Aquaponics is a new way of approaching farming

Unlike traditional agriculture where you needed plants to grow vegetables, with aquaponics you need water and fish in order to have healthy food on your table each and every day. Basically, aquaponics relies on the interdependence between fish and plants: the fish produces bio-nutrients for the plants, while the plants clean the water, creating a perfect environment for the fish to grow and develop. It is a blend of aquaculture and hydroponics that has plenty of advantages. If you need some reasons to get your own aquaponic system started, then here are some of the advantages you will get once you assemble it.

First of all you will have fresh organic food on your table each and every day, regardless of the hour when you decide to cook your meals. You simply take your tomato, cucumber or your basil from the aquaponic “field” and use it for your meals.  It is as easy as it sounds.

The second best thing about it is that you not only grow vegetables, but you also have plenty of fish. Whether you want them for cooking tasty meals or simply for your décor, they are a great addition in your home! They also have a practical purpose, as you will never have to use chemical fertilizers on your plants, thus obtaining real organic food.

If you ask how difficult it is to put this system into practice, the answer is extremely simple. Not only will you be able to assemble it all by yourself, without the help of your family or neighbours, but you can also put it wherever you want. If you move from one house to another, then you simply disassemble the system and take it with you! What can be easier than that?

Another great advantage of the hydroponic farming is that it offers you financial independence and control over your money. You know exactly how much you need to spend on your food and you will no longer depend on the market for your veggies’ supplies.

Last, but not least, it involves no dirty hands and clothes, no bending and digging, no land and little maintenance time, so it will be like your veggies and fish grow all by themselves! Quite an easy to put in practice system, suitable for all types of people, even for busy and impatient ones!

There are plenty advantages that the aquaponic system can offer you! Your health and your comfort will be improved, while your savings will considerably grow with the constant use of the aquaponic type of farming! If this is what you want, then why not give it a try?

Let’s Get Started with the Gardening!

Gardening is a wonderful pastime the whole family can enjoy. In addition, gardening has become an increasingly popular hobby for people of all ages and is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities around the globe.

When people start planting their garden, they start with flowers and most people will pursue planting roses. The novice gardener does not realize that roses usually take the most time and effort as compared to other flowers. With such an enormous array of flowers to choose from, it is best for the novice to start with easy care plants and flowers.

Vegetable gardens have become very popular too. A vegetable garden can bring a sense of pride and accomplishment when you place those fresh vegetables on your dinner table. The list of vegetable plants is endless. When planning your vegetable garden choose the right vegetable for your growing climate. For instance, cool weather crops would be green beans, zucchini and cucumbers.

Many gardeners will consider planting fruits as well. In a warm climate, you could plant watermelons, and trees such as apricots and peaches, to name just a few.

A berry garden is also fun, planting strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. These types of berry gardens are easy to care for and take less space than a traditional vegetable garden.

Herbs are another favourite for the garden. If you have limited space, you can grow your herbs indoors in a sunny window. The most often used herbs for cooking are basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, rosemary and chives. These herbs are easy to grow too.

Landscaping your yard is another form of gardening. There are different types of grasses and shrubbery to decorate your yard. Decorative rocks, ponds and statues are also included as a form of landscape gardening. Landscaping your yard is not limited to plant life. As with a garden, your lawn and shrubbery needs to be kept up.

Gardening can be fun and educational for the whole family. In addition, what a delight to see the flowers bloom and harvest the vegetables.

However, as with anything else, to be a successful gardener takes work. Plants need to be weeded and watered. Do not get discouraged if the flowers are not as brilliant as expected or the vegetables did not do so well.

Research the plant in question and then try again next planting season. Eventually you will have a wonderful garden.

Why Is an Aquaponic System Better than a Hydroponic One?

Hydroponic gardens are already highly popular among people of all ages.

They require little space, are easy to take care of and give satisfactory results. However, because you will need to supply the water with necessary nutrients, which are most of the times chemical, the taste of the crops is not quite the ones people expect. Also, people trying to switch to organic products have a hard time in coping with the chemical additions from the hydroponically-grown vegetables. Fortunately, a new type of gardening is available. It is called the aquaponic system and can help you grow organic food in your home.

The aquaponic system is a mixture between the aquaculture, as it requires growing fish in special fish tank und hydroponics, as it involves growing plants with water and nutrients. You will probably wonder what role the fish play in all this business. Well, things are quite easy: the fish excrements contain ammonia which is later decomposed in nitrites and nitrates. The latter substance is benefice for the plants, offering them enough nutrients to grow and develop normally. Thus, there will be no need to supply your plants with chemical substances as they will already have all the food they need.

This leads to the several advantages that the aquaponic system has over the hydroponic one. First, the vegetables will have a better taste as they will grow only with natural food and at their own pace. This will give them that delicious taste you love so much in veggies. Then, the system is simpler, as you will no longer need to feed your plants each and every day. Just make sure that your fish are in good shape and then let nature take its course.

Last, but not least, with the aquaponic system you do not only grow vegetables, but you also have fish which you can use for decorative purposes or you can very well cook delicious meals for you and your family.

Aquaponic is an improved version of the hydroponic system. The crops are better and the process is easier. In addition to that you get to eat organic food! What more can you wish for?

For more information go to

http://www.gardeningtoolsandmore.com

Inspirational Thoughts about Garden Decor

If you are looking for a way to add to your garden decor, wanting something everlasting, nature-based or stylized, there are many things that you can add to your outdoor living space. To make it comfortable and inviting and still provide you with few hours of work on maintenance there are several ways to add decor to your garden.

When adding products outdoors, from furniture to statuary, you should always look towards the most organic of products. By doing this, you will allow for something that fits within the landscape and not something that sticks out in it.

If you have a large garden or landscape, you can create the essential flow throughout it to make it a much more liveable and organic environment. For example, a pathway leading through the garden could be important as it provides for a way to move through the area enjoying all of the principle sights along the way.

Less is sometimes much more. Going overboard with too much decor or even a multitude of plants is not beautiful at all. Instead, look for a more nature-based landscape component. Overcrowding plants can cause them to eventually die or take over the entire garden. Too much decor can make it look cluttered instead of lavish.

Using lines from your home or your edging can help to create a lovely look within the garden. The roof line of the house can be a line that leads the eye to something excellent at the end. Use the lines that you have to create a pleasant flow to the eye.

While you don’t need a specific theme throughout your garden decor, you should look towards the same or similar offerings, because charm means theme. For example, if you place a white metal table under your trees to produce a restful place, make sure that the chairs that go with it match it. Add a white picket fence or other matching pieces to tie certain areas of the garden together as well.

However, large amounts of the aspects within a garden are going to need some upkeep. If you pull your weeds, don’t let this be overshadowed by the fact that you haven’t washed that white possessions in a year. Keep up on broken or misplaced items as well. Within the duration of harsh winter months, make sure to put as much as possible in storage that can be broken.

Garden decor is not done without the look for lovely patio items. Allow it to mesh with the settings that you have created too. For example, in a woodsy area, look towards an organic, lovely product such as teak to keep it looking as if it belongs there.

Give way to your imagination and with the little thoughts mentioned above it can help to contribute to a lovely and fashionable garden decor that is everlasting, easy to manage and a welcoming place to call your own.

Get Your Kids to Enjoy Gardening

Gardening could just be one fun activity for your children because dirt has always been one of the kids’ best toys. Excite them by allowing them to pick the plant they want to grow. Here are some suggestions to help you make your little ones become enthusiastic with gardening.

Kids will more likely choose plants and flowers with bright colours. Have a load of varieties of plants and show them what could develop by putting in love and work. Examples will keep your children fascinated and motivated. Anything that is of their like (e.g. vegetables) and fuzzy (sunflowers or beautiful coloured flowers) will surely overwhelm a kid.

Make sure these plants will not cause any allergic reactions from your child.

Give your children the freedom to help you with the starting seeds. Some seeds might be too small for the tiny fingers, but their digits can be of help in covering them with dirt.

To last the kids’ enthusiasm until the plants grow, make them create a gardening journal. This activity will allow them to use their imagination to sketch on what the plants will be like and write down when they placed in the ground the seeds and when they first witnessed a sprout pushing up.

Before you start gardening, pick a spot where the kids often play or walk by, to make the garden very visible for the kids. Every time they see and pass by their garden, the more they will sight changes.

Always remember that children are fond of playing with dirt or mud. They can help you ready the soil, even if what they are doing is stomping on the clumps. To make gardening with the kids more fun, you can provide them with kid-sized tools to make gardening very engaging for them.

Give your kids from the beginning on the feeling that they own this part of the garden. This will encourage their responsibility for this piece of space. A picture of each plant will enable the children to foresee what the vegetables or flowers will look like.

Put your child’s name on a placard, so everyone can see that it’s their garden. It’s giving a sense of pride; your kids can talk about their own work they’ve done and they are most likely to stay tune until harvest time.

Playing with water is right next with playing with dirt. Provide a small watering can, fitting the little hands that they can use to water their garden. Show them how to let the water go right to the roots of the plants.

Give the kids full control to their garden. If they create a mess, let it be, it’s their mess. Allow them to get pleasure from it and take dignity in their own piece of territory. Just don’t forget to tell them how to clean up that mess.

Attracting the Feathery Friends to Your Garden – Part 2

You would be hard pressed to find a garden in most cultures which is not visited by birds.

A popular feature in gardens are hanging bird feeders made from metal, plastic or wood on which food can be placed. Because the feeders are made from such different types of material, they often feature decorations such as leaves and flowers to camouflage them.

There are several different styles of bird feeder available on the market. One of which looks much like a dinner plate and hangs by three chains at different points on the base that can hang from a tree, washing line or hook. Others are similar but hang by just two chains.

There are also styles that have a tube with a lid, and the birds land next to the tube and use their beaks to get food from small openings. Tube feeders allow you to make your own bird food that could be in a slightly more liquid form than seeds or nuts.

Some bird feeders have a roof which provides shelter for birds from rain, snow, hail and sleet.

Weather is of course an issue with any feature of a garden. Some metals are prone to rust, and some woods are prone to rot.

How do you overcome this?

Most metal bird feeders are anti-rust and there is the additional option of treating them with a waterproof oil or varnish to stop the elements taking their toll.

Wooden garden decorations will most likely be made from cedar wood that contains their own natural weatherproof resins. These can also be treated with varnishes to give them further protection.

All feeders provide easy access so that filling up the food for the hungry visitors (or cleaning the feeder) is simple and quick to complete. Open feeders are easier to refill as you simply pour the food in. Tube feeders need to be opened via the lid and resealed.

All bird feeders feature a base onto which birds can land mid flight and get easily access to the food and some styles of bird feeder are much larger than others, allowing more birds to congregate and eat together.

Having such a wide range of bird feeders available means that it is possible to include the hanger in a certain garden decor and match it so that it doesn’t clash with anything else.

Please note that hanging bird feeders are different from bird houses and tables. Bird feeders can be placed high or low, in a tree or out in the open.

Having a bird feeder in a garden will attract birds and many people (especially me) enjoy this. Involving wildlife in a garden can make it seem more natural and a more enjoyable place to spend time.

Bird feeders do also provide a more practical purpose. Providing nuts, seeds and bread for birds to eat will prevent them from eating the berries and flowers in your garden.  Also, attracting birds into the garden environment can mean that they will start to eat the slugs and other garden pests most gardeners would be happy to get rid of.

You will enjoy watching these little treasures next to you because they provide comedy in a very special way. It will also show you how perfect nature is being designed and engineered.

Attracting the Feathery Friends to Your Garden – Part 1

To find out which birds are in the geographic area of your garden at the moment, you will have to consult specialty magazines and documentations. Libraries and book stores have books based on migration, on the roads that some bird species take to get to their summer or winter residence.

Also, taking pictures of birds you see around you and then reading informative materials that you already have, or searching for information related to them can be an option to find out if these birds are going to make a stop in the area that you live in.

There are also birds you’ll be having all year round. This is the case over here in Australia. Cockatoos, different kind of parrots and lots of diverse birds have got their territory where they live in and they protect their space by all means.

In our own backyard we have got Australian Magpies, Magpie larks, Willie Wagtails, Galahs, Rainbow Lorikeets to name only a few around our place.

In time you will get some of the little beauties to know and even give them a name.

What birds need is water. This is highly important. A bath or a pool, no matter the size or the material, would instantly attract many bird families. Make sure it is not to deep!

If you could also arrange a place where they could find some food, bird seeds, bread or anything else they might like, that would increase the chances they might appear in your garden. You can try, for instance with corn. Seeds of any type also hold an answer to the question related to attracting birds towards your garden.

The seeds that almost all birds prefer are sun-flower seeds. They are extremely easy to get, and cheap to buy also. Before buying the seeds, you should make a list of all the birds that you have spotted in the area and research every bird’s food preferences to assure you can provide food for many types of birds present.

These are the first steps that you can take to attract birds in your garden.

The second step is keeping away all the things that might scare or disturb birds in or around your garden. Animals from the next garden and neighbour’s dogs can scare the birds. Maybe ask the neighbours to keep the dogs not unattained or in the house, because persistent dog barking may not allow the birds to settle in your garden.

Also, you must know that some birds do not agree with each other, so that a certain species might avoid your garden because there is another species in it.

Some can also stay away because of the fact you have children and the noise is too loud, and others can stay away because the place doesn’t look natural enough.

So, knowing their nature and customs can be a decisive factor in bringing particular birds to your backyard.