Garden And Gardener

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Take care of your Christmas poinsettia: advice from Baby Bio®

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2016
Take care of your Christmas poinsettia: advice from Baby Bio®
Few things say Christmas more than a beautiful, striking poinsettia.
Once the red bracts start to fade many people throw them away, but with a little care the colour will deepen again and the plants will flourish.
A few drops of Baby Bio® Original or a Baby Bio® Original Drip Feeder in the pot and the colour of your poinsettia will get richer.
Baby Bio® has five top tips for making sure your poinsettia flourish throughout Christmas and beyond.
  1. Place in a nice light spot but not direct sunlight.
  2. Keep them away from drafts and avoid anywhere too cool.
  3. Water sparingly; over-watering could harm the plant.
  4. Feed monthly by putting a few drops of Baby Bio® in the watering can.
  5. Mist the plants regularly to prolong the flowering period.
“Poinsettia are stunning plants at any time of year so why not this year give them the care and attention they need to keep on flowering into the New Year,” said Christina Bouzala, Group Brand Manager of SMB Life Science Limited, owner of Baby Bio®.
“If you want to keep the plants for next year prune them in the spring, repot in the summer and then look forward another striking display next Christmas!”

 

first Virtual Reality (VR) chainsaw game

Friday, September 2nd, 2016

Husqvarna Launches Virtual Reality (VR) Chainsaw Limbing and VR Chainsaw Championship

HUSKVARNA, Sweden, September 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ —

Today, for all chainsaw fans around the world, Husqvarna releases the first Virtual Reality (VR) chainsaw game – Husqvarna Limberjack. Via Valve’s platform Steam, the game is now available to download world-wide for anyone that wants to test their limbing skills and compete for the new world championship title.  

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7908051-husqvarna-vr-chainsaw-game-limberjack/

Committed to exploring new possibilities that can help improve skills and safety within tree care, Husqvarna, a world leader in professional chainsaws now enters the virtual world with an online VR limbing game. With the game, Husqvarna hopes to gather insights on how new technology can play a future role in educating and training users on proper product use as well as generate interest for logging.

“VR limbing combines two extremes, one of the oldest professions in the world together with the newest technology available,” says Lars Strandell, multiple medallist from the bi-annual World Logging Championship. “Husqvarna Limberjack is fun and educational and just like limbing in the real world, technique, precision and speed is crucial for productivity and a good result.”

How to play

The Husqvarna VR experience brings the player to a beautiful mountainside with a lake where the player has to use a Husqvarna 359 chainsaw to remove 24 branches from a 2.7 meter long log. The player needs to pick up the chainsaw and remove the branches as accurately and quickly. Just like a professional logger, the player needs to limb fast, and with precision. If branches are not removed properly, the player will need to go back and re-do, losing time.

The exhilarating game includes a local as well as a global high score list, making it fun to compete both in groups at home and online against other VR limberjacks around the world.

Husqvarna Limberjack VR Championship – Annual Final in Sweden

At the end of each month, Husqvarna will announce the best Limberjack player in the world for the month, and in August 2017, the twelve best Limberjack players will be invited to the world championships final in Sweden.

About limbing

Limbing is a difficult and time consuming part of professional logging that requires good technique. It refers to the process of removing branches from a fallen tree before the log is transported away. Husqvarna Limberjack is inspired by one of the five disciplines from the World Logging Championship, a bi-annual competition that gathers the 150 best loggers from around the world. The current world reccord in real limbing is less than 9 seconds. To learn how to limb in the real world, read more here

Instructions and availability

The game is optimized for HTC Vive and can be downloaded for free on Steam and also available via http://www.limberjackvr.com

Desk allotment! Sprout seeds with Biosnacky from A.Vogel

Wednesday, August 31st, 2016

Sprout up’ with BioSnacky, the mini-greenhouse for your desk or windowsill

This is a lovely kit to grow fresh  sprouts at home. There’s a huge variety you can use to sprout and they are really delicious!

This seed sprouter is really lovely to use. It’s very simple in design, three layers of plastic sprouting space which have special filter devices that just let the water go through from the top layer to the middle layer and down to the bottom layer and into the tray at the bottom.

Adding seeds is very simple, rinsing with a small sieve makes sure they’re clean and then pop them into one of the trays.
It’s important not to put too many in one tray so they are not too overcrowded. This allows air to circulate.

The sprouts can be eaten at different stages, from just sprouted, to longer or when they’re starting to green up.

They are delicious served in a variety of ways from sprinkled on top of a salad, added to a sandwich, or sprinkled on the top of a meal. They can be added to stir fries too – the Chinese bean sprouts you enjoy are grown from mung bean seeds. They’re delicious raw and fresh too.

If you’re looking for a way to eat more fresh veegtables then sprouting seeds can be an easy way. No spades, no bags of compost, no plant pots and the only fork you need is the one you eat them with.

A very nice seed sprouting kit that you will get years of happy use from. It’s joyful seeing how quickly seeds sprout; it’ll intrigue  the kids watching them grow in the kitchen!

The plastic trays are easy to wash out. Hygiene is important to ensure the seeds grow cleanly. The transparent layers will be fun to watch as you pour the water in at the top and watch it flow through to the bottom tray.

 I recommend this sprouter as it’s easy to use and works really well!

If you don’t have a garden or access to an allotment, growing your own nutritious vegetables might seem like an impossible task, but with BioSnacky from A.Vogel you can now sprout seeds in your own home, no garden needed.

 

Sprouts are very young plants, one stage up from a seed, and appear days after being germinated. They are an incredible source of minerals, vitamins and complete proteins and, due to being a small plant carrying all the building blocks for a much bigger vegetable, they contain these natural vitamins in extremely high concentrations – sprouts really punch above their weight!

Healthy, fresh and delicious, sprouts can be grown in any season in a short period of time; simply choose which seeds you’d like to sprout from A.Vogel’s range and get growing…sprouted-seeds

o   Alfalfa – Organically grown alfalfa seeds that complement light meals such as salads.

o   Broccoli – Organically grown, fresh-tasting broccoli seeds.

o   Mild Aromatic Mix – Light and delicate lentil, mung bean and white radish seeds.

o   Gourmet Mix – A mixture of quinoa, radish and lentil seeds.

o   Fitness Mix – Antioxidant white radish, mung bean and wheat seeds.

o   Red Clover – Red clover sprouts look like alfalfa sprouts and have a mild sweet flavour.

o   Mung Bean – Organically grown mung bean seeds that have a mild, nutty taste.

o   Little Radish – Strong and spicy tasting seeds.

o   Wellness Mix – Mung bean, red clover, lentil and white radish seeds.

o   Menopause Pack – Which includes Alfalfa, Broccoli, Gourmet Mix and Red Clover seeds.

o   Superfood Pack – Which includes Broccoli, Detox Mix, Fitness Mix and Red Clover seeds

The range of sprouting seeds can be grown with A.Vogel’s BioSnacky germinators. They’re not expensive, you will see your seeds sprouting right in front of your eyes and with two sizes to choose from you could keep one on your desk for quick lunches and a larger one at home to add to evening meals. The sprouts can be harvested fresh from the germinator before they lose their nutritional benefits and, depending on the variety, the sprouts will be ready-to-eatwithin one week. For the healthiest sprouts, sow seeds thinly and water twice a day.

 

The BioSnacky system has two types of seed sprouters – both are easy to use, simple to clean and dishwasher safe:

o   Small Germinator (RRP £4.99 at avogel.co.uk) – The small glass germinator is ideal for the single person or small family.

o   Large Germinator (RRP £17.99 at avogel.co.uk) – If you’re looking to grow more than one batch of seeds, the large seed sprouter is perfect for you! With the 3 tier sprouter, you will be able to ‘sow’ your sprouts at staggered intervals – starting every 2 or 3 days. As one tray of sprouts is ready for harvesting, the others will contain seeds just starting to germinate.

With summer right around the corner, sprouts are the perfect addition to a salad, smoothie or soup. Why not make our refreshingly light Cucumber & Feta Cheese Salad using someBioSnacky alfalfa sprouts? Ideal for summer, the alfalfa sprouts give this Greek inspired salad an extra boost of goodness and flavour. Or if you’re hosting a dinner party this summer, our delicious Sweet Potato Canapés with a sprinkle of BioSnacky broccoli sprouts will definitely impress your guests.

A.Vogel, pioneers in natural health, have been producing quality products since 1902 and are now stocked at www.yourhealthfoodstore.co.uk and www.avogel.co.uk. For more information about BioSnacky or any of their other products visit www.avogel.co.uk or followA.Vogel_Health on Instagram.

And what do you do with the seeds after you’ve grown them? You can add them to any salad or serve as a side, use them in stirfries or enjoy them in these yummy recipes.
They can be snacked on as a healthy nutrition packed snack.

BioSnacky Recipes

Sweet Potato Canapes – http://www.avogel.co.uk/food/recipes/sweet-potato-canapes/

Sweet Potato Canapés

  • 2 medium sweet potatoes
  • Peanuts, salted if preferred
  • Olive oil
  • ½ red onion, finely chopped
  • Freshly chopped parsley
  • Handful of bioSnacky®Broccoli sprouts

For the peanut dip

  • 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
  • 3 tsp soya or natural yoghurt
  • ½ tsp grated ginger
  • 1 tsp sweet soy sauce
  • 1-2 tbsp maple syrup
  • ½ tsp lemon juice
  • Chilli powder

1. Heat the oven to 180°C. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into approx. 1cm pieces. Finely chop the peanuts and parsley. Wash the sprouts and leave to drain.

2. Put the potato pieces into a pan and sprinkle with a little olive oil (alternatively, use a pastry brush and coat all sides with the oil). Lay the pieces on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and bake them for about 15 minutes until they are tender.

3. Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the peanut dip together in a food blender until the mixture resembles a creamy sauce. Season to taste and use to coat the upper surface of the sweet potato pieces. Scatter over the onion slices and bake for a further 10 minutes until the onions are soft.

4. Leave them to cool slightly then top them with the chopped peanuts and parsley. Lastly, spread the BioSnacky® Broccoli sprouts over the top.

Cucumber and Feta Salad – http://www.avogel.co.uk/food/recipes/cucumber-feta-cheese-salad/

Cucumber & Feta Cheese Salad

  • 1 large cucumber, sliced
  • 1 head iceberg lettuce, washed, dried and torn into bite sized pieces
  • 1/2 cup of bioSnacky® Alfalfa sprouts
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 cup chopped dill
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta

1. Add the cucumber, lettuce, BioSnacky® Alfalfa sprouts and garlic to a bowl.

2. In a separate bowl mix lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper.

3. Drizzle over the salad.

4. Garnish with dill and feta.