July 8, 2011

Using Grow Lights for Indoor Soil and Hydroponic Gardening

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The use of grow lights for indoor and hydroponic gardens will be of major significance for growing healthy plants.  Plants need the energy from light in order to convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds via photosynthesis. Indoor soil gardening and hydroponic gardening need to have this light produced by grow lights.  These days the most widely utilized grow lights for indoor and hydroponic gardens are high-pressure sodium (HPS/SON) and/or metal halide (MH) lamps.  The lights from these HPS/SON or MH lamps are usually directed at your indoor or hydroponically grown plants by the use of reflectors.  In this way, light is produced for your indoor garden in the most effective manner.

Quite a few kinds of grow lights are obtainable for indoor soil gardening and/or hydroponic gardening:
Incandescent lights are normally used to highlight indoor plants and are not "accurate" grow lights.



  • Fluorescent grow lights are valuable in growing vegetables such as leaf lettuce, spinach and herbs or for getting a jump on planting season by growing seedlings making use of this lighting.  High output fluorescent lights generate considerably a lot more light than a regular fluorescent lamp.  Compact fluorescent lamps are obtainable.  These are smaller and are used both for propagation and for growing larger plants.


  • High-pressure Sodium Lamps tend to create plants that are taller and have longer stem growth. Usually, they are applied as secondary lighting in greenhouses exactly where plants get their key source of lighting from the sun rather than grow lights.  Plants grown with this sort of lighting tend to look pale and washed out but, even so, the plants are typically healthy.


  • Combination high-pressure sodium and metal halide grow lights come in dual reflector systems.  Producers say these lights generate an ideal spectral blend and high outputs.  In reality, this kind of lighting is a compromise.  The lamps use two smaller lights rather than 1 larger light, hence, the distance the light penetrates is shorter.


  • Switchable, two-way and convertible lamps can burn either a metal halide bulb or an equivalent high-pressure sodium blue in the same fixture.  However, these bulbs need to be switched out and can't be burned at the identical time.   Very first plants are grown under the metal halide light for propagating and for vegetative growth.  For the fruiting and flowering stages, the switch should be produced to the high-pressure sodium bulb.


  • LED grow lights are fairly affordable, bright and lengthy lasting. They are appealing to indoor gardeners and hydroponic gardeners, as they do not consume as considerably power.  Today's technology makes LED grow lights an attractive option.

In conjunction with and to increase light directed to the plants, indoor gardeners and hydroponic gardeners sometimes cover the walls of their growing enclosure with light reflective materials.  These can range from painting walls with light-reflective white paint to reflective panels of insulation along with a myriad of other materials.  This optimized lighting directed to the plants.  The bigger plants get the more light they want.

Lighting for a variety of varieties and sizes of plants should certainly be monitored by the use of a timer.  Seedlings need fewer hours of plants than medium or fully-grown plants.  Hours of lighting should really be began at 4 to six hours for seedlings and then increased as your plants grow.  For medium or fully matured plants, eight hours or extra per day is the rule of thumb.

Indoor gardening and hydroponic gardening give people today who love working in their gardens twice the amount of gardening time (or extra) as seasonal modifications do not put limits on growing vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruit, etc.  Indoor and hydroponic gardening is a awesome way for senior citizens to continue gardening as planting beds can be raised to comfy heights.  No even more backbreaking digging holes, weeding, and all that bending and stooping. 

Grow lights are important to indoor gardening and indoor hydroponic gardening for production of photosynthesis and they generally accelerate growth of your plants.

Maintenance Free Slope Landscaping: How To Keep The Weeds Out And The Mulch From Sliding Downhill!

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 Landscaping slopes has continually been a challenge!  Slope landscaping is often accomplished to beautify an unusable area near the home or commercial space.  Most owners want a maintenance free of charge slope exactly where you don't have to pull weeds or use herbicides or walk on the slope to preserve it.


Applying landscaping fabric on slopes is one option but it has normally been a challenge simply because when mulch is applied on best of the fabric the mulch slides downhill, leaving unsightly bare spots of fabric. In addition to becoming aesthetically unpleasing, the bare spots break down speedily simply because of UV exposure which makes it possible for weeds to grow in those areas. 


At the moment, there are numerous ineffective methods of applying landscape fabric or mulch to slopes.



  • 1) Landscape experts/homeowners apply jute on best of the landscape fabric and then apply the mulch on top of the jute. This is a multi-layer, multi-labor approach and a temporary remedy due to the fact the jute sags and bags, traps deer and smaller animals and degrades over time exposing the fabric to damaging UV rays. The jute also makes it difficult to rake when new mulch is applied.
  • 2) Landscape fabric is applied, mulch is applied over the fabric then black plastic grid is applied over the mulch. This strategy lasts longer than strategy 1 but it looks peculiar up close and the netting remains a hazard to massive and little animals. Also, the netting has to be removed to apply more mulch which is a labor intensive method.
  • 3) The 3rd technique is to apply mulch directly to the ground without fabric. When the rains come it washes the mulch down hill and does little to stop weeds.

There is a newly invented product that will be on the marketplace later this year. It blocks weeds and traps mulch to the fabric.


Slope HuggerTM is a new commercial landscape erosion control fabric with mulch trapping spines attached to the fabric.  The spines are two inches long.  Each row of spines is offset from the next row to offer exceptional mulch trapping power.  The spines are one directional and angled at a 45 degree angle to the base fabric. The mulch can be applied with a wheelbarrow or a pneumatic powered mulch blowing truck. The spines avoid the mulch from eroding second to gravity, wind, and foot visitors or water runoff. The 1 directional spine makes it possible for for hassle-free raking with out tangling and the spines by no means matt down with the weight of the mulch. This newly patented invention prevents weeds and offers a long lasting uniform appearance of mulch on slopes. The base fabric prevents weeds but has micro pores which enable your plant roots to breathe and makes it possible for water to penetrate the fabric but prevents weeds from growing by means of the fabric.  The mulch and landscape fabric helps the earth to retain moisture which promotes water conservation and reduces water consumption.  The mulch and fabric act as a filter for storm water runoff which promotes a wholesome environment.  Additionally, Slope Hugger TM reduces the require for herbicides or manual labor for weed control.


Slope Hugger TM is simple and easy to install.  The tip of the spines should really point uphill, or toward the wind or water runoff.  Just after clearing the location, just roll it out vertically, stake it to the ground and add three-4 inches of mulch and your carried out.   It is that hassle-free!  If you opt for to plant on the slope just cut an X or circle out of the fabric exactly where you want the plants located, put them in the ground and fold the fabric back in place.   Slope Hugger TM has a 3" edge without spines to enable for overlapping rows in the course of application.  You can secure the fabric to the ground with any of the landscape stakes on the market.


Slope Hugger TM is on the market in 4 X 200 ft rolls. It is the only landscape/erosion control fabric with mulch trapping spines!


Slope HuggerTM was awarded Most beneficial INVENTION  at the National Hardware Lawn and Garden show in Las Vegas Nevada, Might 8, 2008.


Slope HuggerTM will be tested by California Transportation Department March 2009. Slope Hugger TM has recently been added to the Oregon Department of Transportations conditional use list


 


For further information and facts on this incredible new landscape fabric, please check out our Web page:  Slope-Hugger.com


 


 


 

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