Give Breathe To our Earth

Live Green Give Breathe To our Earth

As most people are aware, human's abuse of fossil fuels over the decades has led to a calamitous phenomena known as global warming. Certainly, most of us are going to have to change our habits if we hope to recover. But going 'green', as it were, makes economical sense as well as ecological sense; gas and oil prices are only increasing. Here are some tips to help do your part for your planet, and save some money in the process.

• Reduce how much packaging you buy
• Re-use what you can
• Recycle what you can't use
• Change all of your light bulbs to energy saving light bulbs
• Switch appliances off when not be used
• Switch to energy saving appliances
• Turn your computer to sleep mode when not being used
• Change your car to an electric or hybrid car
• Walk and use public transport when you can
• Install solar panels on your roof. Producing your own electricity is free.
• Buy food that is supplied locally rather than flown in
• Switch off lights in unoccupied rooms
• Install programmable thermostats
• Buy recycled paper as opposed to non recycled paper
• Eliminate magazine subscriptions by exchanging for electronic subscriptions
• Pay bills online (On Malaysia TM show use Autopay TM )
• Invest in a composter
• Use video calls for meetings rather than flying over in person.
• Wear more layers in the winter as opposed to turning the heating up
• Turn air conditioning on only when occupied
• Install tankless water heaters
• Avoid toxic chemicals when buying cleaning products
• Install timers on sprinklers to limit water usage
• Install insulation and double glazed windows to minimise heat loss from your house
• Detect heat loss using a thermal imager
• Drink tap water rather than bottled water
• Switch your batteries to rechargeable batteries
• Install dimming controls for lighting systems
• Install waterless urinals
• Carpool to school or work

Gardening

Gardening 
     

The thing to remember while gardening is to start small.  A small plant bed, about 25 or 30 feet square is perfect, is just enough room for about 30 plants.  This will give you a chance to try out your green thumb and if you find that you enjoy your garden you can always expand and increase your plantings.

The next thing you will want to do is choose a site. Gardening must be done in an area that gets at least six hours of sunlight.  Try and stay away from large trees that will take your plants water and nutrients, and at least three feet from any fences or buildings.  In hot climates it is a good idea to choose a place that will have shade from a part of the intense afternoon sun.  It is possible to have a healthy garden with even ten to twelve hours of sunlight, but the type of plants must be adaptable.  While soil can always be improved, a site with good soil is a plus.  Avoid areas that have rocky soil, steep slopes, or areas where water stands.

Now comes the fun part: start digging.  Gardening is not a clean hobby; you’re going to have to get some dirt under your nails.  First remove the rocks, debris, and any grass and weeds then dig the spot up about one foot deep.  Level up the dirt and add compost or minerals if the needed.  If your soil is too acidic, add lime; if it is too sandy, add peat moss.  Plants will thrive in neutral to acidic soil with a little added fertilizer.

If you buy seeds then plant them according to the directions.  If picking plants, choose ones with green, healthy looking leaves and stems and healthy roots.  Put the smaller plants towards the front of the bed and larger ones in the back.  The key to a successful beginning in gardening is planting at the right time.  Make sure and wait until the frosts are over before planting.  If you are planting seeds the package will usually tell you exactly when you can plant them to achieve maximum growth.

Once you have started and gotten into gardening, making sure your plants receive enough water is essential to their growth.  Hand watering works well if you only have a few plants.  Other options include sprinklers or sprinkler hoses.  Watering is more effective during the cooler parts of the day.  The type of plant will depend on how much water is needed, but most require about an inch per week.  During the hottest periods plants will be need watering about three times per week.

One of the most helpful things to add to a garden is mulch or compost.  Just a few inches of organic mulch will improve fertility and help the soil hold moisture.  Wood chips, grass clippings, leaves, manure, and pine needles are all things that can be used as mulch.  

Greenhouses On The Move

Greenhouses On The Move

Greenhouses are becoming more and more popular to those people with “green thumb.” Even home gardeners are considering having one for their garden for the benefits that it gives. Since full-sized, regular greenhouses can really be expensive and costly to maintain, it may be impractical for these small home gardeners to build one. 

But do not fret! It is because there are new portable and mini greenhouses now available for one to purchase and conveniently place in their gardens. These portable greenhouses are ideal for those who want to start their growing season early in the spring and extend it during the fall. These are also best for overwintering crops and are inexpensive too. 

Because these greenhouses are portable, they are light in weight and compact for easy setup, taking down and transporting. Most of these portable greenhouse kits can be set up in 30 minutes or even less. And because they are compact, they can easily be stored in any convenient place in the garage or closet when it is not yet time to use them.

What portable greenhouses do?

Portable greenhouses, just like the traditional ones, trap heat coming from the sun during the day through its covering and keep the heat radiated by the soil during the night to keep the surroundings warm enough for the plants. When a portable greenhouse is closed, it also traps in moisture which helps reduce the frequency of watering the plants inside.

A portable greenhouse is ideal for early planting of seeds, protecting the tender plants from the cold climate, starting perennial seeds in summer, fast rooting because of the need to transplant, and growing different kinds of plants that are not commonly grown in the area. This can also be used to overwinter plants especially when heated.

Portable greenhouses becoming popular

Gardeners are being continuously interested in these portable greenhouses and increase in sales of these products is evident. For one, these portables take no time to set up to get them going right away. Taking them down when it is not time to use them is also hassle-free. A greenhouse is not really needed to be up all year round especially for small-time plant growers. Thus, mini and portable greenhouses are ideal for their needs. 

For first timers, portable greenhouse is also recommended since this will give them the feel of having a real greenhouse before they consider building a real, full-sized one. And these portables are also inexpensive and less costly to maintain. This allows for them to jump-start their gardening career without having to spend a lot of money to buy all those greenhouse supplies that are required for the big ones. Also, installation is significantly quicker and easier than permanent ones so no additional or advanced tools are required.

These portable greenhouses come in different shapes and sizes. It can be as little as a small tent that fits only 2 plant shelves. There are some that look like portable closets that are around 6 feet tall. And there are also bigger ones as tall as 7 to 8 feet and are designed like a dome. These big ones can fit up to 3 to 4 bigger shelves inside.

Gardening Tips

Weather can really be unpredictable. So when a sudden cold snap occurs, burlap sacks filled with leaves can be thrown over the sash on the frame or covering during the night to prevent too much cold to get inside. Bales of straw or hay may also be stacked against the frame.

For extreme summer sunlight protection, some sort of shading can be used to prevent plant damage. Examples of covering that can be used as a shade are knitted shade covers, old bamboo blinds, and lath.

Plants inside the greenhouse should also be watered as early in the day as possible. This is to allow for quick drying of the soil before it gets dark. Improperly managed drainage and keeping the soil wet can pose problems later on and may not be a good gardening experience for beginners.

Whether you are a novice or is already an experienced gardener, having a portable greenhouse may be beneficial to your gardening needs. Being able to transport your greenhouse in a convenient and more strategic location is always possible with this portable version. Maintaining and taking proper care for this portable greenhouse is also not as costly and demanding than the permanent, full-sized ones.

Free Greenhouse Plan for You

Free Greenhouse Plan for You

A person may have the interest of constructing a greenhouse in his backyard where he can enjoy tending to his plants. Most greenhouses constructed are independently structured with their own watering and misting systems to accommodate the needs of the plants. A greenhouse should be properly designed and built so that a person may not encounter any problem concerning the maintenance and supply materials that are used in the greenhouse. 

A greenhouse should have a well-planned misting propagation system. This is very essential in propagating and growing healthier plants and crops. The system should have the ability to maintain the moisture and humidity of the air. 

He may set automated misters in the greenhouse to maintain the high temperature and humidity needed by the roots of the plants. He may avail this system with timers and meters where he may set a constant time detector to indicate the needed humidity inside the greenhouse. 

He may also have a well-planned rain water system in the greenhouse. This is essential in conserving water from automated watering systems that provides the needed water from the pump or from the electricity. The greenhouse must have properly placed gutters and downspouts to water the plants from natural rainwater. He may supply the greenhouse from the collected water from this systems, this is more accessible and environmentally friendly to the gardener. 

The electricity in the greenhouse should also be planned according to the needed warmth and lighting of the plants during cold climates. He may use grow lights to increase the amount of spectrum present in the greenhouse. This is very essential for the leaves of the plants. 

He must also consider the climate that may affect the growth of the plants. Winter season may have shorter days and there could be no sunlight available during this season. The lighting should play a very big role to prevent the plant from being shorter because of its less exposure to sunlight. It is important to have a lighting supply on the plan. 

There are many free greenhouse plans that a person may find in the Internet. There are plans that will help him how to plan the greenhouse with supply systems to have a full potential greenhouse. There are also sites that provide instructional methods on how to propagate and learn the methods of hydroponics gardening which is popular nowadays. There are also websites that provide free greenhouse plans for constructing and building a freestanding or a lean-to greenhouse. 

For those people who have not yet started building their own greenhouses, here are some free greenhouse plans that will help a person how to build a small greenhouse. 

1.  He may use such materials such as a 15 to 20 squeeze clips, 1 roll duck tape, 3 rolls heavy duty 3M clear tape, 6 mm clear plastic, 18 ratcheting tie downs, 4 to 8 T posts, 10 x 20 Universal canopy, and the options of adding grow lights and heaters. These materials may not cost him much for these supplies may just be enough to build his small greenhouse.

2.  He may need the services of two to three persons to set up the frame of the greenhouse. He can insert the pieces to the frame to make the connection. He must make sure that the connection points are properly wrapped with the Duck Tape. The pipe will then be properly placed according to the position he would like to place the greenhouse. 

3.  He may now connect the 18 tie-downs to connect to the upper part of the frame. He may use four T posts to support the four corners of the structure. He may place an extra T-post inside the frame and drill it at least 12” to the ground. 

4.  He may now make two separate plastic coverings to have a full view on the structure. He may cut the plastic that may fit the covering of the greenhouse. He may cut the plastic with a measurement of 30 ft. 

5.  He may now use the ladder to cover the greenhouse then use the gravels to down the plastic on the sides. He needs to make sure that the plastic covers all the end caps to the ground. 

This is a free greenhouse plan structural instruction may a gardener a little he