Botanic Garden » greenhouse

Hydroponic

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:13:09 +0000

Home gardeners also use hydroponics to grow vegetables year round. Oftentimes, people who live in apartments practice hydroponics because it saves space.

Plants do not need soil to grow. Plants can grow in many different media, including nutrient-rich water, peat- or bark-based growing mixes.

Hydroponics knowledge is ancient (think of the hanging Gardens of Babylon and The Floating Gardens of China), but there is a resurgence of interest today for hobbyists and commercial growers alike. It is a fun hobby for some, but the economic impact hydroponics can make is of greatest importance.
Reasons many choose hydroponic gardening:

* No weeds
* Fewer pests
* Fewer plant diseases
* Healthy, vigorous plants
* Faster maturing plants
* Yield earlier harvests
* Can grow plants year round
* Can grow indoors
* No fertilizer or pesticide runoff
* Conserves land, space, and water. Hydroponics also conserves greenhouse space for those who use greenhouses.
* Can be used in areas otherwise inhospitable to most plants, such as a hot, dry desert

Plant requirements are nutrients, water, air and sunlight (or some sort of light – see below for indoor gardening). When plants grow in the soil, they obtain nutrients and water through the soil. When plants grow in water or a soil less medium, you must add the nutrients in a steady diet to the plants.
You can even automate your hydroponics system with timers, further reducing the time spent on gardening. Today, hydroponic gardening kits and supplies are available online, with the systems ranging from small to elaborate.

The advantages of hydroponics for challenged land areas can be readily apparent: Through the use of hydroponic systems, a desert can produce as much food as any other place since precise water and nutrient application directly to the roots of plants conserves water and still allows the plants to thrive.

Indoor hydroponic gardening: You must provide adequate light and good air circulation for indoor gardening. Indoor hydroponics units often incorporate a small fan to circulate the air. Good air circulation allows photosynthesis to occur and also prevents fungus.
Indoor light sources:

* metal halide lamps
* sodium vapor lamps
* gro-lights
* fluorescent lights and incandescent light bulbs
* Natural sunlight from a South-facing window

About nutrient solutions:

There are 13 elements necessary for plant growth (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, sulfur, iron, manganese, boron, copper, zinc, molybdenum and chlorine).

You will need a fertilizer or solution that is specially formulated for hydroponic gardening. You cannot use the fertilizers that are geared to amending the soil because they do not contain all the necessary nutrients. Ready-made solutions are easily purchased at hydroponics or organic gardening supply stores.

Greenhouse

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:08:42 +0000

There are some distinct advantages to using a greenhouse for overwintering. In many areas rodents can be a significant source of damage to plants during the winter months when other food is scarce. Another major cause of damage and loss of plants during winter is caused by freezing and fluctuations in soil temperature, and this is an even bigger problem for plants in containers. Plants out in the open also often sustain tissue burn from the moisture loss caused by cold dry air. Proper overwintering in a greenhouse makes it much easier to protect against these and other winter hazards to plants.

It is possible to keep many plants from one year to the next. They will not continue to bloom profusely and grow over winter as they did during the summer, but in many cases they will have better production than they did in year one and will give the gardener a great head start on the next season.
Depending upon the climate, late August (Hardness zones 3-6) to late September (Hardness zones 7-8) is generally the window for beginning the overwintering process. In most areas it is practically impossible to keep plants thriving and producing outside past October. The low sun and shorter days tend to induce ’semi-dormancy’, a period of reduced functioning in the plants. For this reason the beginning of the overwintering program will start by gradually tapering off watering and fertilization in October. In the winter the soil should not become bone dry or dusty, but should be watered only occasionally during the plant’s dormancy.

It is best to hold off on moving plants into the greenhouse until just before the first freeze of winter sets in. Moving the plants inside too early will slow down the hardening off process and may result in undesirable out of season growth.

Tips for Success – Once plants are in the greenhouse temperature control is very important to overwintering success. Temperatures of 45°-55°F are ideal. The higher the temperatures above this range, the more likely the plants will produce weak growth out of season which can make them susceptible to various infestations. Greenhouse temperatures can generally be controlled using ventilation during the day to keep the greenhouse from overheating. In very cold climates a heat source may be necessary to keep the temperature close to the ideal range, particularly at night.

Most plants will benefit from some pruning back in mid-March in preparation for the vigorous growth during the new season. This is also a good time to consider transplanting plants that grew a lot during the past summer into the garden or larger containers. Plants adjust best to gradual change. At this time, the greenhouse can be allowed to reach slightly warmer temperatures (65°F days, 55°F nights). Resume fertilizing with balanced blend mixed half-strength. When all danger of frost is past, the plants can be moved outside again for the summer, and the greenhouse temperatures can be raised for plants that will remain in the greenhouse or for germination of new plants for the growing season.

For successful overwintering in the greenhouse keep these tips in mind:

* Begin overwintering by reducing water and fertilizer in late August to late October, depending on Hardiness Zone.
* Take care not to allow soil or air to become overly dry.
* Wait until just before the first freezing weather of the season to move plants into the greenhouse.
* During the winter dormant period maintain greenhouse temperatures as close to 45°-55°F as possible.
* Prune plants back in mid-March in preparation for the new growing season.
* After pruning, increase greenhouse temperature to 65°F days, 55°F nights and resume fertilizing with balanced blend mixed ½-strength.
* Move plants to desired outdoor locations when all danger of frost has passed.

Botanical Gardens

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:39:03 +0000

A botanical garden consists chiefly of a collection of living plants, grown out-of-doors or under glass in greenhouses and conservatories. It usually includes, in addition, a collection of dried plants, or herbarium, and such facilities as lecture rooms, laboratories, libraries, museums, and experimental or research plantings. Concrete fountains and wall water fountains are often included in the display of botanical gardens.

The plants in a botanical garden may be arranged according to one or more subdivisions of botanical science. The arrangements may be systematic (by plant classification), ecological (by relation to environment), or geographic (by region of origin). The larger botanical gardens often include special groupings, such as rock gardens, water gardens, wildflower gardens, and collections of horticultural groups produced by plant breeding, such as roses, tulips, or rhododendrons. A plantation restricted to exhibits of woody plants is called an arboretum. Most botanical gardens will incorporate water features such as water wall fountains.

History of Botanical Gardens

One of the earliest botanical gardens for the study of plants was established in ancient Athens about 340 B.C. by Aristotle and run by his pupil Theophrastus. The oldest public botanical gardens in the world are those established at Pisa, Italy, in 1543; at Padua, Italy, in 1545; at Paris in 1635; and at Berlin in 1679. In the 16th and 17th centuries, herbalists cultivated medicinal herbs in private gardens. In 1673, the Society of Apothecaries planted the Chelsea Physic Garden in London to provide materials for research and medicine. The American botanist John Bartram near Philadelphia established the first experimental botanical garden in the U.S. in 1728.

Where Botanical Gardens Are Found

Almost every major city has a botanical garden. The Royal Botanic Gardens, better known as Kew Gardens, near London, founded in 1759, is the largest in the world. Experiments and research done there have led to the transplanting of commercially productive crops, such as rubber, from their native habitats to other parts of the world.

More than 300 botanical gardens are in the U.S. Among the most important are the Missouri Botanic Gardens in Saint Louis (1859); the New York Botanical Garden in Bronx Park (1895) and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, both in New York City. The Arnold Arboretum, established in 1872, is located at Harvard University.

Benefits of Visiting a Botanical Garden

By visiting botanical gardens or arboretums, city dwellers can discover a part of the natural world to which they ordinarily have no access, escape from the pressure of dense urban population, and perhaps even develop new interests and hobbies having to do with the natural environment. In these special parks, plants from all over the world are scientifically cultivated, studied, and artistically displayed for the pleasure and enlightenment of the public. Arboretums specialize in raising trees and shrubs (woody plants) in their natural surroundings. They may exist independently or as part of a larger botanical garden.

Unlike ordinary parks, botanical gardens and arboretums are laid out with more than just the beauty of the landscape in mind. They will offer sculpture and cast stone water features. Although trees and shrubs may be interspersed throughout the area to enhance the pleasant surroundings, plants are usually grouped according to their scientific relationships. Often there are small, special gardens, such as rose gardens, rock gardens, wildflower gardens, or Japanese landscape gardens contained within the larger botanical gardens. Many have sections devoted to plants of particular geographic origins, such as a tropical plant section, or an aquatic plant section. Usually, plants are labeled according to common name, scientific name, and region of origin.

A garden may contain a few hundred or as many as 20,000 different species and varieties of plants, depending upon the amount of land, money, and professional help available. In size, botanical gardens range from about 2 1/2 acres (1 hectare) to over 220 acres (90 hectares). There may be a greenhouse, or more than one greenhouse, in a botanical garden. The greenhouse is used both for displaying plants and, where winters are cold, for growing plants that would not otherwise survive the seasonal change. In temperate climates, certain tropical plants must be grown in greenhouses-for example, tropical orchids and ferns, pineapples, Spanish moss, cacti, African violets, and begonias. Seedling plants that are to be set outdoors as soon as the weather is warm enough for them may be started in greenhouses or in hotbeds, which are beds of earth that are heated and covered with glass.

Many kinds of plants need certain climatic conditions at certain seasons, and a botanical garden may need special storage areas for them. Some young plants, for instance, may need a winter growing period but cannot survive freezing temperatures. They must be stored in cold frames, which are unheated, boxlike structures covered with glass. Houses built of lathing may be needed to store some plants temporarily in semi shade and to grow certain plants that cannot stand the hot summer sun.