
There are many different theories and each gardener will find his or her preferred way. Keeping the compost fairly warm is the overall key to a good result. Or, if you're in no hurry, simply keep adding to a heap, and dig out the bottom when required. Sieve before using and the compost will be ready
for planting small plants and even seeds.
3.Old carpets, large damaged cardboard boxes: and similar materials can be laid over the vegetable plot in autumn to help prevent those early spring weeds appearing. Spread over a whole patch and weigh down with stones or logs. Lift off on a sunny day in early spring a few days before digging.
4.Paint trays: Keep old roller painting trays and similar containers for seed trays. Punch a few holes in the bottom for drainage. Add a little fine gravel before filling with seed compost. Seed trays shouldn't be deeper than 15cm.
5.Yoghurt pots: All plastic yoghurt or dessert pots can be washed and saved for re-potting seedlings. Make a hole in the bottom of each and add a little fine gravel before filling with compost or soil..
>
6.Glass jars: Glass jars with sealable lids are excellent for storing seeds, beans and peas for planting next year. (Safe from mice as well) After washing the jars, dry in the oven to remove all traces of moisture before storing your seeds. Collect dark glass jars, or wrap paper round clear jars to prevent seeds being damaged by light.
7.Ice Lolly sticks: Make perfect row markers in your seed trays or greenhouse beds. The wooden ones won't last for ever but you can at least write on them with pen, pencil or crayons!
8.Wire coat hangers: Make mini-cloches with discarded or broken wire coat hangers. Pull into a square shape. Place the hook in the soil and push down gently until the natural bend in the wire rests on top of the soil. Place another a short distance away in your seed bed to create two ends of a cloche. Now throw over a sheet of plastic and hold down with logs or stones.
Note: this will work only when creating very small cloches.
9.Clear plastic: Keep any clear plastic containers that could be placed upside down over a plant. Cut a mineral water bottle in half to make two handy individual cloches. Large sheets of clear plastic from packaged household items are fine for throwing over mini coat hanger cloches.
10.Aluminium bottle tops: Keep aluminium tops from milk or juice bottles, and also coloured foil around beer or wine bottles. Thread together to make a bird scarer. Simply thread with thick cotton and hang on your fruit bushes before the birds find the new fruits.
Look out for other tools for the garden from kitchen throwaways such as:
old kitchen spoons and forks for transplanting tiny plants in the greenhouse.
Leaky buckets for harvesting small quantities of potatoes, carrots etc;
light wooden boxes for harvesting salads through the summer, and transporting pots etc;
Keep an eye on that rubbish bag & turn today's throways into tomottow's tools!
About The Author
Linda Gray is a freelance writer and didn't know a
daffodil from a rose 15 years ago... she knows better
now! Browse through the greenery at Flower and Garden
Tips.. Bring a cuppa! Flower and Garden Tips
www.flower-and-garden-tips.com
What Does Avian Flu, 7 Eleven, and Sauerkraut Have
in Common?by: Monte Luxley
Have you been reading those alarming headlines lately:
"the avian flu will be in the United States in a few months because of migrating birds"?
Well, consider this evolving story about a possible preventative: sauerkraut.
This story started last November as scientists at Seoul National University
in South Korea fed an extract of kimchi, a spicy Korean variant of sauerkraut,
to 13 chickens infected with avian flu, and a week later, 11 of the birds started to
recover, according to a report by the BBC Network.
Well guess what? A company that makes sauerkraut in Wisconsin made these claims:
"We've got the preventative, and 115,000 tons of it in Wisconsin alone," said
Ryan Downs, owner and general manager of Great Lakes Kraut Co., which has sauerkraut
factories in Bear Creek and Shiocton, Wis., and in Shortsville, N.Y.
Downs said more extensive scientific research is needed to prove any curative
link to avian flu, but he's more than happy to tout kraut as a healthful part
of any diet.
"People are starting to realize kraut is a pretty doggone good food," Downs
said when contacted about the South Korean study. "We're ready to help keep the
world healthy."
After a Minneapolis CBS affiliate did its own story on sauerkraut's potential
in the battle against avian flu, Frank's checked 54 Twin City area stores it
supplies, and found an 850 percent spike in overall sauerkraut sales,
Lundin said.
Now the story gets better. Headlines in January started touting the benefits
of sauerkraut (unrelated to the avian flu story) as being a low carb food,
and named sauerkraut as one of the hottest foods of 2006.
Believe It or Not: Sauerkraut was named as one of the Hottest Foods of 2006.
Additionally the National Restaurant Association cites sauerkraut as an
older dish making a comeback. And lo and behold now Arby's has introduced
a new Reuben sandwich as part of their new "market fresh sandwich" program
and they use Frank's Sauerkraut, considered to be the highest quality
sauerkraut in the United States.
A Georgetown University study (February 2006) was cited, in the latest issue
of the British Journal of Cancer, and expands upon many other cancer studies
by identifying and describing the cellular process which gives cruciferous
foods, like cabbage and sauerkraut, a strong cancer-fighting response in
the human body.
The study found that a chemical called indol-3-carbonol (I3C) which occurs
naturally in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower,
cabbage, and sauerkraut, boosts the activity of two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, which then
work to detect and repair damaged DNA. Because damaged DNA can lead cells
to become cancerous, eating foods that repair DNA, like sauerkraut, may
lower the risk of cancer development.
Now the 7Eleven connection.
I started noticing that 7Eleven stores carry as part of their condiment arsenal,
sauerkraut. And when combined with their big bite array of dogs it actually becomes
a low carb alternative. According to Charles Stuart Platkin, a syndicated
health, nutrition, and fitness columnist, author of the best-selling book,
Breaking the Pattern (Red Mill Press, 2002), the 7 Eleven Biggest Bite
can be broken down to the following goodies:
7 Eleven 1/3 Pound Big Biggest Bite (no bun): 480 calories, 45g fat, 3g carbs
Mr. Platkin further elaborates:
"All I can say is pack on the sauerkraut -- it's your best bet. It has very
few calories and no fat. Mustard, ketchup and relish are also great deals in
terms of calories. Steer clear of butter and mayo, which have a habit of
turning up on almost everything we eat. Also, try to avoid cheese and
chili whenever possible; they can add more than 250 calories and 15g fat
to your frank."
--- Sauerkraut (1 cup): 27 calories, 0g fat, 6g carbs
Now you know the connection between the avian flu, 7 Eleven and sauerkraut.
Also, have you noticed that no South Koreans have died from the Avian Flu,
even though there have been several infections?,
Now this is Real-Food-For-Thought !!!
Stay healthy, Monte
Monte Luxley is a health conscious baby boomer involved in research of
natural foods as alternatives to mainline allopathic approaches.
www.ArthritisHelpTips.com
www.Essential-Oils-For-Health.com
and his latest: www.real-food-for-thought.com
Article Source: EzineArticles.com/?expert=Monte_Luxley
Organic Hydroponic Greenhouses by John Austwick
Harvesting From the Water
How often do you find yourself saying: "I wish I knew how to learn more about this topic"
Well, we were listening! And this article is the result. Enjoy.
Conventional farming makes people plant crops over a field of land, give it water to help it grow then harvest it when the time comes. This was practiced for many years until the demand for food increased which made scientists rely on other techniques to increase production.
Such practices made the use of pesticides and herbicides, fertilizers, contaminated sewage sludge and irradiation. Since these methods are harmful to the health, people have gone back to organic farming that does not use any of these methods.
Technology has found another way to increase crop production without jeopardizing the health of people and the environment. This can be done by hydroponics farming.
Plants need water to survive but this is only one ingredient. The other and most important are the nutrients. Scientists have discovered that it is only when this is diffused into the water system that the roots of the crops consume it making it grow.
By doing this in a controlled environment such as a greenhouse, the nutrients can already be mixed into the water system allowing the crops produce more yields which is what hydroponics gardening is all about.
To prove how effective it is, scientists made a comparative study on the growth of tomatoes. One batch used soil and was able to produce ten tons. The other batch used hydroponics and was able to produce 60 tons. This shows that this method can produce 6 times more than traditional farming.
Interesting, isn't it? In the rest of this article, you'll discover even more insider stuff about the topic - and it is simple and easy to follow.
Almost any type of plant that is grown using this manner will product high yields. Though some crops will be able to produce more than others, the length of time to harvest it is still faster than the old method which gives a faster turn around for farmers.
The farmer does not have to check and pull out weeds, till the land or look for diseases that normally happen during soil cultivation since there are none. Some people might think that this will consume a lot of water but it doesn’t since it is reused which also consumers less than traditional farming.
The problem with a controlled environment is that the plants may not be able to get the proper sunlight and carbon dioxide that to help it grow. This problem can be addressed by installing lights and infusing artificial CO2 into the air.
There are other ways to cultivate crops while inside a green house. One method is called deep water culture. The roots of the plants are raised in the air and a pump releases air out to make it grow. This is ideal for grapes and other crops that grow in this manner.
Another method very similar to deep water culture is aeroponics. The plants are also raised in the air and nutrients here are mixed in the form fog or mist which also reaches the crops so it could grow.
In flood and drain, a tray is used to hold the nutrients. The roots of the plants are held by foam chips or clay pebbles then at certain times of the day, this is flooded so that the plants are able to receive the proper requirements for it to grow. Afterwards, this drains itself out.
Plants can also be grown using films. This technique is called nutrient film technique where light proof plastic is used. This flow along the passage way giving the crops the essentials it needs to grow.
There are many more useful resources on this site - I invite you to spend some time exploring them and learning even more.
http://www.greenhouse.officiallifestyle.info
Article Submission done by: http://www.articles-submit.com
Courtesy of:My Articles Directory
Article Source: ArticleWell.Com
