The Basics of Plant Growth; (Part 2) Plant Energy

Plant Energy Conservation Improves Yields.

Control over all of the factors that determine how much energy your plants will expend on any part of their growth is one of the reasons that hydroponics gardening is so successful.

The reasons that resources are wasted by the plant are varied but include the following factors:

1. Height
   
   If the plant is growing too tall it wastes a lot of resources. The taller the plant grows, the more energy it uses on building extra and more substantial stems, as well as on transporting water upwards to the topmost foliage. Control the height and you avoid that waste.

2. Overgrowth
   Allowing the plant to grow too bushy will result in excessive, elaborate networks of branch and leaf systems being produced. In order to give your plants the best possible chance of thriving, they must be able to absorb their optimum nutrition from the surrounding medium in the easiest manner If there are a lot of extra branches and leaves then your plants have to use more resources to maintain those systems. Judicious trimming removes the unnecessary branches and any suckers that are growing allowing the plant to put those extra resources into production of your crop.

   Cut away as many bottom branches and suckers as possible. The suckers and shoots act as ’sinks’ draining massive amounts of energy from the plant. The ’sources’ of energy are the leaves, so it is important to maximise their efficiency also. Trimming out any old, yellowing leaves and any that are diseased or have pest damage, will ensure that only healthy efficient leaves remain.

3. Over Trimming
   The removal of too many branches has the effect of making the plant use extra energy on repairs to its structure. Each time the plant is damaged it has to repair its wounds and this obviously uses energy and stresses it. Even though the plant suffers some damage and stress it is not as damaging to it as not being trimmed for some time and then having to suffer a large scale cutting out excess growth. This extra loss causes the plant greater stress and it needs to use a lot more energy in order to repair the greater damage.

4. Some trimming tips to be aware of:
   1) Do not make the plant “bleed”. If you have to cause a large wound seal the cut end.

   2) It is better, when removing small, fleshy, shoots and leaves, to pinch the stalk out using a thumbnail rather than cutting it with a knife. The reason for this is that it crushes the internal structures making it easier for the plant to repair the wound.

   3) Larger shoots can be pinched until they fall over and then left until they start to wilt, usually about a day, before being cut off. This will give the plant a chance to seal the damaged area prior to removal of the excess.

   4) Be aware of the possibility of infection from bacteria, viruses and fungi each time you expose the inside of the plant to the outside air. Cleanliness is essential if you wish to succeed in your endeavours.

5. Growing Media
   Good quality media allows the plant to extract its nutrients and Oxygen with the least amount of effort. Poor growing media forces the plant to use more energy to find and then extract, the same nutrients and Oxygen from the medium.

6. Nutrient Imbalance
   An imbalance in the nutrient solution, or a build up of salts, will cause the plant roots to struggle against the osmotic pressure and surface tension when trying to extract water from the surrounding medium.

7. Fungi and Root Rot.
   Any form of root attack, by fungi or rotting etc. will cause the plant to waste cell energy on fighting that attack. This will result in a reduced plant potential.

8. Bacteria, Viruses and Insects.
   Attacks from insects, viruses and bacteria will force the plant to sacrifice massive numbers of cells in its fight against them. This is because the usual way of defeating these threats is to isolate them within the damaged cells.

9. Chemicals.
   Hydroponics Gardening is in essence a clean occupation so infections and attacks by predatory insects should be minimal. If damage occurs, it is often more damaging to treat the plant with chemical insecticides and fungicides than to use gentler methods. A lot of the chemical remedies contain products which kill not only the pest but the plant cells as well. Most of these are less damaging to the plant at lower temperatures

Landscape Lighting Design Ideas to Showcase Your Home

(ARA) - Landscape lighting used to be simple. A few recessed can fixtures lining the front path, a couple downlights tucked in the trees, and you were done. Not anymore. When it comes to the great outdoors, homeowners have seen the light.

“Today, the biggest excitement in outdoor lighting is the whole artistic aspect,” says Dan Blitzer, education consultant for the American Lighting Association. “Think of it as painting a picture of the landscape at night, using lights to achieve the look a homeowner wants.”

Night-lighting your landscape offers a creative way to showcase your home and property after dark. Properly placed, lights can dramatize trees, highlight favorite shrubs and accent statuary, fountains and flowerbeds. Like any creative work, the options abound.

“The challenge with landscape lighting is that most people don’t immediately see all the possibilities,” says Joe Rey-Barreau, American Lighting Association consulting director of education and director of the Lighting and Design Center at the University of Kentucky. “Outdoor lighting can be both functional and aesthetic. It’s an art to understand how much light to place on a house or determine where the focal points are.”

To light correctly, key in on architectural features. Consider uplighting an arbor, archway or facade for a dramatic effect. Wash the side of the house with a splash of light. Graze a textured fence or wall with a focused beam. Illuminate the water in a pool or pond with submersible lights. Silhouette a tree or bush by placing lights below and behind the object. While some lights take a fashionable approach, others focus on function. Low voltage lights installed under handrails, stairs and bench seating on decks help lighten things up for outdoor entertaining. Stronger beams designed to shine over an outdoor activity area like a basketball court add extra hours of post-dusk fun.

“If you cook out at night, position a spotlight in the eaves of the house to send a beam directly over the BBQ,” says Rey-Barreau.

A well-lit home is also safer and more secure. Illuminated steps, paths and driveways prevent after-dark accidents. Motion detectors light up obscure spots when someone passes by. Photocells automatically turn on fixtures at dusk and off at dawn, providing protection even when you’re away from home.

“If your home is not properly lighted, there is a greater chance of someone breaking in,” says Daniel Lecian, ALA Lighting Specialist for the Hermitage Lighting Gallery in Nashville, Tenn.

The key to attractive outdoor lighting follows a less-is-more philosophy. Soft, natural light should mimic moonlight on the property.

“It’s important not to over-light,” says Todd Langner, vice president of marketing for Kichler in Cleveland. “What you should see is the landscape, not the lights so that the outdoor lighting tells a visual story at night.”

When installing outdoor lights, conceal the light source behind shrubs, tree branches or other foliage — unless the fixture is a decorative element.

“You should see the light effect, not the source,” says Richard Lentz of Lentz Landscape Lighting of Dallas. “The bulb and fixture should disappear when the lights are turned on. All that should be visible is the glow of light on the flowers, the wall or the path.”

More people staying at home has helped foster the current fascination in landscape lighting. “The trends have been very home oriented,” says Blitzer. “People are interested in dressing up their homes even more.”

Lighting showrooms and manufacturers have expanded their stock as well, resulting in more outdoor options for consumers. “For a long time, landscape lighting revolved around do-it-yourself, low-voltage lights picked up at home centers and installed by the consumer in a line about two feet apart,” says Rey-Barreau. “These were not really made to withstand the weather conditions and were not long-term solutions.”

Styles range from large overhead cylindrical floodlights to minute spot or accent lights used for highlighting specific features. Spread and diffused units set low to the ground, line paths, flowerbeds and driveways and cast a broader glow. The latest looks in such path lights depend on fixtures that can be placed further apart to create a more attractive glow.

Some lights are patterned like three-leaf clusters or single leaf containers. Others boast more traditional lantern styles. Still others beam from within floral fixtures installed in flowerbeds.

“There have been new product developments,” says Rey-Barreau. “Weather-resistant products and new plastic technology are both attractive and functional.”

Bulbs have also improved. Newer 65- and 120-watt incandescent bulbs provide up to 25 percent more light. Compact fluorescent bulbs produce soft lighting, the highest energy savings, and last up to 10,000 hours. Mercury vapor bulbs supply a strong, cost-conscious light with a cool color that can last as long as 24,000 hours — or six years burning dusk to dawn.

While most homeowners opt for pure white light, others like the hint of hue. Warm tones like yellow or red introduced properly can make the landscape come alive at night. Green lights can make foliage look even greener.

“Be careful with colored lights,” says Rey-Barreau. “Unless they are done carefully, they can look garish.”

The cost for installing outdoor lighting is as varied as the landscape designs. According to experts, highlighting a couple of trees in a typical suburban front lawn could run from $800 to $1,200. A one-acre property with an elaborate lighting scheme can cost as much as $10,000.

The American Lighting Association, a not-for-profit association of leading manufacturers, retail lighting showrooms and sales representatives in the U.S. and Canada, is dedicated to expanding public knowledge about lighting. To locate an ALA showroom near you, call toll free (800)-BRIGHT IDEAS (274-4484). Also, visit the ALA Web site for helpful hints and to find the nearest lighting expert at www.americanlightingassoc.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content

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Courtesy of ARA Content

Landscaping - Maintaining A Landscaped Garden

Landscaping a garden is one way of designing the house. It is an enjoyable way of making the exterior part of the house look beautiful. However, problems may arise in maintaining the landscaped garden.

The following are effective solutions that will help maintain a landscaped garden and provide solutions to problem areas:

1. If the garden is too rocky, the rocks may be used as a design that will create a beautiful rock garden. Putting the excess rocks together to create a slope will add a natural look in the garden. The slope that was formed with the rocks will keep the garden from looking flat and unattractive

2. If the problem is too much sunlight in the garden that causes drought, a solution for is to use plants that are low maintenance and can be planted even in direct sunlight. The plants will survive even when there is less water or too much sunlight.

3. Another maintenance solution if the place has too much sunlight is to plant shade trees at the corners of the garden. This will keep sensitive plants away from direct sunlight and will help keep the soil moist. Regular watering should be continued if needed.

4. Sometimes the garden becomes too shady which causes difficulty in growing certain plants. The solution for this is to choose plants that can survive even in the shade.

5. If there are weeds or unwanted plants growing in the garden, they should be pulled. You must pull the weed and its roots to prevent the weed from growing back. Trimming and cutting the weeds will only give temporary results. It is best to pull everything out to prevent the return of the problem.

These are just common solutions to some problems encountered in maintaining a landscaped garden. To keep the maintenance an easy job, it is recommended that you tend the garden regularly. This will prevent small problems from getting bigger and more difficult to handle. If the landscaped garden is well maintained, the plants and trees will last a long time and will save money as you will not have to buy new plants or accessories.

Bill McRea is the publisher of Garden Facts and the Article Directory Landscaping and Gardening with information on thousands of topics.