Saturday, June 20, 2009

Conserving Water in Garden Watering Restrictions



Drought prone regions often call for smarter garden watering practices as water is an extremely precious commodity. In fact, authorities in some places will even impose water restrictions thereby limiting water usage of households. If you live in a drought prone region, you have probably already mastered the art of gardening with water restrictions in place. But even if you do not have to really worry about water restrictions, it is a good idea to be an environmentally conscious gardener and conserve water anyway.

Believe it or not, gardens account for about 25% of water usage in a household and a lot of this is due to unnecessary wastage that can be avoided if you are conscientious. To optimize your usage of water, some of these garden watering restriction tips might be worth considering.

No Garden Water Sprinkler System

Most water restricted areas will probably put a ban on the use of garden water sprinklers, so a hand held watering cans or small buckets are the best way to save water as they dramatically reduce wastage of water. If you are using a water sprinkler system, use a timer to control your usage.

Choose Xerophyte Plants to Conserve Water

As a gardener, you probably already know that some plants “drink” more water than others. A good way to be water wise is to choose plants that are drought resistant, consume very little water (xerophytic) or use non-invasive exotic plants instead. I have also found that plants with foliage do extremely well when you are trying to conserve water and in keeping with the current container gardening trend, foliage plants do very well in containers. Yuccas, Agaves, Escheverias, Cycads, and various types of Flax are some examples. Plants with grayish or silver leaves also do well in drought prone regions so Lavenders, Westringia or Bearded Iris are all good choices. If you are unsure of how to choose the right plants for your garden, your local nursery is a good place to look for advice on plants that do not need large amounts of water to survive.

Conserving Water when Watering

Most gardens only really require about one bucket of water for every square meter to avoid wilting; so most of the time, we tend to use more water than necessary. I have always believed the easiest way to save water is simply being smarter about the way we use it while gardening. For example, I always group plants according to how much water they need so I use only the amount of water that is really needed. Also, remember to water plants at their root zone as this will help them retain water longer and also encourage the growth of deeper, hardier roots.

Saving Water by Slowing Evaporation

Another good idea is to mulch your garden beds and even potted plants as this slows evaporation and keeps your plants hydrated longer. Over 70% of water evaporates instantly if the soil is not protected by a layer of mulch. Soil wetting agents are also great because they hold water in the soil longer. In fact, early mornings and evenings are the best times to water your garden as evaporation is least during these times.

Weeding to Conserve Gardening Water

Every gardener knows this but when it comes down to reducing wastage of water, weeding is especially important because they are in competition with the rest of the plants in your garden and are soaking up water that would otherwise be used by your plants.

Recycle Water for Gardens

We love our plants, but they do not necessarily need clean filtered water to grow. Your garden can successfully survive if you use “gray water” to keep your plants hydrated. Gray water is domestic waste water, that comes from your laundry or bathroom and this water is suitable for watering the lawn, fruit trees and garden beds.

Gardening with water restrictions may seem a challenging task for the inexperienced but smart thinking and creative water usage can not only help you stay within legal water usage limits, but also make you an environmentally conscious gardener.



Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Coco Coir media the friend of the environment fast overtaking other medias.



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Coco coir is fast becoming one of the most used growing media in the world today. It's cheap, it does not get taken from the environment and best of all it does not go to landfill. I'll explain in more detail in a minute.?

Firstly let's see where coco coir comes from. When they have harvested the coconut milk and its edible fruit. They make brooms and all sorts of items from them. When they do this a dust is formed into piles on the floor. They collect this and most of the coco is done in Sri Lanka or India. But some is taken to the Netherlands where they sterilise it in fresh water ponds and buffer it. Then they ship it around the world. This is RHP certfied for quality assurance. Don't buy anything else.

It has a natural friendly bacteria called Trichaderma which is great for nurturing the root system. I have covered where coco coir comes from but where does it go. Well what I do with mine I sprinkle on the garden or on the lawn. It adds humus to poor soil and is full of nutrients. It holds 1000% its weight in water so it assists in these harsh drought times.

Also use for seedlings through to all stages of plant life. Now that's a versatile media for growing all your favourite crops. Pick up a bag today. If you use the blocks that come from Sri Lanka or India sterilise first by boiling.

Happy Gardening

By Pepelapue

4/06/2009



Sunday, June 14, 2009

Furnace Duct Cleaning Fort McMurray



A-1 Ductworks has been serving the Fort McMurray and Edmonton area's since 1965. If you are looking for furnace and duct cleaning services call A-1 Ductworks in the Fort McMurray area at 780-792-7272. http://www.furnacecleaning.info

For the most part, people choose to have their home furnace ducts cleaned do so because their children or other family members are suffering from allergies. Like all air ducts, furnace ducts, when they are left uncleaned, can act as breeding grounds for mold and mildew, and lead to poor air quality. Furnace duct cleaning can also improve the efficiency of your furnace.

Furnace duct cleaning requires cleaning not only of the ducts themselves, but of the entire furnace system: the blower, heat exchangers, cooling coils, and condensate pan. When all these parts are clean, air flows more efficiently through the entire furnace system.

Furnace Duct Cleaning in Fort McMurray 780-972-7272 http://www.furnacecleaning.info



Friday, June 12, 2009

The best pest advice anyone can give.



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The best way to keep those little pests at bay is to start with a clean room. Sterilise in between uses with chlorine or bleach or some other potent form of strong cleaning fluid.

Also when taking cuttings or seedlings from the nurseries or friends drench them in something like Dead Red or some other general purpose insecticide. Really drench them cause the last thing that you want is other people's problems in the form of pests and diseases.??Pests can ruin even a experts garden.

Even when planting I give them a good squirt as a precautionary measure that has saved my Garden from being infested.

You can also use a natural pesticide called Neem that you can use all the way up to harvest. It has no residual and stops the pests from breeding and feeding.

Also if you have used no chemicals you can employ beneficial bugs to eliminate the problem. This is the best solution because they don't stop until they have eaten all there prey.

Just drop us a line and we can give you advice or check out your local store for products and solutions that I have not mentioned here.

Happy Gardening

By Pepelapue

4/06/2009



Thursday, June 11, 2009

Getting the most out of your nutrient and additives.



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When you have selected your nutrient and additives if you are using them. Have a clean reservoir then add the water. A little tip if you are making up big batches is to use a pump to stir. Preferably a strong pump so you can add your nutrients and it get stirred up within seconds.

Measure equal amounts of nutrient? A & B solutions and then add them one at a time waiting for a few seconds or minutes (if you have a small pump). When these are mixed well add your additives. Then check the PH and adjust. A safe range for PH is between 5.5 and 6.5. A safe range for the nutrients is between 1.2 EC and 2.5 EC depending on the plant. Always use a weaker mix first if unsure then increase slowly so as not to burn the plant. An instrument for measuring nutrient is called a Truncheon and will save you money on Nutrients plus save plant burnings.

Thanks for reading and we'll be back real soon.

Happy Gardening

By Pepelapue

4/06/2009

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Conserving Water in Garden Watering Restrictions



Drought prone regions often call for smarter garden watering practices as water is an extremely precious commodity. In fact, authorities in some places will even impose water restrictions thereby limiting water usage of households. If you live in a drought prone region, you have probably already mastered the art of gardening with water restrictions in place. But even if you do not have to really worry about water restrictions, it is a good idea to be an environmentally conscious gardener and conserve water anyway.

Believe it or not, gardens account for about 25% of water usage in a household and a lot of this is due to unnecessary wastage that can be avoided if you are conscientious. To optimize your usage of water, some of these garden watering restriction tips might be worth considering.

No Garden Water Sprinkler System

Most water restricted areas will probably put a ban on the use of garden water sprinklers, so a hand held watering cans or small buckets are the best way to save water as they dramatically reduce wastage of water. If you are using a water sprinkler system, use a timer to control your usage.

Choose Xerophyte Plants to Conserve Water

As a gardener, you probably already know that some plants “drink” more water than others. A good way to be water wise is to choose plants that are drought resistant, consume very little water (xerophytic) or use non-invasive exotic plants instead. I have also found that plants with foliage do extremely well when you are trying to conserve water and in keeping with the current container gardening trend, foliage plants do very well in containers. Yuccas, Agaves, Escheverias, Cycads, and various types of Flax are some examples. Plants with grayish or silver leaves also do well in drought prone regions so Lavenders, Westringia or Bearded Iris are all good choices. If you are unsure of how to choose the right plants for your garden, your local nursery is a good place to look for advice on plants that do not need large amounts of water to survive.

Conserving Water when Watering

Most gardens only really require about one bucket of water for every square meter to avoid wilting; so most of the time, we tend to use more water than necessary. I have always believed the easiest way to save water is simply being smarter about the way we use it while gardening. For example, I always group plants according to how much water they need so I use only the amount of water that is really needed. Also, remember to water plants at their root zone as this will help them retain water longer and also encourage the growth of deeper, hardier roots.

Saving Water by Slowing Evaporation

Another good idea is to mulch your garden beds and even potted plants as this slows evaporation and keeps your plants hydrated longer. Over 70% of water evaporates instantly if the soil is not protected by a layer of mulch. Soil wetting agents are also great because they hold water in the soil longer. In fact, early mornings and evenings are the best times to water your garden as evaporation is least during these times.

Weeding to Conserve Gardening Water

Every gardener knows this but when it comes down to reducing wastage of water, weeding is especially important because they are in competition with the rest of the plants in your garden and are soaking up water that would otherwise be used by your plants.

Recycle Water for Gardens

We love our plants, but they do not necessarily need clean filtered water to grow. Your garden can successfully survive if you use “gray water” to keep your plants hydrated. Gray water is domestic waste water, that comes from your laundry or bathroom and this water is suitable for watering the lawn, fruit trees and garden beds.

Gardening with water restrictions may seem a challenging task for the inexperienced but smart thinking and creative water usage can not only help you stay within legal water usage limits, but also make you an environmentally conscious gardener.



Gardening Tips Blog

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This blog is dedicated to gardening. I will post gardening articles, tips, pictures and designs.