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Different types of gardens require different types of garden tools. Hardware stores typically offer a wide range of tools, but specialty shops offer more exclusive garden tools that shout quality. Wherever you decide to shop, here are a few pointers to help you choose correctly.

Is your garden large or small? A small garden obviously won’t require the same type of large garden equipment you would need for a more extensive one. For instance, a riding mower is unnecessary if you only have a small strip of lawn. Who does most of the gardening? Some tools are too heavy for use by just anyone.

When you buy secateurs, also called hand pruners or pruning shears, make sure the blade always stays sharp to avoid damaging the plant. Look for models that have blades that can be sharpened or replaced, as well as models with tension control and sizes that best fit your hands.

Hedge trimmers or shears are handy - but only if you have a hedge, or plan to grow one. Some hedge trimmers have curved blades to stop branches from sliding out when cut.

Forks are used for turning and aerating compost and for breaking up lumps of soil. The cheaper ones may not be strong enough for heavy soil, so check for sturdiness.

A shovel has a scoop blade and is best used to move dirt and garden soil. A spade has a flat blade great for cutting edges, digging and dividing plants. The edge of a spade should be kept sharp for clean and efficient cutting and to cause the least amount of damage to plants. Shovels and spades are a basic garden necessity. You need at least one of each.

While secateurs are for smaller plants like roses, pruning saws are used for pruning trees and larger shrubs. They have a narrow curved blade that fits between stems or branches easily and cuts them as you pull back on the saw.

A chipping hoe is a handy tool for getting rid of small weeds. The Dutch or push-hoe is slightly more user-friendly of the available choices since the action required to use it does not jar the neck and shoulder quite so much.

A rake is also a basic requirement for the garden. A strong rake with a flat head and sharp metal prongs is used for smoothing a garden bed and getting out the last of the bumps and weeds. A plastic rake is used to gather leaves and grass clippings and shouldn’t be expected to perform heavier tasks.

While these are just a few of your options, you can see the variety of tools available to help you maintain a lush, healthy garden. Keep in mind that gardening tools don’t have to be expensive. Many online shops can offer excellent deals for the tools you need. And you could even be blessed enough to find some things at flea markets or yard sales.

For those without garden space, indoor gardening can be a rewarding alternative. Imagine growing organic fruits, and vegetables in your home without soil. Hydroponics is an effective means of growing plants with water containing nutrients instead. It offers all the benefits of a greenhouse, using only twenty percent of the space required for soil gardening. To start out as a hydroponic gardener, you can choose one of the many available hydroponic kits, or enjoy the satisfaction of making your own homemade hydroponic growing system.

There are several homemade hydroponic growing system methods. The two simplest methods are the reservoir method, and the flood and drain method.

Five gallon plastic tubs with matching lids work well for either method. Tubs should be opaque in order to prevent light from reaching the nutrient solution, or liquid plant food. Wash containers with vinegar, and then soap and water, to kill any bacteria.

Begin by creating your grow medium. Place seedlings and an inert mixture of perlite, vermiculite, and coconut coir into individual plastic planters. Cut two rows of holes, matching the diameter of the individual planter’s size, into the tub’s lid. Drop a planter into each hole. Fit the lid, laden with planters, onto its container.

In the reservoir method, the plants will be sitting in a reservoir filled to the roots with nutrient solution. An external air pump will provide a constant, but gentle flow of air bubbles to the solution, providing the roots with oxygen. Cut an additional hole in the lid and pass an airline of tubing from the pump, through the hole, and down to bottom of the container.

For the flood and drain method, a second tub with matching lid will act as the reservoir. This time, instead of cutting that extra hole for the tubing into the lid, cut holes into the sides of each tub. Run the the waterline from tub to tub. Use waterproof caulking to seal the connections. The principle here is based on gravity. When the reservoir is positioned level to, or higher than, the grow medium, the solution will run from the reservoir through the line and flood the grow medium. Reverse the positions to drain it. Plants should be flooded in this manner several times daily.

After setting up the hydration system, lighting will need to be provided. Place your homemade hydroponic growing system in a window that receives direct sunlight. Use a High Intensity Discharge lamp, or fluorescent lamp in the absence of direct sunlight

If you don’t have time to build your own homemade hydroponics growing system, pick up a kit. Hydroponic kits include everything needed to begin indoor gardening including nutrients, pH kits, and grow guide. Hydroponic kits are available in any one of the system methods. Choose the one that will work best for you.

Whether you create your own homemade hydroponics growing system or purchase one of the system methods available as hydroponic kits, you will enjoy growing your own produce.
Find out how to quickly build an effective hydroponic growing system on a budget. Grab a ready made kit that would make you project easier, faster and stress free. Chose an easy build homemade hydroponic kit and all the accessories to save yourself the time and money.

Homemade Hydroponic Gardening System

If you are starting out with indoor gardening, there is a lot to learn. One of the important environmental factors that you will need to provide for your plants is appropriate light. Plants need light for photosynthesis. Plants have the amazing ability to change light energy through photosynthesis into glucose and oxygen, which they need to thrive and grow. You will want to consider the grow lights you use in your indoor growing area very carefully, because it is a major aspect that will affect the success of your gardening venture. There are several new grow lights, and very popular ones include HID lights, HPS grow lights, LED grow lights, and MH grow lights. These are all hydroponic gardening grow lights, and all can be used with plants grown in soil as well.

HID lights go by the full name of high-intensity discharge lights. MH grow lights and HPS grow lights are also high-intensity discharge lamps. HID lights produce a great deal of light that more closely resembles sunlight than the light produced by either incandescent or fluorescent light bulbs, which is better for plant growth and reproduction. The way light is produced by HID lamps is when you turn the electricity on, the current runs through a ballast, which regulates the electrical flow to the electrodes, which are inside an arc tube, along with various gases and metals. When an electrical arc is produced, the gas in the tube helps start the light bulb, and the metals, once they reach the appropriate temperature, evaporate and produce the light that you see.

HPS grow lights make excellent hydroponic lights. HPS stands for high-pressure sodium, and these are used by professional growers to produce vegetables and flowers indoors commercially. HPS lamps use mercury in the arc tube, as well as sodium, and this makes for good color rendering, or colors showing up accurately when lit by the bulb. The spectrum color that a bulb gives off is important, because plants thrive under different colors depending on their stage of maturity. If you are trying to grow lettuce, for example, you will want to use the blue light spectrum under which it thrives. If you have mature tomato plants that you want to produce fruit and flowers, then you will want to use a red/orange spectrum to induce the plant to behave appropriately.

LED grow lights are called this due to a light-emitting diode that allows the lamp to produce light. These lights are handy because they come in an array of colors used in growing plants, and they produce a lot of light that is easily focused where you need it. They have a very long life as well.

MH grow lights are metal halide lamps. The arc tubes of these compact and efficient bulbs contain argon gas, mercury and a mix of metal halides. Like other HID lights, these lights require the use of a ballast in order to function properly.
Susan Slobac works at a Hydroponics supply store and is knowledgeable about grow lights. She has been taught by industry professionals about the details of hydroponic lights and shares her insights on the many varieties of grow lights for indoor gardening.