From The Old Farmer's Almanac.
Hydroponic Basics is a book for the first time hydroponic grower, looking to build their very own small-scale hydroponic garden and understand all the ins and outs of this coming trend in sustainability.
A great project for parent and child over the weekend or summer vacation, figuring out what kind of knowledge and work really goes into hydroponics are the key elements in this basic how-to manual that is short and sweet, filled to the brim with only the most relevant information, including tips and solutions to common misunderstanding in the field.
Anyone who has taken care of a mini windowsill greenhouse, will know that neither of these areas propose any considerable challenge for the average person, but learning and discovery are really what these small scale experiments are really about and hydroponics is no different.
This 80-page paperback, written and published by George Van Patten in December of 2004, measures 5.6 x 4.2 x 0.1 and ships at 1.6 ounces.
For students, educators and newcomers that see a more sustainable future in the realm of hydroponic growing, this book covers all the hydroponic basics, from plant science, the environment, gardening, supplies to doing-it-yourself construction.
"The cloning of humans is on most of the lists of things to worry about from Science, along with behaviour control, genetic engineering, transplanted heads, computer poetry and the unrestrained growth of plastic flowers."
Val Bourne from the UK's Telegraph has boldly gone where no other garden journalist would dare tread - creating her list of the Top 100 Plants Every Garden Should Have. The reason it's bold; a list of must-haves is incredibly biased to personal choice. Not to mention that many of these plants aren't available for most of the world's gardeners or they won't grow outside of the UK's climate.
All that aside, this is a great list and if you've some spare time to indulge in a little garden porn then flicking through the gallery of each plant is worth your while.
Val has broken the Top 100 down for each season. Eryngium giganteum, Knautia macedonica and Astrantia major 'Roma' for the summer garden while Galanthus 'S. Arnott' and Perovskia atriplicifolia 'Blue Spire' will brighten your winter blues. Not to mention 25 must-haves for both Spring and Autumn this list of 100 is sheer delight.
BTW - just for the record, of the 100 plants Val listed I only have a solitary 1 growing in my garden - Gaura lindheimeri. I feel so inadequate (sniff!..)
"...the sins of mankind stain every corner of the globe. But you don't have to follow the logic very far to see that the only possible solution consistent with this naturalistic world view is a horrific depopulation and a return to a primitive agrarian lifestyle among the privileged few that remain. It's a grim prospect, unlikely to inspire anyone but the clear-eyed believers and those rich enough to afford their own guilt. The trouble is, of course, that any movement that marginalizes people must necessarily marginalize itself. Depression does not inspire.Read the entire post here.
We had a great weekend with weather in the high 60’s and clear skies. People are starting to come in and check things out. Surprisingly shrubs and trees we’re high on the list for people, while the bare root fruit trees just sit there. I think that bare root is a dying aspect of our business. I wish it wasn’t so, but people just don’t seem to understand the concept of bare root. It seem most people are more interested in buying fruit trees in the spring and that means they are containerized. We potted up half of our bare root right off this year. Maybe next year we will pot up even more. I shouldn’t get ahead of myself though as we often have a last minute rush to buy the bare root in early spring, by which time they have started to leaf out.
People are interested in fruit tree gardening. They just don’t want to deal with it in the winter, so it’s up to us to make sure we have the fruit trees when they want them, in spring. I think thats the hardest part for us in the business, changing our habits to coincide with the customers new habits. I think interest in gardening is there, its just not following the patterns of the past. We can sit around until we are blue in the face shouting the praises of lower prices and better selection of bare root, but it doesn’t make a difference if people just don’t understand bare root.
I think the death of bare root came about when we started to see fruit trees packaged in plastic bags at the chain stores. You can pick up the tree, take it home and deal with it in a couple of days. If you buy true bare root you have to “heal the roots in” right away. “Heal it in”, whats that? Besides we have to pull them out of the bin for you, while the packaged trees can be picked up self-service by the customer. It’s clear that bare root season for us is a declining season, as far as sales.
As a customer do you know about, or care about bare root? As a retailer do you find bare roots sales declining or growing? If they are growing, what are you doing? Are you selling more container grown fruit trees as opposed to bare root? I am not sure the decline in bare root sales for us is a bad thing, as long as we can make it up with the trees we have “canned up” for spring sales.
"Outwitting Humans"
Paris had many sides to her. The beautiful buildings, people who were visiting and those who lived or worked there. The Mist hung around but the sun began to shine on Wednesday and Thursday. Sunlight cascaded down giving a fresh light to the City.
The River Seine that runs through the heart of Paris was reflecting the suns rays, and looking like shoals of silvery fish rushing to the surface.
A small lake in the Gardens of Tulleries had these grass reeds protuding from the rippling waters. Water is great to show light and reflections.
The Eiffel Tower was made to be a silhouette by the Strong sunlight falling onto the river as we walked towards it. The trees and bridges were frames for the magical river Seine.
The almost still waters of a moving fountain in the Tullerie gardens that run from the Louvre along to the Luxor Needle and Champs Elysee. The Ducks swam around between the projectile fountains that sprayed water forward and upwards like a water cannon.
A Bridge and Boat on the River Seine with the Sunlight touching the running waters surface.
After an Hour in the Cold freezing to get up it this was the Sun setting on Valentines day from the observation deck. The orange glow mixes with the lingering mists as the Daylight fades on Paris for another day.
A riverboat turns its lights on, like a giant firefly that patrols up and down the Seine. Will-O-Wisp lights that reflect on the dark night waters.
The Citys traffic starts its daily commute back to their homes. The bridges and buildings begin to turn their lights on. Buildings had lights that were facing skywards to illuminate the facades in colours of white, oranges, and Blues. Neon lights adorn shop fronts and metro stations. Even the Advertisements had lights in them.
The Nickname for Paris is the City of Lights. This was my attempt to capture some of the lighting in Paris as the darkness came.
The Base of the Eiffel Tower showing its intricate yet strong structure. Funny men were walking about with flourescent green models of the tower. They were selling key rings however not the cool green glow in the dark models. Even they took part in the night lights of Paris.
One of my Best Photos of Paris. It is full sized and not shrunk. The lit tower had beams of light but 300 metres higher the Mist was still lingering. The white beams do their best to penetrate the Fog. The Black and Gold is magical on Valentines day.
The Metro at Gare Du Nord showing the Flaming red eyes and more lights. The two sides of Paris. The light and the dark.
