Sunday, July 26, 2009

Growing Watercress From Watercress Seeds



Growing watercress can be both easy and beneficial as this perennial has the healthy component lutein that helps prevent coronary artery diseases and heart attacks. Moreover, watercress has many culinary and decorative uses.

How to Grow Watercress In Water

Contrary to popular opinion, one does not need a flowing stream for growing watercress and watercress lettuce can be grown if you want to conserve water. It can be easily grown indoors a few weeks before the last frost, by placing the watercress seeds on a moist paper towel that has been previously soaked in water and now placed in a shallow bowl, with about a quarter inch of standing water. An easier method of germinating watercress seeds is to use stem cuttings and placing them in a bucket of water or a black polythene bag. To grow watercress in this way, the water should be changed everyday as stagnant water spells death for the watercress seeds. The seeds germinate 7-10 days later.

Planting Watercress Lettuce

Once the watercress seeds have germinated, they should be planted in individual pots. After 3 weeks the watercress lettuce seeds may be transplanted in the soil. The fine and delicate roots must be carefully handled while planting watercress in the soil after the season of frost. The watercress plant should be kept in damp soil and in the shade. Moist soil, limestone and organic compost should be used to grow watercress. The challenge is in keeping the plant in damp, but not soaked soil. Growing watercress stems should be kept about 8″-10″ apart from each other.

Harvesting Watercress Lettuce

The growing watercress lettuce sends runners from the mother plant and once they have grown they can be harvested. The older watercress should be cut back to about 10 cm when it will start sprouting new leaves. When pruned in late spring, the watercress plant will be ready for a second round of harvest in the fall. The tastiest watercress leaves are found in spring and fall, the hot summer reducing the plant’s beneficiary nature. Harvesting should be carried out before the flowers bloom. Leaves gathered can be refrigerated for about a week.

Watercress Lettuce: Pests and Diseases

Watercress planters can breathe easy as this plant is free of most pests and diseases. However, flea beetles or mustard beetles may afflict the growing watercress plant. They can be removed by flooding the cropping beds for about 2 hours.

Why Grow Watercress

Growing watercress is fairly uncomplicated for a gardener because you do not require much technical gardening knowledge on how to grow watercress, much the same as growing basil. In addition to the ease of growing watercress, the plant also serves some other purposes such as:

  • Watercress lettuce, cut into small pieces may be added in salads and sandwiches to provide a delicious flavor.
  • Watercress soup treats mouth blisters, swollen gums, foul teeth and bad breath.
  • Watercress lettuce is loaded with vitamins and low in calories, making it a good healthy perennial.
  • Phytochemicals and antioxidants in watercress fight cancer and protect the immune system.

Watercress, known for its peppery taste is a ‘superfood’ because of its high nutrient properties. While Persians fed it to their children to increase their strength and stature, it is known to cure coughs, colds and even help in the metabolic processes of the body.

Reference:

1. Growing Watercress - Simple Gifts Farm



Saturday, July 25, 2009

Vegetable Planting: Growing Zucchini & Squash Vegetables



Growing squash is possible and easy at any time of the year. However, growing zucchini (which is one of the fast growing summer squash vegetables) requires vegetable planting following a few specifications.

Zucchini Squash Growing In Summer

Summer is a good time for planting zucchini as zucchini squash grows best in warm soil. When the soil temperature reaches 60?F (or 16?C) the seeds should be sown. This vegetable planting requires full sunlight and an airy environment. A second round of planting squash in mid-summer will ensure a stock lasting till fall. The plants are harvested within 45-60 days while they are still immature and tender.

Gardening Care When Planting Zucchini and Squash

  • Zucchini squash spreads really quickly and one must cautiously plant a few seeds about 3″ deep in the ground and space them out four or five per hill or in clusters with 2-3″ between them.
  • The smaller the zucchini, the better it is generally.
  • Enough water and the right watering technique is important. Moderately rich soil that drains well will suffice for growing courgettes (another name for zucchini squash). One may further enrich the soil by adding fertilizers.
  • Mounds should be created for each zucchini plant. Once they have grown 2-3″ tall, the zucchini squash saplings should be thinned to 1-2 plants per hill by choosing the better plants.
  • Stakes should be used while growing zucchini to support the delicate plant.
  • Zucchini is also susceptible to frost so a perfect summer will be good for growing these squash vegetables.

Disease Prevention For Squash Vegetables Growing

If the weather becomes too hot and humid and as the squash vegetables age and weaken, they become susceptible to various kinds of diseases.

  • If there are any bugs in your garden you want them to be the good kind of bugs. The plant must be watched closely for pests like cucumber beetles, squash bugs and squash vine borers. While the cucumber beetles can spread easily from one plant to the other, the squash vine borers chew into the base of the stem, cutting off the vine circulation.
  • Blossom End Rot may also occur if the soil is too acidic or there is lack of calcium. A careful application of quicklime will solve this problem.
  • Zucchini plants are also very susceptible to bacterial and fungal diseases like powdery mildew and bacterial wilt. At the first hint of trouble the zucchini squash should be treated with fungicide.

Tips For Growing Courgettes, Zucchini and Squash

  • A good zucchini squash is heavy for its size because it is filled with moisture and has a firm, even texture with no sunken spots.
  • Zucchini readily cross breeds with other members of the cucurbita (or pumpkin) family of which it is a part if seeds are stored. Interesting variations may sometimes be produced after planting zucchini!
  • A few handfuls of dolomite lime in the soil while planting zucchini will provide calcium and prevent rotting.
  • Both male and female blossoms of the plant should be present for pollination to occur.
  • Use caution while harvesting the vines as they contain prickly leaves.

Since growing zucchini is relatively simple and a few seeds yield many squash vegetables, it is one of the most popularly grown vegetables by amateur and seasoned gardeners alike.



Wednesday, July 22, 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



Monday, July 13, 2009

Test post!



Testing out the new server!



Sunday, July 12, 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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Friday, July 10, 2009

Vegetable Planting: Growing Zucchini & Squash Vegetables



Growing squash is possible and easy at any time of the year. However, growing zucchini (which is one of the fast growing summer squash vegetables) requires vegetable planting following a few specifications.

Zucchini Squash Growing In Summer

Summer is a good time for planting zucchini as zucchini squash grows best in warm soil. When the soil temperature reaches 60?F (or 16?C) the seeds should be sown. This vegetable planting requires full sunlight and an airy environment. A second round of planting squash in mid-summer will ensure a stock lasting till fall. The plants are harvested within 45-60 days while they are still immature and tender.

Gardening Care When Planting Zucchini and Squash

  • Zucchini squash spreads really quickly and one must cautiously plant a few seeds about 3″ deep in the ground and space them out four or five per hill or in clusters with 2-3″ between them.
  • The smaller the zucchini, the better it is generally.
  • Enough water and the right watering technique is important. Moderately rich soil that drains well will suffice for growing courgettes (another name for zucchini squash). One may further enrich the soil by adding fertilizers.
  • Mounds should be created for each zucchini plant. Once they have grown 2-3″ tall, the zucchini squash saplings should be thinned to 1-2 plants per hill by choosing the better plants.
  • Stakes should be used while growing zucchini to support the delicate plant.
  • Zucchini is also susceptible to frost so a perfect summer will be good for growing these squash vegetables.

Disease Prevention For Squash Vegetables Growing

If the weather becomes too hot and humid and as the squash vegetables age and weaken, they become susceptible to various kinds of diseases.

  • If there are any bugs in your garden you want them to be the good kind of bugs. The plant must be watched closely for pests like cucumber beetles, squash bugs and squash vine borers. While the cucumber beetles can spread easily from one plant to the other, the squash vine borers chew into the base of the stem, cutting off the vine circulation.
  • Blossom End Rot may also occur if the soil is too acidic or there is lack of calcium. A careful application of quicklime will solve this problem.
  • Zucchini plants are also very susceptible to bacterial and fungal diseases like powdery mildew and bacterial wilt. At the first hint of trouble the zucchini squash should be treated with fungicide.

Tips For Growing Courgettes, Zucchini and Squash

  • A good zucchini squash is heavy for its size because it is filled with moisture and has a firm, even texture with no sunken spots.
  • Zucchini readily cross breeds with other members of the cucurbita (or pumpkin) family of which it is a part if seeds are stored. Interesting variations may sometimes be produced after planting zucchini!
  • A few handfuls of dolomite lime in the soil while planting zucchini will provide calcium and prevent rotting.
  • Both male and female blossoms of the plant should be present for pollination to occur.
  • Use caution while harvesting the vines as they contain prickly leaves.

Since growing zucchini is relatively simple and a few seeds yield many squash vegetables, it is one of the most popularly grown vegetables by amateur and seasoned gardeners alike.



Thursday, July 9, 2009

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



?

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