Cool Ideas to Decorate Your Garden for Halloween

Whenever Halloween is to get closer, people start to get in to the festivities and search for ways to make their homes extra spooky. The backyard is an ideal target as it only takes some imagination and some free time in order to decorate it in a scary way. This makes your backyard a prime choice for a Halloween garden party. Don’t think that you need to go out and buy brand new items for your backyard, such as a "http://www.yescomusa.com/Canopy-Replacement-Top" gazebo canopy or a new table. Here are a few ideas to help you decorate for Halloween:

1. Backyard Cemetery

What could be scarier and more appropriate for Halloween than a cemetery? You don’t need anything except the tombstones. That is the best part. Place those in the ground and you instantly conjure up the idea of a cemetery in people’s minds. You could get plastic or foam tombstones at various shops, but you can also make your own from some cardboard boxes you have around the house, if you want. All you need to do is cut them in the shape of a paint and tombstone them grey and you are all set.

2. Spooky trees

They could do with some attention, as well, if you have trees in the backyard. You can dangle various things from them such as bats, spider webs etc. or you could give them a pair of eyes, a nose and an evil laugh to make them seem alive.

3. Jack o’Lanterns

The pumpkin will always be an indispensable decoration for Halloween. They can be found all around town come Halloween time or you could make your own if you have some extra time.

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Bygones Be Bygones, Grow Now

Friends were telling me to get some grow lights because I was trying to get a indoor garden going without any of them, and it wasn’t working and I was getting frustrated. You know that feeling where you’re kind of stubborn, you know there’s a solution for what you want to do – which in my case was to grow plants indoors since my apartment has no access to anything resembling a garden – and you know what you’re supposed to do but you just don’t do it. Then your friends hound you and hound you and tell you to get a darn led grow light for once and for all and then finally you do and you have no idea how or why you ever tried to live without them! You know that feeling? That’s what I did, and it’s so insane, I regret every moment of my attempt to grow anything at all without having gotten to equipment. Once I got the lights, I decided to really go for it and get a whole bunch of other stuff I knew I needed, like a whole ventilation system including inline exhaust fans and generators and back up generators and timers and all that stuff. It’s really crazy and I love how much it’s improved everything I’m doing. Gone are the days of trying in vain to grow under just normal lighting. And to think of all the time I wasted and all the good growing I could have done if I’d just listened to my friends years ago. That said, the technology now is way better. But still! I could have been winning growing awards, or being the most beloved grow person on the block. Bygones, let them be bygones, because now I am all those things and so it’s time to make up for lost time!

BedRock Official Music Video

Thanksgiving Break in Madison, Georgia

As you may or may not know, i am currently a student at the University of Georgia. Although my allegiance lies with England (as that is where i spent the first eleven years of my life) i live in Madison, GA when i am not living in Athens. I spent my week of thanksgiving break in Madison with old friends, doing absolutely nothing and loving every second of it.

The New City Park

A new park was recently constructed in Madison as a celebration of the Bi-Centennial birthday of the town. It's really quite impressive and adds a lot to the historic feel of the city (for what it is mainly known for). On thanksgiving day i found myself sitting at the new park, watching passers by go about their daily business. I did this because my family does not celebrate thanksgiving day as most american families do. As i sat in the park and thought about everything that's been happening in my life recently i realized that the fountain of the new park was perfectly aligned with the sun. This was a really cool spectacle, so i decided to take a quick picture of it on my iPhone. To the right is the picture that i took. I thought this was a really cool sight and hope the you do too. If you ever are stopping through Madison or are there on a day when nothing is happening in the town (pretty much any day of the week), take time to stop and watch the people of the town go by. It really will clear your mind and help you think about your own life and in what direction you are heading.

LED Grow-Light Panel

Just yesterday i upgraded my lighting system to a more energy efficient LED Light board. The board is composed of many blue and red lights (using only the spectrums of light that plants absorb) that do not use barely energy at all. Although the are a little expensive to buy, they definitely save a lot of money in the long run in energy bills. Check back soon to see an updated picture of the crops and setup!

Lighting Setup for your Indoor Hydroponic Garden

There are many differnet choices when it comes to artificial sunlight for your indoor Hydroponic Garden. I am currently using two standard fluorescent light bulbs that can bought at any store that sells lights. Fluorescent lights are ideal for IHG's as they are extremely energy efficient, generate a lot of light for their size, and do not generate a lot of heat - taking out the possibility of burning your plants. Of course, if you are going to be a serious gardener and grow multiple plants it is a good idea to invest in some specialized grow lights that will generate large amounts of lumens (the measure by which lights are described as far as artificial sunlight is concerned). The more lumens per square foot of garden, the better! It's just like air in you DWC system, you can never have too much. In this post i will present the best kind of light for your money, making your Hydroponic Garden as cost and energy efficient as it can be.

An important way to contain light is to place the gardening system inside a relatively small, enclosed space (like a large closet or specially designer "grow room"). The walls of the "grow room" should be painted matte white, or, preferably lined with reflective materials such as mirrors - aluminum foil is one method that people use, yet it is not a very ideal since it is more of a temporary fix.

Another important factor to consider is the spectrum of the lights which you are buying. As plants naturally grow outdoors where the sunlight changes in many ways (from the length of the day to the spectrum of light emitted), it is necessary to consider theses factors as you purchase lights. For my small indoor garden (consisting of two 5 Gallon DWC systems), i have recently purchased three 8U fluorescent lights - two in the "red" spectrum (2700K) and on in the "blue spectrum" (6500K). It is important to use more light from the blue spectrum during the vegetative phase than it is to use light from the red spectrum. During flowering, both spectrums of light can be used, although more light from the red spectrum will yield better produce for all species of plants.

8U Fluorescent Lights - The Best Option for Energy Efficiency and Growth

After many weeks of research, i have come to the conclusion that high intensity 8U Fluorescent lights are the best option for plant development. They are not too expensive (around $50 per light) and are sold as "self ballasting" lights (meaning that it is not necessary to purchase a separate ballast to run the light). Each bulb produces an incredible 19,500 lumens and does not generate a lot of heat in the process - meaning that you can place the lights as close to the plants as you'd like without having to worry about burning the produce. Placing lights close to plants will encourage extremely fast growth - as much as 3-4" a day in some cases! Posted at left is a picture of these bulbs. Each bulb runs at 250w of energy, saving you a lot of money on your energy bill compared to other forms of artificial lighting.

In conclusion, the 8U Fluorescent lights are definitely the best option for a small, home gardening system. If you are gardening as a hobby or just for the taste of home-grown vegetables, the 8U lights will serve the purpose and not break the bank in the process! Check back for more information on Hydroponic Gardening for the hobbyist and for updates on pictures of my crops.

Hydroponic Gardening for the Beginner

Although i have always been a part-time gardener, i have recently decided to take mother nature into my own hands and try this upcoming method of Hydroponic Gardening. From my research i have found that a plants life cycle is significantly reduced, as it is possible to control the stages of a plants life. With the use of artificial sunlight (there are many different types of lights that work for growing pants, but the simplest and most energy efficient are definitely Fluorescent Lights) it is possible for the gardener to control the length of time it takes for the plant to go through the vegetative and flowering stages. This blog post is a simple introduction to the world of Hydroponic gardening using the simplest of all systems, a DWC (Deep Water Culture) system, built using simple household products. Here is a list of materials that you will need to construct your simple DWC system for under $25!

Materials
A standard 5 gallon Bucket with a lid (preferably black, as Algae is prone to grow in buckets that are translucent).
A standard aquarium pump with two air outlets (a 5-15 Gallon size is appropriate, but anything bigger won't do any damage! )

Length of aquarium pump tubing suitable to your setup
Two blue air pump rocks (the plastic blue stones that attach to the tubing from the air pump and evenly disperse the air). Now in the picture displayed is the ideal kind of air-stone to purchase because it sits perfectly in the bottom of the 5 Gal Bucket, though they are slightly more pricy and are not sold at stores such as Walmart, You'll have to visit a specialized store or my good friends at The LA Shop.




One large mesh bucket, or three small mesh buckets (bought from a hydroponic store or from an online dealer)

One bag of Hydrton expanded clay pebbles.

One large or three small blocks of Rockwool (the fluffy medium used to anchor the plants in the Hydroton pebbles and start seedlings)

A set of Hydroponic nutrients (I recommend General Hydroponics's set of "Grow, Micro, and Bloom")

Construction
The DWC method of hydroponic Farming is so effective because of its ability to constantly provide the roots of the plants with plenty of Oxygen. The nutrients will be necessary to put in the water of the bucket in which the roots of the plants will be suspended (as hydroponic systems do not require soil as a medium for growth). With all of these materials, follow the instructions below to construct your simple design:

1. Drill either one hole (for the large mesh bucket) or three holes (for the smaller mesh buckets) in the lid of the 5 gallon bucket. make sure that the holes are not so big that the mesh buckets fall through, you want the lip of the mesh bucket to sit snug in the hole.

2. Cut the length of tubing into two equal halfs so they reach from the pump to the bottom of the bucket. Drill two holes as close to the top of the bucket as possible (in the ridge where the lid goes) so they are big enough for the plastic tubing to fit through. Push one end of each tube into air pump and push the other ends through the holes in the bucket. Insert the ends of the tubing that are in the bucket into the blue air stones, but do not turn the pump on yet!

3. Clean out the bucket with warm water and soap and insert the mesh bucket(s) into their holes. Strain and wash the hydroton clay pebbles and put a thin layer into the bucket(s). Place the Rockwool cube into the mesh bucket and then fill the gaps between the rockwool and sides of the mesh bucket with more washed hydroton pebbles. (your seed will be placed into the rockwool cube for germination)

4. Remove the lid and fill the bucket with lukewarm water so that the water level is just above the bottom of the mesh buckets. Plug in the air pump and then add the necessary nutrients (see the table below for a perfect all-around General Hydroponics nutrient solution)

Vegetative Stage (ml per Gallon)
GH "Grow" - 0ml "Micro" - 5ml "Bloom" - 10ml
Flowering Stage
GH "Grow" - 0ml "Micro" - 6ml "Bloom" - 16ml

Here are two pictures of my current DWC system with a pansy flower in it. Amazingly, this plant is only 2 and a half weeks old! So far the magic of the Hydroponic system is pretty amazing. The second picture is a view from the top, showing the mesh buckets and hydroton pebbles. As you can see, i chose to use 3 small mesh buckets to hold more plants for the 5 Gallons of water.

This concludes the tutorial on how to make your DWC bucket system. It is a good idea to run the pump for 24 hours a day, although it is not necessary. just remember, the more oxygen the better!

Check back soon to get more information on Lighting and PH level monitoring.

Google AdSense

Hoorah! Today is a good day. This morning i found that i had been approved by Google AdSense, and therefore, am now making money from my hobby of blogging. This is a great addition to my blog and was not difficult to set up. Simply follow the tips that were in my last post and you should be approved in no time. Good luck and happy bloging!

Monetize Your Blog

As a fairly new blogger with little knowledge about making money off a blog, i was recently declined by google adesnse. I thought that AdSense was available to everyone who started a blog and was puzzled by my denial of an account. I started to research about why this may have been and discovered that to be granted an account with google adsense, your blog had to be decently developed. There are a few major points to consider before applying for an account with google adsense and start making some serious money from your blog. Here are a few tips:

Post posts everyday and write about a topic that interests you and one that will be sure to be read by others.

The more traffic your site gets, the more chance you have of being approved by AdSense. This means making your site appealing and tracking your traffic with a free GOOGLE ANALYTICS account - it might be the the most handy tool for someone who needs to know the amount and source of their traffic.

Make the design of your website appealing. An asthetically appeasing blog is sure to keep your readers on your site.

Visit other blogs and leave a link to yours in their comment boxes. Dont just do this to leave a link but contribute toa post and youll be sure to get redirected traffic.

These are just a few tips for making your site a Hight Traffic site. You'll be approved by AdSense in no time and be on your way to making EASY MONEY!

Is Obama the Anti Christ?

I found a ridiculous video on Youtube today. Im not sure how i came across it but it is pretty cool. Although this video makes many farfetched assumptions, it still makes you think...It's hard to believe that something with this much evidence is merely a coincidence. lol. It's worth sitting through though. Check it out