Filing your personal taxes can be easier than it used to be. Unfortunately, what you could claim last year may not be the same this year. I have compiled a list of the common personal tax laws that have changed since last tax season on my website. I have also provided several tips that can help you get the biggest return possible without manipulating your tax forms. You can learn how to get the biggest return while following the IRS guidelines so you do not have to worry about tax audits or getting a penalty letter a few years after getting your check.
If you're itching to plant a garden but don't have the right soil to pull it off, a hydroponic garden might be the perfect solution. Although hydroponically grown plants can thrive in any number of soil-less substances, water is often the easiest and most accessible. In order to get your garden going, you'll need to create a system for distributing the water to the plants and take steps to ensure that your plants receive proper nutrients.
What You'll Need to Build a Hydroponic System
Hydroponic systems can take many forms, but a basic setup includes a tank to hold the water, a pump to circulate and aerate the water and a container to hold the plants. Use food-safe totes as water and plant containers, or use food-grade pond liners from http://billboardtarps.com/ or a similar website to retain water in an in-ground or non-plastic vessel. You'll also need tubing to move the water from the tank to the plant containers as well as hardware to ensure leak-proof connections.
Adding Plants
You can start your garden from seed or purchase seedlings growing in soil. Wash the roots in room-temperature water to remove all the soil, and then plant the seedlings in mesh pots filled with clay pebbles or another substrate to keep them upright. For tall plants such as tomatoes, consider building a trellis above the plant container and attaching string to the base of each plant. The plants will climb the string as they grow.
Caring for the Plants
The bases of your mesh pots should always be submerged in water, according to The Prairie Homestead, but your plants need more than water to thrive. You can purchase commercially prepared plant food and fertilizer salts or mix your own. Either way, you'll need a wide selection of key and trace elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, magnesium and molybdenum. It's important to pulverize the ingredients to a fine power and dissolve them in water before adding them to the hydroponic water.
Although not a nutritional additive in the traditional sense, carbon dioxide supplied by a CO2 tank also aids growth.
Improper nutrition affects plant growth as well as overall health. Signs to watch for include undersized plants, leaf discoloration, poorly developed flowers and fragile stems. Treat the symptoms by adjusting the nutrient mixture.
Take the Next Step
Now that you understand some hydroponic gardening basics, you're ready to visit a local home or garden center for help in assembling the components of your system, selecting plants and choosing the fertilizer that best suits your needs.
Share2 June 2016
