Ecosystems

ciclotrama-8 — We think a lot about the top parts of our plants. Like the iceberg, we notice and think about the visible part, while the rest remains safely out of sight and out of mind. Roots anchor the plant into soil, secrete compounds into the soil to protect the plant from […]

Roots: The anchor of life

This entry was posted in Ecosystems Garden care and tagged root health Roots on 28.March.2016 by Grace Conyers

The first pump sends water into a nutrient mixing tank, which then floods the medium and plants. The water then flows back into the nutrient mixing tank, and then back into the reservior to be replenished. — Ebb and flow systems are simple and cheap ways to get started growing hydroponic plants indoors. This form of hydroponics set up is recognized for its simplicity, trustworthiness of operation, and low initial investment cost. The Setup Pots are filled with an inert medium which does not have role as soil or […]

Ebb and Flow Hydroponically

This entry was posted in Ecosystems and tagged ebb and flow hydroponics systems on 8.February.2016 by Grace Conyers

Basics of a balanced pond with permaculture in mind. — Unless you are lucky enough to have a pond or lake on your property, one of the only ways you are going to get a full natural ecosystem is to make your own garden pond. This isn’t as tricky it seems, and frankly, starting from scratch has a lot of […]

Dreaming of permaculture and landscaping with water

This entry was posted in Ecosystems Water features and tagged construction projects permaculture ponds water features on 7.September.2015 by Grace Conyers

Look up "calm mind" and you'll find similar images to these. Most of them have water. (Found at TinyBuddha) — It’s been raining nearly every day since sometime in April here in Indianapolis, Indiana. With all the rain, ponds are on my mind — after all, we have enough free standing, volunteer ponds around. The purpose of ponds beyond annoying us when we drop something in them is three-fold. They […]

Ponds are for more than landscaping

This entry was posted in Ecosystems and tagged ponds water wetlands on 29.June.2015 by Grace Conyers

A wasp saying hello on the door. Did he just make a meal out of the wood on your trees? Image credit: Emily of Emily Site — Most of us have a greenhouse to some extent or another whether we realise it or not. The humble little terrarium is a greenhouse, as is the seed starter packs with the tops. You know the ones, the ones that we routinely make out of cloches or the ones we […]

Hacking the Greenhouse

This entry was posted in Ecosystems on 27.April.2015 by Grace Conyers

Winter frost — If there is one thing new gardeners fear most, it’s freezing temperatures killing off their plants. If you plant to early, disaster strikes, and you’ll have to try again. Plant too late, and the cooler weather lovers wilt, while the warm weather lovers are stunted by not enough lead time. No […]

Working with The Freeze

This entry was posted in Ecosystems How-to Resource Reviews and tagged cold hardy Planting times on 30.March.2015 by Grace Conyers

Prairie Heaven — While weren’t on the topic of grasses, let’s take a look at the prairie ecosystem — and talk about how you might be able to make one on your patio or in your backyard. What is a prairie? A prairie is a grassland ecosystem, and they can be found all […]

Creating Your Own Prairie

This entry was posted in Ecosystems and tagged Prairie on 9.March.2015 by Grace Conyers