What are you going to do for drought gardening ? Early summer temperatures are well above normal and many parts of New Zealand are rapidly heading into drought conditions. I have noticed in previous dry years that gardeners often throw in the trowel and simply forget about their vegetable gardens.

However, these conditions are ideal for increasing your gardening by using GreenSmart self-watering planters as these pots were originally designed in Melbourne to cope with extremely dry conditions in the big dry years in the early 2000’s.

Green chillis

Here are some tips.

Save water

Many Councils have now got watering restrictions in place, but they do allow hand watering. Perfect for these smart planters. You can reduce your drought gardening water requirements by 95% in comparison with regular gardening or raised bed gardening.

Remove weeds

My re-used potting mix always seems to end up with weed seeds so the trick is to remove any weeds as they emerge so they don’t take any of your precious water.

Mulch for drought gardening

Add a thick layer of mulch onto the top layer and the thicker the layer, the more moisture will be held in the soil around the plant roots. Even as thick as 3-4 inches of mulch is okay. Mulching also reduces weed growth. I am using cocoa bean husks – it is a waste product from my favourite chocolate bar – Whittakers Peanut Slab !!  The husks smell fantastic when first applied too.

https://www.ablazenz.com/shop/Landscaping+Supplies/Garden+Bark++Mulch/Cocoa+Bean+Husk+Sacks?sku=01493.html

Other mulch ideas : compost, coffee grounds, finely shredded bark, dried lawn clippings.

No drought gardening sketch

Where to add the water?

Normally we advise gardeners to add water through the water gauge to encourage plant roots to go deeper, however, when drought gardening with GreenSmart planters it is worth occasionally hosing the soil from above to ensure that more moisture is able to be held in the soil. This will increase the total water availability and it reduces the temperature of the soil to prevent the plant roots getting baked.

No drought gardening with Myanmar Self watering Gardens

Next month I am travelling to Myanmar/Burma and while there I am going to have a look at these  floating gardens shown in the you tube clip. It is a large scale type of self watering gardening. No drought gardening here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8p0sx4xRd4

The post Drought gardening – don’t throw in the trowel appeared first on GrowGoodNZ.

Organic gardening of interest to you or organic foods and sustainability or maybe you saw us at the August GoGreen Expo in Christchurch or maybe you are not sure about how to grow your own produce this spring?

organic gardening ideas

GoGreen Expo Chch

We have a really simple way to help you grow your own organic vegetables and herbs. Every 3-4 weeks we publish free organic gardening tips on how to grow a seasonal vegetable or herb. Our recent articles have been about how to grow your own mesclun, broccoli, Asian Greens,poppies,Herb garden, Beans, Chilies, Pumpkins. This includes:

• Tips and tricks for planting seasonally and
• suggestions for organic fertilisers,
• ideas for companion plants,
• harvesting tips also what time of year to grow each vegetable or herb and
• what time of year to grow each vegetable or herb and
• organic gardening tips

It is basically “Gardening 101” for urban gardeners who are

• short of time short of space,
• or new to gardening,
• maybe wanting to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

GreenSmart Pots are made from plastic that has been certified as being suitable for food contact. Many people like to utilise re-cycled plastics however we don’t like having growing plants in contact with re-cycled plastics of uncertain origins. We believe that it is better to use virgin plastics that have been verified by an independent third party as being suited to food contact.

This is a recent growing tips article called “Growing Mesclun” with handy tips for growing your own organic Mesclun.

/growing-tips/growing-mesclun-in-a-greensmart-planter/

And here is an earlier one about growing all sorts of Asian greens:

/growing-tips/asian-greens-greensmart-pots-growgoodnz/

3 popular asian greens

Here’s some organic gardening tips for growing your own kale

 /growing-tips/growing-kale/

Kale in GreenSmart Pot

Below is a brief clip explaining all about GreenSmart self watering planters or checkout all our videos here >

You can order at www.growgoodnz.co.nz

Our courier charge is only $15/parcel for South Island urban deliveries and we can fit up to five pots in each parcel.

Happy gardening – it’s good to grow,
Bill.

The post Organic Gardening in Christchurch appeared first on GrowGoodNZ.

Interested in organic foods and sustainability? Maybe you saw us at the April GoGreen Expo in Auckland?

GoGreen

Here is a really simple way to help you grow your own organic vegetables and herbs. Every 3-4 weeks we publish free organic gardening tips on how to grow a seasonal vegetable or herb. Our recent articles have been about how to grow your own broccoli, Asian Greens, Herb garden, Beans, Chilies, Pumpkins. This includes:

• Tips and tricks for planting seasonally
• Suggestions for organic fertilisers
• Ideas for companion plants
• Harvesting tips
• What time of year to grow each vegetable or herb.
• Organic gardening tips

It is basically “Gardening 101” for urban gardeners who are

• short of time
• or short of space
• or new to gardening
• or wanting to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

Here is a recent growing tips article called “Growing Asian Greens” with handy tips for growing your own organic Asian Greens.

/growing-tips/asian-greens-greensmart-pots-growgoodnz/

Bok choy

Or maybe you want some organic gardening tips for growing your own kale

 /growing-tips/growing-kale/

Kale in GreenSmart Pot

Here’s a clip explaining all about GreenSmart self watering planters.

Happy gardening – it’s good to grow,
Bill.

The post Organic Gardening Tips from GoGreen Expo appeared first on GrowGoodNZ.

Growing Tips for Organic Veges and Herbs

Every 3-4 weeks we publish free growing tips on how to grow a seasonal vegetable or herb. Our recent articles have been about how to grow your own chillies, pumpkins, spring onions, micro-greens. This includes:

• 

  GreenSmart pot for organic veges and herbs like this basil

  Tips and tricks for planting seasonally

• Suggestions for organic fertilisers
• Ideas for companion plants
• Harvesting tips
• What time of year to grow each vegetable or herb.

Who is it for?

It is basically “Gardening 101” for urban gardeners who are

• short of time
•  short of space
•  new to gardening
• or wanting to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

Here is a recent growing tips article called “Chilli Seeds are Hot this Summer”- its  about growing your own chillies. Or maybe you want to grow basil.

The post Organic veges and herbs – how to get started appeared first on GrowGoodNZ.

Hydroponics gardening is a technique of growing plants without soil. There are many different versions of hydroponics (eg AutoPot) so let’s have a look at some common factors and then compare them with GreenSmart self watering pots. Many of our commercial hothouse-grown vegetables and herbs are grown in hydroponics systems.

In hydroponics gardening, plants are grown in an inert growing medium which has a perfectly balanced, pH adjusted with nutrient solution delivered to the plant roots in a highly soluble form. So plants are able to readily extract the nutrients for growth. In a soil based garden the plants need to spend energy searching out the right nutrients. With hydroponics gardening more plant energy is directed towards growing more leaves, fruit, flowers etc.

The inert growing medium is the material in which the roots are growing. There are many types: eg perlite, vermiculite, coconut fibre, gravel, sand and these do not provide any nutrition for the plants.

Advantages of hydroponics gardening

The nutrients are all dissolved in the water and it is quick and easy to adjust the pH to suit the growing requirements of the specific crop being grown.

No soil is needed. This is a huge benefit in places where there is no suitable soil.

Easy to harvest

As the system is all controlled there is no nutrient pollution of the surrounding environment.

Crop yields are high.

No weeding

Hydroponics gardening disadvantages

Any failure of the system results in rapid death of plants.

Nutrient pumping systems need close monitoring (blockages, power failure)

The gardener needs to be wary of pathogen attacks on the plants.

The high moisture environment results in higher humidity around the plants which is not ideal for some plants.

Most hydroponic gardening uses non-organic chemical fertilisers

Cost of the equipment is high

The gardener needs a reasonably good knowledge about growing plants.

Here is a website for hydroponics gardening  supplies www.hydroponics.co.nz

GreenSmart pots have a static reservoir of 12 litres of water under the false floor. The water is drawn up to the plant roots by wicking mechanisms. The water level is visible in a water sight glass. The plants are growing in 40 litres of potting mix. Ie the growing medium is potting mix. Organic fertilisers are mixed in with the potting mix and liquid fertiliser can also be added into the water.

Advantages of GreenSmart pots vs hydroponics gardening

Cross section of GreenSmart pot

The gardener does not need a lot of gardening skill

Plants do not need frequent checking

It is easy to create an organic garden.

The plastic is certified by USFDA as being suitable for food contact.

The pots can be shifted eg moved into sheltered position in winter.

The pots do not need daily checking for water.

Regular potting mix can be used as the growing medium.

The potting mix can be re-used for several years.

 Disadvantages of GreenSmart pots vs hydroponics

It takes time to adjust the pH of the potting mix.

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Pots for plants

With pots for plants you can maximise the available growing space,create a thriving garden and avoid some of the  problems associated with other forms of gardening.

By using  the amazing GreenSmartTM pots for plants you can avoid problems associated with other types of pots.

Cross section of GreenSmart pot

These pots have a large 12 litre water reservoir underneath the roots of the plants. The water is ‘wicked’ up to the roots at a rate determined by the plants themselves. So what is wicking?

Wicking gardens are a wonderful and increasingly popular way to grow vegetables. They are self-contained raised beds with built-in reservoirs that supply water from the bottom up – changing how, and how much, you water your beds. Wicking works by capillary action. The same process that you observe when you partially dip a rolled up newspaper into a bucket of water – the water rises up the newspaper by osmosis. This creates a moisture gradient from the reservoir up to the soil around the plants.

Now back to GreenSmart pots for plants. These pots have 40 litres of potting mix sitting above the water reservoir and we start off by pushing potting mix into the eight built-in wicking tubes to make wicks. As the plants use water, the soil becomes drier and the roots automatically draw more water up through the wicks. Water is added into the water sight glass on one end of the pot when the water level gets low.

GreenSmart pots in black, cream and green

Advantages of GreenSmart pots for plants

• They are very water-efficient! Watering from the bottom up prevents evaporation of surface water (which occurs when you water beds from the top). This makes them a great system for using pots for plants in drought-prone areas or during watering restrictions.
• They are self-watering! Wicking pots are an especially great system for people who are not able to frequently check water levels. In the middle of summer, leafy crops like lettuces will only need watering every 7-10 days.
• Take the guess work out of watering.
• They are also very fertiliser-efficient. The fertiliser does not get washed away as happens with a regular garden during heavy rain.
• No evaporation means reduced salting of soil. If you are watering your soils from the top with hard water, you risk accumulating salts, because the water evaporates and leaves the minerals behind. Eventually your soil will struggle to support plant life.
• They provide easy drainage in the event of a large downpour as the pots have several seepage points just below the level of the false floor. It is impossible to flood the roots with too much water.
• Since they’re raised, the ground will warm up quicker in the spring. On a sunny day in winter the soil in a GreenSmart pot is several degrees warmer than the ground.
• You can easily attach cold frames to them.
• They are great for people with less mobility and strength as the pots can be raised up onto a bench (about a metre above the ground)
• The plant roots get more aeration because there is always a pocket of air between the water and the false floor.
• No moving parts.
• The pots are available in three colours: black, green and cream.

How about food safety when using pots for plants?

Some pots are made with recycled plastics. While this might make give us a warm feeling, it has got some risks as it is very difficult for the plastics manufacturer to verify that the plastics are safe.

GreenSmart pots do not contain any recycled plastics. All the plastic is certified by the USFDA (food and drug administration) as being suitable for food contact.

How big is a GreenSmart Pot?

There are two sizes available. The larger pot holds a 40 litre bag of potting mix and has a 12 litre water reservoir.

How about UV damage to pots for plants?

Some plastic pots will quickly become damaged by the harsh New Zealand sunlight and will disintegrate within a few years. GreenSmart pots contain a UV-retardant to reduce UV damage to the plastic.

 Larger scale wicking gardens

If you would like to know more about how to make your own large scale wicking garden then have a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwh2BQ3BBmI

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