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Archive for June, 2011

In the northern hemisphere this is the perfect time to get going. Spring is the time to be sowing peas, beans,leeks, onions, broccoli, cabbages, spinach, potatoes, sweetcorn, carrots, beets, chard and more. So choose your favorites and enjoy free food in your very own Victory Garden.

Spring has sprung and we see the first lady planting a Victory Garden. Anybody can have a Victory Garden anywhere. In an apartment just set aside one square foot of counter space for a sprouting box. Within days you will be enjoying some of the most nutritious food on the planet. Alfalfa sprouts, been sprouts and many others growing in your very own one square foot Victory Garden any time of the year.

Having a little out side space blessed by the sun expands choices based on size. Even one window box or one clay pot makes it easy to have free food. Just a few seconds of attention every day and your Victory Garden will produce lots of produce which will reduce expenditures at the market.

Everyone is a beginner at some point with fears getting started but you don’t have to be. My hands were my first garden tools. If you don’t want to get dirty just wear gloves. You can be sure the children will have fun, if you have any.

Whenever we mention the idea of gardening or growing any type of plants in our backyards the image that comes to mind is a plot of soil dedicated to growing vegetables and other plants. Not many individuals are aware of aqauponics gardening which is an alternative to conventional soil based growing.

In a conventional garden the needs of your plants are met by the soil, the sun, you tending the soil to rid it of weeds, you tending the plants by watering and applying fertilizer if needed. In a aquaponics gardening system there are three main components:

The water source which is usually a holding tank of some sort.

The fish that are cared for in the water tank.

The growing beds for the plants.

The fish’s waste is deposited in the water which is pumped into the plant growing bed which feeds the plants and at the same time is filtered before it returns to the fish holding tank where the cycle is repeated.

If this sounds fairly simple and easy; it is. The aquaponics gardening system can be very simple or extremely complex if it is used on a commercial scale.

Like the commercial systems an aquaponics gardening system at home can be complex as well, it depends on what your gardening goals are which will determine its design and complexity.

When it comes to your garden it is important that you make the most of it. Lots of us don’t use our garden enough and this is simply because we don’t have the right garden furniture to take advantage of it.

There are lots of different types of garden furniture that you can buy to kit your garden out in almost any way that you want too. In fact it doesn’t even matter how big or how small your garden is, because you’ll be able to find furniture to fit in and match.

It takes a lot to beat an evening in your garden in the sunshine with your friends and family. A few drinks and a barbecue can really make a fantastic night and is a great way to enjoy you.

When it comes to choosing garden furniture there are lots choices. You can go for simple table and chairs, benches or even swing chairs. Even if you do know the actual pieces that you want, choosing what you want them made from and even the style that you want can be a hard decision.

There are different styles so whatever you choose is down to you.

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As the garden starts its slow decent into autumn the hues, and colour balance within the borders begin to take on richer, redder and rustic golden tones. It’s the time to savour the last seasonal efforts of the plants to complete their yearly cycle before they drift into a gradual decline with the onset of autumn.

It’s not just the plants that are preparing for the winter slumber. Creatures that hibernate are also preparing for their long sleep, making a den and feeding themselves up for the cold months ahead. Hedgehogs in particular are readying themselves for the winter. If you know you have these delightful creatures in your garden then put out some special hedgehog food to help them fatten up, or a tray of meat based cat food. They will repay you in spring when they feast on the slugs and snails preparing to munch on the fresh spring shoots of your plants.

The birds too need fresh water and plenty of high quality food to see them through the next few months.

Think about the species of birds that visit your garden and choose a feed tailored to their needs to ensure they get the best possible diet. Again, garden birds play a major part in garden pest control

[] Start to tidy the borders cutting back dead and dying growth from plants that are beginning to die back. Be careful to leave some flower and seed heads for the birds for winter food. Some will also look fantastic framed in frost when winter arrives. Cut back soft and sappy growth that has collapsed, died and withered.

Korean gardens embody a philosophy of adapting to nature in its original state. The elements of a Korean garden include land, structures, flowers and trees, streams and ponds, rocks and walls, bridges and paths. A garden brings these elements together into harmony within a defined space through an orderly and functional arrangement.

- Chung Jae-hoon, Korean Gardens: Where Man and Nature Become One

The Korean garden is more than just a scenic location. For Koreans of old, it was amicrocosm of the universe, an architectural embodiment of the Korean world view. Mans influencing touch is kept to a minimumrocks, streams, ponds, and trees are left as close to their natural state as possible; artificial additions, meanwhile, serve to highlight or complement nature, not dominate it. By tying together the natural and man-made, the garden expresses mans harmony with his natural environment, an ever-present theme in Koreantraditional culture.