Entries by Darryl Nelson

Hope Heals

November 11, 2014 /0 Comments/in /by

There is something in gardening associated with providing HOPE for those who feel they may have little else to hope for. This might ultimately be the most beneficial aspect in gardening as a therapy. Encouraging people to participate in activity essentially in the practice of hope may well be highly therapeutic because it focuses on skills and aspirations rather than symptoms and deficits. Throughout this process we shall ‘embrace’ a positive attitude and spirit. As a living being we can surely see the connection between social and personal growth which reflects on the importance of the physical environment and how people approach other living things in connection with themselves.

Are Your Tears Organic?

November 2, 2014 /0 Comments/in /by

It has been overlooked that sometimes we authentically feel sad and this is part of the human condition. When there is true underlying suffering, we should look at our diet as it may be the dire cause that affects our day to day lives.

An acidic diet could lead our bodies into physical illness and increase our chance at being depressed and people who eat mainly alkalizing foods such as vegetables, low sugar fruits and oily fish are less likely to get depression by an average of 25%.

Garden by Night

October 30, 2014 /0 Comments/in /by

Garden by Night A 100 watt unit can easily be used for a counter top herb/lettuce garden  and they will run rather cool, so you can have them quite close to the plants as opposed to MH-Metal Halide or HPS-High Pressure Sodium grow lights which can create heat stress and a multitude of problems and […]

The Versatility of LED Grow Lights

October 29, 2014 /0 Comments/in /by

There is scientific research being evaluated with respect to warm whites and some people believe that warm whites are better for flowering plants while cool whites are more suitable for green, leafy growth. It is said, when used together, these bulbs are close to the full spectrum light that comes from the sun, but nothing matches the sun, nor is the combination true to the measure of full spectrum LED grow lighting.

Light Emitting Diode grow lights produce a photosynthetic optimum red (640-680 nm) and blue (430-460nm) and they have long life expediencies, and efficiency.

One can extend their understanding of light with the measures of photons outside the ranges of 400-700nm. When we look at 360-740nm (ultraviolet through near infra-red) you begin to see that certain plants do use light outside of PAR, such as far-red light above 700nm which increases photosynthetic efficiency (this is called the Emerson effect) and also for hormone regulation.

Light Intensity and Duration

October 28, 2014 /0 Comments/in /by

There are two important factors for providing light to house plants which are intensity and duration. Of course we all know there are varying intensities of light and the term which we use to calculate the intensity are referred to as PAR, photo-synthetically active radiation. Amount of light exposure is based on plant types typically in ranges between 8 to 18 hours. But when working with High intensity LED’s, the nutrient and water intake with certain plant families may be reduced slightly.

Light Saturation Point

October 28, 2014 /0 Comments/in /by

Umol or micromole measures the amount of photons (light particles) that cover a specific area over a specific amount of time (per/s or per/day) when you can achieve maximum photons absorb-able by your plant species this is called light saturation point (LSP). Light saturation point is important because this allows your plant to take full advantage of nutrients, use less water and to maximize the C02 intake, provided the temperature and the humidity are at an optimal level.

There are many metric units that are used for different purposes. The most basic way to measure light is in English units called, foot-candle.

0 foot-candle = darkness
100 foot-candles = your livingroom or your kitchen
1000 foot-candles = (June 21st) The longest day of the year at noon, at the equator with zero humidity. An instantaneous foot-candle measurement cannot take day-length into account but foot-candle measurements are certainly better than trying to make estimates of light with your eyes when analyzing light intensities (inside and outside) the growing space or greenhouse when using artificial light such as LED grow lights.

Colour of Light and Energy Levels

October 28, 2014 /0 Comments/in /by

Plants get their energy from light, but you might not know that different colors of light have different energy levels. Think about the colors of a rainbow. All of these colors are in white light. While using a prism you can separate the white light into the colors. (That’s what the raindrops are doing when we see a rainbow.) At the purple, violet & blue end of the scale the light is at its highest energy. It has short wavelengths. The red end is lower energy, it has long wavelengths.

What wavelength goes with with a colour?

Importance of Eating Local and Organic

October 28, 2014 /0 Comments/in /by

“There are so many humans on the planet, simply feeding ourselves has led to all kinds of environmental havoc — air and water pollution, loss of soil and reduced biodiversity. It’s time to clean up our act. We can have a huge effect on climate change by simply changing a few of our food habits.

Here’s how: Eat wisely, choose foods that are local, organic and low on the food chain whenever possible. Make the most of seasonal foods.”

Have you ever wondered how many people are involved in the process of getting produce to the grocery store? It’s definitely not a “from farm to table” type of deal.

Advantages of Growing Your Own Food

October 28, 2014 /0 Comments/in /by

There are advantages of indoor growing with 100% LED (artificial) lighting and as trends are urbanizing in homes with the construction of food gardens, walls, vertical gardens or just about any custom design you can dream of for your indoor gardening needs. For instance by growing your own food with the very efficient and versatile High PAR LED grow lights will cut the costs of your grocery bills and the associated time and efforts to acquire the items such as lettuces and leafy greens.

More importantly they will be available to you in the quantity of which you select based on the size of lights you choose and the type of gardening you do such as working with soil, hydroponics, areoponics, horticulture, farming, greenhouses and home gardening of various sorts such as vertical gardening