The Spinning Indoor Garden Built Using NASA Technology Spindow? Rotating Two-Face Window Plus Built-In Planter None of the ideas behind this is itself new, but the combination is a neat realization of multiple functions in one object for everyday home fenestration. First, yes, these are easier to clean than simple American-style, up-or-side-sliding windows, but the Europeans solved that problem some time ago with their dual-mode designs (which open at an angle for breezes while maintaining security, or rotate inward like doors depending on how you turn the handle). More interesting, perhaps, is the addition of a detachable planter that can take full advantage of being swung back indoors during adverse weather conditions (be it too much rain, or heat, or cold) then spun back outside just as easily. Of course, it can be left halfway open as well to catch breezes, but one does have to wonder about the safety of such an arrangement.
Container Gardening Vegetable - Lettuce is the Perfect Container Gardening Vegetable I love growing lettuce. It's fast, easy and is the perfect container gardening vegetable. One advantage of growing lettuce in a container garden is that it easier to protect it from pests. You can grow lettuce in almost any container, as long as it has good drainage. You do have to be careful with any metal container, in the blistering hot sun because they can get hot and cook your plants root system. Here's what you need to make a lettuce container garden in a colander: SunColanderPotting soilPlastic window screeningFertilizerLettuce seed or seedlings 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Great lettuces to try in container gardens: Black Seeded Simpson (heat tolerant)Simpson Elite (heat tolerant)Tropicana (heat tolerant)Elegance Seed Mix, from Johnny's SeedsMesclun mixes
our.windowfarms.org/instructions_dev/ 1) Translated by: Windowfarms Core Team. Welcome to the Instructions for MAMA! The Windowfarms Version 3.0 Modular Airlift Multicolumn Array (MAMA). 2) Getting Started: Download and print the Windowfarms v3.0 parts list. 3) Section 1: Bottle Covering Each Windowfarm v3.0 column is made of 5 bottles: 4 plant bottles and 1 bottom reservoir bottle. 4) Part of each bottle must be covered to prevent the plants' roots from being exposed to light. 5) Fill an empty bottle with about 2"(5 cm) of water to weigh it down. 6) Using painter's masking tape, mask 4 of the bottles from the "waist" to the base. 7) Using 1" (2.5 cm) wide masking tape, mask the 5th bottle with one ribbon from the cap to the base. 8) Paint bottles with spray paint, providing even coverage.
3 DIY wines you can make at home When you think of wine, more than likely you immediately think of the juice of fermented grapes, but excellent quality wine can be made from other ingredients including blackberries, plums, rose hips, cereals, flower petals — even root vegetables. While these wines may not be too common on the shelves of your local wine shop, the beauty of home winemaking is that the sky’s the limit. You don’t have to be a master vintner or have a house full of expensive equipment to make wine. 1. Contrary to what you might expect, strawberry wine is not syrupy or sickly sweet. Ingredients: 7 pounds whole fresh strawberries (fresh picked, if possible), washed and hulled2 gallons boiling waterJuice of 1 lemon5 pounds sugar Preparation: Mash strawberries in a large earthenware crock. After seven days, use a double layer of cheesecloth to strain the strawberry mixture into a clean bowl, discarding the pulp. At the end of the second week, pour the liquid into 1 gallon glass bottles and cork loosely. 2. 3.
Working in the Garden – Doing A Lot With Limited Space - Delicious Obsessions I am constantly surprised at what you can do with a small space in regards to gardening. I have been able to grow a lot in my teeny tiny yard. My garden area is 5 feet by 12 feet. It takes up about half of the backyard – the other half is a concrete pad. In-ground garden in 2010 The first two years that we lived here, I just dug an in-ground garden. I don’t know how many people tell me that they don’t have the space to garden. Now that I am crazy about gardening, it makes me want to do more to be sustainable. I highly recommend the fertilizers and soil amendments from MightyGrow Organics. If you’re a budding urban gardener, here are some of my favorite resources – I checked the books out at my local library. Pepper and tomato plants in containers The Urban Organic Gardener – Mike Lieberman is the man behind this website. Life on the Balcony – Another great resource for container gardening in apartments, condos, etc. *Advertisements from my trusted affiliate partners*
Backyard Gardening Blog A How to Guide to Growing Bulbs : : You did it This is a guest post by Amy Fowler. There are several clever methods of growing bulbs all year round. Naturalising and forcing are just two examples, amongst a number of others. Once you learn the basics behind growing bulbs, you’ll surely be a master in no time. In this guide, we’ll explore a number of handy and helpful tips for growing bulbs. Storing Bulbs If, for whatever reason, you cannot plant your bulbs on the same day as you buy them, make sure you store them correctly. Planting Bulbs Of course, the most important part of growing bulbs is making sure you plant them correctly.This requires more than just healthy topsoil. 1) Bulbs grow most efficiently when they are planted in groups of 6-24. 2) Large bulbs should be planted eight to twelve inches under the topsoil. 3) Applying mulch and water in abundance will make sure the soil does not dry out during the summer. 4) It is a common misconception to believe that every time you plant bulbs you need to apply fertiliser to the ground.
How to Keep Onions My nephew’s football team was selling 25 pound bags of Vidalia onions a few weeks ago as a fund raiser for their team. Of course I snapped them up, thinking of all the delicious dishes I could make with 25 pounds of onions. And then they were delivered. Did you know that 25 pounds of onions is a whole lot of onions? Well, luckily, I remembered my Grandmother would always have onions on hand from those she’d grown in her garden. You know that smell? Yeah, I do too. So I decided I either had to crank out one onion dish after another for a week or get busy storing them as my Grandmother did many years ago. Here’s how you store onions using the good ole pantyhose method. 1. So now, don’t be afraid of buying your onions in bulk. Tips for Growing Great Carrots October 4th, 2011 Yesterday, some readers asked if I had any tips for growing great carrots, so I thought I’d share a few things that work well for me. I’m by no means an expert carrot grower and sometimes things work well in one place and not in another. If you’ve had difficulties growing carrots, keep trying new varieties and different methods, keep amending your soil, eventually you’ll find a variety that works for you. Here are a few tips I’ve learned. Carrots like loose rich soil, preferably a little sandy, and soil that’s been worked quite deeply. Carrot seeds take a while to germinate and they like even moisture during the process. Carrot seeds like to be planted close to the surface of the soil, the general rule: plant one and a half to two times the width of the seed. I usually plant one big wide row of carrots four feet wide and about ten feet long. As with all root vegetables, carrots appreciate a lot of phosphorus in the soil.
Five Tips for Starting Vegetable Seedlings Indoors More Cheaply There are a variety of reasons why gardeners start their vegetable plants inside. Many do it to save money on the high price of organic seedlings at the garden center. The truth is starting seeds indoors can be even more costly than buying plants. So if saving money is your goal, you need to be careful to keep costs down. But saving money isn’t the only reason to start plants early. If you are starting seeds inside, as so many on KGI will, here are five tips for keeping costs down. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. I’m sure you know about other ways to reduce the cost of starting seeds indoors.
How to Cultivate Mushrooms in Natural Logs | Mushroompeople © 2013 Mushroompeople Select healthy trees with medium-thick bark. Oaks are best, but hornbeam, ironwood, hard maple, and sweet gum also work well. The lighter hardwoods give faster results but don’t last as long as the denser hardwoods like the oaks. Harvest your trees and cut your logs in the Fall, Winter or Spring. Inoculate the logs within 3 weeks or less after cutting them to size. You will need a drill and bits. Waxing Check that all the holes in a log are inoculated. Tagging Use a ballpoint pen or a PaintStick to write the date and the mushroom strain on an aluminum tag or a plastic tag cut from a milk carton . Stacking Stack your logs in a year ‘round shady spot, a shaded greenhouse, an open shed, or under evergreen trees. Soaking After inoculation, the big task is to keep the logs from dehydrating. Fruiting The spawn-run (incubation) period requires at least one warm season. after the next soaking, and thus wasted labor.