After he left his father’s farm in Bethesda, Md., to play basketball for Miami University in 1967, Will Allen swore he would never go back to farming.

However, today, Allen is the founder and chief executive officer of Growing Power Inc., and he is one of the biggest connoisseurs of urban farming and producers of fresh foods in the Milwaukee area. Read more

What Is Vertical Gardening?

What Is Vertical Gardening?
By Janet Combs

Have you ever dreamed of harvesting your own fruit and vegetables, fresh from the garden? Have you ever baulked at rising produce prices, and spent an arm and a leg on fresh produce only to take it home and find it bland? Have you ever wished you had a spacious backyard to grow your own corn and strawberries, but gave up your dreams because you work in the city and live in an apartment?

What if I told you that you can harvest as much fresh fruit and vegetables as you’d like from your very own garden with only the space on your balcony or windowsills.

You might think it is a crazy idea right?

With today’s vertical gardening techniques, you can grow your own produce as long as you have somewhere sunny, be it a balcony, porch, or alleyway along a fence. With vertical gardening, you train your veggies to grow up, not out.

So what exactly is vertical gardening and why can it give you season after season of satisfaction and impressive crops of fruits and vegetables?

Vertical gardening relies on the fact that plants will grow where ever there is light, nutrients, and support. This means that even if your cucumber vine is growing from a pot straight up a wall, it will still produce!

Long ago, it was commonly thought that only with expansive amounts of land can one grow produce. The problem was that before the advent of pots, irrigation, and soil conditioners, each plant relied strictly on what was in the soil beneath it to survive.

This meant that a given plant would consume a large amount of soil in order to produce a given amount of fruit.

Today, we can engineer optimum conditions for a given plant in a milk jug, and watch it produce many pounds of vegetables. This is possible through the application of science and careful planning of your garden well before planting the first seed.

Do not be discouraged, although the process may seem labor intensive and difficult, it truly isn’t. After only a few weeks you will understand most of the theory and after a single season you will become a seasoned professional at growing your own produce indoors or in small spaces. Imagine covering an entire wall with bean vines, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

Imagine the satisfaction you will get when you bite into your very own produce, which will taste many fold better than that which is available at the store. This and much more is possible with vertical gardening!

So, if you have decided that vertical gardening may be something you would like more information about, scour the Internet for more info. You will be surprised at the resources available, and I am sure if you set your mind to it you could be harvesting your own fruit and veggies this year. Vertical gardening may be bringing fresh produce to a balcony near you soon.

Get your free copy of Container Gardening Secrets.

In our special free report we share the best kinds of containers to use, the ultimate potting mixes for
huge harvests, how to make your own self-watering container, which pots never to buy, and much more!

http://www.verticalgardeningsecrets.com/freereport.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janet_Combs
http://EzineArticles.com/?What-Is-Vertical-Gardening?&id=1166825

Water Harvesting In My Hobby Farm

Water Harvesting In My Hobby Farm
By Ben Tan

Drought conditions during the past few years have brought home the importance of conservation and the careful application of water on the farm.

Water Sources

The restricted availability of town water during dry periods means one has to come up with other solutions regarding water.

Metal, concrete and now the more popular plastic rainwater tanks are now a standard feature on most farms. Farms that have access to a permanent source of water such as a large dam, spring or river frontages are in a good position to survive extended droughts. Farmers with access to good quality bore water are generally able to utilize some of the available underground water.

Water Harvesting System For My Hobby Farm

In my case I have developed a small scale water harvesting system using graded earth mounds that have been covered with a layer of plastic. The mounds meet at the lowest point from which drainage pipes direct runoff of rainwater to a nearby below-ground storage tank. Any excess of rainwater is then channeled to a trenched area between plantings.

Water Piping In My Hobby Farm

Before the plastic was laid upon the mounds I waited for a good rain in order to check how the collected rainwater would flow, and once satisfied the system worked the next task was to lay plastic and secure this cover using anything that would stop strong winds from blowing the plastic away.

Simple plumbing using standard storm water pipes have the system connected and now several hundred square metres of the farm acts as a catchment feeding a small tank. As well, should there be a good downpour excess water is automatically directed to a part of the farm which needs extra moisture.

Collecting Runoff

There is also some runoff from the top of the mounded area to the outside of the catchment area. This water will collect at the bottom of the mound and will be used by a row of plantings used to landscape what presently an unsightly area.

A Passive Water Harvesting System

There will be some maintenance of the plastic as eventually it will start to degrade in sunlight and also some leaves may block up pipes, but I am happy to see how the system develops and hopefully this system will last a relatively long time.

The most satisfying aspect of this system is that it is completely passive using only the force of gravity to move water.

Ben provides assistance and consultancy to real and virtual estate owners in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. This article is taken from his Hobby Farm site. Ben also writes in details on Irrigations and Lawn Care.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ben_Tan
http://EzineArticles.com/?Water-Harvesting-In-My-Hobby-Farm&id=965003

The Evolution of Hydroponics

People kept on adapting to the changing environment. As drastic changes in the weather and the need for a safe and reach-in production increases, people shifted to modern means of cultivation. Hydroponic gardening is a concept that people may not knew, but has existed for more than 38 decades. As early as 1627, hydroponics has been conceptualized by Bacon and publicized by Gericke in 1937. Nowadays, the said procedure has been adapted in Canada and other countries, due to its efficiency and the accessibility of the technology.

Hydroponics culture is means of using water (with mineral solutions) in cultivating plants. In the 90s, scientist discovered that plants do not need soil in order to grow but uses ionization in the process. The system of hydroponic is being adapted in agriculture for its claimed advantages. To mention:(1) nutrient solutions may be re-used in other areas such as potted plants and turf management; (2) Growing mediums can be re-used and recycled (3) culture and technique requires less space; (4) non-arable land can be accessed and facilitated; (5) reduction of agriculture overhead costs (transportation, fuels,manpower etc.); (6)plants develop stronger resistance; and farmer/ agriculturist has more control of the plants nutritional intake through controlled conditions in the process.

The procedure entails dissolving of nutrients in the water. Nutrients are more of inorganic and ionic form. This includes calcium, magnesium, potassium, nitrate, sulfate and phosphate nutrients which are essential to plants. The first three mentioned are the positively-charged ions introduced to the solution while the latter are the major nutrient anions.

The biggest producer in the world that uses the hydroponics technology can be found Willcox, Arizona, Eurofresh Farms. This produced metric tons of tomatoes in 2005.

The said technology is within the reach of consumers with the availability of built-in hydroponics technology that can be used not only for agricultural production but also for gardening.

The system is more being built in a greenhouse where the environment is thoroughly controlled. With pest problems reduced, and nutrients constantly fed to the roots, hydroponics productivity is set at maximum level. Climate and infestation are being manage to achieve fresh and undamaged produce. This is through sealed greenhouses administered with carbon dioxide into the environment to sustain growth (CO2 enrichment) and reduction or addition of the lights.

Details on the new built-in technology and system suppliers are accessible through the web.

Summary:

Hydroponics has been adapted in Canada and other countries, due to the efficiency and the accessibility of the technology.

It is the means of using water (with mineral solutions) in cultivating plants. This is being adapted due to cost efficiency and product quality.Details on the new built-in technology and system suppliers are accessible through the web.

U-Pick-It farm: alternative to high prices

Ruskin, Florida - The owners of Hydro Harvest Farms want everyone in the Bay area to know that their farm is a one stop alternative to the high price in the produce aisle at the grocery stores.

Terrie and John Lawson got the idea to open their own farm from a newspaper three years ago. They read how a Plant City farmer was using hydroponics to grow his strawberry crops. So, they took a piece of land they owned on Shell Fish Road in Ruskin and turned it into Hydro Harvest Farms.

Terrie Lawson says they started by growing corn out front. They were hoping the familiar sight of corn would catch the attention of drivers.

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