gardening secrets – GKVKs – Gardening Tips and Store

15 HOUSEHOLD GARDEN HACKS THAT ACTUALLY WORK

admin — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 12:30:53 +0000

In Today’s post, let us look into 15 household items and their miraculous uses for plants and garden.

15. Soap: Bar soap apart from cleaning purpose, there are some really powerful uses in gardening. You can scrape your nails into a bar soap before handling a potting mix and stuff like that. The dirt won’t enter your nail beds and this hack allows you to clean your hands easily after the job.
Liquid soap or even shampoo is used as a simple pesticide if you do not have any pesticide. Just add 10 to 20 drops or 1 or 2 teaspoons of liquid soap to 1 litre of water and spray on the affected plant. This will clear pests like mealybugs, whiteflies and aphids which are the most common pests in garden. Dish washing liquid soap is actually more potent than handwash liquid soap.

14. Chalk Sticks: Chalk is chemically Calcium Carbonate. You can take white chalk sticks and bury them into the soil while planting your veggies. That’s in initial stages. This really works wonders for plants like Tomatoes, Peppers, squashes, egg plants and almost any vegetable plant. You can bury two chalk sticks per container for these vegetable plants safely if you soil PH is around 6.0. For other plants to provide slow release calcium source, you can bury one chalk stick per container.

13. Turmeric: Turmeric powder has many effective uses in garden like: It repels ants when sprinkled around the plants. You can get rid of soil pests particularly fungal root rot and fungus gnats in the soil by mixing turmeric in soil. You can mix about 1 tablespoon per gallon of soil while making potting mix or 1 tablespoon of turmeric in 1 gallon of water or 1 teaspoon per liter of water and thoroughly water your affected plant with this solution. Its also helpful in healing tree wounds and in grafting as it prevents fungal rot. Another common use of turmeric is in rose die-back disease.

12. Vinegar: You can use vinegar to clean your rusty garden tools and pots. To make your soil more acidic for acid loving plants like hydrangeas, rose, hibiscus and so on and increase flowering in these plants. To do this, Mix one table spoon of white vinegar to one litre of water and water you acid loving plants with this solution once every 15 days to reduce the soil PH. Vinegar is also a strong pesticide. Its almost 100% effective in clearing powdery mildew fungus. To make this spray add One cup of White Vinegar to 1 litre of water and shake well and spray it on the affected leaves. It is also effective against white files and mealy bugs. It is also an animal repellent. Just soak some pieces of cloth and stuff them at entrances or behind pots to deter animals that can spoil your garden.

11. Baking Soda: Apart from cleaning your dirty garden tools and stuff with baking soda, you can also use it for other purpose like sprinkle to drive away Foul Smell from your Compost Pile or compost bin. To kill cabbage worms – Sprinkle Baking soda + flour like wheat flour in 1:1 ratio on the cabbage or broccoli leaves. The worms munch on this and die within 1 or 2 days. Baking soda also encourages flower blooming. Make a solution of 1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 litre of water and spray on your plants with flower buds or unopened flowers.

10. Asafoetida or Hing: The most effective use of asafetida is to treat leaf curl disease in plants. Add 5 gms of asafetida powder to one liter of sour butter milk. Mix well, leave for an hour, then sieve the solution and load your spray bottle. Spray over your affected plant. Repeat this every 3 days for 3 – 4 times. Leaf curl disease which is common in pepper and tomato plants will be completely cured by this treatment. Asafoetida can also be used to repel animals in your garden. Just hang some pieces of it in your garden entrances. Animals hate the pungent odor of asafetida. It also repels other insects and termites.

9. Charcoal: Hard wood charcoal has lots of amazing uses in garden like filling your pot bottom with charcoal pieces reduces pot weight. It can be used for mulching and garden décor. Mixing charcoal in soil can act as a good fungicide and prevent root rot, especially for expensive succulent plants. It also increases soil PH, when your soil is too acidic. It also works as a soil conditioner making the soil well draining. It also hold the fertilizers added for a longer duration and make them act like slow release fertilizers. Sprinkled charcoal powder helps deter many insects like the voracious beetles which can create havoc in your garden or on your crops.

8. Alum: Alum or Potash Alum can help to boost flowering. It makes the soil acidic for acid loving plants like hydrangeas, rose, hibiscus and so on. Just 5 gms alum powder per litre of water and water your plants once in a month. Alum is also a good pesticide in higher concentrations, like 100 grams per litre of water and spray on the plants to kill many pests including cabbage worms, cutworms, slugs and snails, etc. It is well known for mostquito control as a larvicide when sprinkled over the stagnant waters.

7. Banana Peels: Banana peel is one of the highest organic sources of potassium. It helps strengthen the plant and increases flowering and fruiting. You can make banana peel tea or banana peel fertilizer powder if you intend to store it. To make banana peel tea, soak pieces of banana peels in water for about 3 to 5 days. Use this banana tea in 1:5 dilution to water your plants once in a month. To make banana peel fertilizer powder, sun dry pieces of banana peels for 2 to 3 days till they are crispy enough to make a powder. Add one tablespoon of this powder once in a month and see the effect.

6. Aloevera: Aloevera has numerous benefits not only to the human body, but also to plants, like: It helps in faster rooting. Just insert a cutting into a piece of aloe vera and plant into soil. Rooting is faster and success rate is higher. Diluted aloe vera gel sprayed or watered to your seeds helps in faster and healthier germination. High levels of certain compounds found in aloe vera confer immunity or resistance against many plant diseases. Aloevera can also be used as a potent pesticide if mixed with other agents like neem oil, especially for pests resistant against certain pesticides.

5. Onions Peels: contain many useful substances like sulphur, quercetin, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and so on. So, do not throw away the onion peels. The simplest use of these peels is to use them for mulching. If you have time you can make a fertilizer out of these onion peels. Just soak the peels in water for 1 to 2 days and water the solution to your plants once in a month to notice the benefits.

4. Tea and Coffee Waste: Do not throw this away. It can certainly boost flowering in your plants. It contains tannic acid which helps plants like Rose and hibiscus to increase flowering. You can wash the waste for any sugars and directly add to your plants or collect this and sun dry this powder and use it for your plants. You can also add this waste directly into your compost bin for making a rich compost.

3. Cinnamon: Cinnamon powder from your kitchen is well known for its wonderful uses in gardening. It can be used as a rooting agent to increase the chances for rooting cuttings. Just dip the cutting into cinnamon powder and plant it. It also deters ants when sprinkled around your plants. Its antifungal properties also fight fungal attacks to your seedlings. Just sprinkle fine cinnamon powder over your seedling and prevent dampening off.

2. Eggshells: Though eggshells are a great source of calcium, do not add crushed egg shells directly to your plants. It takes many years to decompose and release that calcium into the soil. You need to instantly release this calcium from eggshells by using Vinegar. Make eggshell powder first and then add a cup of vinegar to it. Stir it well and leave for an hour. The acetic acid breaks the eggshell compound and release free calcium into this solution. You can then dilute this solution to 1: 10 or 1:20 and then water your plants to treat or prevent acute calcium deficiency problems like tomato blossom end rot disease and other problems like bud or flower or fruit drop off and increase your flowering and fruiting. You can also add egg shells to compost bin for a calcium rich compost.

1. Aspirin: Aspirin is acetyl salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is a plant auxin and a rooting hormone which is proven to accelerate rooting and also it confers immunity against many plant diseases. You can use a dispersible 350 mg Aspirin tablet. Just a little of it will do the trick. A quarter or half a tablet is sufficient. You can read all detailed articles on these individual stuff by searching our website for that particular stuff.

20 SHOCKING TRUTHS ABOUT GARDENING | GARDEN MYTHS DEBUNKED!

admin — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 11:32:21 +0000

Do Magnets affect plant growth? Can we use fresh cow-dung or horse dung for plants? What happens when you expose roots to light? Can we grow plants from leaves? Do plants feel pain? Do plants die of old age?
In today’s article, we will quickly debunk 20 interesting and unbelievable gardening myths and reveal some extremely useful scientific facts and tips related to Gardening.

Fresh Cow Dung or Horse Dung is very Good for Plants?
This is absolutely false! Fresh Cow poop should never be applied for your plants, because it not only stinks but contains high levels of ammonia and salts which can burn your plants. It also contains harmful microorganisms like e-coli which are harmful to plants as well as humans. Plus, it also contains weed seeds which can produce a lot of weeds or unwanted plants in your garden. So always use decomposed cow-dung or horse dung for your plants. You can watch a detailed video on 5 hacks to quickly decompose cow dung from a link in description below or from end-screen link at the end of this video. Let’s move on..

Is it Dangerous to Expose Roots to Light?

Well, This can be a very nice high school project for kids, to grow two similar plants, one in a transparent container and one in an opaque container and then compare these two. As you can see nothing happens to the plant grown in transparent containers. The actual concern is, root exposure to AIR and even the heat from sunlight that can cause drying and can damage your plant. But still you are advised to keep the roots in the dark. This is because of algae growth due to light and your roots are not getting enough oxygen because the algae is stealing the oxygen and nutrients for itself. So light as such does not hurt the roots, but air, heat and algae hurt the roots and kill the plant.

Do Plants feel Pain?

There are many studies and researches conducted on this topic. Basically, Plants lack a nervous system – that is a brain and other neurological structures like nerves and pain receptors, so they should not feel pain, unlike in humans and animals where we have specialised pain receptors.

But according to some researches, “Plant can know of themselves being eaten” because studies have shown that plants release defence chemicals in response to caterpillars munching on them.

Other points include: Plants fight for territory, seek out food, evade predators and interestingly trap prey like what your see in carnivorous plants like the venus fly trap. They are as alive like any animal, and – like animals – they exhibit behaviour.

Talking to You Plants will help them Grow?
People who really love plants and gardening will often tell you that talking to plants or even music has a beneficial impact on their overall health and growth. Despite many different scientific studies on this theory, there’s still no conclusive evidence that talking to plants helps them grow. One theory says that since plants take up carbon dioxide, and hence talking to plants releases carbon dioxide when we exhale. So, that explains it all.

Plants can Die of Old age or aging. The oldest known tree in the world is the Great Basin bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of California which is over 5000 years old. Actually Trees grow indeterminately, meaning that with the right conditions, they can grow and grow and grow. But the only problem that limits them from reaching up to the sky is the food and water transport through xylem and phloem to the growing end from the roots. The taller the tree the more difficult it is to transport water from roots to the foliage near the top. But here what happens is instead of growing taller they increase in width and also branch out more, as you might have noticed some old trees with huge girth of their stems.

Animal or Human Urine can be used as a Fertilizer. Yes, this is a Fact!For example, cow urine contains loads of NPK – that’s nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which are the most essential plant nutrients for agricultural use. But it has to be applied in dilution of at least 1:20 in water.

Is it Dangerous to go near Trees during Night Time? Well, In day time under the presence of sunlight – that’s photosynthesis, plants take up Carbon dioxide and release Oxygen. But during night they take in Oxygen and release CO2 and hence the air near trees will have lesser concentration of Oxygen and higher concentration of CO2. But, this impact will be negligible for small plants and at home gardens and only be noticeable near very large trees or in thick vegetation.

Naphthalene balls or Moth Balls contain Naphthalene Acetic Acid and can be used as a rooting agent. It’s a Myth. NAA – Naphthalene Acetic Acid and IBA – Indole Butyric Acid are plant auxins or hormones which are entirely different compounds and used for rooting your plant cuttings. These two are entirely different from moth balls which are used to keep insects at bay.

Watering plants on a hot sunny day will magnify the sunlight through the droplets acting as convex lenses and burn the leaves badly! No doubt, watering plants early in the morning or late in the evening is great! Because less water will evaporate during this time. But This theory that water droplets on leaves can act like mini magnifying lenses, focusing the sun’s rays and causing leaf burn has been completely disproved by physicists.

Planting by the Moon affects plant growth and yield?
The idea that the Moon affects plant growth is an old one that is believed by many people. This is a myth! No study has proven the effect of moon on plant growth. And the only plants that use moon light for photosynthesis are certain types of phytoplanktons which are not normally found in gardens.
Crushed egg shells are a good source of Calcium to treat calcium deficiency? This is False! Even Powdered Egg shells take a long time to decompose and release that calcium into the soil and make them available for uptake by plants. You can make a water soluble calcium using egg shells by mixing it with distilled Vinegar to make this happen. You can find this detailed video from a link in description or from a link at top right corner of this screen.
Saplings or seedlings need to be supported to protect them? True or False?

This is False! Many people recommend you to provide support to these young slender plants due to the risk of wind blowing them and things like that. Unless it’s a strong wind, tying a sapling or young plant to a support stick or any kind of support will actually do more harm than good. Research has shown that trees without support, over a period of time will develop thicker trunks, more supportive roots and more resistance to breakages.

Do Magnets affect Plant growth?
This is a fact. Magnetism affects plant growth and seed germination positively. Studies have shown that when plants are exposed to a magnetic field with south pole facing towards the roots, Seeds germinate faster and plant grow faster and stronger in the presence of magnetic field in the soil. You can check a detailed video on this experiment from a link in description or from a link at top right corner of this video.
Can Harvested or Collected seeds be stored in a Refrigerator or Freezer?
This is not correct! Most seeds that are stored in a seed banks are first dried up so that the moisture content is reduced to about 10 percent and then these can be stored for several years. But if you freeze freshly collected seeds, the moisture content in these seeds will form ice crystals within and can destroy the seed viability.
Growing Fruit Trees in Containers is not possible due to limited space?
This is not true. You can grow them but you need little larger containers or fabric bags like more than 18 or 24 inch. You can watch a detailed episode on the top ten terrace gardening myths and facts from a link in description.

Does Potting Mix Cause Legionnaires’ Pneumonia in Gardeners? True or False?
Do not worry! This is not True. Legionnaires’ Pneumonia is a severe form of pneumonia or lung infection mostly cause by inhaling the bacteria. Though these legionella bacteria survive in outdoor soil, it rarely causes infections. But still, prevention is better than cure. Better wear a mask while handling potting mix, specially people with weaker immune systems.

How do I know my plant is still alive and how to save a dying plant?

There are many signs to know whether your plant can still survive. If your plant is looking dry and has shed its leaves, most of us think its dead. But actually, it may be alive or can be revived. Please watch my detailed episode on this topic demonstrating how to save a dying plant. I have linked that video in description below.

Can we grow plants from leaves?

Yes! Some, but not all plants can be propagated from just a leaf or a section of a leaf. Leaf cuttings of most plants will not generate a new plant; they usually produce only a few roots or just decay. There are many ways you can grow leaves into a new plant, like 1. from a leaf petiole, 2. by dividing a leaf into multiple pieces for example fleshy succulent plants like sanseviera or the snake plant and other succulents. Other methods of propagation like cane or stub cuttings, root cuttings, leaf bud cuttings and so on.

Gardening on Terrace is Bad for the Building. This is not completely true unless your building is too old with a poor construction. Otherwise if wisely planned, a garden on terrace will not be a problem, like placing the heavy containers along the walls on your terrace which are weight bearing or main walls of the building and things like that.

Water proofing the terrace is not always necessarily, unless you plan to build raised bed terrace garden. If you grow in container, you only need to check whether the water draining out of the pots is easily flowing out of the terrace and not stagnant.

Does Electric Current affect Plant Growth? Well, there is a separate science called electro-culture farming which utilizes this effect. I have conducted a simple experiment on this topic to study the effect of electric current on plant growth. You can watch that episode from an end-screen link or from garden tips channel.

MY TOP 50 MIND BLOWING GARDENING IDEAS & HACKS

admin — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 11:05:11 +0000

These are my top 50 garden ideas and garden hacks, tips and tricks that will blow away your mind. After the success of my 101 gardening hacks four years ago, I present these fresh and new gardening hacks and tricks for home gardening – for beginners as well as experts in gardening hobby.

Rooting Hack: For faster and guaranteed rooting of stem or branch cuttings, take a small piece of fresh aloe vera leaf and insert the cutting into it and then plant into the soil. Roots grow as early as 10 days depending on the plant you choose.
Candle Hack: Seal the upper cut end of your plant stem or branch cutting using few drops of candle wax. This helps prevent moisture evaporation and result in faster rooting.
No Browns for Composting? Use a paper shredder and use the shredded paper and card board to add into your compost bin for faster and smell free composting.
Easy Tomato Stakes: Tomato plants require support to avoid awkward bends and also to get the best yield. String Support your Tomato plants using a small piece of GI metal wire. Make it into a U-shaped loop and insert it near the roots. Tie one end of a string to this and the other end to some support at the top.
Banana Peel Fertilizer for Flowering: To make banana peel tea, soak pieces of banana peels in water for 2 to 3 days. Dilute this liquid with water in 1:5 ratio and water your plants to provide potassium to your plants which increases flowering in plants and also makes the flower size bigger.
Anti-Gravity Plant Support: While growing climber veggies, do not take them to a height above 6 feet, but instead support in a slope like fashion, like take it to a height and then slope the growing ends downwards to assist in long-distance transport of water and nutrients for healthy growth. The arch like trellis is the ideal support fence for growing climber or creeper veggies.
Hairs to Roots: Insert tomato seedlings as deep as possible to increase the density of roots formed from tiny hairy projections from tomato stems and this makes the plant stronger to produce the best yield.
Big Leaves: To get large sized leaves in your money plant, use a moss stick or coir stick to anchor the aerial roots to it. Wet the moss stick whenever you water the money plant.
Onion + Aloe Vera Rooting Agent: Making a paste using onion and aloe vera gel and dipping the cuttings into it for few minutes before planting in soil will help in faster and guaranteed rooting.
Spoon Transplant: To transplant your seedlings, use a spoon, dig out as much soil with it including the roots of the plant and hold the leaves of the plant and not the STEM to pull out, because this can squeeze and damage the water and food conducting tubes – xylem and phloem and the little plant may die.
Grow From Junk: Never throw away a pine apple crown, just remove the bottom leaves and keep the bottom inserted into a glass of water for a week and then transfer to a container. It will bear fruits within a year.
Eggshell Water: One eggshell contains about 2gms of calcium. When you boil eggs, a small percentage of this calcium and phosphorous is released into the water. Do not throw away this water, but use it to water your plants that require a lot of calcium – like tomatoes and peppers as well as flowering plants.
Cello Tape Pest Trap: Wrap the cello tape in reverse on your fingers and use the sticky part to touch on leaves infested with pests like aphids, whiteflies and mealybugs.
Clay Soil Hack: Remove Clayey or sticky soil from roots using this simple Hack: When you bring your plant from a nursery and start repotting, most often you find they have stuffed the plant in a clay-rich sticky soil. You can remove this soil without damaging the roots by soaking the root ball in water for few minutes till this soil dissolves. Then you can repot this plant in a well-draining potting mix.
Root Teasing: Always Loosen up or tease your roots before repotting into a new container.
Toilet Paper Cloning Hack: Use Aloe vera and Toilet paper to produce roots faster during air layering your favourite plant.
Aspirin Hack: During conventional air layering to produce faster and better roots, use one tablet of aspirin 350mg per litre of water and add this water you’re the potting mix and then wrap it around the injured stem for faster and dense root formation.
Hydroponic Cloner: For faster rooting, make your own hydroponic plant cloner using a plastic bucket and an aquarium pump. Healthy Roots develop within 8 days.
Free Calcium: Egg shells easily dissolve in vinegar and release free calcium to your plants. Make egg shell powder and the add about a cup of vinegar to a cup of egg shell powder and stir nicely and leave it for any hour. Then dilute this to 1:100 or more to water your plants and treat acute calcium deficiencies which can produce blossom end rot disease in your fruits and veggies.
Simplest Plant Cloner: Use any container and place a couple of aquarium air stones to pump oxygen into the water. This helps in faster and guaranteed rooting of any plant cuttings in water.
Wheel-Barrow: No Wheelbarrow to move garden stuff? Do not worry, the cheapest alternative is a large cloth or an old bed sheet. Just load on the heavy objects and drag it along.
Aspirin for Rooting: When you propagate cuttings in water, do not forget to add a small piece of Aspirin tablet into it for faster and stronger root development.
Seed Split Trick: Split the Cilatro or Corinader seeds before planting them the sand paper paper method and apply gentle scraping pressure to split the seeds and do not crush or damage them using a heavy objects like these. This helps to grow enormous cilantro harvest.
Scrape and Sow: Use sand paper to scrape the hard seed cover of certain seeds like apple, chickoo and those with hard seed over for faster seed germination.
Treat Leaf Curl Virus using Asafoetida: Take 500ml of sour butter milk. Add one teaspoon or about 5 gms of Asafoetida powder to it and mix well. Let it stay for 1 or 2 hours. Sieve this solution and Spray thoroughly over the affected plant including the underside of the leaves. Repeat this, every 3 days for 3 – 4 times to completely cure the leaf curl disease.
Egg Shell Planter: You can use egg shells to sow seeds. To make drainage holes, scrape with a sand paper and use a thin drill bit to make a hole without breaking the shell.
Egg Trays: Card board Egg trays can be used as seed germination trays. You can directly transplant the seedling along with the card board into the soil, as this is bio-degradable.
Chalk Sticks: Chalk is chemically Calcium Carbonate. You can bury a chalk stick into the soil while planting your veggies. This really works wonders for plants like Tomatoes, Peppers, squashes, egg plants and almost any vegetable plant.
Strong Roots: Strong Roots means a healthier plant with a better yield. In its early growth phase, adding a source of phosphorous like bone meal powder or organic rock phosphate powder will produce stronger roots and produce a better harvest.
Seed Viability Check: An Easy method to check viability of your larger seeds is to pour them into a bowl of water. If the seeds are floating, this means they are dry and not viable. Discard them and use only those seeds that sink to the bottom.
No Garden Gloves? Scrape your nails into a soap before working with your garden soil or potting mix. This helps in cleaning your hands easily later on and also the dirt won’t enter into your nail beds.
Repel Animals: A simplest way to repel Some animals like cats, dogs and rabbits – is to soak a some pieces of cloth with vinegar and stuff them in some areas of your garden. These animals cannot withstand the smell of vinegar and may not return if you repeat this process for few days. Similarly using Asafoetida wrapped in a piece of cloth will deter these animals and certain insects.
Magnifying Lens: Use a Magnifying Glass to closely examine and diagnose your plant pests and insects to identify them and follow the treatment accordingly.
Tea Fertilizer: You can also use tea waste or coffee grounds on flowering plants as an organic fertilizer to boost blooms.
Tea waste compost: Add used tea waste or coffee grounds into your compost bin for faster composting because earth worms digest them very fast.
Seed Spacing: You can do perfect seeds spacing for Tiny seeds like spreading them apart in a row on toilet paper – for better visibility and even spacing and sowing. You can make a seed tapes either in a row or a square or round seed board specially for carrot seeds for even spacing and better growth and ease of harvesting.
Over-Ripe: Garden vegetables and fruits that become over-ripe are an easy target for pests. Remove them as soon as possible to avoid pest growth.
Faster Germination: A simple hack for faster germination and healthy seedlings is to soak seeds in Epsom salt solution for a couple of hours before planting – like half a teaspoon of Epsom salt in 100 ml of water. You can also spray Epsom salt solution on your seeds and seedlings for healthy outcome.
Pick Small: You can Pick small seeds for sowing with a stick or tooth pick dipped in water.
Acidify Soil: For Acid loving plants like Rose, Hibiscus or Hydrangeas, use 5gms of Alum powder in 1 litre of water once every 15 days and this will boost flowering.
Soil PH Test Using Litmus Paper: Mix Water and Soil in 1:1 ratio. Dip the litmus paper and match the color with your color coding chart that came along with your litmus paper kit.
A Rough Soil PH Test Method: Take a soil sample and pour some vinegar. If it fizzes and bubbles you have an alkaline soil. What if the soil is acidic? Add baking soda one or two teaspoons and mix it with soil. Then wet the soil baking soda mix with distilled water. If it fizzes and bubbles your soil is acidic, because the acidic content in soil reacts with a base or alkaline stuff like baking soda.
Free Bio Seed Pots: Never throw away the toilet paper card board roll. But use it to make seedling cups which are bio degradable and can be directly planted into soil without disturbing roots.
Paper pots: You can also make seed pots by rolling newspaper and even this is bio degradable and similarly you can directly transplant with the pot into the soil or into a larger container.
Mosquito Repelling Plants: Growing plants like Lemon grass, Citronella, catnip, basil, marigolds, eucalyptus and many other plants helps deter mosquitoes.
Turmeric Treatment: You can use turmeric powder from your kitchen treat and prevent rose-dieback disease after pruning your rose bush.
Silica Gel Packets: Never throw away these tiny sachets, use them in your seed storage container as desiccants which increases your seed life and protects them from fungus.You can also use these to preserve and protect powdered gardening stuff like bone meal, fungicide powder, rooting hormone, etc. Just tape the sachet to the underside of the container lid and that’s it.
DIY Watering Can: Take the base of a soda bottle and place it around one end of a pvc pipe. Heat it up with a lighter. It should shrink and clamp around the open edge. No glue needed. Use a pin and poke some holes in the bottle base. Next, cut the edge of the pipe at an angle using a saw blade. Next insert the pipe into the inlet and use some hot glue to hold it in place. Optionally, colour it to get that beautiful look.
Mini Green House: Use plastic bins or containers as mini green houses or poly houses for faster seed germinations.
Do Not Kill: Avoid spraying a pesticide on the flowers. This is to avoid any harm to beneficial Pollinator insects like butterflies and honey bees which are essential for pollination and fruit formation.

25 COMMON SENSE GARDENING TIPS – FAKE OR REAL?

admin — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 12:21:19 +0000

In today’s post we will quickly learn, some unbelievable gardening myths and facts for a successful Scientific Gardening.

Let’s begin!

It is Dangerous to Expose Roots to Light?

Well, This can be a very nice high school project for kids, to grow two similar plants, one in a transparent container and compare with that grown in an opaque container. As you can see nothing happens to the plant grown in transparent containers. The actual concern is, root exposure to AIR and even the heat from sunlight that can cause drying and can damage your plant. But still you are supposed to keep the roots in the dark because of algae growth due to light and your roots are not getting enough oxygen because the algae is stealing the oxygen and nutrients for itself. So light as such doesn’t hurt the roots, but air, heat and algae hurt the roots and the plant.

Naphthalene balls or Moth Balls contain Naphthalene Acetic Acid and can be used as a rooting agents. It’s a Myth. NAA – Naphthalene Acetic Acid and IBA – Indole Butyric Acid are plant auxins or hormones which are entirely different compounds and used for rooting your plant cuttings. These two are entirely different from moth balls which are used to keep insects at bay.
Is it Dangerous to go near Trees during Night Time? Well, In day time under the presence of sunlight – that’s photosynthesis, plants take up Carbondioxide and release Oxygen. But during night they take in Oxygen and release CO2 and hence the air near trees will have lesser concentration of Oxygen and higher concentration of CO2. But, this impact will be negligible for small plants and at home gardens and only be noticeable near very large trees or in thick vegetation.
Animal or Human Urine can be used as a Fertilizer. Yes This is a Fact!For example cow urine contains loads of NPK- thats nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which are the most essential plant nutrients for agricultural use. But it has to be applied in dilution of atleast 1:20 in water.
Gardening on Terrace is Bad for the Building. This is not completely true unless your building is too old with a poor construction. Otherwise if wisely planned, a garden on terrace will not be a problem, like placing the heavy containers along the walls on your terrace which are weight bearing or main walls of the building and things like that.
Water proofing the terrace is a Must for a Terrace Garden. Not necessarily, unless you plan to build raised bed terrace garden. If you grow in container, you only need to check whether the water draining out of the pots is easily flowing out of the terrace and not stagnant.
Plants can Die of Old age or aging. The oldest known tree in the world is the Great Basin bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of California which is over 5000 years old. Actually Trees grow indeterminately, meaning that with the right conditions, they can grow and grow and grow. But the only problem that limits them from reaching up to the sky is the food and water transport through xylem and phloem to the growing end from the roots. The taller the tree the more difficult it is to transport water from roots to the foliage near the top. But here what happens is instead of growing taller they increase in width and also branch out more, as you might have noticed some old trees with huge girth of their stems.
Do Plants feel Pain?

There are many studies and researches conducted on this topic. Plants lack a nervous system – that is a brain and other neurological structures like nerves and pain receptors, so they should not feel pain, unlike in humans and animals where we have specialised pain receptors.

But according to some researches, “Plant can know of themselves being eaten” because studies have shown plants release defence chemicals in response to caterpillars munching on them.

Other points include: Plants fight for territory, seek out food, evade predators and trap prey like what your see in carnivorous plants like the venus fly trap. They are as alive like any animal, and – like animals – they exhibit behaviour.

Watering plants on a hot sunny day will magnify the sunlight through the droplets acting as convex lenses and burn the leaves badly! No doubt, watering plants early in the morning or late in the evening is great! Because less water will evaporate during this time. But This theory that water droplets on leaves can act like mini magnifying lenses, focusing the sun’s rays and causing leaf burn has been completely disproved by physicists.
Talking to You Plants will help them Grow? People who really love plants and gardening will often tell you that talking to plants or even music has a beneficial impact on their overall health and growth. Despite many different scientific studies on this theory, there’s still no conclusive evidence that talking to plants helps them grow. One theory says that since plants take up carbondioxide, and hence talking to plants releases carbon dioxide when we exhale. So, that’s it.
Planting by the Moon affects plant growth and yield?
The idea that the Moon affects plant growth is an old one that is believed by many people. This is a myth! No study has proven the effect of moon on plant growth. And the only plants that use moon light for photosynthesis are certain types of phytoplanktons which are not normally found in gardens.
Crushed egg shells are a good source of Calcium to treat calcium deficiency? This is False! Even Powdered Egg shells take a long time to decompose and release that calcium into the soil and make them available for uptake by plants. You can make a water soluble calcium using egg shells by mixing it with distilled Vinegar to make this happen. You can find this detailed video from a link in description or from a link at top right corner of this screen.
Fresh Cow Dung or Horse Dung is very Good for Plants! Fresh Cow poop should never be applied for your plants, because it not only stinks but contains high levels of ammonia and salts which can burn your plants. It also contains harmful microorganisms like e coli which are harmful to plants and humans. Plus it also contains weed seeds which can produce a lot of weeds or unwanted plants in your garden.
Saplings or seedlings need to be supported to protect them? True or False?

Does Potting Mix Cause Legionnaires’ Pneumonia in Gardeners? True or False?
Do not worry! This is not True. Legionnaires’ Pneumonia is a severe form of pneumonia or lung infection mostly cause by inhaling the bacteria. Though these legionella bacteria survive in outdoor soil, it rarely causes infections. But still, prevention is better than cure. Better wear a mask while handling potting mix, specially people with weaker immune systems.
Can Harvested or Collected seeds be stored in a Refrigerator or Freezer? True or False?
This is not correct! Most seeds that are stored in a seed banks are first dried up so that the moisture content is reduced to about 10 percent and then these can be stored for several years. But if you freeze freshly collected seeds, the moisture content in these seeds will form ice crystals within and can destroy the seed viability.
Growing Fruit Trees in Containers is not possible due to limited space?
This is not true. You can grow them but you need little larger containers or fabric bags like more than 18 or 24 inch. You can watch a detailed episode on the top ten terrace gardening myths and facts from an end-screen link circled right here.
Can we Use Grey Water or Black water for our plants or farming? True or False?

Garlic is the king of Companion gardening? True or False?

It’s a fact! Garlic deters pests, including fungus gnats, moths, spider mites, beetles and even ants. The pungent flavor of garlic is due to sulfur compounds which are natural fungicides. So companion gardening with garlic planting is certainly beneficial to your garden.

Are there any Bone meal substitute, specially for vegetarian people who hesitate to offer bone meal to their plants?

Well, Bone meal is a byproduct of animal rendering, made from finely-crushed bones. Bone meal is a slow-release organic fertilizer. It is high in phosphorus with an NPK ratio of 4-12-0.

The closest alternative to bone meal is Soya Bean Meal. This has NPK ratio is 7-2-1 and hence you might have to use it double the quantity while using this soy bean meal.

How do I know my plant is still alive and how to save a dying plant?

Can we grow plants from leaves

How do I prevent my neighbours from stealing my plants and fruits from my garden?

Some might think of installing a burglar alarm or fencing it well or locking their gardens. But I suggest one simple remedy to this problem. First of all, interact with them and make friends with them even if you do not like them. Talk about exchanging your plants, seeds or cuttings. You take the first step and present them some of your good plants or cuttings. That is all!

Can we install drip irrigation system on terrace garden? Infact this is one of the best options for watering on your terrace, specially if your plants are in hot sun with no green shade net. And more over, the watering hose pressure is very low on the terrace and it takes a long time to water your plants. You might require to install a pump to get that proper pressure to water your plants. Drip irrigation system is also a good option and its not that difficult to install and not that expensive. You get many options to purchase online like 100 pots, 300 pots and 500 pots options and sets. Check How to install drip irrigation here.
Is it useful to attract birds in your garden?

This is infact a vast topic. We have discuss this in detail on the benefits of this and making or installing simple DIY bird feeders in this article.

8 SECRETS TO INCREASE FLOWERING AND GET BIG SIZED FLOWERS IN HIBISCUS

admin — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 15:22:05 +0000

In Today’s post we will look into some important care tips and Do’s and Dont’s on growing hibiscus plants in container gardening. Will also tell you’re the secrets to induce enormous flowering and to get big sized flowers.

Hibiscus plant needs no introduction. It is one of the most common flowering plants grown at home gardens. Generally all hibiscus plants are very much durable plants and perform well if proper care tips are followed. However if you wish to achieve maximum flowering and get big sized flowers, you need to apply some extra hacks and tricks.

Let’s discuss all these points one by one:

8. SUNLIGHT: Hibiscus needs 6 to 8 hours DIRECT SUNLIGHT not only for its growth but also to produce flowers. Here, One very important tip on sunlight: If your plant is newly bought from a nursery or if it’s recently repotted, then you have to protect it from scorching noon sunlight like from 12 to 2 pm. Too hot sun, specially in summer at this time of the day can cause stress on the plant. Using a Green shade net is a good idea, especially in summer.

7. WATERING: Simple rule for watering hibiscus in summer is – Daily Watering. In other seasons, specially winter, its always better to use finger dip method to check the soil for moisture before watering, because over watering can kill any plant. Make sure to check drainage holes of the container. The Water should freely flow out of the container while watering.

6. CHOOSING THE CONTAINER: Hibiscus actually performs well when its slightly root bound. So when you see this root bound plant, do not jump into repotting it in a very large container. Prefer to choose only a slightly the next size of the container.

5. POTTING SOIL: This is very important.
a) The PH of soil should be slightly acidic like 5.5 to 6.5 is the ideal PH for hibiscus. A simple PH testing tool like this can be very handy. If PH is on higher side, you can alter it by adding some 10 gms of Alum per litre of water and add this to your container. You can also use white distilled vinegar about 1 to 2 teaspoon per liter of water once in a month.
b) The potting soil should well draining. So add stuff like coco peat or peat moss, perlite and compost in proper proportions to your garden soil. One such potting mix recipe is discussed in one of my articles.

4. FERTILIZERS TO INDUCE FLOWERING AND INCREASE THE SIZE OF THE FLOWERS: You can add 1 table spoon bone meal per container while making your potting mix or if its already potted, add this little deeper into the container after removing the top soil, once every 3 to 6 months. This is very important if you want your plant loaded with flowers.
Then, you can add compost like Decomposed Cow dung or vermicompost into the container once every 15 days or atleast once a month after tilling or raking the top soil.

3. PEST CONTROL: Controlling pests is very important step to keep the plant healthy and blooming. Examine the plant closely for pests and insects including underside of the leaves. Common pests like whiteflies, aphids, mealybugs can be easily eliminated using neem oil 10 ml + few drops liquid soap in 1 litre of water. Or adding oils like Clove Oil or eucalyptus oil increases the efficacy specially if its heavily infested. You can use neem oil spraying once 15 days or monthly once for maintenance even if there are no pests and weekly twice for few weeks if its loaded with pests.

2. FOLIAR SPRAY WITH EPSOM SALT: Once in a month foliar spray of 1 teaspoon Epsom salt per liter of water provides magnesium needed of chlorophyll and makes your plant lush green and improves photosynthesis and overall growth and flowering.

1. PRUNING or trimming your plant: Yes this is another important step which many of us neglect. This promotes more branching and makes it more bushy and hence more flowers. The best time to hard prune hibiscus is at the end of winter or just the beginning of spring. Also deadheading of the flowers from time to time is the most important step for maintaining blooms. Dead heading means removing dead and dried flowers form the plant and this diverts the plant energy from seed formation to plant growth and more flowering.

3 SECRETS TO GROWING ADENIUM FROM SEEDS – THE ADENIUM STORY!

admin — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 02:54:07 +0000

Today I am going to reveal you an interesting story on my 5 adeniums or desert rose plants. I will share my complete experience on growing adenium plants and reveal three nursery gardening secrets to grow adenium from seeds with 100 % success results. I will also show you the comparison between adenium seeds purchased from amazon vs the fresh seeds harvested from adenium seed pods.

To begin! I received these 5 bare rooted baby adenium plants about an year back, gifted by my dearest gardener friend Ram. These travelled over a 1000 miles to reach the destination in a great condition, This is because these are excellent drought tolerant plants and rightly called desert rose. So, you can safely purchase adenium plants online if it’s not available at your local nursery.

For beginners, Adenium Obesum is a succulent plant which stores lot of water in its stem and also the modified part of the stem called the Caudex. We have discussed these in detail in my other adenium videos.

Before I reveal you the three nursery secrets on growing adenium, I will quickly brief you on 5 important care tips for adenium.

SOIL: This is the most important factor for successfully growing adenium. It’s a desert rose and hence prefers a sandy soil. Make sure you have atleast 50 percent sand or perlite mixed in your potting soil. For details on the perfect potting mix for adenium or any succulent, I have detailed episode on this topic. You can check that link at the end screen of this video.
WATERING: If your soil is really well draining, the frequency of watering does not matter much, like for instance if you have lot of rains in your zone, its almost like daily watering. And also make sure, you have good drainage holes in your container. Otherwise, generally watering weekly twice is the general rule for adenium like any other succulent.
SUNLIGHT: This is a very important factor for proper flowering. Adenium needs maximum sunlight and good humidity for flowering and growth. Atleast 6 hours of direct sunlight is a must!
FERTILIZERS: Most recommend chemical fertilizers like water soluble NPK, but I always use organic ones like simple decomposed cowdung or vermicompost like a handful of it once a month. And during repotting mixing a table spoon of steamed bone meal will do the job and induce enormous flowering in all seasons except in it dormant season – that’s winter.
PEST CONTROL: Its commonly affected by sucking pests like aphids, mealy bugs and mites. Weekly spray of 10 ml neem oil in 1 litre of water will easily control this problem.

Now, lets look into the three Nursery secrets on how to grow adenium from seeds.

To start this story, I purchased adenium seeds from amazon and followed all tips perfectly to germinate adenium seeds. I have shown this in a detailed video some time ago. You can check a link to that episode in the description below. But the result of these amazon seeds was really bad, not even a single seed germinated.

Then recently, one of my adeniums started developing a seed pod. First thing you need to do when you notice adenium seed pod is tie some thread around the pod to prevent spillage of seeds before the seed pod matures and releases seeds. It has a special seed dispersal mechanism by wind, where each seed had this fluffy stuff which is easily carried away by wind. Here you can see, I have protected the seed pod from its natural dispersal mechanism. When the seed pod starts drying and cracks open, it’s the time to harvest the seeds. Separate the seeds by gently pulling this fluffy stuff as shown in this pic.

Adenium Seed Pod

So these are fresh adenium seeds we just harvested!

Now the first secret to get a great success rate in germination? These seeds are very delicate and are more prone to fungus. So what you need to do immediately is pour in some antifungal powder like bavistin or any antifungal powder like Carbendazin + mancozeb combination like the SAAF brand powder. Coat the seeds with this antifungal powder whether you keep them aside for storage or plan to sow them immediately.

Now the second nursery secret: The growing medium. You can use pure sand or some cocopeat mixed in it. What they actually do is, take fine sand and sterilize it by keeping in full sunlight for atleast 2 or 3 days or if you are growing in small scale, you can even microwave this sand. I think if you are using anti fungal powder, this step is perhaps optional.

Now the third secret and then finally the results of this process on day 6, day 10, day 12 and day 15 in the video at the bottom of this post.

And one more thing: You also mix some antifungal powder into this sand or cocopeat. And while sowing the seeds try to maintain a space of atleast an inch to avoid overcrowding. You can do this better, here I have not done this perfectly.

Then finally, you also mix some antifungal into the water or spray can and use the same solution to spray or gently sprinkle some water once every two days. Do not flood the seeds with water, this can damage the seeds.

Please Watch the RESULTS on Day 5 till Day 15 in the Video below.

10 SHOCKING GARDENING MYTHS DEBUNKED

admin — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 09:21:26 +0000

Today we will look into 10 interesting gardening ideas, myths, misconceptions and scientific facts like whether we can use grey water or black water for plants, Does Planting by the Moon affect plant growth and yield?, the biggest myth on crushed egg shells for plants, talking to your plants to increase growth and yield and many more interesting facts.

Now, Lets Begin with the ten common gardening myths that have been debunked by scientific research.

1. Saplings or seedlings need to be supported to protect them? True or False?

2. Watering plants on a hot sunny day will magnify the sunlight through the droplets acting as convex lenses and burn the leaves badly? True or False?
No doubt, watering plants early in the morning or late in the evening is great! Because less water will evaporate during this time. This advice to “never water your plants in full sun” has been followed by generations of gardeners – But! new research has contradicted this belief that watering in direct sunlight can cause leaves to suffer from “leaf burn”. This theory that water droplets on leaves can act like mini magnifying lenses, focusing the sun’s rays and causing leaf burn has been completely disproved by physicists.

3. Talking to You Plants will help them Grow? True or False?
People who really love plants and gardening will often tell you that talking to plants or even music has a beneficial impact on their overall health and growth. Despite many different scientific studies on this theory, there’s still no conclusive evidence that talking to plants helps them grow. One theory says that since plants take up carbondioxide, and hence talking to plants releases carbon dioxide when we exhale. So, that’s it.

4. Does Potting Mix Cause Legionnaires’ Pneumonia in Gardeners? True or False?
Do not worry! This is not True. Legionnaires’ Pneumonia is a severe form of pneumonia or lung infection mostly cause by inhaling the bacteria. Though these legionella bacteria survive in outdoor soil, it rarely causes infections. But still, prevention is better than cure. Better wear a mask while handling potting mix, specially people with weaker immune systems.

5. Can we Use Grey Water or Black water for our plants or farming? True or False?

Firstly, let’s look at the difference between grey water and black water. Grey water or sullage water is the waste water coming out from kitchens, laundries and even bathroom showers. Black water is nothing but sewage water. So can we use these for our plants? Well, this depends on the country you live in. Many countries ban the use of these untreated waters and also sewage farming. This is because they contain lot of chemicals, toxins, heavy metals and bacteria which are harmful for plants and also for humans consuming the yields produced by such plants.

6. Can Harvested or Collected seeds be stored in a Refrigerator or Freezer? True or False?
This is not correct! Most seeds that are stored in a seed banks are first dried up so that the moisture content is reduced to about 10 percent and then these can be stored for several years. But if you freeze freshly collected seeds, the moisture content in these seeds will form ice crystals within and can destroy the seed viability.

7. Garlic is the king of Companion gardening? True or False?

8. Does Planting by the Moon affect plant growth and yield? True or False?
The idea that the Moon affects plant growth is an old one that is believed by many people. This is a myth! No study has proven the effect of moon on plant growth. And the only plants that use moon light for photosynthesis are certain types of phytoplanktons which are not normally found in gardens.

9. Crumbled egg shells added to soil is a good source of Calcium? True or False?

This is False! Egg shells take many many years to decompose and release that calcium into the soil and make them available for uptake by plants. Many studies have proven this and have recovered intact shells after many years of burying them into the soil. However, finely powdered egg shells might help, but again as a slow release source of calcium.

10.Growing Fruit Trees in Containers is not possible due to limited space?
This is not true. You can grow them but you need little larger containers or fabric bags like more than 18 or 24 inch. You can check out a detailed post on the top ten terrace gardening myths and facts.

5 GARDENING IDEAS AND SECRET QUESTIONS ANSWERED

admin — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 14:35:37 +0000

In this Gardening Article which is Part 4 of our Q and A Series on Gardening Ideas and Answers, will try to reveal 5 more interesting answers to gardening questions like:

Do Plants Feel Pain?

Can Artificial LED grow lights help the plant in flowering and growth?

Can I use Coffee as an effective pesticide on plants and how?

Plus a nice funny question at the end.

So Lets begin!

Do plants feel Pain?

But according to some researches, “Plant can know of themselves being eaten” because studies have shown plants release defence chemicals in response to caterpillars munching on them.

Can we grow plants from leaves

Can Artificial light be used for photosynthesesis and do plants flower in it.

Yes you can.

In fact, good quality LED grow lights are highly efficient, because they provide the exact spectrum of light your plants need. But, Remember one thing: sunlight is free, while good quality LED lights are quite expensive.

Can I use coffee as pesticide on plants?
The Answer is YES: Coffee contains a chemical called caffeine which is considered neurotoxic to many pests like aphids.

You can make a Caffeine Spray. Many research studies have shown that caffeine combined with other insecticides increases their killing power. In one test, a small dose of caffine increased a known pesticide’s potency by ten times.
So how do I make a Caffiene Spray. Its simple. You just have to make a cocktail solution. I always prefer organic mixes. You can use any recipe of your organic pesticide like neem oil, clove oil or whatever, and add one or two tablesspoons of used coffee grounds or 1 or 2 teaspoons of fresh coffee if you like to use it for your plants. Mix well and let it marinate for about 24 hours and then strain it and spray it once a while with your regular pesticide. That’s it. You can watch a detailed video on a Cocktail mixed organic pesticide recipe.

Now lastly a Funny Question!

How do I prevent my neighbours from stealing my plants and fruits from my garden?

5 GARDENING MYTHS BUSTED – Garden Tips FAQs

admin — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 13:27:26 +0000

In Today’s Article, I will try to answer Five interesting frequently asked gardening questions. Questions like:

Does Light REALLY hurt your plants roots? And What Happens when you Expose Roots to Light?

Do Pot ted Plants need Soil Change periodically?

Do Naphthalene Moth balls contain the best and the most expensive rooting hormone – thats naphthalene acetic acid?

Now Lets Begin with the first question !

Can we Put Earthworms into Soil of Potted Plants? The answer to this question is Partly Yes. First of all identify the useful earthworms like the red wrigglers. If yes, then you can drop a few into your container, but you must provide them with the moisture and the decaying matter for the worms to feed on. And then No to containers with small tender plants or seedlings because these can damaged by earthworms.

Many Gardeners Say Putting Stones or a layer of gravel at the bottom of Plant Container is Useful and improves drainage? Actually it’s a myth and does not help the plant and it actually takes up the space of the soil. If you want to prevent soil from washing out or coming out of the drainage holes, better use a piece of net cloth or a plastic mesh.
But sometimes this layer of gravel can be useful and can prevent root rot. For instance, If you have drainage holes at the sides of your container, this can prevent water stagnation into the bottom zone where roots can be constantly wet in the stagnant water. As you can see in the illustration, raising this a bit with a layer of gravel helps encounter this issue. So, it always better to have drainage holes at the bottom of your container.

Do Potted Plants need soil change periodically? Yes, This is partly true. They do need repotting once in a while depending on the plant growth and performance. If you pay close attention your plants you will definitely find some signs that indicate your plants need repotting or a soil change. Like:
– When Plant has Outgrown its container – that’s called Root Bound plants.
– When the Pot Soil is Compacted – You may not be able to insert your finger into it.
– When a plant keeps wilting often, even after a day or two even after good watering. Then
– Yellowing Leaves and Lack of New Growth are also important signs.

You can check my related video on the 10 Golden Rules of Repotting and also video on Recharging your expired soil.

Well the next interesting and controversial question is:

What Happens when you Expose Roots to Light? Does Light REALLY hurt your plants roots?

This is infact complicated and controversial. To get an answer to this question, lets look into few scenarios and concepts. And this can also be a very good high school project for kids, like, to grow similar plants in transparent container and compare with an opaque container.

Consider these 3 scenarios:

Growing a Money plant into a transparent container. Am sure all of us have done this. Here you expose roots to light whether direct light or indirect light.Then
You might have seen many plants where roots develop from aerial parts of stem thats exposed to light and this does a supportive function.
Root can also be exposed to light naturally from cracks in the soil from an earthquake, heavy rain and many other factors.

I think, the concern should be for the plant root exposure to AIR and even the heat from sunlight that can cause drying and can damage your plant, rather than the light itself causing any direct damage. But still you are supposed to keep the roots in the dark because of algae growth due to light and your roots aren’t getting enough oxygen because the algae is stealing the oxygen and nutrients for itself. So light as such doesn’t hurt the roots, but air, heat and algae hurt the roots and the plant.

Actually University researches have shown that even roots have light photo receptors in them and terms like Positive phototropism and Negative phototropism and much more.

If you are interested in full Journal artciles of these studies – Download Here:

http://www.gkvk.net/links/qa1.pdf and

http://www.gkvk.net/links/qa2.pdf

Purchase Gardening Stuff: http://www.gkvk.net/links

Do Naphthalene balls or Moth Balls contain Naphthalene Acetic Acid which is the best Rooting Hormone? Or can these naphthalene balls be useful on plants as rooting agents or as pesticides?

Well the answer to the first part of the question is a straight NO. NAA and IBA auxins are entirely a different compounds.
But When it comes to the benefits or the use of moth balls on plants or in garden, you should know how these naphthalene ball work. The vapors released by the mothballs build up and kill the moths in your clothes. They are infact good pest repellents around your garden, but these can be toxic to your pets and kids if ingested by them.

Please like and share this article on social media. Consider subscribing to my YOUTUBE Gardening Channel. Happy Gardening!

References:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/tpj.12998

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4264407/

10 Surefire Ways to Increase Flowering in Plants

admin — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 12:26:33 +0000

In this article, we will list out 10 Gardening Tips to Increase Flowering in any plant whether Rose or Hibiscus. These tips are really easy to follow and you can maintain blooms throughout the year.

Well, Lets list out the 10 tips on increasing blooms and know what to do in brief. Always Remember one principle for blooms – the plant performs better when its free from stress.

REPOTTING: This is generally your first task as soon as you bring your plant home from a nursery. Do not repot immediately, Allow your plant to settle for atleast one week to its new environment. During repotting, you need to mix some important ingredients into the potting mix like for a 12 inch pot, roughly about 1 tablespoon of steamed bone meal powder. Optionally you can also mix the mycorrhizae fungi – the beneficial fungi or even pseudomonas and Trichoderma powder. You can check my detailed video on Mycorrhizae and other important videos related to this topic from links in description of this video.
CONTAINER SIZE: The concept here is: if you choose a deeper container, it will focus more on root development and less on flower production. The best one is a container that is wider than the usual nursery pot, but still not too deep. This way you will make your plant strong and make it produce more flowers.
LOCATION: Keep your plants away from the traffic and pollution. Also in a location that’s not disturbed by frequent movements from people or animals and even your pets.
SUNLIGHT: Place your plant in a location where you get adequate sunlight. Atleast 6 hours to 8 hours DIRECT SUNLIGHT is compulsory for flowering plants. If its too hot like in summer, protect them from noon sunlight using a green shade net.
WATERING: If you are growing in containers, daily watering is must specially in summer season. Do not worry about over watering if are using a well draining soil.
PEST CONTROL: Controlling pests is very important step to keep the plant healthy and blooming. Examine the plant closely for pests and insects including underside of the leaves. Common pests like whiteflies, aphids, mealybugs can be easily eliminated using neem oil + liquid soap in water. Or adding oils like Clove Oil or eucalyptus oil increases the efficacy. I have one very important video on pest elimination using one powerful method. You can check these related videos from card links at top right corner or in description.
RAKING THE SOIL: This is anther important step before applying any fertilizer or manure to your plant. Raking the soil is recommended once every 15 days. Make it a habit to rake the soil and then apply your fertilizer every 15 days.
SOIL: Here you should remember few important points like:
a) PH of soil , b) How to make the best potting soil for flowering plants c) Keep the soil well draining. The First factor is PH. Plants like Rose and Hibiscus prefer slightly acidic soil like around 6 to 6.5. If you have a PH testing meter, you can accurately use this hack to use Alum powder to make your soil acidic. Even if you do not have this meter, you can roughly add about 5 to 10 gms of alum powder in one liter of water once every 15 days to maintain this acidic level, which is very important for absorption of nutrients you add to your plant. You can also use 1 – 2 teaspoon of white vinegar per liter of water to make your soil acidic. Again you can watch my related videos on these topics from links in description.Now When you make a potting mix, you can add extra 10 percent additional compost like decomposed cowdung powder. And also bone meal powder as discussed earlier.
FERTILIZER: In this video, I will be talking only about organic fertilizers and not chemicals like NPK or DAP.
Add a handful of decomposed horsedung or cowdung powder or vermicompost on the top layer of the soil once every 15 days after nicely raking the soil. This should be the minimum fertilizer use and frequency. You can also use compost tea sprays or even mustard cake tea and other foliar feeds if you want better results. What I use once every 15 days is My Cocktail Fertilizer Powder. You can check a detailed video on how I prepared this mixed fertilizer, from a link at top right corner of this video and also from description links.
PRUNING: Yes this is most important step which many of us neglect or some newbie gardeners think like – its plant cruelty. But this is not the truth. Pruning or pinching and also deadheading of the flowers from time to time is the most important step for maintaining blooms.

Generally Pruning which is of two types Hard Pruning and Soft Pruning. Hard Pruning is done in early spring that’s in Feb end or March beginning. If you missed that, No Worries! You can still perform Soft Pruning or Trimming. Trimming sparks new growths specaily in rose bushes.

So that was our episode on the 10 surefire ways to increase blooms. If you have any other hacks and tips, please share in the comments section below.