Hydroponics gardens are different from regular gardens in that there isn’t any soil involved, which makes them great for indoors.  The word begins with hydro for a reason!  Hydroponics gardening  isn’t anything new, either, as it’s been around since as early as 600 BC.  The other wonderful thing about hydroponics gardens is that they can be grown anywhere.  For example, NASA uses indoor hydroponics gardening for growing produce during lengthy missions.  Lettuce is also being grown on U.S. submarines.

To get started with hydroponics gardening, you will need to germinate seeds just as you would for any other type of garden.  Then you choose a growing medium.  The medium can be anything from composted bark to peat moss to sand to nutrient-enriched water.  You can also purchase kits that have everything you need to get your hydroponics gardening started—and growing.  For the beginner, this is probably the best way to go, as you can get everything you need along with expert advice.

The benefits of gardens grown using the hydroponics gardening method are many.  They allow you to grow your produce organically, without harmful pesticides or fertilizers.  And since water is re-circulated in a specialized system, you also conserve water.  This is great news for people who live in drought-stricken areas or in places where water is scarce. Even in these places hydroponics gardening is possible.

Hydroponics gardening is also very low-maintenance.  Because the produce is grown in water, you don’t have to do any digging.  Even better, with these gardens, there’s no weeding involved either.  Plants grow faster, too.  Thirty to forty days from seed to fruit or flower is average.  This is 30-50% quicker than plants grown in soil.

Also, hydroponics gardening makes it possible to grow produce year-round.  This means you can enjoy fresh vegetables and fruit anytime of the year without paying outrageous prices for them.  Plus, since there’s really no telling just how fresh the produce is in your local market, you’ll never have to guess about freshness and purity again.  You’ll know because you grew it yourself under circumstances you control.

This is an important advantage that hydroponics gardening has over traditional gardens.  When you grow plants in soil, even under the best of circumstances, you don’t know for certain that your plants are truly getting the nutrients vital for them to grow.  In gardens grown hydroponically, you know your plants are getting the very best nutrition right at their root system.  This not only ensures the highest quality possible, but it also takes the guesswork out of your hydroponics gardening.

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Product Description
The decline of cheap oil is inspiring increasing numbers of North Americans to achieve some measure of backyard food self-sufficiency. In hard times, the family can be greatly helped by growing a highly productive food garden, requiring little cash outlay or watering. Currently popular intensive vegetable gardening methods are largely inappropriate to this new circumstance. Crowded raised beds require high inputs of water, fertility and organic matter, and demand la… More >>

Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times

The easiest and most effective way to propagate them is through simple division. Of course you will need at least one parent plant of each variety that you would like to grow. If you shop around you might be able to find some 4″ inch pots at a fair price.

One of each variety is good for a start. I find that the best time of the year to divide them is in the spring, just before the new growth emerges. If you buy the stock plants in the early spring, you might be able to divide them right away. If you buy them at any other time of the year, just plant them in your garden or other suitable location, knowing that you are going to dig them up in a few months, or a year or so.

When spring arrives you can divide them at any time as long as they are not well into putting on new growth. The earlier the better. To divide them simply dig up the root mass and start dividing it into pieces. The divisions do not have to be to be very large. It’s difficult to describe, but as long as you have some roots, the new plant is likely to grow.

If you have small young plants you can probably just tear the root mass apart with your hands, but if the root mass is very big then you are going to need some tools. You might need some heavy duty tools!

Last spring I divided several grass plants that had been in my landscape for a few years. When I dug out the root mass it was much larger and more dense than I expected. Using a very good digging spade and some real elbow power I was able to chop the root mass into quarters, and I replanted the quarters back into my landscape. That still left many clumps that I wanted to divide into very small plants that I could pot up in 2 quart containers. The root mass was too dense to tear apart with my hands, so I literally got a hammer and a 4″ wide mason’s chisel and chiseled off pieces.  It worked and I now have a couple of hundred beautiful little grass plants in 2 quart containers.

Since then I have talked with a friend of mine who works for a large wholesale grower, and he told me that you never want to let an ornamental grass plant get that big if you intend to divide it. He said they plant small divisions in the field in the spring, and dig them up the following spring and divide them again. He assured me that if you get them just 12 months later, they can be easily torn apart by hand.

That sounds like a lot more fun than what I went through!

Growing Grapevines And Making Wine: A Beginner’s Guide.

After a few years, most established clumps of daylilies need to be divided. This can be done in either spring or fall. The advantage of dividing in the spring is that the ground is usually soft and easy to work, the plants are in a growth period and will recover quickly, and there isn’t a lot of foliage to deal with so you can see what you’re doing.

The advantage of dividing in the fall is that summer blooming is over, so the new plants can put all their energy into producing strong roots. If you opt for fall division, make sure you give the plants a full six weeks to get settled in before the temperatures plunge.

How to divide a clump

The best method is to dig up the entire clump. Remember that daylily root systems are large and vigorous, so take your time and be prepared for some serious digging. Lift or roll the clump out of the hole and remove enough soil so you can clearly see where the crown is located. Though the clump can be simply cut in two with a sharp shovel or blade, this method does a lot of damage to the roots.

A better method is to pry the clump apart with a garden fork. This takes longer but does less damage to the roots. Once the clump has been divided into two parts, you can continue to divide into smaller sections.

After dividing, apply a fungicide to any wounds made to the roots. If there are leaves on the clumps, cut them back by about half their length; this will reduce the demand for water and will create less stress for the plants, which need to put all their strength into redeveloping their roots.

Plant the divisions as promptly as possible after dividing.

Wintering Over – some simple winter care is all it takes

Daylilies don’t require a lot of winter care, but a few simple steps can make your plants grow better and bloom more.

The plants will die back in early fall. Don’t remove the dead foliage – it will act as an insulator.

Winter Mulch: Covering your daylilies with a thick layer ( six to twelve inches) of straw or hay can help them get through a cold northern winter without damage. Get this mulch layer in place before the ground freezes and leave it on till early spring. This is particularly important for new or recently divided daylilies.

If you’re growing daylilies in pots, the procedure is a little different. After all the foliage has died, trim back potted daylilies to about two inches above the rim of the container.

Cover the pot with a commercially available insulating blanket and stow it in a protected cold, dry place.