The Orchid Fundamentals
December 28th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
At one time, many folks assumed, with some justification, that tending orchids was a hobby reserved for the very affluent. These days, most people are aware that orchid cultivation is a pastime open to nearly anyone.Yet another false perception persists, though: that caring for orchids is extremely difficult. But this is definitely not so.
The fact is, many of the most astonishingly lovely orchids are really fairly easy to grow. All it takes is some foreknowledge, which may be gathered easily from books, whether the printed kind or the digital kind that you can download from the Web. If you live in a mild or warm climate, you will be able to grow many varieties outdoors, in your yard or garden.But even if your climate is a cold one, you can still grow gorgeous orchids in a greenhouse or even a regular room, dedicated to the purpose.
Why grow orchids instead of other types of plants?If you have had any experience growing orchids, you would not need to ask the question. Orchids can seize us with a hold that never relaxes once it has us in its grips!
Regardless, here are a few answers to the question. The great advantage of growing orchids over other plants is their extreme beauty coupled with the great length of time that they will remain in bloom. Some orchid varieites will delight you with their blooms for three or four months. A few will continue blooming for six months. Even with a small collection of different species of orchids, you can have blooms all year round since these plants vary in their season of blooming.
The topic of orchids and their cultivation is a huge one. You should plunge deeply into the subject and learn as much as you can before purchasing your first plant. Nevertheless, there are a few basics you should know right off the bat. Among those basics is that orchids can be classed into two great groupings, based on growing habits.
One of the two major groupings is the epiphytal orchids. These orchids grow naturally on the sides of trees, or perhaps in the crotches where two tree branches are joined. They are the air dwelling orchids, because they seemingly live on nothing but air and sunlight, though this of course is not actually true. It was these mysterious species that first grabbed the imaginations of collectors and resulted in the first great orchid mania of a more than a century ago. They are still the ones that most fascinate people today.
It should be noted that epiphytal orchids are not parasites. They draw only a little of their sustenance from the bark of the trees to which they cling, and this does not harm their hosts in the least. They also pull nutrients from water, fungi and moss, as well as the decomposing leaves that sometimes get caught on them. Orchid devotees adore the epiphytals because of the enjoyment of recreating their unusual habitats in a garden or greenhouse.
The other major orchid group is the terrestrials. As you probably can surmise, this type grows in soil like most plants with which we are familiar. Growing them requires potting, just as with any other familiar houseplant. Many of the most gorgeous varieites of orchids are to be found here.
Many orchid cultivators begin by focusing exclusively on one or the other of these two main groups. Inevitably, though, they end up growing at least a few species from both. It’s a good idea to learn about both kinds of orchids if you are serious about wanting to join the world of the orchid cultivators.
Now there is lots of good, accurate information available for anyone who wants to grow orchids. The most up-to-date guidebook to expert orchid care, many growers agree, is Orchid Care Expert by a Mr. Nigel Howard, which can be downloaded over the Internet. Howard’s delightful guide will furnish a complete education on the subject. Also, check out the Orchid Secrets web site, which has a growing library of information on many facets of orchid care.
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Wild About Orchids? You’re In Good Company
December 28th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Since the famouse mania for tulips (or “tulipomania”) crested in the Netherlands until the present, no one family of plants has managed to acquire such a firm grip on popular passion as the orchids. Believe it or not, though, today’s orchid craze hardly compares to the excited devotion that these plants inspired in our Victorian forebears, especially in England and the United States.
Certainly other plants had a degree of celebrity in the Anglo-Saxon sphere during the mid- to late 19th century.Among these were ferns, cacti, chrysanthemums, palms and roses. But orchids to a great extent represented the height of horticultural respectability in the 19th century garden. So highly were the tropical epiphytes sought after that on May 12, 1885, the first huge orchid conference was held in London. This event brought together both commercial and amateur cultivators to exhibit their prized specimens and to discuss such vital questions as the culture and nomenclature of these fascinating flowers.
At the time of that landmark London conference, the more exotic orchids of the tropics had been known to the world in general for only about a hundred years. A 16th-century Spanish botanist, Francisco Hernandez, casually referred to a few orchids as curiosities when recounting a voyage to Spanish America. Almost two centuries later, naturalist Engelbert Kaempfer and botanist Georg Eberhard Rumphius, both working for the Dutch East Indies Company, described some of the Asian orchids. It was not, though, until just prior to the opening of the 19th century that many Europeans became aware of these exciting, mysterious plants.
By the early 1800s, botanists were working on cultivating a few specimens at such places as Kew Gardens in London. Until 1820 orchids were looked upon as curiosities in botanical gardens, but about that time some showy Cattleyas and other species produced some stunning flowers, piqueing greater interest among the public. By the 1850s new specimens of orchids were pouring into Europe from all over the world and more and more people were trying to cultivate them at home.
The first great orchid craze was going full throttle by the late 1800s and continued undiminished for many years to come. Somewhat suprisingly, a solid scientific understanding of orchid botany and what was needed to be consistently successful in growing orchids did not arrive until the 1920s.
Nowadays, of course, we have an abundance of good information on the proper way to grow orchids. The most thorough guidebook to modern orchid growing, in my opinion, is Orchid Care Expert by a Mr. Nigel Howard, which is available to be downloaded over the Internet. Howard’s delightful guide will provide a complete immersion in the subject. Also, visit the Orchid Secrets web site, which contains an ever-growing library of postings on all aspects of orchid care.
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Some Useful Organic Vegetable Gardening Tips
December 28th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
We all want to stay healthy by eating chemically free, fresh, vitamin filled and natural foods. When we grow our own food, it makes us less dependent on commercially grown foods, which are coated with chemicals and are also quite tasteless.
The US Department of Agriculture compiled data that reveals that the mineral levels in vegetables, fruits, dairy and meat has decreased substantially in the foods that are commercially produced. Chemical fertilizers that are used for commercial produce swell it with more water. Organic food on the other hand has more dry matter and is loaded with essential nutrients. It is also much higher in antioxidants, which is another big reason to go organic.
How is organic gardening Different
The main difference between conventional gardening and organic gardening is in the areas of pest control and fertilization. In organic gardening, organic and natural methods and materials are used rather than synthetic chemicals which are detrimental to the environment and our health.
If you are fond of home gardening for organic vegetables, some of the useful home vegetable gardening tips are to choose your crops carefully, select a garden site that is appropriate for plants, plan your garden, prepare the soil and choose appropriate fertilizers.
Successful Organic Vegetable Gardening
The most important organic vegetable gardening tip is that you need to provide good growing conditions for the healthiest produce. A good crop does not happen by accident, it needs lots of hard work and suitable conditions. The most important factor responsible for adequate growth of any plant is at least six hours of direct sun each day. You also need to make sure that the soil is full of organic matter.
Another organic vegetable gardening tip is to choose the plants sensibly. There are some plants that are more susceptible to diseases and pest problems as compared to other plants. To save unnecessary problems for yourself, look for varieties that are disease-resistant.
One valuable organic vegetable gardening tip is to feed your organic plants naturally. Fertilizing your plants may not be necessary in most soils, but it definitely helps them grow better. Feeding your plants with well-rotted animal manure is a good source. Organic matter improves tilth, structure and the condition of the soil. It also improves the ability of soil to hold water and nutrients.
Another handy organic vegetable gardening tip is to be absolutely intolerant of weeds as they rob plants of water and essential nutrients. They also attract pests that can spread diseases from one plant to another. It is therefore important to walk through your garden and pick up weeds and shed foliage.
Another important organic vegetable gardening tip is to water wisely. Use water saving soaker hoses to water the plants directly at the roots. Also, jamming the plants in the plot can cause problems. Do not plant the organic vegetables too close to each other. There has to be good airflow between the plant for them to grow well and prevent any fungal disease.
For more about gardening please visit www.organicgardeningzone.com
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A Healthy Option: Green Gardening
December 28th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
There is a new world developing in the gardening world that is called green gardening, otherwise known as organic gardening. Since it is becoming more popular, there is more gardening help available to help a person who has been gardening for years change over to green gardening from traditional methods. There is also plenty of information that allows those who have not ever gardened before to become green gardeners in a short amount of time.
Going Green
Going green is a slogan that has been tossed around more and more in recent years, as more and more people become informed about the effects of our actions on the environment and more environmental problems surface due to man’s negligence.Since this is the case, people have been finding more ways to be environmentally friendly yet still able to participate in the activities they enjoy, such as gardening.
Green gardening means using products that are organic, such as compost instead of chemical fertilizers. The compost can be made through grass clippings, leaves or scraps from the kitchen that are organic. All of these items are thrown onto a pile called the compost pile, which begins to decay and let the nutrients from the decaying bodies into the soil, which plants love. Earthworms also help to decompose the compost pile if the person doesn’t mind their squirming.
In addition to growing flowers organically, green gardening includes growing food, so that most of what is eaten is home grown.Organic food that is bought in a grocery store or specialty shop is always more expensive then alternatives. Growing food in a vegetable garden saves time and money, including the gas required to get to the grocery store!In addition, picking the vegetables and fruit from the garden, fresh, right before use always tastes better than those that have been shipped to the store.
For those who do not have the option of starting a green garden in the back of their house, there are a couple of different options available.One option is to join a community garden in which people sign up to take care of the garden on different days of the week and the produce from the garden is shared amongst them all. The other option for urban dwellers is to do container gardening, doing green gardening in potted plants.All sorts of plants can be grown this way, including vegetables, so it is a viable option for those who do not have yards.
For more about gardening please visit www.organicgardeningzone.com
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Flower Gardening
December 28th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Flower gardening is one way to make a huge difference in the yard and raise the value of any home. There are so many different choices in flowers that a flower garden can change every year or even every month! In addition, there are ways to green garden, which means that all of the products used in the garden are organic, so that pesticides and fertilizers are not used which can be harmful to humans, pets and the environment.
The first choice in flower gardening is what types of flowers to plant, since that will determine where the garden should be located. If there is only one option for where the flower garden can be placed, then the plants chosen for the garden should be based on how much sunlight is available in the garden and what the overall climate is where the person lives.That way the flower garden will be more likely to be successful, and the gardener will not get frustrated with plants that will not grow or that die after a short amount of time.
Roses?
There are many people who would like to have a rose flower garden but are afraid to do so because they have heard that roses are temperamental flowers and are difficult to grow and maintain. However, there are some tips that can be used to successfully grow a rose flower garden in any climate.
The first tip was mentioned above – choose the flowers according to the climate. Roses are tougher than they look and were found naturally in every climate.The trick to planting a rose garden is to choose the types of roses that enjoy the type of weather the person lives in. Also, roses enjoy sunlight, so a flower garden composed of roses should be placed where they can get direct sunlight.
When planting rose bushes in a flower garden, they should be planted apart from one another so that they can get air between the different plants.They also should be pruned regularly so that the bushes do not get too thick where they cannot get air within the branches of the plant.Roses also like to be watered regularly, but not in the way other flowers are usually watered. Roses need to be watered at the roots so that they can more readily absorb the water.
If all of these instructions are followed, then a beautiful rose flower garden should be blooming in no time.Keeping the roses well fertilized with healthy mulch from compost will also help them to stay healthy and strong.
For more about gardening please visit www.organicgardeningzone.com
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How to Make Organic Gardening Compost
December 28th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
So you want to get involved in organic gardening and farming, and know that one of the first things that you are going to need to do is make some organic gardening compost. This organic gardening compost is what you are going to be using to provide nutrients to the soil which in turn will make stronger, healthier plants.
There are a few different ways to make organic gardening compost, but here is some basic information that you will need to be aware of.
Full Instructions
When it comes to organic gardening compost, the most important thing to learn about is what you can use to make compost. Basically, anything that was once living will make for great compost. You should avoid using meat, dairy and cooked food in your compost however because these foods can attract vermin and so you really want to avoid home-composting them.
All fruit and vegetable peels work well in organic gardening, and for the best results you want to always use a mixture of types of ingredient. The right balance for you here is going to really only be learnt by experience, and so just because you may not get it perfect right away, you should not become frustrated and after you practice and stay at it, you will continue to make better and better compost each time.
Keep in mind that some things, such as grass mowing and soft young weeds, will rot quickly, and so they do work as activators which means that they get the compost started, but they do end up decaying and causing quite a mess.
Any tea bags and leaves, coffee grounds, soft green prunings, animal manure, and poultry manure and bedding for instance, will all work very well in your compost. Make sure that you try a few different things, and see what works best.
Depending on the type of plants that you have in your garden, certain mixtures are going to work better than others. Only over time will you be able to recognize which mixtures work best on your garden.
Remember, your organic gardening compost can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. If you are just getting started, it will be best for you to stick to a simpler compost recipe, and then as you begin to get more used to making it and get more familiar with the routine, you can start adding in new things.
For more about gardening please visit www.organicgardeningzone.com
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