Growing Potatoes Indoors

June 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

While growing anything indoors, you always have to keep in mind the amount of light available for that plant. Growing potatoes indoors or any kind of indoor plants will require good amount of light, moisture and other nutrients. But, what is the technique to grow them? Read on, to know the answer…

How to Grow Potatoes Indoor?
There are many ways of growing potatoes indoors. Growing potatoes in bags and growing potatoes in tires are just two of them. You see, it does not take a rocket scientist for growing potatoes indoors and the technique is very simple as well. All you need to do is have a little patience and take proper care of the potato seeds. Buy a few potato seeds from nursery, (for a beginner, it is advisable to begin with three or four only) and a bag full of soil. Now you have to find right conditions for these potatoes seeds to grow. Adequate moisture, right temperature and enough sunlight has to be provided. In addition to this, you will also need a deep container where you shall place all this. Choose a container which has a wide mouth, this will allow provide as much sunlight as possible to reach the potatoes. Add two to three inches of soil in the potatoes and place the seeds in them. Take care that all seeds have at least two to three inches of soil from all sides. This gives them enough space to grow. Mound the soil slightly, around the container, here as well. You can also read more on how to grow sweet potatoes.

Adequate moisture is one of the most important tips for planting potatoes over here, considering the fact that indoors are much drier than outdoors. You have to water potatoe seeds continuously and at regular intervals as well. If they don’t get enough moisture, the health benefits of potatoes will be reduced and their taste will be ruined as well. After a week or so you will see that the potato shoots start coming out. Put more soil into the container and cover the shoots again. All you have to do now is to regularly water the plants.

Growing Potatoes Indoors under Lights
As I have mentioned before growing potatoes require sunlight, but you may not always find sunlight in an indoor setting. You can use a regular florescent light fixture as a substitute. One thing you have to remember though, outdoor potato plants get about fourteen hours of sunlight daily. So see to it that indoors potato plants also get about same time of florescent light.

Growing Potatoes Indoors in Winter
The ideal soil temperature for growing potatoes is about 15ºC to 20ºC. Which is about equal to room temperature. But when you are attempting to grow potatoes in winter, the temperature will be far less than ideal ones. I suggest that you keep your indoor potatoes setup at your furnace room. There you are most likely to have ideal temperatures. If you don’t have a furnace room, keep the setup in the room where you have the heater so that the potatoes get an ideal temperature.

Growing Potatoes Indoors Hydroponically
Hydroponic method of growing potatoes is to grow them without using soil. A plant doesn’t necessarily need to have soil if it is getting the required nutrients and other growing conditions. Growing potatoes hydroponically is actually quite interesting and there are many different types of potatoes which can be grown hydroponically. Out of many different ways of growing potatoes hydroponically, to grow them using compost is I think is most easy. In the above mentioned method just replace soil with compost. There is one key difference over here though. Potatoes will require fresh compost every now and then. So, you have to provide fresh compost in about regular intervals of week or so.

By reading the above article, I think you must have got a good idea on how to grow potatoes indoor. Growing potatoes indoor requires little bit of patience and good care for the vegetable. So if you don’t fret away from that, you are bound to have a good crop.

Filed Under: Farming, Techniques, Tips

How to Grow Sweet Potatoes

June 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Growing a sweet potato plant is so easy that even with least maintenance you can harvest large sized tubers. Here is some useful information on how to grow sweet potatoes at home.

How to Grow Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a tasty root vegetable, basically adapted to the tropical and subtropical climatic conditions. They are a rich source of carbohydrates (both simple and complex), proteins, dietary fiber, beta carotene, vitamin B and vitamin C. As per nutritional content, sweet potatoes are superior to other culinary vegetables. In a vegetable garden, they can adapt in different types of soil and growth conditions. This article highlights the various steps on how to grow sweet potatoes in a pot or garden soil.

How to Grow Sweet Potatoes at Home?

Sweet potatoes are very easy to grow and maintain, particularly in areas where there is warm climate and a long growing season. They are also planted as a ground cover in regular garden beds to control weed growth. Many gardening enthusiasts prefer maintaining sweet potato vines as ornamental plants. Mention below are the useful tips, which you can follow while planting sweet potatoes at home:

Plantation Site: The most challenging step in growing sweet potatoes is selecting a plantation site that meets the growth requirements of this tropical crop. They grow best in well-drained sandy soils and in areas that receive full sun. Other ideal conditions for growing sweet potatoes are warm nights, moderate rainfall (at least 500 – 750 mm annually), slightly acidic soil (pH 5 – 6.5) and a long growing period.

Soil Preparation: Mix garden soil with farmyard compost and sand (if necessary) to make it fertile and to ensure proper drainage. Sweet potatoes cannot tolerate extreme cold climates and frost. Considering these, the ideal time to prepare soil is 3 – 4 weeks or one month before the arrival of heavy frost. This way, you can grow sweet potatoes immediately after frosting is over and when the soil temperature measures approximately 70°F.

Select Sweet Potatoes: There are many varieties of sweet potatoes, which differ in the flesh and skin color. Check for the type that suits the soil and growth conditions in your area. Always select healthy, disease free tubers with intact skin and those that are free of soft or rotten spots. Seek advice from your local horticulturist, if you are not sure about the variety.

Planting Sweet Potatoes: Sweet potatoes are propagated from tubers and/or slips (vine cuttings). You can bury sweet potatoes halfway in soil or water to promote slip formation. When the slips are about 6 – 8 inch long, gently cut them by using a sharp scalpel or knife. Place the slips in the soil (½ an inch deep) in a slanting position, maintaining a space of about 12 – 18 inch between two plants. Plant slips as soon as you cut them from the mother sweet potato tuber.

Growing Indoors: In case you are looking for information on how to grow sweet potatoes in containers or how to grow sweet potatoes indoors, follow the same tips mentioned above to prepare soil and promote slip formation. And instead of growing a sweet potato slip in garden soil, plant it in a large container (having potting soil) and place it in a sun-lit garden area or a sunny window (indoor gardening). Know more on container gardening.

After Plantation Care: After care of sweet potatoes mainly involves regular irrigation of the plants, especially when they are in the tuber formation stage. A very dry soil (drought) results in small sized tubers, whereas a water-logged soil causes rotting of the sweet potato tubers. In short, you can keep the soil moist, but not wet. Also, keep an eye over weed growth and diseases like root-knot nematodes and wireworms. Know more on weed control.

This was a brief regarding how to grow sweet potatoes in soil. Once the plants get established to the soil, you can harvest the leaves throughout the season. However, frequent removal of leaves is not advisable, as it may reduce the tuber size. In warm regions, sweet potatoes can be harvested within 3 – 4 months after plantation, whereas the growing period is longer in colder areas. An easy way to identify mature plants is checking yellow coloration of the leaves. To harvest sweet potatoes, you can dug the soil around the main stem and gently pull the tubers.

Filed Under: Farming, Techniques, Tips

Fruit Tree Pruning Instructions

June 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Pruning fruit trees will encourage a healthy growth, and increase fruit production. Although, pruning by itself is not difficult, pruning as per the individual fruit tree requirement needs attention. This article gives an overview about fruit tree pruning instructions.

Fruit Tree Pruning Instructions

Fruit trees have a special place in a gardener’s heart as well as in their gardens. For most gardeners, planting a fruit tree, raising it, and watching it bear fruit, is almost similar to watch a child grow and do well. And just as any parent would do all for the child’s growth, the gardener will do all for the fruit tree. Watering, mulching, pruning, fertilizing, spraying pesticide, etc. are some of the things done to help the tree grow better and healthier. Pruning is very important to establish a young fruit tree; whereas for an established tree, pruning will help increase the fruit yield. You may find these fruit tree pruning instructions useful.

Fruit tree pruning guide: Easy steps to fruit tree pruning
While pruning, it is essential to have good garden tools, like different sized sharp garden shears, or pruning saw to make clean cuts. Blunt or rusted shears damage the branches cut, even making them susceptible to diseases. Prune during dormant or after fruit production season is over. There is no need to dress the pruned tips, the trees have their own disease fighting mechanism. In young plants, make cuts close and above to a bud, a joint in the branch, or to the trunk, and always at an angle of 30 degrees. It is preferable to cut back vertical branches than horizontal. This will help the tree to branch out, by producing lateral shoots. Cut out any dead or diseased wood that has entwined itself among the main branches. This will allow for more air circulation, and more sunlight will penetrate through for the branches and leaves. Remove all suckers from around the base of the tree, because as these young shoots grow, they will hamper the mother plant. Once all the pruning is done, clear all debris which can harbor pests and disease.

Fruit tree pruning techniques for optimal yield
For fruit trees to bear large and healthy fruits, their number on the tree should be reduced, this can be done through two ways; branches and fruits. Excess branches should be cut down along with dead or damaged ones. As one is planning to grow larger fruits, it would be best to cut out the weakest branches and leave only the ones which are strong enough to support the weight of fruit. But be careful while pruning, don’t get too ‘snip-happy’, and damage the tree. For the fruit pruning, wait till all fruit buds have developed on the branches. Stand back, and take a look at the branches, that are heavily laden with fruits. Using small, sharp shears, cut back the number of fruits per branches. Prune away the smallest, weakest, spotted or diseased ones first. Do not hurt the other fruits, while cutting back the number of fruits. After cutting, if the stem bleeds or milks, wipe it dry, don’t let it seep onto other fruits.

Fruit tree pruning tips
Besides the common fruit tree pruning instructions, every fruit tree also has individual requirements that need to be looked into. Following are a few guidelines for pruning some of the common fruit trees.

Citrus trees
Citrus trees, such as lime, lemon, orange, grapefruits, etc. are pruned only once they are well established and at least 4 years old. While pruning them, first prune dead branches, and then the long, slender ones. The branches have to be strong to support the fruit, and they should be pruned in such a way, that the sunlight should reach the fruit, in order for them to ripen. Prune every year, after the fruit has ripened.

Avocado trees
Avocado trees can reach a height of 60 feet and spread up to 35 feet wide. So the pruning depends upon the gardener’s requirement. It is preferable to keep them on the shorter side, as it would be difficult to manage the fruit. Avocado pruning bleeds the tree, if the cuts are deeper than three inches, clean it and apply water emulsion paint, to avoid infection to the tree. Prune avocado trees in early spring, and once in a year.

Cherry trees
Cherry trees are slow growers, so they need very little pruning. They should be pruned sparingly in the summer, mainly in order to reduce the spread of silver leaf disease, which occurs on damaged branches. Prune only those branches that are dead, damaged, diseased or are hampering the growth of other branches. As the cherry tree also bleeds, treat all cuts with a disinfecting pruning paste.

Apple trees
A young apple tree should be pruned to encourage lateral shoots. Keep pruning horizontal branches in the upper portion of the tree to maintain a lateral shape. The center of the apple tree should be kept free of growth. Remove all weak or diseased growth. As the apple grows on wood produced the previous year, prune them the least. Prune apple trees in late winter or very early spring, before any new growth sprouts.

Pruning a young tree is different from mature fruit tree pruning. Start pruning earlier, to not only encourage new growth but also give shape to the fruit tree. Armed with the above fruit tree pruning instructions, one can never go wrong!

Filed Under: Farming

Pruning Pear Trees

June 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Although pear trees are one of the most easy to care and maintain fruit bearing trees, many people find it difficult to prune them. Hence, the article ‘pruning pear trees’ provides information on when and how to prune a pear tree.

Pruning Pear Trees

A pear tree is a fruit bearing tree that belong to the genus Pyrus and family Rosaceae. It is a perennial tree that bears edible, pomaceous fruit and has a floral structure similar to the apple tree which belongs to the same subfamily Maloideae or Spiraeoideae. It is an easy to grow tree that grows well in well drained fertile soil, and requires full sunlight. Late winter or early spring is the best time to plant the tree, and being less prone to pest and disease, the pear tree live longer than an apple tree. Though the tree has a high tolerance to dryness, for better yield it is recommended to water the tree regularly.

Pruning a Pear Tree

Now when it comes to pruning fruit trees, most of us get stuck deciding which is the right time and method of pruning. Though many of us think that pruning an apple or pear tree is more or less the same, truth is there are certain parameters in which both the trees vary that need to be considered while pruning pear trees. Unlike apple trees, pear trees bear their fruits closer to the main branches and since their branches are not as strong as the apple trees, one shouldn’t hurry in pruning and should wait for the most appropriate time. Hence, in the coming sections we will learn when and how to prune a pear tree.

When to Prune a Pear Tree?
Though the best time to prune a pear tree is in winter when the tree is dormant, you can consider pruning the tree in the late summer if the tree wood has hardened and the tree has completed growing for the year around this time. You can also prune the tree periodically when it is young as this will keep the tree from growing too long and will make it easier to reach the fruit on the upper branches. For optimum yield, maintain a regular pruning schedule as this will provide the tree a healthy growing environment.

How to Prune a Pear Tree?
Pruning a pear tree is not as difficult as it seems to be. Do not hurry and avoid doing any major pruning before the spring. However, if you notice any broken or diseased branches, prune or remove them during any time of the year. Use proper pruning shears and keep your cuts clean. Avoid cutting very close to the main branches or the trunk. In case, you thinned the tree in the previous year, wait for a couple of years before thinning or pruning it again.

Remove or prune the shoots that spring up around the tree and even trim the branches that are not pointing upwards. Also prune or trim the branches that are very close to each other. Any part of the tree that doesn’t receive enough sunlight and is not going to yield, it is better to trim it off. In case, the tree develops whorls between the branches, cut them off. After pruning your pear tree make sure you clear the area from the pruned off material and rotting debris. For more assistance you can also read about fruit tree pruning instructions.

Pear trees usually have a nice natural shape which you just have to maintain by providing a health growing environment and performing timely pruning. Hence, just wait for the right pruning time and use a proper technique for pruning, i am sure you will be benefited with some delicious and healthy pears every year. I hope the information given in this article on pruning pear trees proves to be helpful in clearing your doubts on how and when to prune a pear tree.

Filed Under: Farming