Milovan
Well-Known Member
.
Courtesy of the current
Maximum Yield Indoor Gardening Mag.
.
MYTH #1: Comparing grams harvested to watts of light used
is a good indication of an indoor garden's performance.
TRUTH: Just knowing the weight of a harvest and the size of the
lamp used is not enough information to make a useful comparison
and deem how successful a growth cycle was.
All else being equal, a 6 month old plant can generally outperform
a 3 month old plant if all that is compared is the size of the plant
to the size of the lamp, even if the lamp is less efficient once time is
taken into account. A much more useful way to calculate
your success is determining your grams per day. Take the weight
of a harvest and divide it with the number of days grown to find out
how much was produced each day.
Calculating the grams per day for each harvest will allow a
gardener to compare the success of different harvests, even if the
number of days in each cycle is different.
Myth #2: Most plant problems could be traced back to
a nutrient deficiency.
TRUTH: As long as appropriate fertilizer is used properly, there is something
else to blame for the majority of plant problems.
Improper growing media moisture levels, lighting issues, humidity problems
and heat issues all tend to be more common problems.
One reason for the confusion is that many common mistakes, such as
overwatering, interfere with nutrient uptake, causing plants to appear
underfed.
MYTH #3: Vitamin B-1 is good for plants and is an important additive to include
in a nutrient regimen.
TRUTH: In a normal plant, a sufficient quantity of vitamin B-1 (thiamine) is
synthesized in the leaves and transported to the roots. The only time B-1 vitamin
supplementation is useful is during tissue culture, when there
aren't any leaves on the cut sections of a plant to supply it. Most B-1 vitamin products
on the market some contain some other beneficial additive, such as a nutrient or
a hormone, which is what causes the positive effects.
MYTH #4: If something is organic it is safe to use.
TRUTH: There are many organic things that are not good for us.
For example, foxglove is a flower and is organic, but it is know to cause
abnormal heart rates, seizures and even death when accidently ingested.
Likewise, arsenic the bubonic plague and spider venom are
all organic, but are not suitable to use as salad toppings. The confusion exists
because the word "organic" is used a lot of different ways often with conflicting
definitions. For example to a chemist, the word organic means something that
contains carbon, but to a gardener the word may mean the item in question
was grown on a family farm with little to no pesticide use. In another realm the
word organic is used to describe something that was grown only with
certain approved things.
Knowing something is organic isn't enough; you have to know what other ingredients
are involved and what substances the product was exposed to.
MYTH #5: Your compost pile has to be heated
before it can make compost.
TRUTH: A warm compost creates compost faster then a cold one does,
but even a cold pile of cold leaves will turn into compost eventually -- it will
just take longer. Most backyard composters add more brown leaves to
their pile if it stars to smell, or more greens if the pile is slow to compost.
Getting a compost pile to heat up requires the right ratio
of moisture, high carbon to nitrogen materials such as dead leaves, and high nitrogen to carbon materials such as lawn clippings.
With a ratio of roughly 3 parts carbon to
one part nitrogen materials (by volume), and moisture levels similar to a wrung out sponge,
composting bacteria can raise the temperatures of the pile to 130degreesF or higher
expediting the compost process. Make sure temps don't get to high, which could create compost
that is not good for plants. Again, a cold pile will work fine.
MYTH #6: Talking to plants is silly and doesn't help them grow.
TRUTH: Talking to plants helps them--the longer the talk the better.
Of course just spending time in your garden is also
beneficial. As you are present in your garden, you become a source of carbon dioxide and help your plants just by breathing near them.
Talking to your plants also gives you an opportunity to identify problems early, assuming you are looking at your plants as you talk to them.
MYTH #7: The relation ship between the garden and the garden is a one way street.
TRUTH: Gardens nourish their gardener with their bountiful harvest.
They bring flowers and beauty in a gardeners life, teach patience and provide exercise.
Even mundane and repetitious tasks help you free your mind and explore
your thoughts. Gardeners don't just create gardens without getting anything in return.
Gardens help gardeners grow as well.
There is so much to learn about gardening. I believe it is important to not only be able to learn
new things but also be able to change your mind and adopt to new information.
.
.
Courtesy of the current
Maximum Yield Indoor Gardening Mag.
.
MYTH #1: Comparing grams harvested to watts of light used
is a good indication of an indoor garden's performance.
TRUTH: Just knowing the weight of a harvest and the size of the
lamp used is not enough information to make a useful comparison
and deem how successful a growth cycle was.
All else being equal, a 6 month old plant can generally outperform
a 3 month old plant if all that is compared is the size of the plant
to the size of the lamp, even if the lamp is less efficient once time is
taken into account. A much more useful way to calculate
your success is determining your grams per day. Take the weight
of a harvest and divide it with the number of days grown to find out
how much was produced each day.
Calculating the grams per day for each harvest will allow a
gardener to compare the success of different harvests, even if the
number of days in each cycle is different.
Myth #2: Most plant problems could be traced back to
a nutrient deficiency.
TRUTH: As long as appropriate fertilizer is used properly, there is something
else to blame for the majority of plant problems.
Improper growing media moisture levels, lighting issues, humidity problems
and heat issues all tend to be more common problems.
One reason for the confusion is that many common mistakes, such as
overwatering, interfere with nutrient uptake, causing plants to appear
underfed.
MYTH #3: Vitamin B-1 is good for plants and is an important additive to include
in a nutrient regimen.
TRUTH: In a normal plant, a sufficient quantity of vitamin B-1 (thiamine) is
synthesized in the leaves and transported to the roots. The only time B-1 vitamin
supplementation is useful is during tissue culture, when there
aren't any leaves on the cut sections of a plant to supply it. Most B-1 vitamin products
on the market some contain some other beneficial additive, such as a nutrient or
a hormone, which is what causes the positive effects.
MYTH #4: If something is organic it is safe to use.
TRUTH: There are many organic things that are not good for us.
For example, foxglove is a flower and is organic, but it is know to cause
abnormal heart rates, seizures and even death when accidently ingested.
Likewise, arsenic the bubonic plague and spider venom are
all organic, but are not suitable to use as salad toppings. The confusion exists
because the word "organic" is used a lot of different ways often with conflicting
definitions. For example to a chemist, the word organic means something that
contains carbon, but to a gardener the word may mean the item in question
was grown on a family farm with little to no pesticide use. In another realm the
word organic is used to describe something that was grown only with
certain approved things.
Knowing something is organic isn't enough; you have to know what other ingredients
are involved and what substances the product was exposed to.
MYTH #5: Your compost pile has to be heated
before it can make compost.
TRUTH: A warm compost creates compost faster then a cold one does,
but even a cold pile of cold leaves will turn into compost eventually -- it will
just take longer. Most backyard composters add more brown leaves to
their pile if it stars to smell, or more greens if the pile is slow to compost.
Getting a compost pile to heat up requires the right ratio
of moisture, high carbon to nitrogen materials such as dead leaves, and high nitrogen to carbon materials such as lawn clippings.
With a ratio of roughly 3 parts carbon to
one part nitrogen materials (by volume), and moisture levels similar to a wrung out sponge,
composting bacteria can raise the temperatures of the pile to 130degreesF or higher
expediting the compost process. Make sure temps don't get to high, which could create compost
that is not good for plants. Again, a cold pile will work fine.
MYTH #6: Talking to plants is silly and doesn't help them grow.
TRUTH: Talking to plants helps them--the longer the talk the better.
Of course just spending time in your garden is also
beneficial. As you are present in your garden, you become a source of carbon dioxide and help your plants just by breathing near them.
Talking to your plants also gives you an opportunity to identify problems early, assuming you are looking at your plants as you talk to them.
MYTH #7: The relation ship between the garden and the garden is a one way street.
TRUTH: Gardens nourish their gardener with their bountiful harvest.
They bring flowers and beauty in a gardeners life, teach patience and provide exercise.
Even mundane and repetitious tasks help you free your mind and explore
your thoughts. Gardeners don't just create gardens without getting anything in return.
Gardens help gardeners grow as well.
There is so much to learn about gardening. I believe it is important to not only be able to learn
new things but also be able to change your mind and adopt to new information.
.
.
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