Garden Culture Magazine

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Can Mushrooms Save the Bees?

Rich Hamilton

The bees are dying and in massive numbers, a tragedy, given their importance to the ecosystem. It is estimated that one-third of the food that we consume daily relies on the pollination of honeybees. Globally, there are more of them than any other type of pollinating insect, making them the most important pollinator on Earth.Pollinators strongly influence ecological relationships, ecosystem conservation and stability, genetic variation in the plant community, floral diversity, specialization, and evolution. In tropical forests, woodlands, mangroves, and deciduous forests, many species of plants and animals will not survive if bees disappear. The production of many food sources such as seeds, nuts, berries, and fruits are all highly dependent on insect pollination.

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Cannabis and Chronic Pain: The Endorphin Connection

Guest Author

Humans have used cannabis for pain relief for a thousand years, but only recently have we garnered evidence from controlled, experimental studies regarding its efficacy for treating and helping those with chronic pain.

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Dandelions: Medicinal Weeds of Gold

Caroline Rivard

This article was originally published in Garden Culture Magazine UK30, & US28 In our modern western culture, where perfect green lawns have been worshipped for so long, the dandelion is generally seen as one of the most disgraceful weeds. We have been taught that it is an invasive plant that we must eradicate, usually targeted…

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Detox with Fruit And Fasting

Evan Folds

We might live longer, but do we live better? The developed world eats more than ever, and yet, we grow sicker. We grow plenty of food, yet people go hungry. The U.S. spends more money on health care than any other country, yet we rank towards the bottom in results. We are more connected through the computers in our pocket, yet lonelier than ever. Something big is wrong.

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Easy Ways To Create A Bee-Friendly Garden

Anne Gibson

Bees help fertilize up to 90% of the earth’s major food crops, including what you likely put on your plate every day. These hard-working insects are suffering from many pressures globally including chemical herbicides, viruses, mites, genetically modified crops, and harsh weather conditions. Many urban gardeners are noticing a decline in bee populations in their backyards and balconies, producing lower yields and reduced quality, size, and flavor of the food grown.

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Fungi – The Key To A Successful Food Forest

Guest Author

This article originally appeared in Garden Culture Magazine UK29 & US27 It’s not something we think of that often unless, perhaps, you are Paul Stamets, but the mycelium superhighways under our feet are a critical part of our environment. There is growing evidence that fungi drive their environment, influencing what type of ecosystem builds and…

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Latest Posts

Home Garden Tips: Bulbs And Tubers

For those of us who live in colder climates, the next outdoor growing season is several months away. Still, it’s never too early to begin planning the first blooms that will celebrate the end of a long winter.  Fall is the perfect time to get spring-blooming bulbs into the ground. Think daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths.…
November 18, 2019

How To Compost In The Winter

With the cooler weather here, it’s time to put the outdoor gardens to bed for another year. But what about the compost heap? Not so fast! Composting in the winter is possible, it’s just a slower process than it is in the summer. It’s slower because the heap won’t ever be hot enough to get…
November 13, 2019

Programs Helping People Build Pollinator Gardens

There is a lot of emphases these days on gardening organically to protect our soil and important pollinators. Many people are jumping on the bandwagon, and towns and cities across North America are backing gardeners making eco-friendly choices.
November 8, 2019

Book Review: Grow In The Dark

This book review originally appeared in Garden Culture Magazine UK31 & US29 The summer growing season is over; time to bring the outdoors in! But venture away from a sunny windowsill, and homes can lack the appropriate lighting many houseplants need to thrive.  Grow in the Dark: How to Choose and Care for Low-Light Houseplants…
November 6, 2019

Control Garden Weeds With These All-Natural Recipes

Many chemical remedies used against garden pests can have severe effects, not only on our health but also on the natural ecosystems around us. Here’s a list of alternative forms of weed control that save the Earth, our time, and money. You likely already have most of these ingredients at home!  Drizzle Vinegar Plain vinegar…
November 3, 2019

“Don’t Rake The Leaves And Nature Will Thank You”

It’s the time of year when many homeowners have closed their gardens up for another year and are preparing their properties for the winter ahead. And while raking leaves might be good exercise, is it really necessary?  Your heart and inner ‘type A’ personality might say ‘yes’, but some environmental groups are saying ‘no’. The…
November 1, 2019

5 Cool Ways To Use A Pumpkin After Halloween

Halloween isn’t complete without the perfect pumpkin! Around the world, many families continue the tradition of picking an orange squash, carving a face into them, and then, unfortunately, throwing them out. A 2018 study in the UK found that 8 million pumpkins go to landfills after Halloween. In the US, 1.3 billion pounds are thrown away,…
October 30, 2019

Unclear Labels A Driving Force Behind Food Waste

You may not know it, but there’s a good chance you’ve thrown perfectly fresh food into the garbage. A recent study by Ohio State University has found misunderstood food labels drive today’s food waste issues.  Published in the journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling, the research focused on items typically found in American refrigerators, including fruits,…
October 25, 2019

How To Use Herbs For A Perfect Cup Of Tea

This article appears in Garden Culture Magazine UK31 & US29 The colder months are for getting cosy by the fire with a warm cup of tea. While bags are easy and convenient, you don’t get as big a bang for your mug.  According to The Herbal Handbook For Homesteaders, storebought teabags often contain only dust;…
October 23, 2019

Regenerative is the New Sustainable

This article originally appeared in Garden Culture Magazine UK30 & US28 What do you think; are we doing our humanity justice?  For everything that humanity has going for it, do you think we could be doing a better job? In some ways, we are not smart enough, but in others, we’re too smart for our…
October 21, 2019

“Fall Harvest: Roasting Pumpkins”

Fun pumpkin fact: the world’s heaviest pumpkin ever recorded was grown in Belgium in 2016, weighing in at 2,624 pounds! A Connecticut man recently came close to breaking that record; his pumpkin weighed in at 2,294 pounds at the Topsfield Fair in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, there are many not-so-fun facts about pumpkins out there too, like…
October 17, 2019

#StoptheWaste Campaign Tackles Food Waste And Hunger

Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern has created a recipe for a Thai Coconut Salmon Soup that uses salmon heads and other pieces of fish you would usually throw away. It’s his way of helping to fight the problem of food waste and world hunger. Zimmern takes parts of the fish that typically never make it onto…
October 10, 2019

Top Signs Your Plants Are Starving For Nutrients

Sometimes it’s challenging to understand what’s going on in the garden, even when we think we’re doing everything right. But are all of your plants’ needs being met?  Some symptoms will be more apparent than others, but all of them are signs that your garden is being deprived of essential nutrients. When that happens, you…
October 9, 2019

Product Spotlight

CANNAGEL – CBD Healthcare Muscle & Joint Massage Gel

Editor’s Pick – We only have a couple of samples from the Product Earth & Hydroponic Expo, but this has now become our go-to for sore muscles and pain. Whether used after gardening, hauling rocks, or biking longer distances than usual, this stuff works!

This high-quality muscle and joint gel is for topical use. Manufactured in the UK, it is 100% Paraben-free. Containing Eucalyptus oil, Angelica root oil, Celery oil, Rosemary oil, Wintergreen oil, Cinnamon oil, Camphor oil, and Glucosamine Sulfate combined with Full Spectrum CBD Oil, CANNAGEL is soothing to sports injuries, torn muscles, bruises, sprains, and arthritic joints.

Studies have shown that cannabinoids control the firing of pain signals from the joint to the brain by attaching themselves to nerve receptors. They have provided statistically significant improvements in pain on movement, pain at rest, and quality of sleep.

Be on the lookout for CANNAGEL and other great CBD Healthcare products at a store near you, or visit CBDHealthcare.com for more info.

Prodigy Grow Tents

Made of at least 210D tent fabric, these high-quality tents are sturdy! The larger tents come armed with thick 600D tent fabric and thicker poles. Find Prodigy Grow Tents at a store near you. Exclusively distributed by The Growers Wholesale.

Follow the Prodigy story: @prodigygrowtents #prodigygrowtents

Horti King Pro Digital Ballast

The Most Popular Ballast in the Horti Range!

A fast start-up ballast, the bulb reaches maximum brightness very quickly. The ballast incorporates dynamic detection of load and power supply, as well as protection for overload, overvoltage, load short, under-voltage, and lamp end of life. The ballast is IP20 dust-tight.
Combined with the Horti King reflector and bulb, the Horti King Pro digital kit is a superior quality light kit at an affordable price to suit amateur and professional growers alike.

Available at a retailer near you. Follow @highlighthorticultureltd for more great products.

BudBox Lite

BudBox has been setting the standard for grow tents since 2004, making excellent quality, hard-wearing grow tents.

The BudBox Lite continues this tradition of excellent design and function but at a lower price point for all to enjoy. All the same great features as The BudBox Pro tent range but stripped down to the essentials. Sturdy, durable, well-stitched tent fabric, interlocking heavy duty poles for sturdy support, and numerous ventilation ports to allow the correct size ducting to be fitted.

BudBox Lite: made to create a perfect, portable indoor growing environment.

Visit BudBoxGrowTents.com to find the grow tent that is right for you.

The New Garden Highpro Humipro

A 4-litre ultrasonic humidifier with automatic power control and remote control feature.

The double nozzle rotates 360° to allow for maximum dispersion of mist in your growing area while the integral humidistat will stop the humidifier when the set relative humidity is achieved. Equipped with three output levels for even greater control with a maximum output of 250ml per hour. Takes up very little space, the footprint of the unit is 160mm x 160mm and 315mm high.

Garden Highpro – #BornToBeAGrower

The Lighthouse Wireless Thermostat

Prepare for the colder months ahead.

This handy plug and play unit comprises of a remote thermostat, a built-in temperature sensor, and receiver switch. Hang, stand or wall mount the thermostat in your grow room or tent up to 20 metres away from the receiver switch and set your target temperature. The switch can be set to turn on whenever the temperature goes above or below the desired level, making it perfect for controlling heaters or fans. Set any temperature between 0°C – 70°C (32°F – 158°F) in 1° increment or use the override function to turn appliances on or off.

Available through your local hydroponic stockist today!

Follow @hydrogardenltd for more great products.

HydroLogic Purification Systems

Now Available at Highlight Horticulture.
Look for their purification systems in quality hydro stores across the UK!

Tried and true water filtration solutions for every type of application. The best selling EvolutionRO High-Flow system now has an improved dry membrane design, increasing flow rate by 20% – Over 4,500 Liters per day! Eliminate 100% of chloramine with the Chlorashield superior carbon filtration, available for smallBoy, TALLBoy, SteathRO, EvolutionRO, and Pre-Evolution systems. The Mini-ARCS reclaims and purifies up to 2725.5 litres per day of HVAC runoff, perfectly balances pH for ultra-pure, contaminant-free water: Zero waste!

Visit HydroLogicSystems.com to find out which water filtration solution is right for your application.

Guanokalong

The power of bat poo is one that needs no introduction. With its earliest recorded use dating back to the times of the Andean’s and Inca’s, Bat guano has been helping farmers grow high yields and quality organic crops for over a millennium. Fortunately, this ethereal gardening knowledge has not been lost on modern man, but rather made the most of by its incorporation into a premium peat-based potting soil.

Available as a pre-mixed substrate (perfect for planting straight into) or even on its own as a dry powdered amendment that can be incorporated into a more typically hydroponic substrate like coco. No-one need be deprived of the benefits that a little bit of bat poo has to offer, as the age-old gardening saying goes: “Without the bat, the taste is flat.”

Get down your local store and pick up a bag today.

Visit Maxigrow.com for more great products.

Powerhouse 9-way Timer With Heater Plug

Simple designs for simple problems. Night-time conditions are something that growers can overlook, but making sure your temperatures do not drop too low when your lights are out is crucial to maintaining an optimum level of metabolism in your plant. The result is a much more satisfying quality of yield at the end.

The Powerhouse has 8 sockets dedicated for HID lights of up to 26 amps and one 9-amp socket to control a heater. Up to 4x 1000w lights or 8x 600w lights can be used, plus a 9-amp (just over 2000w) heater, all your electrical needs safely controlled from one nifty little box.

Ask your local store or visit Maxigrow.com for more details.

Secret Jardin Rubber Fan and Filter Connectors

Your extraction system is crucial to ensuring a peaceful and prosperous time when growing your favourite veggies. A commonly under-rated part of your extraction system is the connection between your fan and filter. You need to ensure that all connections are entirely air-tight, so absolutely no VOC’s make their way through without being filtered first.

Enter SJ rubber duct connectors, offering a worry-free connection that is super easy to set up, also removing the need for cutting down ducting or using gaffer tape as an ad-hoc sealant.

An un-assuming and nifty piece of kit that offers you a fantastic failsafe for your exhaust system, get down to your local shop and enquire about them today – genuinely a tool no-one should be without.

Visit Maxigrow.com

Maxibright 1000W DE Super Bloom Lamps

Everybody loves a double-ender. Hilarious sexual puns aside, they will give you the most intense and full-bodied output of all the HPS lamps out there at the minute. These new 1000W 400V DE Super bloom lamps from Maxibright have the sort of high-end efficiency you would expect in a top-notch grow lamp (2.1umol per Watt – total output of 2100μmol per second) and at a great price. The PAR Spectrum is heavily weighted towards the orange/red end of the spectrum too. In fact, you will find a whopping 74% more red in these lamps compared to equivalent lamps on the market – perfect for helping grow high-quality flowers and fruit.

Visit Maxigrow.com for more great products.

What is Mr. Danks’ Special Boost Secret?

This stuff is blowing up the underground indoor growing scene in the UK right now. Flick the switch on “thrive” mode and plants don’t look back!

Marketed as a full lifecycle “boost”, the exact origins of Mr Danks’ Special Boost Secret remain a mystery. We do know that it’s a concentrated, PGR-free mix of highly bioavailable silicon blended on top of an organic, proprietary base of L-aminos. This super potent, pH neutral silicon source (simultaneous use of other silicon supplements is NOT recommended; always follow dosage guidelines) promotes stronger, girthier stems and branches, leading to heavier, denser flowers. UK growers are consistently reporting increased yields (up to 15% extra dry weight), improved structure, potency, and more sophisticated terpene profiles. Fully compatible with soil, coco, Rockwool and water culture.

Mr. Danks’ Instagram account @mr_danks420 remains a source of some controversy and is NOT for the faint-hearted.

Distributed exclusively in the UK by Creation Wholesale. For more info, visit Creation-Hydro.co.uk