Online Tool For Diagnosing Tomato Problems Posted on 01 July 2008 by tomatocasual.com By Michelle Fabio A world free of tomato-growing problems would be perfect indeed, but Tomato Casual has found a fabulous online tool for when your leaves show brown spots with yellow halos or the blossom ends of your tomatoes turn black. The Tomato Problem Solver from the Aggie Horticulture team at Texas A & M can help you diagnose and treat your tomato growing difficulties. From the home page of the user-friendly Tomato Problem Solver, you can choose a general tomato disorder from the choices: Green Fruit, Ripe Fruit, Leaf, Stem, and Root. From there are you taken to a series of photos that show the most common problems tomato growers encounter. Simply choose the photo that best matches the issue you’re having, and the Tomato Problem Solver will tell you the name of the problem, its symptoms, and also how to control the damage. By the way, if you’re curious about those brown spots with yellow halos?
The 72 Plant Vertical Garden This instructable will cover the details of the Vertical Garden built for my "Hydroponic, Automated, Networking, Climate Controlled Greenhouse Project". The vertical garden is a space saving way to grow up to 72 small plants (such as lettuce, spinach, strawberries and lots of different herbs) all with the plant health benefits of hydroponics. The Vertical Garden is designed with modularity in mind, to be brought into the greenhouse and installed as a single unit, with only connection to the existing plumbing required before you're ready to grow. Other Instructables that cover elements of the "Hydroponic, Automated, Networking, Climate Controlled Greenhouse Project" are listed below with many more to come: Part 1: Construction of the GreenhousePart 2: The 72 Plant Vertical Garden As of this moment the greenhouse's skeleton is all that is completed. Each major section of this project should be it's own instructable and when it's all finished I'll compile it into a guide.
Blog » The Top 10 Plants for Removing Indoor Toxins Common indoor plants may provide a valuable weapon in the fight against rising levels of indoor air pollution. NASA scientists are finding them to be surprisingly useful in absorbing potentially harmful gases and cleaning the air inside homes, indoor public spaces and office buildings. The indoor pollutants that affect health are formaldehyde, Volatile Organic Compounds (benzene and trichloroethylene or TCE), airborne biological pollutants, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, pesticides and disinfectants (phenols), and radon. These pollutants contribute to ‘sick building syndrome’, which causes symptoms ranging from allergies, headaches and fatigue through to nervous-system disorders, cancer and death. Through studies conducted by NASA, scientists have identified 50 houseplants that remove many of the pollutants and gases mentioned above. More information on this study as well as references and details on specific chemicals can be found on Dr. Dr. 1. Also called the “Butterfly Palm”.
Diagnosis Of Mineral Deficiencies In Plants By Visual Symptoms - Wallace, 1943 The processes concerned in the growth of plants are the subjects of study by plant physiologists and plant biochemists. A comprehensive account of these processes is outside the scope of the present work, the special object of which is to deal with the outward and visible signs of imperfections in the plant's activities caused by faulty mineral nutrition. Nevertheless it is useful to have before us the general features of the main processes involved and to realize that the symptoms we shall be discussing later have a physiological basis, and are not direct and unchangeable signs of the specific deficiencies but result from the derangement of the complicated mechanism of the plant's vital activities. The main processes involved in plant development may be summarized as follows: Absorption: Intake of water and mineral elements by the root system. With all plants there are well defined seasonal growth cycles. Major elements: Nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sulfur.
How to Grow The Top 10 Most Nutritious Vegetables in Your Garden By Colleen Vanderlinden Treehugger A perfectly ripe, juicy tomato, still warm from the sun. Sweet carrots, pulled from the garden minutes (or even seconds!) before they’re eaten. And don’t let the lack of a yard stop you – all of them can be grown in containers as well. 1. Broccoli is high in calcium, iron, and magnesium, as well as Vitamin A, B6, and C. How to Grow BroccoliGrow Broccoli in Containers: One broccoli plant per pot, pots should be 12 to 16 inches deep.What to Watch Out For: Cabbage worm. 2. There is nothing like peas grown right in your own garden – the tender sweetness of a snap pea just plucked from the vine is unlike anything you can buy in at a store. How to Grow PeasGrow Peas in Containers: Sow peas approximately 2 inches apart in a pot that is at least 10 inches deep. 3. While snap beans (green beans/wax beans) are a great addition to any garden, it’s the beans we grow as dried beans that are real nutritional powerhouses. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. OK, I cheated here.
16 Foods That’ll Re-Grow from Kitchen Scraps 15 October 2012 By Andy Whiteley Looking for a healthy way to get more from your garden? Like to know your food is free of the pesticides and other nasties that are often sprayed on commercial crops? Re-growing food from your kitchen scraps is a good way to do it! There’s nothing like eating your own home- grown vegies, and there are heaps of different foods that will re- grow from the scrap pieces that you’d normally throw out or put into your compost bin. It’s fun. Just remember … the quality of the “parent” vegetable scrap will help to determine the quality of the re-growth. Leeks, Scallions, Spring Onions and Fennel You can either use the white root end of a vegetable that you have already cut, or buy a handful of new vegetables to use specifically for growing. Simply place the white root end in a glass jar with a little water, and leave it in a sunny position. Lemongrass Lemongrass grows just like any other grass. Within a week or so, new growth will start to appear. Ginger Potatoes Garlic
Soil and Health Library 8 Perennial Vegetables For The Lazy Gardener | Reclaim, Grow, Sustain Over the course of a plant's life cycle, it germinates, grows, flowers, fruits, seeds, and then consequently dies leaving behind seeds for the next generation of plants. There are three varieties of plant life cycles, annual, biennial, and perennial. Annuals complete their life cycle within a single growing season. Biennials complete their life cycle within two growing seasons. And perennials live for more than two years, repeating the grow to seed process anew every season until the plant dies. The majority of vegetables people plant in gardens - lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, peppers, carrots, beans, etc. - are annuals. On the other hand, perennials require one planting, some time to establish themselves, and will then continue to produce a crop every season. It can seem a bit silly planting annuals every year, especially when you could have perennials that you just wait to harvest each season. Asparagus Seeds germinate slowly and it takes three years before you can harvest.
Make Your Own Pop Bottle Drip Irrigation System | You Grow Girl The last time I forgot to water my outdoor potted plants and discovered them completely wilted and hanging on the cusp of near death, I decided it was time to take action. Some of the plants on my deck receive a full, searing sun all day long during the hottest mid summer days. While these plants thrive under such conditions if properly taken care of, they will die quickly if they don’t receive enough water. Although it has been unusually rainy this year in these parts, full sun deck plants will still get extremely hot and dry very quickly. One of the best ways to provide a steady water supply to your plants without your constant attention is the gradual watering system or drip irrigation. The materials you will need are as follows: 2 litre plastic soda bottle or water bottle that still has the lidDrill and small drill bitSharp knifeCutting surface Drill 4-8 small holes into the cap of the plastic bottle.
How To Use Pee In Your Garden If you can get over the ewwww factor, pee-cycling your own urine into the garden makes good sense. Fresh urine is high in nitrogen, moderate in phosphorus and low in potassium and can act as an excellent high-nitrogen liquid fertilizer or as a compost accelerator. Components of Urine The exact breakdown of urine varies depending on the diet of the pee-maker. Urine also contains salt – sometimes quite a lot of it if you are hopped up on a diet of canned soup and french fries. Keep in mind that areas with a lot of rain (Seattle!) Fresh pee can have a pH anywhere from 5 to 9 depending on a person’s diet, but it tends to move toward neutral as it ages and breaks down when applied outside. Safety Issues In a healthy person, urine is sterile. If you are on medication, don’t fertilize with your pee. Grossness Issues Here’s a few other things to think about: “Urine accounts for only 1% of the total volume of wastewater, but it contains up to 80% of all the nutrients.” Okay, I’ve convinced you! 1.
Top Ten Reasons Everyone Should Plant a Fall Vegetable Garden – And the Time Is Now! by Patti O'Neal This year we had a scorching June and many people are just beginning to see production on their tomatoes. So it may be hard to think about what you will eat in October and November when your tomatoes are gone, but now is the time to think about that. Colorado is well suited to fall gardening and winter harvest and it can be done successfully almost anywhere. If you’ve never tried it, here’s 10 reasons why you should. Fall crops are primarily greens and root crops, so they are very well adapted to container gardening, table top raised beds, raised beds of all kinds. Beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, kale and chard can all be planted now. All these vegetables actually develop their prime flavors when the ambient temperatures are cooler. Although all these crops still require sun to photosynthesize – they are mostly leafy – most of these crops are designed to thrive in less than 8 hours of full sun. 6. I enjoyed wonderful fresh produce for 12 months last year. {*style:<b>
66 Things You Can Grow At Home: In Containers, Without a Garden - Planet Green Growing your own food is exciting, not only because you get to see things grow from nothing into ready-to-eat fruits and veggies, but you also don't have to worry about the pesticides they might contain, and you definitely cut down on the miles they—and you—have to travel. As it turns out, with pretty minimal effort, anyone can be a gardener. My boyfriend and I are essentially first-timers this season and so far have the beginnings of strawberries peeking out, tomatoes are on their way, the basil's about ready for a big batch of pesto, and once the last frost hits, the peppers, kale, spinach, chard, and mesclun will be on their way, too. All on a tiiiny little terrace (with the help of a little DIY carpentry). WATCH VIDEO: World's Greenest Homes: Rooftop Garden If you're up to the challenge—and it really isn't much of one—growing your own food can be so rewarding. Here's a starter list of all the crazy things even urban gardeners, without space for a garden, can grow at home. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Remineralize The Earth