I had them last year in my garden and I can’t remember what those flowers are called. I’ve also seen them with orange petals and purple centers. They kind of look like shasta daisies. The one thing I know for sure is that it’s not a cone flower.
they aren’t gerberas, cause they don’t come like that

You seem to be describing a daisy. Another option could be aqualegia. hard to say with the detail provided.

I would like to buy a few lotus flowers but all i can find online are fake ones. Does anyone know where to buy water lilies or lotuses?

water lilies are available all over. Even Home Depot sells them. Try you local garden centers or greenhouses. Lotus are hard to find, but try places that specialize in water gardens. I don’t shop there much, but even ebay may have them.

I have a 7ft by 8ft section that I want to build a concrete koi pond but being a first timer I just wanted to get the most advice possible. so far I have a dirt hole with some cynder bolcks around the outside. Also how easy is it to pack in concrete on a vertical wall with no kind of form to pour it in.

Thanks Kevin

I have only seen one pond made from concrete and that one was short lived. They ended up going to a liner. a pond that size would be easily done with a liner. Concrete will also turn green rather fast because of the algae.those cinder blocks would be great for the edging around the top of your pond. you will need something to hold down the liner if you decide to use one. and the blocks also act as a good back drop for any flowers or plants you put around the pond. Have fun and good luck!!!!

I have heard of the idea of birds or ducks naturally stocking the pond but always thought this to be a myth. I was wondering if anyone has could provide me with some help.

That actually is often the way it happens. Also, in rainy seasons, overflow and small temporary creeks carry eggs and small fish into new bodies of water.

I would call that sedimentation or deposition.

Cheers,

Andrew

Your home is your most private, personal space. You spend a lot if not most of your time there eating, sleeping and working, thus stamping an ordinary house with your moods and personality, making it more special and unique. Naturally, you want your home to look at its best. You want it to have a relaxing, inspiring atmosphere that you can’t find anywhere else.

Such an atmosphere can be achieved by placing flowers in your home. A pretty bunch of flowers can brighten up any room with a spot of color. Just looking at them can make any person lose the stress acquired during the day! There’s something about flowers that cheers people up, so why not take advantage of it by following these helpful tips on decorating your home with flowers?

1. Vases are not the only things that you can use for holding your flowers! Experiment with clay pots, china porcelain, crystal, steel, or glass bowls, cups, champagne glasses, teapots, water pitchers—the list is endless. Just make sure that the container is clean and polished to complement the beauty of the flowers you will be placing in them.

2. For wide, open spaces, use blooms that are big with loud colors such as hydrangeas, gladiolus, and lilies. Big flowers can easily catch attention in a large room. You don’t want the flowers to go unnoticed right?

3. Match the room’s decor with complementary or contrasting colors. If you want to introduce a soothing effect in a room, use flowers in colors such as blues and greens. For a warmer look, oranges and reds will do the trick. For a subtle arrangement, yellows and peaches are the best choice of colors.

4. How do you know which flowers go well with each other? There are no hard and fast rules, but you may want to choose just one type of flower for your bouquet (this is called a monobotanic arrangement) or one color with varying shades (called a monochromatic arrangement).

In decorating you home, be creative. You may be very busy to go out to buy flowers on the streets or in the malls, so you can opt to just have your flowers delivered. It’s easy—there are several flower shops online. One such service is Island Rose of the Philippines. They use an innovative delivery system that guarantees you to have the best roses fresh from the farm. Their flower delivery is fast, efficient, and stress-free. Flowers from Island Rose are also considered some of the best in the world. Why not start decorating your home with flowers now? It doesn’t have to be stressful when you can buy flowers with just one click of a mouse.

Timothy Spencer
http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/decorating-your-home-with-flowers-724175.html

The Rain Bird ESP-4M (Outdoor) – 4 Station Controller is a great mid to upper level irrigation control system for home and business landscapes. Its capability for expansion makes is perfect for new systems where all needs may not yet have been identified. Here are the best features and benefits of this controller, explained.
Modular Capacity
If you have a homeowner that can’t quite make up their mind, or is constantly adding and re-arranging the landscape, the modular capacity of the ESP-4M controller saves a lot of time, cost and headaches. The controller comes equipped to handle four stations at a time, but can expand with the click of an additional module to accommodate 12 irrigation stations and an outdoor lighting station for automatic control.
Did We Mention the Outdoor Lighting Capacity?
What could be more convenient than managing outdoor lighting schedules along with the irrigation system. With this controller, everything can be maintained and timed in one convenient control panel.
Fuseless Circuit Breaker Keeps things Running
If one section of the irrigation systems becomes unable to function due to an electrical problem, the fuseless circuit breaker keeps the rest of the system running, isolating the problem area until it can be fixed. This feature is great for people who travel frequently-it gives peace of mind that the landscape will stay (mostly) watered, if part of the system goes down. There’s nothing like avoiding total system failure during 100 degree summer days!
Contractor Default Program
Sometimes and overeager homeowner will try to tinker with the irrigation system, even if he or she doesn’t have a clue what they should be changing or adding. For times when a client calls the irrigation maintenance firm and says “Help, I changed the program!” the Contractor default feature is wonderful. Rather than needing to re-program the entire system, the contractor can simply recall the original program from memory and make adjustments from there.
Advanced Sensors Conserve Water
Water restrictions are becoming more necessary and more highly regulated. Several options on the Rain Bird ESP-4M controller let homeowners modify or pause programs due to water restrictions. There is also a “permanent off day” feature as part of the programming capability to keep the system entirely shut down during mandatory no-water days.
Features for Easy Installation
Ease of use for the homeowner is great; however, these irrigation controllers are also easy to install and maintain. The cabinet is roomy, with plenty of space to maneuver within. Ribbon cables provide better visibility. You can “hot swap” or add additional modules without cutting power to the system, saving valuable time. A valve test system helps contractors see which valves are connected to which station for ease of programming. An added plus is the ability to program the controller using a 9 volt battery for power before installing the controller on the wall.
A Great Controller for Highly Varied Landscapes
Four different program cycles and the ability to serve so many stations makes the Rain Bird ESP-4M (Outdoor) – 4 Station Controller a top choice among landscape and irrigation professionals.

Richard Gilliland
http://www.articlesbase.com/landscaping-articles/best-features-and-benefits-of-the-rain-bird-esp4m-outdoor-4-station-controller-749125.html

Summary

A mixed technology pack consisting of awareness on generation of total farm income is needed. Our farming is a composite farming comprising crop, fruit, livestock, fish and allied production systems. We need a composite technology pack and not a commodity research end product. Thus a total change and reformation in National Agricultural Research System (NARS) is needed to shape it as farmer friendly. We may name it NFR&ES, i. e National Farm Research & Extension System or simply Indian Farm Research and Business Management System.

Introduction

Future of agricultural extension education lies in its advancement through research, methodological refineness and village–linked mechanization. The disciplines of extension education has to be reshaped, incorporating explorative methods, survey techniques, computing skills, economic and social back ground analysis. An attempt to characterize barriers in transmission of technologies to the baseline farming systems needs a reformation in extension education in India and Asia. A detailed reformation model in the form of Broad Based Agricultural extension has been published (Wani, 1992). The booklet describes a model approach for Kashmir Valley districts. With the establishment of SAMETI in SKUAST-K, as an autonomous Institution, a series of documents for improving productivity in whole agriculture i,e crops, fruits and livestock have been prepared. (Wani, 2008,a& b). On the basis of these reviews and documents, the present document is 4th of the series, reviewing technology dissemination, impact & productivity changes. It concludes with a reformation model for Extension Education – a Vision.

Farmers Perception

A study was conducted to examine the perception of cotton farmers(n= 210) of Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India, regarding the attributes of integrated pest management (IPM) technologies. Majority of the cotton farmers of the area perceived that the initial cost of IPM technologies is high, and IPM technologies give meager and irregular net profit, but may be beneficial in the long run. Moreover, farmers stated that IPM technologies are not feasible given the situation of the district, culturally not acceptable, not necessary, not socially recognized, have more cognitive complexity and scarce resource complexity, reversible, and consume more labour. Regarding the practicality of IPM technologies, the respondents felt that the technologies can be easily demonstrated and tried out, and have reliable point of origin. It is suggested that the success of IPM technologies depends on farmers awareness, community approach, timeliness and availability of inputs. (Nasantha & Buchareddy,, 2006).

Eco-friendly Technology

This study was conducted to analyse the constraints encountered by farmers (n=245) in employing eco-friendly technologies in cultivating rice in Andhra Pradesh, India. Ineffectiveness of the recommended dosage of spray solutions (51.42%), and difficulty in maintaining recommended depth of water after transplanting (23.26%), were the major problems perceived by the farmers. Based on the results, 55.51% farmers suggested that adequate trainings must be conducted on improved management practices to enhance farmers’s skills, and 32.24% farmers said that more demonstrations must be conducted on farmers’s fields, for effective adoption of eco-friendly technologies in rice cultivation (Reddy et al, 2006).

The study was conducted to analyse eco-friendly technologies for rice cultivation, which exploit renewable resources to control pollution upto consideredable level and to recycle wastes. The data were gathered from 245 farmers in three regions of Andhra Pradesh, India . it is suggested that extension agencies should concentrate on major suggestions i.e., conducting required number of training programmes for enhancing the skills of rice farmers in various management practices. Conducting more number of demonstration on the efficacy of eco-friendly technologies in the field, rather than mere publicity. Extension should be strengthened so that it is demand driven, market driven and farmer led. Visits of experts should be increased to farmers’ field region wise and block wise for better comprehension and diagnosis of field problems. (Reddy et al 2005).

This study was conducted to analyse the attitudes of rice farmers (n=245) in Andhra Pradesh, India, towards eco-friendly technologies. Results showed favourable attitude of farmers towards eco-friendly technologies. The results indicate the need for the extension agency to train and educate the farmers regarding the advantage of adopting eco-friendly technologies to decrease environmental pollution, obtain high quality produce and sustainable yields,(Reddy et al, 2006).

Technology gaps

The study was conducted in Junagadh-1 and Junagadh-2 subdivisions of Rajkot division, where National Watershed development programme has already been implemented, to find out the extent of technological gaps in adoption of soil and water conservation technologies and factors responsible for it. The results revealed that the technological gap was higher in adopting the percolation tank-cum-farm ponds, strip cropping and mulching practices in beneficiary farmers (BFs). But in non-beneficiary farmers (NBFs) , the technological gap was higher in the practices of contour cultivation, contour bunding along with vegetative barriers, afforestation, recharging well and tubewell, deep ploughing and graded bunding in addition to above three practices mentioned for BFs. The study clearly indicated that overall technological gap in NBFs was significantly higher with a mean difference of 24.57% compared to BFs. It was also observed that variables namely, size of land holding , social participation, employment status, opinion leadership, extension participation, localite-cosmopolite value orientation knowledge and attitude were significantly correlated with the technological gap (Popat et al 2006).

Farmer Decision Process

This study was conducted to analyse the direct and indirect relative influence of the selected independent variables with each other to analyse the relative influence of other dependent variable, i.e., differential innovation decision process of rice eco-friendly technologies. The data were gathered from 245 farmers in Andhra Pradesh, India , and analysed using path coefficient. The path diagram clearly shows that the variables social participation, farm size, and extension participation were crucial variables. This might be due to the fact that many variables were channeling their substantial indirect effects on differential innovation decision process of rice eco-friendly technologies through them. The variables exposure to electronic media and cosmopoliteness showed significant positive direct effects. Moreover, maximum direct negative effects were shown by fatalism and religious beliefs (Reddy et al, 2006).

Farmer cost-sharing – Nigerian Model

Providing adequate and stable funding for agricultural extension service in Nigeria has been a major problem since the expiration of the World Bank’s funding arrangement. In order to solve this problem, cost –sharing of agricultural technology delivery is seen as a tenable privatization policy option. Considering the fact that agricultural technology transfer in Nigeria has mainly been publicly funded, introducing cost-sharing arrangement is expected to meet some obstacles. Hence, this study ascertains the perception of farmers and extension agents on the constraints and strategies towards effective cost –sharing of agricultural technology delivery in Nigeria. This study was carried out in six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Multistage random sampling technique was applied in the selection of respondents. A sample size of 267 farmers and 272 Agricultural Development Programme (ADP)staff participated in the study. Means, standard deviation, exploratory factor analysis and test statistics were used in realizing the objectives. The results show that the major constraints to effective cost-sharing of agricultural extension service in Nigeria are weak institutional development, extension system lapses, lack of cooperation by farmers, uncertainties experienced in agriculture, conflicts and corruption. The major strategies for effective cost-sharing arrangement include building political support for cost sharing , establishment of farmers’ cooperatives to serve as avenues for collection of payments, creating enabling legislation for cost –sharing and increasing the number of extension staff. The study recommends proper dissemination of information on cost-sharing before implementation, creating enabling legislation, decentralizing the extension system and building the capabilities of extension staff (kukwuone et al, 2006). Should we use this model of Nigeria.

Farmers Knowledge Level

The study was conducted to determine farmers’ knowledge level regarding the major aspects of pearl millet production technology in dryland farming. The data were gathered by administering a questionnaire to 120 farmers in Sirsa District, Haryana, India. Results showed that 54.17% of farmers possessed medium knowledge level whreas 26.67 and 19.16% of them have high and low knowledge level, respectively. Regarding aspect-wise knowledge level of production technology, 75% of farmers possessed high knowledge in preparatory tillage, 78% had low knoeledge level about improved variety, 90% of farmers had low level of knowledge on seed treatment and 68% possessed medium knowledge level about sowing rate. For sowing date and FYM application, 82% and 70% of farmers had high and medium knowledge level, respectively. Farmers possess low level of knowledge about chemical fertilizers application 48%. In mechanical weed control, 85% had high knowledge level and 82% had low knowledge about chemical weed control. On plant protection measures, 50.83 and 70% farmers had low knowledge level about insect control and disease control, respectively (Chander et al, 2006).

Farmers Field Schools

The Farmer Field School (FFS) approach is gaining prominence as an extension approach but its usefulness in influencing farmers to understand and uptake new technologies is still a question lingering in the mind of many FFS practitioners. This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the approach in knowledge acquisition, adoption and dissemination of soil and crop management (S&CM) technologies among small-scale farmers in Kenya. Eight technologies were scaled –out using the approach and the conventional extension methods. A survey with an ex-post facto design was employed with a sample frame consisting of 940 farmers. A sample of 60 FFS graduates and 60 non-FFS (NFFS) farmers was chosen for the study. There was a significant difference in knowledge acquired in S&CM technologies by FFS compared to NFFS farmers. About 50% of FFS farmers had acquired high to very high level of the knowledge of all the eight technologies disseminated while the majority ( 80%) of the NFFS farmers had acquired less than 50% of the same knowledge. About 45% of the FFS farmers had adopted 50% of the technology components while only 17% of NFFS farmers had adopted the same percentage of the technology components. The FFS participants were significantly (P .05) better disseminators of S&CM technologies than the non-FFS farmers. It was recommended that all stakeholders in Agricultural development in Kenya be sensitized on the potential effectiveness of FFS methodology in scaling-up agricultural technologies and also monitor how the application of knowledge acquired by FFS farmer is impacting on their livelihoods. (Bunyatta et al, 2006).

Conclusion and work plan 2008

Community supported agriculture system needs to be evolved. It should encompass food production, marketing, distribution, quality assurances and pricing decisions. A transparent system of research, outreach (extension) industry profiting based on Farmers production prices need to be evolved. Research and extension needs to be clubbed to give end products to farmers and not the research publication which are never transferable to farmers. Communication process within extension system need to be informative, analytic and fact gathering exercises. The total change in Extension delivery system should begin with curriculum changes to suit new name of “Farm Business Management. It needs incorporation of Agricultural sciences awareness with particular emphasis on Agribusiness, appraisals, consultancy, risk management, data analysis, credit management, marketing, public relations, economics and policy issues, farm management and international agriculture – public private partnerships, Farm co-operative ventures, rural banking, Agro-industrial managements, feed/seed services and programmes need to be added to the projects and mission on agricultural technology delivery system.

Farmer schools, women awareness and technology impact analytic projects need to be financed by ICAR. A broad national based project as Agriculture and National resource utilization needs to be financed including all SAU Extension Education Directorates. This should cover areas of farm production, production cost, price structure, service cost, input – output ratio with respect to livestock, fish, agriculture, forestry, sericulture and horticulture products. Quality trainings in food processing and preservation to stimulate new graduate to set up food processing units. A composit packaging of technology, their use and cost benefit ratio analysis should be the areas of operation of the project. Once the basic idea of reforms is conceived by ICAR logistics could be worked out.

G.M. Wani
http://www.articlesbase.com/science-articles/extension-education-reformation-iii-farmers-perception-and-farmers-schools-331856.html

Flowers are undoubtedly one of the most popular gifts for a man to give to a woman on Valentine’s Day. In fact flowers are so popular that many men typically give flowers along with other gifts as an addition to the gift as opposed to giving flowers as the gift. However, many men often make the mistake of thinking red roses are the only gifts they can give to their loved on Valentine’s Day. This is simply not true. There are not only other flowers which are appropriate but there are also a number of different ways to give flower related gifts. This article will provide some great information on how to give flowers on Valentine’s Day.

Roses can be very expensive on Valentine’s Day but they are not the only flowers you can give on this special day. Any type of flower which your partner really likes and will appreciate can be an appropriate gift on Valentine’s Day. In fact your partner may be extremely touched that you knew them well enough to pick out a different type of flower which you knew they would like. This shows that you put a great deal of thought and effort into buying flowers as opposed to buying red roses which may be more expensive but do not require nearly as much effort.

Another way to give the gift of flowers on Valentine’s Day is in the form of potted plants. These last much longer than fresh flowers which means your partner will be able to enjoy the gift for much longer. You will also have the option of choosing from a large variety of different types of plants. If you know what type of plants your partner will like, selecting a plant will be easy. However, even if you are not sure you can simply select a plant which you think your partner will find aesthetically appealing. The one caveat to buying potted plants is that you should seek out a plant which is relatively easy to care for so your partner will not have a difficult time caring for the plant.

You might also want to consider giving artificial flowers on Valentine’s Day. This may not seem overly romantic but artificial flowers are now actually made to look quite lifelike and some women may actually prefer artificial flowers to real flowers. This may be because artificial flowers require very minimal maintenance and do not require any special abilities to maintain the appearance of the flowers. Unlike potted plants which can be difficult to maintain and may die as a result of too much water, not enough water, too much sunlight, not enough sun or any number of factors artificial plants only need to be cleaned and dusted regularly to maintain their appearance.

A final way to give the gift of flowers on Valentine’s Day is to give your partner seeds or bulbs which they can plant in their own backyard. This can be a great deal of fun because it can be something you and your partner can do together. This type of gift is especially a good idea if your partner has an interest in gardening. However, even if your partner does not have much of an interest in gardening you can include a few books on gardening and a homemade coupon offering your services for an afternoon of work in the garden. This will make the give more special and will allow the two of you to spend some quality time together planting the flowers.

Ginger Malone
http://www.articlesbase.com/relationships-articles/giving-flowers-for-valentines-day-100888.html

It is difficult to imagine a garden with only “greenery” around, and no colorful flowers! In fact, it would not really look like a garden at all–no beauty, no color, no fragrance! Thus, your garden can be made “complete” only with the help of either annual flower gardening or perennial flower gardening!

An annual flower is one which survives only for one growing season, that is, its life cycle is completed within one season. New seeds or seedlings have to be planted if you want the same flowers again.

Perennials, on the other hand, last for two years or more, sometimes even lasting for decades. They do not have to be re-grown from seeds or seedlings. As they come back year after year, they keep growing in strength and becoming healthier.

I would like to caution you that perennial plants are costlier than annual flowers. But the advantage is that once these perennial flowers become members of your garden, they establish themselves permanently. Long-term, you do save on costs since you do not need to purchase new plants or seeds year after year!

Here are some features of perennial flower gardening–

(1) Before you actually begin your garden, do some research on the huge range of perennial flowers available (In fact, it is as if nature has made sure to cater to everyone’s tastes!), so that you can narrow down your choices to those that you ultimately wish to grow.

(2) There are perennial plants that require full sunlight. Some of them are–yarrow (variety of colors); extremely fragrant peonies that survive from late spring to early summer; also blooming in late spring to early summer is the bearded iris, so called because of the white beard attached to its cornflower-blue petals; the perennial sage grows beautiful lavender-coloured flowers; and trumpet-shaped, beige-pink daylilies with their lime throats.

(3) In contrast to the above-mentioned plants, there are some that can survive in semi-shaded areas, while others do not mind living in an area with total shade. Again, conduct a search and find out!

(4) Another important thing concerning perennial plants, is the exact blooming time for different kinds of flowers. Since each flower blossoms at a different time of the year, your perennial flower gardening is going to result in a breathtaking vista of vibrantly-colored flowers that you can delight in the whole year through!

(5) Just to give you an idea, here are some of the flowers you can grow. The growing season can be heralded with the planting of bluebells, bleeding hearts and rock cress. Candytuft, peonies, bell flower, oriental poppies, false indigo, leopard’s bane and columbine should do for late spring. Many times, these grow in summer as well. For mid-summer to late summer colors, choose stonecrop, mountain bluet, garden lilies snow-in-summer and violet sage. Finish off late summer and fall with goldenrod, mums, aster, black-eyed susans, blue leadwort, plaintain lily, boltonia nad purple coneflower.

(6) Where soil is concerned, it should have a good mix of sand and clay. The ground should be tilled to at least one foot in depth. The soil should have the quality of draining well. This type of soil is good enough for a majority of the perennial plants. There are some plants that can survive in acidic or alkaline soils too. In general, these flowers manage to survive even in not-so-ideal places.
For instance, while peonies grow in moderately moist places, the yarrow can survive with poor soil conditions.

(7) You could also check out each flower’s resistance to diseases. For instance, daylilies are extremely resistant to pest infestations and diseases.

(8) These plants are not easy to grow from seeds, though seeds are available. An easier way to begin your perennial flower gardening is to borrow (divide) a part of an existing plant, either from your neighbor or friend. Your money is safe in your pocket, plus the original plant becomes even healthier by obtaining adequate nutrients and water after the division.

(9) Which are the best seasons to divide the plants? As the first growing season comes to an end, the foliage and flowers wither up and die. The roots survive with the help of the food stored in them. They will ensure the re-growth of these plants in the coming season. Therefore, dividing is essential for this type of gardening.

Those flowers that come back in mid-summer to late summer can be divided during the spring season. Early fall is the time to divide plants that will bloom in spring. A few experts suggest dividing early spring plants as soon as they flower, giving the plant strength to survive till next spring.

(10) Once a plant has been divided, it has to be planted in the soil. The best time for perennial flower gardening is spring or fall seasons, since the weather is humid and cool. Of course, those plants growing in containers can be transplanted whenever you feel like doing so. Water is an essential requirement for all plants.

(11) Perennial flower gardening includes maintenance too. Faded and dead flowers have to be removed. Large flowers like peonies and roses can be just cut off, while plants having many stems with blooms need shearing.

(12) Deadheading should become a regular practice. For one, your garden looks neater. Secondly, you are allowing plants to conserve their energy to put forth many more flowers instead of forming seeds. Otherwise, there is haphazard reseeding and your garden looks totally disorganized. You will end up spending more and more time in your garden than indoors!

After all this, your perennial flower gardening may not turn out to be a huge success in the very first growing season! Have patience! The plants may not have attained full maturity as of yet, and so are taking their time to bloom. Just remember, your wait will be well worth it!

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/perennial-flower-gardening-12-tips-to-have-beauty-all-year-round-753782.html