Monday, April 6, 2009

A Birdseye View into the Different Types of Hydroponic Growing Systems

Hydroponic gardening is the way of the future for environmentally controlled agriculture. Hydroponic gardening eliminates soil borne pests and diseases and maximizes water and nutrient uptake by the plant. Incredible yields can be achieved in a relatively small space with hydroponic systems. There are many types of hydroponic systems available for home and commercial use. These systems include the Europonic Rockwood System, the Ebb and Flow System, Aeroponic Systems, Continuous Drip Systems, and Rockwool Based Systems. Hydroponic systems come in all shapes and sizes and can be adapted for nearly any budget.

Nutrient Film Technique, or NFT, is another popular system. The plants are held in troughs with nutrient solution constantly trickling over the roots. A reservoir with a pump that is submersible re-circulates the nutrient solution continually, pumping the solution to the top of the troughs to trickle back through the system. Larger Nutrient Film Technique systems are used commercially, both abroad and in the United States. When choosing a Nutrient Film Technique system, care must be taken to choose the correct trough size. Large commercial systems use wider troughs with greater flow capacity. Aeroponics is a system in which the plant’s roots are suspended in air. They are excellent for growing herbs and leafy vegetables. The plants are held in web pots with neoprene inserts to support the plant. Different hold configurations in the top cover provide the proper spacing. Aeroponic systems are also great propagators. The seedlings can be germinated in rockwool then transferred directly to the web pots. Aeroponic systems are also very popular at NASA research centers and other educational facilities around the world.

The Europonic System is modeled after commercial systems that are used in Europe. A basic system has three trays and holds eight plants each. The system may also be expanded to five trays if desired. A nutrient solution is pumped from a thirty-gallon reservoir to individual emitters at each plant. The solution trickles through the rockwool, over the roots, and back to the reservoir where it is re-circulated on a constant basis. Rockwool, or mineral wool, is the most popular and highly used hydroponic medium. It is made from spun material fibers and has a high water and air holding capacity. It can also be cut and formed into many shapes and sizes that allow many diverse growing applications. The Europonic System uses rockwool slabs with two slabs fitting into each tray. Rockwool is easily able to support a relatively extensive root system so the Europonic System is ideal for vine crops such as tomatoes, cucumber, and peppers, plus large flowering plants.

In a continuous drip system, a single pot is used with a two-gallon reservoir underneath. The system acts like a percolator as air is pumped down a vertical shaft, creating pressure, and nutrient solution is forced up another tube. A drip ring constantly irrigates the substrate, and the nutrient solution drains back into the reservoir. This type of system is easy to use, inexpensive, and great for individual experimentation. However, it is impractical for most commercial applications. Ebb and flow systems are also popular in hydroponics. They are good for crops such as lettuce, pepper plants, miniature tomatoes, and potted flowers. Ebb and flow systems can also be used as an herb garden to provide fresh basis, thyme, and oregano year round. Ebb and flow systems do have a few drawbacks, one including the possible buildup of fertilizer salts in the substrate. As the water evaporates between flooding, the salts are left behind as a residue and may rise to toxic levels. It is best to flush the system with pure water periodically to take away any toxic salt buildup.

To find out more about hydroponics see:

http://www.Homemade-Hydroponics.com

How To Know The Signs Of Autism

Why it is important to know the signs of autism?

Well - early diagnosis allows for earlier intervention, which increases the chance of your loved ones having a better quality life and increasing your child's potential.

So, lets get started -

Autism characteristics vary wildly from patient to patient.

There's a saying that goes something like this:

"Once you've met one person with autism...you've met one person with
autism"

It's because everyone with Autism is unique that confirming a diagnosis can be difficult, but there are certain characteristics of autism that do appear regularly...

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Common characteristics
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It's usually the case that parents are the first to notice something isn't quite 'right' about their child's behavior.

They may notice differences right from birth, such as a dislike of physical contact, the inability to make or maintain eye contact, or staring at objects for an unusually long time.

Or, a child who has been meeting all the usual developmental milestones within the normal time frames may suddenly stop progressing or even show a decline in skills.

Children with autism sometimes stop verbalizing, begin to show self-destructive behaviors, or avoid social contact.

Whatever the case may be, when parents notice something is wrong, they are usually correct so don't be afraid to raise your concerns with your doctor.

Signs that should encourage a doctor to carry out a full evaluation
include:

- Failure to coo or babble by or before one year old.
- Inability to speak single words by 16 months.
- Inability to communicate non-verbally, such as pointing at
objects or waving, by age one.
- Inability to independently speak two-word phrases by age 2
- Loss of any communication or social skill at any age.

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But that's not all
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If you're concerned about your loved one, now is the time to act.

The sooner you discover all about this complex condition, the sooner you'll be able to make informed decisions about which treatments to try.

Just click the link below and you'll find out how to get hold of all the information you'll need...

Including a simple 13 point questionnaire that guides you through
the process of identifying the symptoms of autism and highlights an
additional 22 signs of autism to check for.

Here's the link:
www.Essential-Guide-to-Autism.com

What to Expect When Attempting your own Hydroponic Garden

In order to know what to expect when attempting your own hydroponic garden is to know what a hydroponic garden is. Once you understand what this type of gardening entails, you will be more aware of what to expect when constructing a garden of this nature.

Hydroponics is the practice of growing plants in water without soil, and with the proper nutrients added. This process became considerable popular in recent years, and has been done experimentally for over a century. In the year 1929, new studies regarding the feasibility of hydroponics for growing commercial crops have taken place as well.

Nowadays, many home gardeners and farmers use this technique. This method enables plants to be grown closer together in a field, which helps increase the yield of crops. Not only that, but also several crops can be grown in the same hydroponic growth tank.

As far as what to expect from the process of using the hydroponic technique, you will experience both the advantages and disadvantages of growing crops in this manner. One major advantage of hydroponics (besides conserving space) is that it virtually eliminates all weed and pest problems. It is another form of pesticide-free gardening, in some cases.

The major disadvantage of hydronponics is that the equipment used to garden using this methods is very expensive. You will also need to be prepared to provide extensive physical support for your plants when grown by this method. However, this growing method for the most part can benefit many gardeners and crop producers in many ways, if they know how to do it correctly. Those who are successful at this type of gardening can expect nothing but a rich harvest.

Another big advantage for small-scale hydronponic gardeners is the opportunity to grow plants year-round. This can be accomplished by the use of indoor lighting. The correct type of lighting that you would need for growing plants indoors using the hydronponic method would be a High Intensity Discharge (H.I.D.) light. These types of lights are designed to give off the correct spectrum of light waves, which are perfect for growing plants indoors-and in water no less.

The basic hydronponic growing system includes a variety of other components as well. For example, hydroponic-grown plants are held upright by wire supports or are rooted in substances such as sand or gravel. Furthermore, the growing environment for hydronponic-grown plants needs to be as sterile as possible for best results.

To get you started on using the hydroponic system you will need to keep in mind a few tips. For example, if you want to plant a spring garden, there are some things you will need to know, such as the effect of germinating your seeds ahead of time.

In order to germinate your growing seeds you can grow them a month early with an indoor grow light, and wait until after the last projected frost date to transplant it. Even if you decide to transplant your indoor plants outdoors, you will enjoy a longer production and/or blooming season.

The nutrient solutions added to plants grown by the hydronponic method require the correct concentration of various nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and other nutrients that most plants need. One recommendation for growing plants indoors is to add liquid seaweed to them, which also supplies necessary ingredients to plants.

Other names for hydronponics are soilless culture, chemiculture, and water gardening. This type of growing has impressed many people during the experimental phase and is becoming more and more of a successful form of gardening. It is one way of producing organic foods on a larger scale as well.

Now that you know a little more about hydroponics and what to expect from attempting to construct a hydroponic garden it may be time for you to try it for yourself. You have plenty of free resources available to you online to help you get started. In addition, you can refer back to this article.

If you ever have any questions about the hydroponic growing process you can contact gardening or farming expert. They will help direct you to all the information and resources that you need to help you along.

To find out more about hydroponics see:

http://www.Homemade-Hydroponics.com

Use The Power of The Sun With Solar Electricity

When asked about alternative energy or renewable energy, most people think of solar electricity. Generating electricity from the sun is a technology that everyone knows well. Whether it is your pocket calculator, home, or workshop, regardless of your power needs, solar electricity can get the job done.

Solar electricity has a number of unique advantages over conventional or grid-based electricity. Solar electric systems can be designed for a variety of applications and are extremely beneficial in remote areas where other electric opportunities do not exist. In addition, photovoltaic systems that generate solar electricity have no moving parts therefore requiring minimal maintenance, are easily expandable, and with many smaller units, transportable.

Environmental compatibility is a huge selling point for converting to solar electricity. The fuel for generating solar electricity is a free renewable resource, the sun. Solar electricity offers no noise pollution and actually almost no pollution from their operation. Another appealing factor for many who choose solar electricity over conventional electricity is simply the independence. It is an attractive offer to many rural dwellers to know that when the lights go out due to storms or blackouts, theirs are still working. No longer a slave to waiting on hold to report an outage to find it will be 10 hours before their service will be restored.

The hardest part of converting to solar electricity is the cost of the system. Investing in a solar energy system can be a substantial upfront cost. The value of solar electricity is realized over several years. A professionally installed solar array for an average dwelling (avg. $100/month in electric bills) could pay for itself in 5 years. You could reduce that number by building your own solar panel system or by purchasing a used system. With many solar energy systems in less rural areas and only in some states, you can sell your unused solar electricity back to the electric company. In these situations the return on your investment is realized much more quickly.

Using the power of sun with solar electricity is a benefit to the environment and to your home. Solar electricity is already being used to supplement power for a number of large cities in North America. Take time to learn more about solar electricity and how you can have trade in your electric bill for a carefree life with solar electricity.

For more info visit:
http://www.HomeMadeEnergy.org

How To Get An Ex Back

Did you just experience a break up? Are you wondering how to go get an ex back? Almost nearly every adult as experienced some kind of a break up, and most just work on moving on rather than looking for a way to get an ex back. But if you are over playing the victim and want to put some work in to get an ex back, then there are options for you. Everyone deals with breakup, but does break up simply mean that you cannot get back together with your ex?

The fact is, 90 percent of the time there is no reason why you cannot get an ex back after a break up, providing that you know what steps are necessary to win your ex back. The first step in learning how to get an ex back is to determine what exactly happened that caused the break up. Even though you cannot go back into the past, and you cannot change what happened, you can learn from the mistakes that were made and you can try to learn and grow from the experiences.

The break up may have occurred because of a single event, or it may have occurred from behaviors that your ex could not deal with anymore. No matter what the reason was that led to the breakup, you need to get the specifics figured out so that you can deal with the situation if it should never come up again. You can get an ex back if you know how, but if you want to make it work on a long term basis, you need to figure out what went wrong in the first place.

The next step in the process is to ensure that you are not coming off as a needy person. Everyone will feel like they cannot live without their ex, but there is no point in making this obvious. Instead, you should stay strong, and let your ex see that you are doing just fine by yourself. If you let everyone around you see your comfort and self confidence, then you will have a better chance of getting back together with your ex.

Trying to get back at your ex, or trying to make your ex jealous is not a good way to operate. In fact, these are some of the worst things that you can possibly do, because it will show your ex that he or she should simply move on because you already have. While you do want your ex to see that you're doing ok, you do not want it to inspire him or her to completely move on if your ideal scenario is to get back together. Let your ex see how strong and self confident you are, and they will feel inspired to get back together with you.

For more secrets on how to get your ex back visit www.MagicOfMakingUp.com