The Toll Men

For anyone interested in the hundreds of plant species native to the Southern Appalachians, Asheville NC vacation rentals make for perfect getaways.

For one thing, the city is home to the Botanical Gardens at Asheville at 151 W.T. Weaver Boulevard. By calling 828-252-5190, visitors can learn more about the gardens’ more than 600 species of native plants including trees, shrubs, grasses, vines, wildflowers and moreincluding more than 50 uncommon, rare or endangered species.

Another excellent site for view native plants is the North Carolina Arboretum at 100 Frederick Law Olmstead Way in Asheville (828-665-2492). Covering 434 acres within an easy drive of all Asheville NC vacation rentals, the Arboretum includes 65 acres of cultivated gardens. These gardens include a quilt garden, a bonsai collection, a heritage garden, a stream garden, a canopy walk, a native azalea collection and much more.

Of course, the Asheville area is famous in no small way for the Biltmore Estate, including its gardens designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Known as the father of American landscape architecture, Olmsted was famous for his urban park designs including Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City. Biltmore employs experts who work constantly to preserve Olmsted’s vision for the estate, which includes the formal Italian Garden, more than 250 varieties of roses, and the country’s first managed forests.

One of the area’s most unique floral displays comes in mid to late Jane at Milepost 364 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. One of the most popular attractions in the region for visitors who stay in Asheville NC vacation rentals, Craggy Gardens features the pink and purple blooms native rhododendron at an elevation of more than 5,000 feet. Even when not in bloom, the rhododendrons are spectacular. Visitors will find other native plants at Craggy Gardens, too, such as mountain laurel, flame azalea and blueberries as well as wildflowers, grasses and heath evergreens.

Although it takes about 30 minutes to drive to Craggy Gardens from central Asheville NC vacation rentals, the area has a visitor center, a picnic area and trailmaking it a garden were visitors can plan to stay for a while and enjoy hiking and picnicking in addition to viewing the native plants before heading back down the mountain.

These sites were critical to my safety and energy starting a little while ago. And wanted to share these good websites with you. I can’t believe how these sites helped me recently.

Camping Tents

A couple days ago we got back from camping. We were going to meet some friends up at a trail in the mountains and hike in to camp. The web makes it so much faster and easier to find the right camping tents for a camping trip. Paid extra for expedited shipping just in case. You never know what shipping will be like. Sometimes I worry when I order online that I’ll get the wrong stuff. This was just right. This website was awesome - check it out. We had a fun filled week up in the hills - the back country is the way to camp. Time for another round?

Security System

So…I had to protect my house while we were gone. Got a home security alarm. You get to a point where what’s in your house really matters - it’s time to secure it. If we had our computer stolen, it would take a lot from us. After searching through websites for a while, we landed on a very informative place and chose to get a security system. I was surprised how easy it was to get it installed. Ready for another vacation. Hooray!

Energy Drinks

Hiking everywhere and cooking your own food for an entire week is tiring! Efusjon saved us on this trip. It is totally worth the money. Efusjon came to the rescue really fast. haha - I had to drink two or three on the first day with a big hike, rock climbing and more. The ‘a’ team at efusjon has a home at STartup4less.com. Go check ‘em out. We bought in for the drink and you should too. It’s worth every penny. Get in on the opportunity now!

See you soon. Enjoy the sites!

Whether you work in a logging job or use wood for firewood or home projects, a superior wood splitter is needed to get the job done. Several varieties of hydraulic log splitters exist. Do a bit of research to determine the one that will best suit your needs.

If all you are doing is splitting up some lumber to be used for firewood, a common single blade wood splitting maul will work just fine. The wedge shaped head of the basic wood splitting axe causes the wood to split along the grain until it breaks in two. One or two axe blows will often split a 15-25 inch long piece of firewood. If you are a healthy and strong individual who doesn’t mind manual labor, a regular log splitting ax may be all you need.

Investing in a hydraulic manual wood splitter may be the best choice for those who need more than just a few pieces of firewood. Horizontal and vertical electric wood splitters are sold. These are just a few of the options you will need to decide upon. Other options available for hydraulic wood splitters include choosing a gasoline or diesel powered engine. An electric log splitter, generally used indoors is yet another choice to consider.

Each wood splitter is an extremely powerful piece of equipment, although the basic working concept involves a piston driving the log through the blade to achieve the desired results.

The best manual log splitter is one that can get the job done fast and without mechanical complications. A manual wood splitter is a powerful piece of machinery that can save the operator many hours of manual labor. Preventative measures to safeguard against injury should always be closely adhered to when using a hydraulic log splitter.

While the electric log splitter is in use, others should remain at a safe distance to avoid injury. Injury can be avoided by avoiding loosely fitted clothing and jewelry, and wearing protective safety goggles.

Those who work on large home projects or with wood on a regular basis, it is a smart choice to add a log splitter to your equipment list. An efficient log splitter is an excellent tool to help the professional and layperson create a wide range of projects. log splitters can be purchased from the same places that carry logging equipment and machinery.

PLANT GROWTH & PHYSIOLOGY. (Part 5)

There are three classes of plants. Each of these classes metabolize in a different way. The first class are succulent plants called CAM. These plants like low light and high humidity levels and so thrive indoors, in bathrooms and kitchen areas.

The second class of plants is called C4. These plants grow in hot arid regions and are very efficient at using both Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Sunlight. Most C4 plants are grasses.

The third and last class of plants are called C3. These plants join two 3-Carbon atoms together to produce sugar. The chemical formula for sugar is C6H12O6 which is 6 Carbon, 12 Hydrogen and 6 Oxygen atoms stuck together. Most of our favourite plants are to be found in this class.

HOW DOES A PLANT WORK?

Like all living things, plants breathe 24 hours a day. In order to make energy each plant cell respires (converts plant sugar to energy). The plant uses Oxygen (O2) and expires, or breathes out, Carbon Dioxide (CO2).

In the same way that energy moves around the human body, so water, nutrients and plant sugars are continually being transported around the plant body. The leaves create a circular flow with the roots. This circulation occurs when the leaves draw up, water from the roots, through their Xylem.

These are straw like cells found in the plant stem. The water continually evaporating from the leaves sucks up more water from the roots and creates the internal water pressure that keeps the plant rigid. Thus if the plant is deprived of water, as in a drought, it loses its rigidity and begins to wilt when the internal pressure drops.

The leaves return energy to the roots in the form of sugar solutions. These are transported from the leaves via the plants Phloem. These are also straw like cells found in the plant stem. In this way the leaves exchange sugars for water and nutrients, while the roots exchange water and nutrients for sugar solutions. This liquid circulation is constant and continuous throughout the life of the plant.

THE MAIN PLANT PARTS.

The 3 main parts of a plant are the Roots, the Stems and the Leaves. Each of these parts is of great importance and any problem that arises in any of them will be a major one. The most sensitive part is the roots, as well as being the most difficult to see should a problem occur.

The Roots:

The miracle of growth starts at the roots. As already mentioned, roots transport nutrients up to their leaves and plant sugars are returned by the leaves. The roots also act as storerooms for the excess sugars that are produced by the leaves. These sugars are stored in the form of starch. The size of the root ball and therefore the amount of starch that can be stored, determines the success of the plant in terms of growth and productivity.

The size of the root system is directly affected by the amount of moisture, the temperature, the available Oxygen and the supply of plant sugars being transported down from the leaves. According to Graham Reinders, in his book “How to Supercharge Your Garden”, a research Rye plant in a 12 inch pot was said to have had 14 billion root hairs. These hairs would have stretched 6200 miles (nearly 10,000 km) if placed end to end and covered an area of 180ft by 180ft (about 55m by 55m). The greater the root system is the more energy (starch) it will be able to store and so, the more nutrients it will be able to send up to nourish the leaves. The plant will then have the capability to grow stronger. The end result of this is that the leaves will be able to pass more plant sugars back down to the roots and so the cycle continues.

Another factor to be taken into account is the root medium. Plants take their nourishment from the medium surrounding their roots. It stands to reason that the less energy the plant has to expend in order to get that nourishment the more energy it will have available to use for growth and nutrient exchange with its leaves. Because a plant takes most of its water in via its roots, (the root hairs trapping the water molecules surrounding it) and transpires about 99% of that water out via its leaves, it will wilt and fall over if its roots cannot extract enough water out of its surrounding medium.

A plant growing in the ground will take its moisture from the surrounding soil. This moisture normally gets into the soil as rain and the plant absorbs that rain and the nutrients that have dissolved in it, via its root hairs. After the rain has stopped the topsoil quickly dries out as the water filters into the ground. Because of this drying out the plant has developed a means of absorbing Oxygen via its upper roots. The top third of the roots become specialized as “Air Roots” while the bottom third becomes specialized as “Water Roots”.

It is vital to ensure that the Air Roots are not kept constantly wet as this will result in the plant drowning. The Water Roots however, may be kept wet all the time, providing that the water has sufficient Oxygen dissolved in it. Insufficient Oxygen will result in roots with brown, discoloured root tips and subsequent infections. Healthy roots are a crisp, white looking structure.

The plant is quite capable of healthy living with the roots exposed to light as long as they remain moist. However, light will encourage the growth of Algae which will cause odours. The Algae will also compete with the plant for Oxygen during the dark periods and nutrients in the light ones. This, of course will mean the plant has to work harder in order to produce sufficient sugars for its needs. The Oxygen produced during the dark periods is used to help the roots convert these sugars, from the leaves, into energy (Starch).

Copyright (C) 2004, 2005.
J R Haughton. ITEC MIPTI
— All Rights Reserved —

A partner in a thriving retail Hydroponics supply business, Rickie Haughton is the owner of hydroponics-gardening-information.com which aims to cater for all levels of expertise in the field of hydroponics gardening. The website is packed with good content about all aspects of Hydroponics Gardening, offers a free Club Membership to all subscribers and access to our Blog.

When it comes to gardening, gardeners are of two minds. While
some gardeners prefer to buy young seedlings and transplant them
in the garden, other gardeners prefer the control and the sense
of accomplishment that comes with planting flowers and plants
directly from seeds.

Planting from seed has a lot to recommend it. For one thing,
although transplanting seedlings can provide a good head start
for the gardener, it can also introduce problems like disease or
insect infestation to an established garden plot.

Planting from seed helps gardeners to avoid these problems. It
is not difficult to plant from seed, but it is vital to read and
follow the instructions on the seed packet for best results. As
with other types of gardening, it is important to follow the
instructions carefully. It is also important to protect the
seeds and the delicate seedlings as they grow.

Whenever you plant seeds, it is a good idea to use a quality
growing tray. It is important to choose the right growing tray,
and you can get recommendations from your local nursery or
garden center on the best type of tray for your needs. After you
have the tray and the seeds in hand, the next step is to fill
that growing tray with a high quality seed mixture. This type of
product is also called a seed starting mix, and it is similar in
consistency to potting soil. Another advantage of the seed
starting mix is that it is sterile, and free of diseases and
garden pests.

After the growing tray has been prepared, the seeds should then
be placed in the seed starting mix. The rule of thumb when
planting seeds is to plant them at least twice their own depth.
In some cases, such as with very small seeds, you may want to
simply dust the seeds with a light coating of seed mix, since if
they are buried too deep they may not be able to sprout.

After the seeds have been planted in the tray, they should be
labeled, using either sticks printed with a waterproof marker or
actual nursery labels. Do not use the seed packets as labels,
since they will quickly disintegrate from moisture as the seeds
are watered.

Only a misting sprayer should be used to provide water to the
newly planted seeds. If you use a hose or watering can, you
could inadvertently dislodge the seed medium or uncover the
seeds. The growing tray should be covered in order to prevent
the moisture from evaporating. A covered tray will also
encourage the germination of the seeds.

Another thing that can speed up the germination of newly planted
seeds is heat. Heat has been shown to speed up the germination
of seeds, and this is a technique used by many successful
gardeners. Another favorite technique of gardeners is to use a
bell jar to protect delicate seedlings from late frost. If bell
jars cannot be found, a regular water bottle with the bottom cut
off makes a good replacement.