Vegetable gardening statistics
Trends show an increase in the percentage of people growing vegetables in their own kitchen gardens. It has been recorded as of 2009 that 54 % of households have a compost bin. The foods grown in the vegetable gardens include strawberries, raspberries, potatoes, tomatoes and herbs. The GIM figures show that the number of adults who grow on their own has risen from 25 % in the year 2007 to 29 % in the year 2010.
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Various gardening tools
The different essential actions that one has to perform in the gardens are planting, pruning, weeding and sowing. There are specialized tools for each and every procedure. The planting tools used are the Hand Trowel, Shovel and Pickax. The tools that you should use for pruning are Hand Pruners, Folding Pruning Saw and the Long-handled Ratchet Pruners. If you want to perform weeding, you can use Stirrup Hoe and Hori Hori. The sowing tools used in gardening are the Hand Seed Sower and Swan-neck Hoe.
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Gardening Injuries
About 3 lakh people get injured every year in their gardens with an enough serious condition to go to the hospital. The most common reasons of injury is falling or tripping in some way. About 29 % of the total injuries are associated with the gardening tools. It is always advisable to wear safety clothing and take safety precautions while gardening.
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What is Hydroponics?
Hydroponics is the practice of growing plants in the nutrient rich solutions instead of soil. It is one of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture and offers various advantages. Farmers claim that some hydroponic crops use about 90 percent less water in comparison to the same crops cultivated in the traditional soil farming.
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Pros and Cons of hydroponic farming
Hydroponics can be a great alternative for the farmers who want to produce their crops round the year despite the environmental changes. The use of organic fertilizers in the hydroponic farming ensures that there will be no ill-effects of the chemical fertilizers. No doubt, the innovative concept has various advantages but the initial set up of the system is relatively expensive.
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Square Foot gardening
If you want to grow your own small vegetable garden, the square foot gardening can be one of the best options for you. In this procedure, the plants are being raised in the square sized boxes filled with nutrient-rich soils. The square foot gardens are cheap, compact and productive.
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Risk factors for garden workers
The workers are constantly exposed to insects and small animals that may cause allergic reactions and infections. Also, they deal with the pesticides and fertilizers, which may have adverse effects on the health. Moreover, any type of minor or major accidents may occur while using the gardening tools for planting, weeding and pruning etc.
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