Advantages of Hydroponic Gardening

There are several advantages to indoor hydroponic gardening over conventional gardening. It is especially the case for the small scale gardener or hobbyist. For some these advantages may mean the difference between being able to garden and not being able to garden.

February in the garden

Hydroponic gardening indoors means the climate is much easier to control. Many live in a climate where it is difficult to impossible to grow at certain times of the year due to the excessive heat or the extreme cold. In some climates it takes constant care even after planting season finally starts to protect young seedlings from late frosts or pelting rains. Even high winds can be damaging at times to young plants. What is the weather like when you are starting your garden at the beginning of the year? For many it is necessary to get out there as soon as the soil is workable and temperatures are still very low. How about the temperature in the heat of summer? In many areas this is almost unbearable and plants must be covered so they don’t wilt. 

There are far fewer pests to control. All of God’s creatures love to eat tender plants as much as we do. Everything from little green caterpillars, aphids and leaf miners to rabbits, woodchucks and even deer enjoy a hearty salad it would seem. Of course there are ways to deal with each one. Various fences can be built. Bugs can be sprayed for, even organically but the need for this constant vigilance is far less with indoor hydroponic gardening.

Bok Choy and Violas in a Hydroponic Bin

Weeds are nonexistent. As most hydroponic systems are soil-less, there is just no place for weeds to grow. With indoor hydroponic gardening, it is much more difficult for unwanted seeds to reach an indoor site to germinate in say a perlite or coco coir grow medium. Plants are generally grown in individual containers or individual net pots in hydroponic bins, lengths of PVC pipe or plastic buckets.

Indoor gardening is far less strenuous. Outdoors there is digging to do, fences to build, maybe even raised beds to build and fill with dirt. This is all great if you are able and that is what you are looking for. If not indoor hydroponic gardening is a great option. 

Many people do the outdoor gardening during the times of the year when it is possible but keep an indoor hydroponic garden all year round. This gives them the best of both worlds. They will get the hard work, fresh air, and sunlight of an outdoor garden and the simplicity, ease of operation and convenience of indoor hydroponic gardening.

Enjoy a Nice Salad Any Time of Year

It is a great joy to be able to walk downstairs and pick a fresh organic salad in the middle of winter. Even tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers can be grown indoors although they take up a bit more space than greens like kale and arugula. 

Hydroponic gardening is also a great solution for those who just do not have the space in an urban environment or an apartment or condo situation. Plants can be grown in even a small 5 gallon tote with a fish tank air bubbler in a sunlit window or under an inexpensive grow light. Even a few compact fluorescent bulbs will work as lighting for many plants.

Get Growing Now

You might like to check out hydroponic gardening if you think you would enjoy weed free, virtually pest free, less labor intensive indoor gardening all year round. Maybe you are excited to start producing fantastic vegetables but fear that you do not have the expertise or the patience, then there is a solution that can make things very simple for you. You can skip the trial and error stage and start producing amazing crops immediately. Hydroponics101 has compiled a simple course that can make your learning curve much easier. Check it out by here and happy growing.

Why I Grow Food Hydroponically

Outdoor Gardening Is Ok But...

Recently, after a bout with stage four lymphoma, an aggressive type of cancer I'm told, I became increasingly interested in eating a healthy diet and even growing my own food. At first I started my endeavors in a conventional garden. As I set about to do this I began to discover there was a bit of a learning curve associated with gardening, especially outdoor gardening. There were bugs, trees blocking the sun and a whole host of other problems to be overcome.  As I researched the solutions to my gardening problems, I happened upon the idea of hydroponic gardening. There was also a learning curve associated with hydroponic gardening but not nearly as steep.  

I immediately began scouring the internet for articles and videos on how to garden and grow organic food hydroponically. There are more than a few and I had the time on my hands while I was recovering from my treatments. Soon I felt I had enough knowledge to try my hand at this new project.

My First Hydroponic Bin

Hydroponic gardening is not at all difficult and a beginner can get started with very little expense, although a look at the website of any local hydroponic store will tell you that there is plenty of money to be spent for those who must have all the latest and best gear. I began my first “deep water culture” with an inexpensive storage bin that was lying around, a fish-tank bubbler and air-stone, some homemade lights, some plastic solo cups and some hydroton and nutrient from an internet auction site.

Baby Veggies In My Expanded System

I took some seedlings that I had started in my kitchen window and didn’t have room for outside and stuck them in my newly created hydroponic setup and the results amazed me. Not only did they survive, they thrived. Soon they were much much larger and healthier than those I was growing outside. I was sold. Soon I was sustainably harvesting Italian kale, collard greens and even a cucumber. Admittedly there were plants that didn’t make it and each mistake was a lesson not to be repeated. It is not difficult to tell when the plants are happy and when they are not.

Red Kale Starting to Take Off

I also immediately began expanding my hydroponic system. I bought several more bins this time from a restaurant supply store and some larger lights and began to set up something on a slightly larger scale. I also got some four gallon buckets that a local restaurant was throwing away, some perlite and some PVC pipe and began to grow tomatoes, goji berries and even a pineapple in a "Dutch bucket hydroponic system". 

Pineapple in a Dutch Bucket

The actual upkeep of the systems takes very little time each day. I merely refill the bins with nutrient solution from time to time and harvest the leaves and tomatoes when I make a salad. I am not yet able to grow all of the food we eat but I am able to supplement our needs with some of the best tasting healthiest foods on the planet. I know where it came from and no one has touched them but me.

Hydroponic Veggies Grow Faster

Because I had the time, I was able to learn in that way but not everyone has the kind of time on their hands to scour the internet for articles and how to videos. Sure you can buy organically grown food if you want to and we do that as well but there is something therapeutic about growing and handling the plants yourself. I have discovered that no food tastes as good as the food you grow yourself hydroponically.  

Get Growing Now

If you are excited to start producing fantastic vegetables but fear that you do not have the expertise or the patience, then there is a solution that can make things very simple for you. You can skip the trial and error stage and start producing amazing crops immediately. Hydroponics 101 has compiled a simple course that can make your learning curve much easier. Check it out by here and happy growing. 

Tesla’s Success With Free Energy Lives On

Nikola Tesla

Free energy offers a number of dependable and effective solutions to produce enough energy to meet the requirements of your household, without paying costly and ever increasing monthly electricity bills. If you have not heard of free energy before, you might think of this as a crazy idea. In that case, you might be surprised to hear that the basic idea behind free energy solutions can be traced back to over a century, right to a brilliant invention by the renowned scientist and inventor, Nikola Tesla.

Even as early as 1899, Tesla had invented a device called the magnifying transmitter. This device could convert radiant energy in the atmosphere to electrical energy without any additional resource for its operation. This should have been a revolutionary invention, as it meant providing electricity to millions and millions of people with very little or no cost at all.

However, the inventor was dependent on an investor, J. P. Morgan, for financial support for his project. Once Morgan realized the full implication of Tesla’s invention, the wealthy financier was more alarmed than pleased, as it meant loss of millions of dollars in terms of profit for electric companies. He immediately refused any further assistance to the development of the transmitter. Furthermore, he used his influence among other investors to make sure that no one provided any financial support for Tesla. And worst of all, the inventor's laboratory was found burned to the ground, though no evidence was found to indict the investor. That was the end of Tesla’s dream of free energy for everyone.

 Free Energy Solutions Live On

Well, in some ways, it was; and in other ways, it was not. The electric companies got what they wanted. Free energy remains a mystery to most common people to this day. The power companies keep getting millions and billions of dollars of profit every year. But even amid such setbacks, Nikola Tesla refused to give in completely. He no longer had the money to develop his magnifying transmitter the way he had intended but he was still able to construct a miniature version of it. The scaled down version of the device could not produce energy in huge amounts. But it still provided the much needed proof of concept of its working.

That was more than enough to keep Tesla’s invention alive! A few scientists, engineers, and even hobbyists, gained interest in Tesla’s invention; and soon, more people were inventing devices for free energy based on one principle or another. The trend caught on, albeit among a minority of people, and now we have a century of research, analysis, invention, and improvement on a number of methods to produce electricity from free energy resources. Free energy solutions to your everyday energy needs do exist although they may never be produced on large commercial scale. Even with their abundant money, power, and influence, and despite their best efforts, the electric companies have not been able to completely quell the concept of or inventions to harness free energy! They live on in the work of independent minded inventors, hobbyists and DIYers who have been able to duplicate and even improve on the legacy that Nikola Tesla left for us hidden in plain sight.

There is a great free newsletter available if you are interested in finding out more about free energy solutions to your energy needs here.

 Plan to Survive Any Eventuality

Steps to Surviving an Active Shooter

After every shooting incident, administrators across the country pledge to review their lock-down plans and many cry out for new, additional gun-control measures. However, most people never learn the recommended response to active shooter incidents. Rather than sensationalize the shooter and the tragedy, we should be teaching people how to react when the unthinkable happens.

Survive an Active Shooter

In October 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security developed training for the general public regarding how to respond to active shooter incidents. The training was developed following the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007. The concepts behind the recommended active shooter responses are easy yet they all but unknown to most of the public.are

If you hear shots fired, you have an immediate decision to make to save your life and maybe even the lives of those nearby. You must decide between one of three options. You can evacuate, hide or take decisive action and fight back. You will want to be prepared in advance to take any of these actions.

If you can safely leave the area, you should evacuate. There is no need to hide or stay around an area where there is a shooter if you can immediately and safely evacuate the area. It is OK to run! Unless you are a trained law enforcement officer you don’t necessarily need to stay in harm’s way. It is a good idea to take note of any exits or stairwells and have a plan of escape in mind. If you hear shots fired down the hall or in another area of the building, you may be able to immediately escape and cal 911. Time is of the essence and you must make the decision to evacuate after listening to determine where the shots are coming from. As you leave the building, if you see law enforcement, make sure to show your hands and follow instructions if any are given.

Be Ready for Anything

If evacuation is not possible, hide. Get out of the hallways. You should barricade yourself in a room, if possible. Close and lock all doors and windows. It may also be wise to place obstacles near the door which slow the shooter down and give even a second or two of distraction to the shooter. Close any blinds or curtains and turn off the lights. Find a hiding spot where you will be concealed. If possible, take cover behind items that may stop a bullet and get as low to the ground as you can with your arms and legs pulled in tight to your body. In the military and law enforcement, anything that can stop a bullet is called “cover.”

While hiding, silence your cell phone or pager. You do not want to draw attention to yourself. If possible, do not choose a hiding place that traps or restricts your options for movement. If police officers bang on the door and tell you to come out, you have some decisions to make. How do you know whether or not they are law enforcement or the shooter? Some officers are trained to put their badge under the door so occupants know it is actually the police at the door. You may not want to yell back at law enforcement because that could give your position away to an impostor. It will be your decision to make whether you remain hiding when you observe enough signs and you have reached the conclusion that it is now safe to come out.

Finally, as a last resort and only when you feel your life is in imminent danger, fight back, take action against the shooter. Use whatever you can, such as a fire extinguisher, chairs, vases, or anything else to try to incapacitate the shooter. If possible, work as a team with others to stop the shooter. Act with physical aggression and do not stop until the shooter is unable to continue firing.

 Surviving an Active Shooter

The City of Houston, Texas recently made an educational training video called “Run, Hide, Fight” to demonstrate these survival techniques. Although it is recommend that adults watch this video, potential viewers should be aware that the video could be considered graphic in nature. The video shows an actor shooting several people at close range with a shotgun. Parental discretion might be recommended for children with regards to this video.

What Should You Do When You Hear Gunshots

When you make contact with law enforcement during an active shooter incident (either because you run towards them while you are trying to evacuate or they enter the room in which you are hiding), always show your hands. Police officers and sheriff deputies do not know that you are not the shooter. They do not know if there are multiple shooters. Do not be surprised if you are searched or questioned. It is possible that shooters can hide among innocent victims trying to escape capture. Law enforcement may run right past you without stopping. They are trained to respond to the sound of the shots being fired so that they can engage the shooter. Don’t stop evacuating just because you see police or swat team members. Always follow any instructions given to you by law enforcement officials.

Notice how there is no lock-down option given? Lock-down is a procedure that originated with prison riots. If there was a disturbance in the prison like a fight or riot, the guards would lock-down the prison, withdraw the remaining guards, and wait for reinforcements to arrive to break up the riot. These lock-down procedures were not intended to protect inmates but merely to safely remove the guards and wait for reinforcements. It is common during prison riots for the guards to set up a perimeter and wait for back-up.

Armed Police Guard School

Following the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, law enforcement across the country changed their tactics for responding to active shooter incidents. In 1999, the best practice for any type of hostage situation was to form a perimeter and wait for a Special Weapons and Tactics or SWAT team to arrive. Columbine changed everything, though. As patrol officers formed a perimeter, the two active shooters in Columbine never stopped firing. Rather than a hostage situation, where time is on the side of law enforcement and there is a standard operating procedure involving trained negotiators, active shooter incidents are rapidly evolving situations with an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a public, well populated area. There will often be no pattern or method to their selection of victims. The active shooter just wants to kill and kill publicly and never intends to survive the incident.

Law enforcement officers are trained to immediately enter wherever the active shooter is and move to the sound of gunfire. They no longer set up a perimeter and wait for back-up. We should all re-evaluate whether or not lock-down tactics are best for our schools, businesses, etc. Please understand that in some circumstances, lock-down procedures may be appropriate. For elementary schools, it is unlikely that unarmed teachers may be able to safely lead young children out of the school if they hear shots fired, however, teachers should be trained that evacuation is an option. In hospitals, it may be impossible to move many patients quickly away from a shooter and the best solution for hospitals is often lock-down. It has been suggested that armed guards be stationed in some of these more public locations or that citizens who are of a mind to should legally arm themselves.

Prepare Yourself Today

Everyone should think about what they will do during an active shooter incident and talk to your friends and family about it as well. Don’t allow yourself, your family or your friends to become a victim. Ask if they know about “run, hide, fight” and if they know what to do when they hear shots fired. This type of preparedness just might save lives and even turn the tide against this sort of violence in the future.

First Aid Supplies You Need for a Zombie Apocalypse

Zombie Refugees at the Superdome

You just can’t always count on 911 or medical professionals to be available, especially when there is a large scale disaster caused by natural or man-made events. During the Katrina disaster FEMA stuck people in a stadium without adequate supplies and people were dying of thirst in there and yet not allowed to leave. This is a great reason why it’s important to have your own plan when disaster strikes. For instance, do you know what you can use when Band-Aids from a simple first aid kit just aren’t going to be enough to treat an injury or save a life because they aren’t going to help in the case of more serious injuries, heart attacks or other medical emergencies.

Duct Tape Triage

Two things that you might want to keep on hand at all times are super glue and duct tape. There are quite a few other “non medical” types of supplies that will actually work as well or better than traditional first aid supplies in a pinch, but that's a great start and can be used for a variety of things such as setting bones or in place of stitches. In fact, some doctors now use superglue in place of stitches in many cases.

Flooded Homes During Katrina

Actually you would be surprised at what other sorts of supplies can be utilized in order to stabilize an injury or help someone stay alive. It is a great idea to take first aid classes if they are available, but to really feel confident that you and your family are prepared to survive during a disaster, you may want to go a little deeper than that. Knowing what supplies to have on hand is just the first step. You will also want to learn exactly how to use those supplies when an emergency strikes.

Be Prepared for Any Emergency

Some people get a little squeamish at the thought of having to learn this type of survival skill, but it is worth overcoming a little bit of nausea while learning how to properly apply first aid skills. You will be glad you did in the event that someone you love is hurt or injured. You can learn everything you need to prepare for any emergency that may arise and what type of first aid supplies and common substitutes you might need and how to use them in the Zombie Attack Survival Course.

Zombie Assesses Damage After Shelling In Beirut

This course walks you step by step through first aid considerations and many other topics you may need to know to help your family live through any sort of man-made or natural disaster. Look around your home. Are you ready to go several days without additional food, water or public services. Be prepared for any eventuality. What is it that they say, "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."

Store Food and Water for the Zombie Apocalypse

Zombies Evaluate Earthquake Damage

Zombie apocalypse has often been used as a metaphor for any type of unknown disaster you may experience. When zombie apocalypse is mentioned may scoff or look sideways at the idea but it is important to be ready and have some sort of plan for any eventuality which may occur. These day catastrophe is almost daily in the news from a Hurricane Sandy or Katrina to a potential financial meltdown and civil unrest. Even a crazed shooter in a school or theater is an event you can be prepared to survive.

Most people are about nine meals away from mental meltdown. That's how much food the average family has in their home. The first thing that sells out in stores whenever there is any type of emergency is food and water. If you are prepared you will not have to fight panicking crowds as many did during Hurricane Sandy and possibly come up empty handed. Store shelves can empty in a few hours during a crisis. Make sure you have enough food and water for your family in case there is any type of disaster. Most importantly, make sure it is food that is going to go the distance and prevent food fatigue at the same time.

Have you thought about doing a garden? This is easier than it seems and can even be done if you live in an apartment or in an urban setting with some of the hydroponic or aquaponic setups that you can purchase or even learn how to build yourself with less difficulty and expense than you might think. Food you grow yourself is much healthier than food purchased in the store and you always know exactly where its been and who's handled it. Your sense of accomplishment and self reliance will also grow by leaps and bounds with every small step you take. Do you know which wild plants are edible in your own back yard? If you are like most people, you are weeding them out of your yard and garden and throwing them away.

Food Storage Shelves

Most survival suggestions you find will tell you to have three days worth of food and  water for each member of your family and that is a great place to start, but ideally you will want to have more than that. If you noticed the Hurricane Sandy disaster, people were without utilities for more than eleven days, the stores were either destroyed or sold out and restaurants were certainly not operational. That is a great example how having more than three days worth of food and water for each person can be a smart thing to do. But, starting with a three day supply and working up to more is certainly better than not doing anything.

If you live in an apartment, or small area, you might have to get creative with storing food. Using under the bed areas or even dresser drawers dedicated to food storage can help. You might also want to consider keeping some food supplies in the trunk of your car in a plastic container that won’t melt or be destroyed by the elements.

You can learn more about food and water storage, such as how to prevent food fatigue, what amounts of water is appropriate per person per day and other survival facts in the Zombie Attack Survival Course. This course teaches everything you need to keep your family healthy and protected in any type of emergency or natural or man-made disaster. It not only talks about short term disasters which have become all too commonplace, but also tells you what you need to know to make sure your family stays safe and well through the long haul.

Zombie Apocalypse Is Here. Are You Awake?

2012 Survivor of the End of the World - off topic

You may have heard that the world ended on December 21, 2012 since it was all over the internet and especially the many social networking sites. Most people seem to have survived it in tact and the new world seems quite a bit like the old one. There were prophesies and legends in many cultures speaking of turmoil and destruction but also of purification and rebirth and even an age of enlightenment to come.

I don’t think I know of anyone who actually believed that December 21, 2012 was the literal end of the world. So where did it come from? Why all the fuss about that particular date? Well it seems that there are quite a few legends in various cultures from Mayan folklore to ancient Indian writings to the Christian Bible that can be interpreted to speak of this time as one of great turmoil and tribulation but particularly the Mayan Long Count Calendar which ended its cycle on that date.

The ancient Mayan culture had an elaborate system of calendars which were circular in design. You may have seen the circular depiction of a Mayan calendar carved in stone that has become an icon of their civilization and of this particular apocalypse. When a particular period of time being measured was completed it began again from the beginning. The Mayan Long Count Calendar was approximately 26,000 years long and coincided with certain planetary alignments that it would have been extremely difficult for that ancient culture to have known about. December 21, 2012 was said to be the end of this “world” or cycle and the beginning of a new cycle. Each “world” was said to have ended in great cataclysm followed by the rebirth of the new world. Couple this with the planetary alignments, the position of the earth with respect to the galactic plane known to us as the Milky Way and peoples amazement at the uncanny ability of the ancient Mayans to know this and align their calendar with these occurrences and you can see that this was something that people would take notice of. The Mayans however expected the dawning of a new era and an age of enlightenment.

The Christian Bible tells us that we are in the last days and it says there will be great troubles and tribulation. This plays into the importance of having some idea of when these things might occur. The Bible speaks of some of the wars, rumors or wars, earthquakes and great weather events we have seen lately and it says there will be “signs in the sun and moon and the stars and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and waves roaring”. It is written that “when you see these things happening, you know that the end is near, even at the door”. The book of Revelation mentions a great beast speaking blasphemies against God who puts his mark on the right hand or forehead of all of his followers. It is also noted that “no man knows the day or the hour when the Son of Man (Jesus) will return” and that “if those days were not shortened no one would survive”. We are told that He will return to set up His kingdom on this earth and reign for a thousand years.

All of these things lead us to the conclusion that these are very important times and that this is certainly a time of transition from one age to another but none of these has given a specific date for any given event. If you are reading this then you are a survivor of the latest end of the world phenomenon and you should get a Medal for your bravery or at least have a T Shirt commemorating the event. I also expect that we will need a New Mayan Calendar  to keep track of the times and seasons we are in or at least to keep track of the days, weeks and months ahead.