Mesclun and kohlrabi, growing happily in one of the low tunnels in my garden.
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Pressure Pond Filter Saves the Day, Green Water Goes Away
August 16th, 2010 
My pea soup water, immediately after installing my new filter
The results, 24 hours with my new pump and pressure filter
Posted in: Gardening »
In Spring 2008 I made a water feature in my garden. It has mostly been a huge success, I love the looks of it, I love the sound the fountains make, the fish are fun. It overall adds a certain something to the garden that I didn’t know was missing until I had it.
However I have had a bear of a time keeping the water clear. For the first couple months after I made it it stayed clear. However once the pond got established, it got dirty. I could barely get the water clear for brief periods of time. In 2009 I bought a new pump/filter set. The same kind I had originally, because the first died. It is a small pump in a box with filter pads that goes inside the pond. It doesn’t work, I don’t recommend it. The new filter/pump did some good, but most of 2009 and all of 2010 so far (once it warmed up) the water has been murky and dark. I haven’t even fed the fish in months (and they’re alive, so they must be eating the algae and whatnot).
My pea soup water, immediately after installing my new filter
The pump I had kept dying, these pumps just suck. The filter kit is like $100 bucks too, so expensive junk. I don’t want to buy a new one each year. I had resigned myself to having algae problems because I don’t want to put the time into doing all the chemicals and testing and whatnot. But I wanted the water sound, I wanted the movement, the bubbling, the fountain. It is soothing. So I knew I needed a new pump and filter, one that was easier to clean, because I figured I’d have to clean it super frequently like I did with my current one just so it could barely cope.
I settled on this external pressure filter and pump set as seen in the Amazon link here. It has a backflow valve to allow me to clean the filter without opening it, which is what mostly attracted me to it.
It also includes an internal UV filter, which should help kill algae, but when you first install the filter you’re supposed to let it run with the pump for a day before turning the UV on, to make sure there is no leaks in the electrical area.
As it would turn out, the UV filter isn’t needed for me. The pond pump and filter are supposed to be able to handle a pond 5x larger than mine, and in 24 hours, BEFORE I had even turned the UV on, it had turned my green opaque swamp water crystal clear. No new chemicals added. I had even tried an 80% water swap out a few weeks ago and it didn’t help, but 24 hours with this new pump and filter and my water is crystal clear.
Sure, this setup was expensive, around $250, but I had already previously spent $200 on filters/pumps that suck. So if I had bought this from the beginning the premium I would be paying would be much smaller. Plus this pump is big enough where I can now add a waterfall, which I plan to do next year.
Installation was simple, the hardest thing was standing in Lowes and getting the multude of different sized tubings and couplings to do the connections, splits, and diverters I needed to do the hookups I wanted.
The results, 24 hours with my new pump and pressure filter
Pest of the Week: Mealybugs
It's this time of year, when my outdoor gardening is mostly done (other than planting bulbs and caring for the leafy greens in the cold frames and low tunnels) when I start to accumulate houseplants. I can't help it. I can't not be around plants and soil. So I hit the nursery recently, looking for plants to add to my living room.
And it was at the nursery, on a cute little Jade plant I had in my hands, just about ready to bring home, that I saw them. Mealybugs, sneakily hidden in a leaf axis near the bottom of one of the stems.
Note: If you ever see a mealybug on a plant at the nursery, put it down, and walk out. Do not buy the plant, or any other plant in the vicinity. Chances are pretty good that they're infected as well. And a mealybug problem is one you'd rather not deal with!
I'm glad I noticed that white, fuzzy stuff on my Jade plant. I ended up going somewhere else for a bigger, healthy Jade that is now residing on my desk. The problem with mealybugs is that they are a real pain to get rid of. That white, cottony looking substance you see is actually a defensive, waxy coating that is able to shed water and just about any spray or insecticidal soap you can throw at it. The best way to get rid of a mealybug infestation, should you have one, is to rub your entire plant with cotton swabs dipped in alcohol (which dissolves that waxy coating) then either go in with the insecticidal soap or a blast of water. You'll have to do this several times to make sure you get rid of the mealybugs completely, and make sure you're isolating the plant until you're sure the mealybugs are gone so they don't spread to any of your other plants.
For Further Reading on Mealybugs:
Two of my favorite houseplant bloggers have written extensively about mealybugs, and I highly recommend reading their posts if you're dealing with mealybugs -- or just if you're a houseplant grower. If you grow houseplants, you'll probably end up dealing with mealybugs eventually!
Dec 6, Insect Eating Plants -- Top 12 Carnivorous Plants
Many say that insect eating plants or carnivorous plants as known to some are recognized by 3 characteristics.
First, within the plant anatomy is a component that acts as a natural trap to catch a prey. The plant may have additional features to make the trapping mechanism efficient. Second, the plant can digest and absorb the prey such as insects. This is made possible by enzymes, bacteria or other organisms essential in completion of the process. Third, the insect eating plants can utilize the nutrients and which must benefit from them.The world of insect eating plants is amazingly exotic. Their appearance is unlike any. 12 of the top carnivorous plants are mentioned below with a short description.
Aldrovanda. Also known as the waterwheel plant, the aldrovanda has leaves arranged in a wheel shape with the leafy traps located at the end of the plant?s arms, a characteristic reminiscent of the underwater Venus flytrap.
Cephalotus. Its other moniker is Albany pitcher plant because cephalotus follicularisis is named after the Albany city in Australia, which is its native habitat. Also, its shape resembles that of a pitcher, only that cephalotus is covered with bristles.
Drosera. The species of drosera reaches 180 and they are the most famous of the insect-eating plants thriving almost anywhere except the Antarctica. Like the Venus flytrap, drosera?s adhesive leaves also move to catch insects that are digested by enzymes.
Darlingtonia. Darlingtonia species grow well along the Pacific coast. Among its favorite foods are the animals like the flying midges, slime mites, and bacteria.
Dionaea. Also known as the Venus flytrap, the dioneae has the lowlands of North Carolina as its native land. However, when their habitat was threatened, they become flourishing off the Carolina Beach State Park in the nearby Wilmington of North Carolina. This one undoubtedly tops the list of most recognized carnivorous plants.
Drosophyllum. Known by its other name, dewy pine, the drosophyllum is large. Its leaf reaches a foot while the entire plant can reach a maximum height of 2 feet. Its natural habitat is the Portuguese coast, along the arid regions.
Genlisea. The Genlisea or corkscrew plant proliferate on wet habitats because their traps are concealed under the water, which is formed by curved hairs allowing their prey to have one direction?into the trap.
Heliamphora. The genus of heliamphora is that of the pitcher plants growing on the South American highlands close to Venezuela, Guyana, and Brazil.
Nepenthes. Another tropical pitcher plant, the nepenthes catches mosquito larvae and frogs.
Pinguicula. Among the insect-eating plants that bear flowers, the pinguicula?s flowers rise above their sticky leaves to avoid consuming its pollinators. The pinguicula is also known as butterworts.
Sarracenia. The Southeastern part of the United States is where the sarracenia thrives as they are also known to be a North American pitcher insect-eating plant.
Utricularia. With more than 220 species, the utricularia has bladderwort as its common name, which gives a clear characteristic of their trap?an interior chamber from which small bladders pump out water to stunt its prey. When it does, the water pressure is lowered, allowing entry of the prey into the chamber where it is digested.
Similar Posts
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Top of Insect Eating Plants
Listed under Exotic Plants
Front Yard Farming
September 3rd, 2010 
Posted in: Edible Gardening, Gardening, Planting Ideas »
I’ve seen articles recently about global food shortages and feeding our populations and whatnot, bunch of scare tactics mostly, but when you sit down and think about it, there is a lot of land that could be used to grow food, but isn’t.
Highway medians, roadsides, parks, but mostly, front yards.
Some backwards and oppressive cities have ordinances requiring you to have x percentage of front yard as perfectly green lawn, and if you try to put in garden beds, xeriscaping, or just don’t remember to water, they fine you.
Garden beds require less fertilizer, less water, and less labor than lawn, and can make you money when used right. Sure, kids can’t play in gardens like they can on lawns, but unless you live on a very low traffic street, you want them playing in the back yard anyways. On my street, which is 4 lanes, I put in a new super secure gate as soon as my son learned to walk just to make sure he can never go into the front yard.
So, assuming you don’t live in a third reich city and can plant your front yard as you wish, why not get rid of the grass and put in planter beds? On a side note, I think it is funny the same sort of people who put in the stupid lawn ordinances are the types who act like chicken littles about food shortages.
My front yard is full of planting beds and I add a new one or two every year (it is almost an addiction for me).
I grow a mix of ornamentals and edibles in my front yard, I’m too much of a landscape artist to fully commit to just utilitarian gardening like I showed in this blog post on growing your own food. Plus, I want to sell this house one day (probably in about 5 years) so I have to be cognizant of resale value.
Right now, in addition to the sweet potatoes, apple trees, pawpaw tree, and herbs I am growing in my front yard, I’ve got a ginormous 15'x15' mound of butternut squash. My wife calls it “The Blob” and we always see people walking by scoping it out. A few years ago squirrels told me where to plant my squash and so I did so this year. Butternut squash are versatile in the kitchen, and fairly easy to grow. A little supplemental watering if there is a drought, and that is it. They can be affected by powdering mildew, so a fungicide can be helpful, but they are one of few squash varieties resistant to squash vine borer.
I’m letting the blob grow all it wants, I’ll just mow around it (not that I’ve had to mow, we’ve had a drought lately, hence the wilty leaves). I’ll probably get 60 pounds of squash off of these plants, all for the price of a pack of seeds. It might not be the most attractive thing in the world, but a squash vine is not a permanent landscape feature, it can be removed at any time. So to grow it or another vine (such as watermellon) in your front yard all you need is a small planting hole/mound (with improved soil please), and then let it spill over onto the grass, and mow around it. Unlike a crop like say corn, you don’t have to commit a large portion of your yard to permanent garden if you don’t want to. You could also grow pumpkins this way as a project for the kids.
For most squash you don’t even need to start them until June (or even later if you have a longer growing season than we do in Michigan), and they take a little while to get going, so it isn’t as if it’ll cover your yard for the entire summer either.
Stink bugs
Oct 29 Posted by: lyn in: Pest-free Gardening
An environmentally-friendly way of getting rid of stink bugs is to use a stick to knock them into a container with some methylated spirits in the bottom of it, so that you don’t have to come in direct contact with these smelly bugs that change colour from green to orange to brown-black as they grow.
However, a reader e-mailed me this week about his problem with lots of stink bugs on his orange tree that is too tall to use this method, and he wanted to know if he could spray the tree with metho, instead.
Spraying the bugs with methylated spirits would only further damage the tree. If you also have a tree affected by bronze orange bugs (stink bugs), these bugs are a sign that a tree is very under-nourished. It is probably extremely water-stressed, as plants can’t absorb nutrients from soil if it is not damp enough for the minerals to become water-soluble. Give the soil around the affected tree a thorough watering, then give it an application of complete organic fertiliser and then water in some organic seaweed tea. You haven’t said which climate area you live in. If you live in an area where water shortages are common, keep the tree pruned to a size where it can remain healthy on the amount of water that you and nature can provide.
Bronze orange bugs or stink bugs and harlequin bugs are sap sucking pests that can do a lot of damage to stressed citrus trees. Spined citrus bugs suck sap from fruit. Before dealing with these bugs, you need to don old clothes, sturdy shoes, gloves and goggles or sunglasses as bronze orange bugs eject a corrosive fluid with a vile smell when they are threatened.
Young bugs tend to cluster under the lower leaves of the trees and are easy to get at, but if trees are too large for knocking them into a tin, spread some large sheets of plastic under the tree, then use a broom stick or long pole to give the foliage a good shake and, when they drop to the ground, either squash them, or gather up the plastic and slide them into a large container with a suitable pest treatment in the bottom.
Organic-registered products such as Natrasoap (not ordinary soaps or detergents) or Eco-oil will kill these pests but they should not be used on heat-stressed or water stressed plants, or in high temperatures. However, either of these products can be used to spray stink bugs when they shelter around the base of the tree on hot days. Harlequin bugs like to shelter in weeds, and they can be sprayed where they are hiding. Get rid of weeds, particularly along fence lines to prevent re-infestation.
However, the best way to avoid these horrible pests is to take good care of your citrus trees.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Dec 6, Exotic Plants Come In A Variety Of Shapes, Sizes And Unique Characteristic.
While many stick with the tried and true houseplants, there are a number of
exotic plants which can add a lot of interest to your hobby ? and depending on the weather in the area where you live, you may be able to grow these unique plants indoors or outdoors.
If you are interested in growing odd plants yourself, you may want to begin with some of the more readily available plants; these include carnivorous plants such as venus flytraps and pitcher plants.
The venus flytrap is an especially popular choice, since you can often find these plants in garden centers and they are inexpensive.
The venus flytrap is native to North Carolina (a surprise to many, since a lot of carnivorous plants hail from the tropics). Children are especially fond of these plants (they eat flies!) though they are fascinating to people of all ages with their mouth-like traps.
These plants are more fragile than they look though and care should be taken to protect them from frosts. Keep in mind that they need a lot of humidity (they are often sold in containers with lids) and plenty of sun to grow. To ensure more traps on your plant, pick off flowers when they appear.
Pitcher plants are another popular exotic. These carnivorous plants are attractive and can grow larger than a venus flytrap, at least if you live in a warm enough climate to grow them outdoors.
Like most carnivorous plants, they do require a high level of humidity and a relatively warm climate. However, these plants are also fascinating (if a bit macabre) to watch.
Another interesting family of exotics is the bromeliads, the family of plants which includes the Pineapple and Spanish moss.
These exotic plants have the advantage of being relatively easy to care for; they are even fairly resistant to cold (but cannot tolerate freezing temperatures, so it may be best to grow them indoors where they make a showy addition to your home.
The members of the Bromeliad family vary widely in size from smaller plants such as the Bilbergia (also known as Queen?s Tears) to the pineapple plant, which can grow several feet high and several feet wide!
These are more suitable for larger homes or greenhouses if you are fortunate enough to have on attached to your home. Some members of this family are somewhat common as houseplants, while others are far less so.
You can contact one of several bromeliad societies for more information on these plants, as well as for tips on their care and where to find various cultivars of the bromeliad family.
Another exotic plants possibility is any of the number of poisonous plants which are available as houseplants. Obviously, great care must be taken in handling these plants, but many of them are very attractive plants.
For example, the crown of thorns which produces large numbers of beautiful flowers and can live for decades of properly cared for.
One thing to remember about these exotic plants is that they are not likely to be a suitable choice for your home if you have small children or pets who may be at risk of being poisoned by these beautiful, yet dangerous exotic plants.
Every gardener and everyone who keeps houseplants in their home is able to take advantage of an enormous variety of different options when it comes to exotics ? the problem is just knowing where to look if you do not live near a garden center which does not specialize in such plants.
Whether you?re interested in growing your own pineapple tree, covering your garden in Spanish moss, keeping a Queen?s Tears plant in your window box or just having a venus flytrap of your very own, exotic plants can be the answer to houseplant tedium.
Do some research and look into the exotic plants available; don?t forget to look into how to properly care for these exotic new additions to your home or garden ? you?ll want them to flourish and be a source of amazement to friends and family.
MORE EXOTIC PLANTS:AIR PLANTS: Soil-less Air plants Method: Epiphyte Effect
AGAVE AMERICANA: How To Grow And Care for The Agave Americana
BOUGAINVILLEA PLANT: The bougainvillea plant has vine-like branches and colorful flowers.
BROMLIADS: How To Grow And Care for Bromeliads
CARNIVOROUS PLANTS: The main foods that carnivorous plants consume are insects, worms, and other small animals:
CROWN OF THORNS: The exotic yet beautiful crown of thorns plant:
GINSENG PLANT: The amazing ginseng plant:
INDIGO PLANT: How to successfully grow and care for a Indigo Plant.
Insect Eating Plants: Top 12 Carnivorous Plants
MANDEVILLA PLANT: The exotic and beautiful Mandevilla plant
MEXICAN BIRD OF PARADISE THE MEXICAN BIRD OF PARADISE
PASSION VINE: How to Care for a Passion Vine
PHILODENDRON: The Exotic looking Philodendron bipinnatifidum:
POISONOUS PLANTS: Poisonous plants in and around your home:
RAIN FOREST PLANTS: Rain forest plants can be broken into four distinct layers:
STAGHORN FERN: How to grow and care for a staghorn fern.
TROPICAL RAINFOREST PLANTS: Here Are Some Important Tips For Growing Tropical Rainforest Plants
Top of exotic plants page Sign up for our Newsletter Below and get "How Do Plants Grow" E-Book now for FREE.With ?How Do Plants Grow? you?ll enjoy far more success with any vegetable, flower, herb or plant you touch. Your green thumb will become golden, and your garden the envy of friends and family.
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