Gardens vegetable, flower or other?

[Mycroft]

Gardening help needed

Ok, I did not put this in the regualr forums because it was irrelevent, in my opion to the Golden Era, I just need help. I want to make an indoor herb garden for my desk out of an aquarium. Anyone done this or heard of this? Is it possible? Any tips?

 

[Siirous]

Now, I don't know a whole lot about herbs, but I know a ton about freshwater aquariums. What might be cool if you are using a big enough aquarium is to put a shelf on one side with all your herbs on one half and have it slope down to the other side and you can have a shallow pool for frogs or small fish (sorry, I love the fish more than the plants )

You are going to have to be careful with plants like that in an aquarium tank though, reason being is that if you overwater you cannot drain the excess out like most pots. Your going to want to start with a layer of pebbles or aquarium gravel (fairly thin). Then probably a fertilizer of some kind and then the soil. Use a water spray bottle so you can mist on the water. This will avoid disturbing your soil layers. Keep some kind of top on the aquarium to keep moisture in (water will condensate sometimes), and open it up to let your plants air out at your own discretion. Do some research to see what kind of moisture/sunlight the herbs you want to keep need and make judgement calls on how often to water and what sunlight to place the aquarium in and other caretaking techniques as you see fit.

Good luck!

Rob

 

[Siirous]

Almost forgot!

Your soil should be 2+ inches thick. Make sure they have enough room for their roots to grow! Also since your probably going to want to eat the herbs (Not a problem I usually encounter in my aquariums ) You might want to check with a garden department where you purchase your herbs or someone with edible plant knowledge about a friendly fertilizer, or if they even use a fertilizer at all. I usually put down fertilizer, but I usually don't eat my plants so I don't know what's safe for edible plants.

Sincerely,
Rob

 

[Mycroft]

Thanks a bunch man, I think the fish will stink up my room. What do you recomend for artificial sunlight?

 

[MissQueenie]

As for indoor sunlight, you can find a sunny window or buy UV lamps. I've been told some smoke shops sell UV growing lights (presumably to grow herbs of another variety indoors), but it might be worth looking into if you really can't find a sunny spot inside for them.

Also, when I was living abroad, my host mother grew herbs in a big pot in a window, but I noticed that there were always a lot of tiny flying insects in the soil which was a bit yucky. I don't know if that was an Irish thing or not, but it's something to think about -- if it was a moisture issue, it might be increased with an aquarium garden.

~ Q.

 

[Siirous]

A bit more tricky

Lighting is a more tricky thing for terrariums than it is for aquariums. Reason being is that the water in an aquarium will absorb a lot of the heat from the bulb whereas air will not- so too much light and you'll burn your plants, to little and you'll deny them growth. I've always lit an aquarium so your best bet is to look on websites that talk about terrarium construction:

Although they talk about carnivorous plants, this is kinda interesting:
http://www.pitcherplant.com/terrarium.html

Growing herbs indoors (although they don't talk about a lot of lighting):
http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/indoorherbs.html
http://doityourself.com/herbs/growingherbsindoors.htm

I suspect that freshwater aquarium lights will probably work for you since they work fine for underwater plants, but as one of those sites recommends you need to keep them suspended above your plants so you dont burn/overexpose them. As for the amount of watts you need I'm really not sure, you should see if you can find out how much light the herbs you want to grow take.

Good luck!

Rob

 

[Trickeration]

You can grow things in aquariums with good drainage like Siirous posted earlier, but I've found they have an overall shorter lifespan than in a pot as bacteria builds up faster.

I've grown herbs indoors a little, but they seem to prefer the outdoors and well drained soil. Chives did alright in a pot in the window, as did basil which I love to have on hand in the kitchen.

Carnivorous plants are great indoors, and don't mind as much if the container they're in gets a little icky from poor drainage. I haven't tried artificial lights, though, I had a good window shelf in my old house. I had 7 different carnivorous plants living in that window, and they were often a great converstion piece. But when we moved, they all died. I've tried more, but they don't seem to like this house no matter where I put them.

Now you've got me in the mood to start planting stuff, too. I never remember to start seeds soon enough. Best of luck with the garden! Trix

 

[Siirous]

You can grow things in aquariums with good drainage like Siirous posted earlier, but I've found they have an overall shorter lifespan than in a pot as bacteria builds up faster.

This is a really good point, and something you should look into in terrarium/hydroponic forums, MyCroft. Most of my experience is with underwater plants, a different ball game when bacteria and fungus is concerned!

Sincerely,
Rob

 

[Mycroft]

Wow, thanks for the links, info. I am thinking of parsley, mint, rosemary, and dustymillers. Any other you think that would be cool?

 

[Siirous]

Every herb garden needs some basil!

Sincerely,
Rob

 

[Mycroft]

Every herb garden needs some basil!

Sincerely,
Rob

I,I captain!!

 

[scotrace]

Let's See Your Garden!

Gotta love Springtime. I am a total sucker for big displays of color and bloom. Ours is an early 20th century home, so we've tried to keep the landscape not-too-perfect and use older species.
I certainly hope to see our members in the British Isles showing us their lovely gardens here...

Yashino Cherry in front, Eastern Redbud behind:

In my neighborhood, a Sweet Crabapple (Garland Tree):

 

[BellyTank]

Rednut... Crapapple- yadda-yadda...

...what kind of roof tiles are on that house across the street???

B
T

 

[scotrace]

Within the familiar, surely...

Why, they're Ass Fault.

 

[BellyTank]

I like yer shrubbery.

I don't have a garden here on the 5th floor- but.

B
T

 

[Viola]

I LOVE your yashino cherry, Scotrace!

I'm going to have to get my camera out before my dark-purple "black" tulips stop blooming. The azaleas just started - I love the old varieties which have scent.

 

[jamespowers]

This is a shot of the whole front yard. You can get a general idea of what is there. The stuff on either side has been trimmed though. Don't you love it when your neighbors care less about their yard then you do? :rage:

Regards,

J

 

[Twitch]

I've gone for the jungle look in the back of my place with tropicals and ferns all over. This isn't the best pic but our cat Xena is on the jacuzzi in the "jungle."

 

[Hannigan Reilly]

...what kind of roof tiles are on that house across the street???

Why, they're Ass Fault.

This gets funnier every time I read it.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I like yer shrubbery.

This also sounds rather funny.