When is a Lily Not a Lily?Written by Bev Boorer
When is a Lily Not a Lily? © Bev Boorer It might surprise some people to know that daylily is not a true lilium. It is called a lily because flowers resemble those of lilium genus. A native of Asia, botanical name of this herbaceous perennial is Hemerocallis. The beautiful blooms only last one day, but because each plant bears so many flowers, it still manages to have a flowering period of over six months. Each clump of daylilies has many flower stalks and each stalk can bear up to fifty flowers. Daylilies are ideal flower to grow in anyone’s garden. They are flood, drought and frost hardy and those that become dormant in winter even survive snow. They are not susceptible to disease, don’t mind seaside conditions and are not fussy about soil type. They don’t mind shade, either, but will flower better in full sun. What more could one ask of a plant? A good colour range? Daylilies have that, too. These days, daylilies come in not just yellow and orange, but a huge variety of colours. Some are even bi-coloured. There are big round ones, triangular, ruffled and laced white ones, some have watermarks, others have fancy eyes. What a variety! And they have as diverse a range of size as they do colour and shape. The smallest flowers are 3cm across, while largest make 20cm. Foliage can range from under 30cm to over 1.5m. The smaller varieties with grass-like foliage are quite suitable for borders, and all should be planted about 60 cm apart with crown at ground level. Fertilise and mulch well for best performance. Potted daylilies can be planted into garden at any time of year, but if you buy bare-rooted ones from nursery, then late winter/early spring is a good time to plant them, and again in late summer through autumn. This avoids absolute hottest and coldest parts of Aussie year.
| | Introduction to AquaponicsWritten by Kirk Gordon
Hydroponics and aquaponics are very similar in every way except hydroponics requires addition of fertilizer and there’s no fish in nutrient solution.In aquaponics, plants and fish live a symbiotic life with fish feeding plants, and plants cleaning and filtering fish’s environment. The fish waste becomes plant’s food source, consequently, plants’ roots filter water and keep tank clean. In essence, aquaponics could be considered a miniature ecosystem because both plants and fish are thriving in same environment. Aquaponics offer benefits to both Gardener’s and Fish Farmers. Fish Farmers may utilize aquaponics if they have difficulty disposing nutrient rich fish water, while hydroponics growers benefit from having a constant supply of free plant food – eliminating need to purchase commercial fertilizers. Unlike hydroponics or aeroponics, aquaponics is still a relatively new cultivation technique. As more technology is developed and process is refined, it could potentially become a space and money saving process for producing fish, vegetables and herbs.
|
