The urban gardener asked:


Along with water,  hydroponics plant nutrients, Co2 and oxygen, grow lights is the key basic component, required by plants to live. Providing additional light is necessary for indoor gardening. Furthermore, light should resemble the sunlight as much as possible. In order to achieve that goal several types of lights are used: incandescent, fluorescent, high intensity discharge or HID lamps and sulfur lights. While there are many other types of lighting, only the mentioned above are recommended for indoor gardening. The major concern with other types of lights is that they do not produce light in the appropriate spectrum, required by plants.

Though typical widely used incandescent lamps fit any ordinary light socket, this type of lighting is considered to be the least effective in lighting your garden in comparison with other types of lighting. Incandescent lights produce light in the red spectrum; that is why such lamps are commonly covered with a blue coating in order to increase the amount of blue spectrum in the produced light. In general, incandescent lights are considered to be poor options for indoor gardening needs.

In comparison with incandescent lamps, fluorescent lights produce more light with lower energy consumption. However, the light, produced by fluorescent lamps, is not intensive enough and cannot penetrate more than 6” – 8”. Light, produced by fluorescent lamps, is usually simply insufficient to provide normal growing of plants, vegetables and flowers. The only application, where it is possible to use fluorescent light, is growing seedlings, cuttings, or some particular plants with low light requirements, such as orchids.

High intensity discharge lights, also known as HID lights, are currently the most effective lights for indoor gardening. Metal halide (MH) and high pressure sodium (HPS) grow lamps are two major types of HID lights. Each type produces light in a particular range: for example, metal halide lights generate blue spectrum light similar to the full summer sun, and high pressure sodium lights produce light in red and yellow spectrum, resembling the autumn sunlight. 

Though high pressure sodium lamps usually are more expensive (by about 10%-20%) than metal halide lamps, they are more durable with extended lifecycle. Besides, HPS lights feature higher lumen output (97-150 lumens per watt consumed) and lose only about 5% of their brightness after one year of use (for comparison, MH bulbs produce about 70-115 lumens per watt and  lose up to 15-20% of their initial brightness within a year). 

Irrespectively to the particular type of lighting in use, it is recommended to replace lights on the timely manner: MH bulbs – after 12-18 months, and HPS bulbs – after 24 months of work. Basically, metal halide lamps is the more preferred type of lighting for plants, when they grow, and high pressure sodium lamps suit best for flowering plants. However, the discussion on which type of lighting is best is still open among gardeners. Each type of lights offers its own advantages, as well as disadvantages, so it is often a matter of personal choice, preferences, growing environment and needs. The scope of this article is to provide plain information on the available types of lighting for indoor hydroponic gardening, while leaving readers enough space for personal decisions on which product to prefer.  By the way, recently a new type of lights appeared. The so-called conversion systems allow switching between MH and HPS lights when it is necessary simply by changing the bulb. Though this type of lighting offers certain benefits, conversion systems are still pretty expensive. More information on particular types of HID grow lights used in hydroponics systems will be provided in the next set of hydroponics guides.

There is nothing like the satisfaction of growing your own vegetable garden. Few experiences can match the pleasure you will receive as you put these beautiful vegetables on your table for you and your family to enjoy. The joy of knowing that you raised them yourself from a seed or small plant is a pleasurable activity, not to mention the time you get to spend outdoors in the warm sun and fresh air.

When it comes to growing a vegetable garden, experience is probably the best teacher there is. As you experiment in your garden, your knowledge will grow and so will the rewards that come with a bountiful harvest.

When choosing a space for your vegetable garden, you don’t need a large area to begin with. Begin growing in containers is another option, especially if you don’t have much yard space available. What is important is having at least 6 hours per day of sunshine, access to easy watering and lastly having good soil. With those three important elements you should have no problem growing a great vegetable garden.

Preparing you garden is a process that takes time. The proper mixture of the soil should be 40% sand, 40% silt and 20% clay. This insures no water gets trapped inside that it chokes the roots and the roots will rot if there is to much water in your soil. Composting is a great way to keep your soil rich and healthy. There are various ways you can set up to start your own compost pile for you garden. There is plenty of useful information online to help you get started.

The best approach the first time you begin to grow a garden is to consider what you and your family like to eat most. It’s always tempting to try to grow large varieties of vegetables, but it’s best to narrow down the list to the easiest and most productive varieties. Some of the best to begin with are tomatoes, radishes, lettuce,  onions, beans and squash. Don’t try to begin with vegetables such as corn as they take up to much room, asparagus requires a couple of years for the first harvest and maybe green peas as they are very limited to growing seasons.

Direct seeding is when you plant seeds directly into the soil. Carrots and beans are just one example of direct seeding. You place seeds at the required depth, water thoroughly and then patiently watch the plants emerging through the soil. It is almost always a good idea to plant extra seeds to allow for some not germinating and once the plants are growing you can thin them out.

All of this is an exciting moment to witness and makes all preparations so worthwhile. You can also purchase plants already started from a green house. Tomatoes are a good example of that or starting them in your home in early spring. The benefits of planting the seeds indoors is you can have your vegetables ready to harvest several weeks earlier then if you were to plant them in the ground.

Many vegetables can be harvested in different stages. One example is leaf lettuce. You can pick the young leaves as often as you need them and they will continue to grow and produce more. The same applies for summer squash and cucumbers. You can harvest them when they are young and only a few inches long or you can wait for them to mature to full size. With a lot of the vegetables, the more you pick, the more they will produce. If it looks good, try it, you have nothing to lose.

It is important to understand that some vegetables need to be picked in early morning to keep them fresh or harvesting just before your meal is to be prepared for the freshest flavors. Other crops can be left in the ground until it’s a convenient time for you to harvest.

It is truly an amazing, rewarding experience to grow a vegetable garden. Get the family involved and you will all reap the full benefits that go along with the hard work by reaping the enjoyment of fresh vegetables on your table for dinner.

When planting a vegetable garden it will benefit you in so many ways. The obvious benefits are having healthy, nutritious foods available to you every day along with the benefits of exercise and being proud of your accomplishment.

Everyone should understand about the vegetable garden guide. To start with, it requires a lot of manual labor, hard work and a lot of patience. The rewards of your garden will come to realization at harvest time, but you have to pace yourself and understand the amount of work it requires to give you that bountiful harvest of vegetables in the fall.

There are different approaches to gardening. The traditional way is to prepare your garden site in the ground. If you are unable to bend or stoop down, you might consider planting in raised beds. You can also grow your vegetable garden in a greenhouse or indoors. Depending upon where you live, the city can be a difficult place to plant a vegetable garden. Sometimes garden spaces are limited in the city, but you can still make it work by planting a garden equal to the space you have available.

The first thing in your vegetable garden guide is the preparation of the soil. You will learn that this step is one of the most important to your new garden. Regardless where you plant your garden, whether in your yard or planter boxes, the proper preparation of you soil is the key to a bountiful harvest. The three main soil types that you should understand are: sand, clay and silt.

1. Sandy soil because it is so loose, lets the air pass through it and that allows the roots of your plant to breathe.

2. Clay soil will absorb water more rapidly and is retained longer.

3. Silt is a fine combination of sand and clay.

Preparing the soil you have to dig up and break off any lumps. Removal of any rocks, roots and weeds is very important. You should have a mixture of the three types of soil (sand, clay and silt) before you begin. The proper mixture of the soil should be 40% sand, 40% silt and 20% clay. This insures no water gets trapped inside that it chokes the roots and the roots will rot if there is to much water in your soil.

Composting is a great way to keep your soil rich and healthy. It’s a simple job turning kitchen organic waste (except for meats and grease) into the soil before planting. You create that by getting a compost pail storing all kitchen organic waste (expect for meats and grease) and allowing it to decompose. There are various ways you can set up to start your own compost pile for you garden. There is plenty of useful information online to help you get started.

By now, you probably have a good idea of what vegetables you want to grow in your garden. In the vegetable garden guide, you need to understand that there are some vegetables that should not be grown beside each other. By planting these incompatible plants and herbs together in your garden, it will actually produce fewer vegetables and herbs and be more troubled with diseases and insects. Depending on where you live, some crops can grow year round. Be sure to read the planting guide on the packages of seeds you purchase.

Learning to water your garden is very important. With vegetables, you will need to water on a continuous basis. For larger gardens you may want to consider a soaker hose to help keep the soil moist. But be sure you do not saturate the soil as to cause rotting of the roots.

Reap the benefits of a garden: a beautiful array of fresh organic food for your table and outdoor exercise for your health.

Donna asked:


My neighbor, who always worked outside in his yard, is now confined to a dementia ward in the local nursing home. He still responds to plants, trees, leaves etc. I did take him some bare branches in water off my corkscrew willow tree which have now leafed out and he likes that. What else can I do? I’m thinking of taking small pots full of potting soil and helping him start seeds, (coleus comes to mind as they could be transplanted and used as houseplants.) Do you have any other ideas? Obviously we are limited on space (there is a large windowsill in his room). Could we grow any vegetables? Thank you for any suggestions.

mkhwtt2 asked:


Im loking for small plants that i can grow from seed that will produce something i can eat like fruits or vegetables. any ideas?