subject: A Great Alternative to Growing Cucumbers in Pots [print this page] A Great Alternative to Growing Cucumbers in Pots
Growing cucumbers in pots is possible, but can be a little tricky. In pots, more care must be taken to make sure proper soil moisture levels are maintained, since plants in pots tend to dry out faster than they would in the ground. With cucumbers, wide swings from wet to dry soil can cause cucumbers to be bitter. There is an alternative to growing in pots that produces excellent results with cucumbers and many other vegetables. And it is also a more fun way to garden.
Growing vegetables in pots can be a great way to take advantage of space that doesn't have adequate soil like a patio or even indoors. But there are limitations to what you can get out of a pot, depending on the amount of soil you can put in them. There is a form of gardening that has just recently started to catch on that can produce more healthy plants in less space than pots or even planting in the ground.
This method may sound complicated at first but it is really simple and takes less maintenance than growing in pots because there is no need to regularly water, fertilize or deal with potting soil at all. Most plants don't really need soil, they just grown in soil because that is what is available on the earth. It is the water and nutrients that are put into the soil that they need.
Hydroponics came along as a way to grow plants in water without soil, but it is really too much work for most people. Maintaining nutrient levels in the water can be tricky and takes a lot of monitoring and adjusting. Aquaponics is a form of soil free gardening that is taking the gardening world by storm. Aquaponics eliminates the problems of hydroponics and it is all organic. And most of all, it is a more fun way to grow plants.
With aquaponics you use natural processes to give your plants everything they need for maximum growth. Instead of you taking care of them, you use fish to take care of them. Instead of growing them in soil, you let their roots grow directly in water that is constantly being loaded with organic nutrients from the fish in the water. At the same time, the plant roots are a natural filter that keep the water clean for the fish.
You might think that adding fish creates a whole new job for you, but the way the plants and fish work together, it actually makes less work for you. Instead of watering, fertilizing, pulling weeds, and battling with slugs, snails, gophers and other soil pests, gardening becomes about as difficult as giving the fish some food every day. And if that is too much work, there are automatic feeders that will do it for you.
Aquaponics can be as simple as a fish bowl or tank with a floating raft for plants to grow on top, or a separate tank and grow bed with a pump that circulates water between the two. You can use fish like goldfish or other aquarium fish just to look at, or even grow food fish like tilapia. In this case your garden will produce organic vegetables and fish all at the same time and with less work than growing vegetables alone.
This method is great for growing cucumbers and many other vegetables. Since they are always given a constant supply of water and never go dry. This can produce better cucumbers that don't have so much problem with being bitter. Climbing cucumbers are also great because they can be planted in the aquaponics water and they can grow off in their own direction. These type of plants can take advantage of space far away while leaving more space in the grow bed to grow other plants at the same time.
Learn how to set up your own simple aquaponics system with this aquaponics how to guide.
