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Why Do You Need to Learn Python?

Why Do You Need to Learn Python?

Python is a programming language that has been around since the 1980s. That’s when the Dutch programmer created it and named it after the famous British comedy group. Python is an open-source language intended for general purposes. But that’s not the only reason why you should use it. This article covers the main benefits of learning Python. Here’s why adding this programming language to your skill set can be valuable!

1. It's a Great Choice for Beginners

Learning a language used for programming isn’t much different from learning one used for writing or reading. The common problem for developers is that programming languages don’t look like anything they’ve seen before. But that’s not the case with Python because it relies on the English syntax. As a result, it’s easy to understand and become comfortable with, which is why beginners love this language.

First-time developers will also appreciate the interpreted nature of Python. It allows running code lines as soon as you complete them. Thanks to that, you can see the code in action and see if it requires any adjustments. That’s a great way to learn on the go and a time-saver during the learning process.

2. Data Science Is Its Main Use, but It's Highly Versatile

Although its history goes decades back, Python has become most popular in the last several years. It’s the data science that contributed to this popularity since this programming language is a perfect fit for it.

The main benefit is scalability and easy maintenance. Python doesn’t require expert knowledge in math fields or statistics to apply this language to data science. That’s important for developers handling large data quantities. The industries that use Python range from academic and government institutions to manufacturing, finance, and tech companies. The ability to handle huge data sets efficiently and perform repetitive tasks makes Python a tempting option for data scientists.

But that’s far from the only use of Python. Here’s a quick overview of other ways to use this programming language.

Web Development

Python offers vast flexibility and versatility. It makes this language a great fit for web development. PHP might have been the most dominant option, but Python provides the same potential while saving time on writing the code.

Programmers have many web frameworks available, such as Django and Flask. These are an excellent choice for an all-around web development that will impress users with fantastic functionality and presentations. Another indicator that Python is excellent for web development is that Google uses it on YouTube and other platforms. Dropbox’s core was also built with this programming language.

AI and Machine Learning

These two fields are imperative for data science, as well as software engineering. It’s impressive how these fields are developing, and Python generously contributes to this. MATLAB has been the most popular choice for scientific research among scientists and scholars.

However, Python has some impressive computational packages available. Thanks to those, it can achieve fantastic results while using the code more efficiently. The fact Python is an interpreted language indicates users can execute the code without compiling data. You can use data visualization utilities to design graphs and present the information you gather in a simple and attractive way.

Gaming and App Development

Python offers real-time testing, making it crucial to speed up the development process of gaming and other apps. It saves effort and time for programmers, and it’s an excellent choice for prototyping. If you are working on an app or game, Python’s testing options allow you to identify bugs efficiently. It helps you recognize and fix potential issues early in the development. That increases the odds of optimizing the final product version and ensuring it comes with minimum or no issues.

3. A Huge Number of Libraries and Excellent Compatibility with Other Languages

As an open-source language, Python is available to all developers worldwide for free. Furthermore, many programmers develop a code and upload it to their library collections. The estimation is that over 120,000 libraries of pre-written code are available online. That makes the job easier for first-time and experienced developers. Newbies can rely on existing codes working flawlessly, while advanced programmers can save time by using these libraries.

Python has excellent compatibility with other programming languages. Examples of crossovers include CPython (integration with C) and Jython (integration with Java). Another benefit is that Python works flawlessly on different platforms. It doesn’t matter if you work with macOS, Linux, or Windows. You can rest assured that your code will function well across all platforms.

4. Python Is the Most Popular Programming Language in 2022

There are different methods to determine the popularity of programming languages. But regardless of your approach, it’s impossible to imagine a list of the most popular options without Python. According to the TIOBE Programming Community index, this language has the highest rating in the industry. In May 2022, its rating was 12.74%. It was enough to overturn C from the throne and become the most popular programming language.

Python has been in the top three options for years. Short and long-term forecasts are equally encouraging. Due to its versatility and ease of use, Python is likely to remain a favorite option among companies and developers in years to come.

5. You Can Earn a Lot of Money with Python

If you are thinking about making programming your career, Python is an excellent choice. It’s versatile, challenging, and interesting to use this language. On top of that, it opens many doors and ensures high salaries.

According to the information available on Indeed, the current average salary for a Python developer in the US is $114K yearly. Even beginner developers can look forward to at least $78K annually. Once you become an expert, your salary can increase to $150K or more. The best Python developers earn above $245K annually, making this a tempting job option.

Final Thoughts

Python has become a prominent choice for beginners and advanced programmers. You can see it across many industries, and it’s popular in data science, web and app development, etc. This programming language is incredibly versatile and user-friendly. In addition, it’s open-source and has numerous libraries available.

Python allows the development of simple scripts and advanced applications efficiently. If you stumble across any issues while coding, you can count on a helpful internet community to assist in resolving the issue. Overall, Python is a smart choice if you want to learn a programming language. It’s fun and powerful, with the only limit of writing the code being your imagination. Don’t hesitate to give Python a shot and see why it’s the most popular programming language out there!

Preparing Your Garden for Next Year

After harvesting your garden in the fall, it’s easy to think your work is done for the season. This isn’t the case, though. A great garden starts the fall before. Putting in some prep work before winter sets in can help get everything off to a great start come spring.

Essential End-of-the-eason Tasks

Remove all diseased plants from the garden and dispose of them in the trash. Do not add them to your compost pile. Getting rid of them completely minimizes the chance that pathogens will harbor in the soil over the winter and infect plants the following spring.
Let healthy plants stay. They’ll break down over the winter to add nutrients and organic matter to the soil.
Sprinkle a light fertilizer application on the soil like bone meal, rock phosphate, kelp meal, or blood meal. These organic fertilizers release nutrients slowly over the winter and will be readily available for plants in the spring.
Turn the soil, working it to a depth of about one foot. Turning it will work in that remaining plant material, speeding decomposition.
Remove any invasive weeds that sprouted during the growing season.
Prune perennial vegetable plants like asparagus and rhubarb.
Harvest finished compost from your pile and add new materials to regenerate it. The reactions will slow over the winter but may not halt completely.
Replenish mulch on the garden beds for the winter. Keeping the soil covered helps prevent weed growth in early spring and retains soil moisture.

Ways to Recharge Your Soil for Spring

Autumn is the perfect time to add raw organic material to the garden soil. Over the winter, these items start the decomposition process, so nutrients become available in the ground. When you plant your new crops in the spring, their new roots can quickly absorb them.

Common raw organic materials include fallen leaves or pine needles from your landscape trees and grass clippings from the final mowing of the season. You can also plant a cover crop after harvest to add “green manure” to the garden bed.

What is Green Manure?

Cover crops are planted solely to help the soil instead of being harvested. They typically help control soil erosion while improving moisture retention and preventing weed seed germination.

When these cover crops are tilled into the soil in late fall, they add organic matter and nutrients, improving the soil fertility and quality. Common green manures include legumes such as clover, beans, and peas, and grasses like oats, annual ryegrass, rapeseed, and winter wheat.

Saving Seeds for Next Year

Gardeners have been saving seeds from one season to plant the next as long as people have been growing their food. While it may sound challenging and extra work for you at the end of the season, the results are rewarding.

Advantages of Saving Vegetable Seeds for Future Plantings

Selecting Which Seeds to Save

When choosing which plants to save seeds from, you want to avoid biennial crops, F1 hybrid varieties, and plants with separate female and male flowers.

Biennial crops like beets and carrots produce vegetables in the first season and seeds in the second, so you need to keep plants healthy for two years.
F1 hybrids combine traits of two separate parent plants. These seeds are often infertile, but if they germinate, the resulting vegetables will have different characteristics than the parent plant.
Plants that produce separate female and male flowers, like many cucurbits and corn, may cross-pollinate and create hybrids instead of keeping the variety pure. Cross-pollination may affect the quality of the seeds produced and the flavor of the vegetables grown.

Always look for the most vigorous plants that have produced the best vegetables. Avoid weak plants or those with unusual-shaped fruit. The goal is to encourage traits you want to see in your crops.

Harvesting Seeds at the Right Time

One of the critical aspects of saving seeds is knowing when to harvest them from plants. You need the seeds to be fully mature, which isn’t always the case when you usually harvest the vegetable for eating.

Many cucurbits (cucumbers, summer squash, eggplants, zucchini) are harvested and eaten when the fruits are still young, and the seeds haven’t matured. If you want to save seeds, you must leave one or two in the garden to fully mature.
With peas and beans, you can leave pods on the plant until they start to turn brown and then harvest them.
For vegetables like tomatoes and peppers, let the veggies ripen fully on the plant, and then harvest them to collect seeds.

Proper Seed Storage

The length of a seed’s viability depends on the plant type and the storage environment. For instance, tomato seeds may be viable longer than five years, but squash seeds are usually only viable for less time.

After collecting your seeds, remove any pulp from around them, and ensure they are correctly dried. Once ready, you should store each type in individual envelopes that are well labeled.

Then put these envelopes in an airtight container and place the container in a dry place, up off the ground.

Putting your seeds in the freezer can extend their viability and help some plants germinate better. Just ensure the seeds are properly dried, and the freezer temperature doesn’t fluctuate wildly. Put the container in the back of the freezer instead of in the door.

Harvesting Techniques

Harvesting is the exciting, rewarding part of gardening, so you want to ensure you’re doing it correctly and at the right time! After investing a season of time and effort, it would be disappointing to have lackluster vegetables or damage them when you’re trying to pick them.

Best Tools for Harvesting Vegetables

There isn’t a need to purchase special tools for harvest. You can pull many vegetables right off the plant using your hands. In some cases where the stems are thick (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage) or are starting to get woody (vining crops like pumpkins, squash, and melons), use pruning shears or a sharp knife to cut what you want off the plant.

Deciding on the Best Time to Harvest

Picking your vegetables at the perfect time rewards you with the freshest, most flavorful produce. But that ideal harvesting time varies a little depending on what you’re growing.

If you harvest too early, the vegetables may not acquire their full flavor. Some veggies — those technically classified as fruits like tomatoes, peppers, peas, and beans — will continue to ripen after being picked, but they aren’t as flavorful.

You may have missed the peak taste if you wait and harvest too late. The vegetables may become woody and tough, and the produce will spoil quickly after harvesting.

As vegetables start to look ripe, pick a sample to check the flavor.

Best Harvesting Techniques

One of the biggest mistakes gardeners make is neglecting to check their vegetables regularly when they are ripening. Peas and beans only take a day or two to go from tender to tough. Zucchini and cucumbers take only a few days to grow, from a couple of inches long to over a foot.

It’s also best to harvest early in the day, just after the dew dries off your plants. They are the sweetest and juiciest early in the morning. Plants picked during the hottest part of the day can wilt immediately after harvesting, especially leafy vegetables.

Harvesting Tips

Gently twist tomatoes until the fruit breaks free from the vine.
Snip or snap off peppers, so part of the stem remains on the pepper.
Use a garden fork to harvest root crops and potatoes.
Pick the larger outer leaves of lettuces and other leafy vegetables first, letting the new center continue developing.
Use shears to cut squash, pumpkins, eggplants, and zucchinis from the vine.
Twist cucumbers until they break free from the plant. You may want to wear gloves to protect your hands.
Pinch stems between your thumb and forefinger when picking beans and peas.
Cut broccoli heads off the stem with a sharp knife. Plants can withstand a light frost before harvesting.
Break Brussels sprouts right off the stem, starting with the largest ones.
Once the tassels on corn turn brown, pull the ears downward, twisting them off the stalk.

Pollination

Pollination is one of the most critical components of a successful garden harvest. Without pollination, you won’t have vegetables to eat. The trouble, though, is pollination isn’t always guaranteed. Sometimes it’s poor, but there are ways to improve it to help ensure a bountiful yield.

What Is Pollination, and Why Is it Important?

Vegetable plants reproduce through pollination, creating seeds surrounded by the fruit we eat. This fertile offspring helps carry genetic information to the next generation of plants.

For pollination to occur, pollen must be moved from the male to the female flowers. When done correctly, it triggers fruit production. When a female flower doesn’t get completely pollinated, the plant aborts the fruit that the flower was destined to produce and channels energy into making others.

Signs of poor pollination

For most plants, poor pollination results in a reduced number of fruits or no fruit. But sometimes, it results in incomplete pollination where not all ovules are pollinated, so the resulting fruit is deformed or drops off the plant early.

What Leads to Poor Pollination?

There are numerous causes of poor or incomplete pollination:

A lack of bees in your garden is one of the most common reasons. Bees are the primary pollinator of vegetable crops, but they need more than just veggie plants to survive.
Poor pollination can also result if the female flowers bloom on cooler, rainy days.
Plants could be spaced too far apart for bees to pollinate them effectively.
Something happened in your plant that reduced or halted flower production. Drought stress, over-fertilization, pest problems, and disease can trigger fewer flowers.
You may have an insufficient number of plants. If your vegetable needs another plant for cross-pollination, you must have at least a second plant of that same variety.

Ways to Improve Pollination

There are many ways to encourage pollination in your garden and, in turn, improve yields:

Add clumps of brightly colored, successively blooming flowers to the garden and your lawn to draw in pollinators.

Make sure you plant tomatoes where they can get a gentle breeze.

Give plants a helping hand, moving pollen from flower to flower.

Do not over-fertilize your plants. An abundance of nitrogen encourages vegetative growth instead of flower development.

Use lawn and garden chemicals that aren’t harmful to bees, and spray during the day when bees aren’t active.

Be mindful of your watering schedule. Bees are more active early in the morning and just before dusk. Water when they are less busy, so they don’t come across flowers filled with water.

How to Manually Pollinate Flowers

Hand pollinating flowers is as simple as moving pollen from male to female parts. The challenge is determining which parts are which.

On dioecious plants with separate male and female flowers, you’ll need to work with one of each.

Monoecious plants have male and female anatomy within one flower and typically don’t need manual pollination. To improve pollination, shake the plant gently to dislodge pollen from the stamens, so it settles onto the stigma.

Monitoring for Pests and Disease

Pest and disease problems can be challenging in a vegetable garden, and they can quickly damage plants and reduce yields, making it essential you regularly monitor for issues. To minimize the effects, you need to treat problems rapidly.

Signs of Distress

Many different symptoms appear when plants have insect or disease problems, making it hard to figure out what problem you’re facing or even what symptoms to scout for. However, plants most commonly show us distress as stunted growth, or the leaves appear distorted, wilted, or yellowed.

When you see these symptoms in your plant, it’s critical to examine them more closely to determine the exact cause of the problem. You’ll often see specific differences that help pinpoint the issue.

Common Garden Pests and How to Treat Them

Insect pests in your plants are one of the most frustrating aspects of vegetable gardening. You need to constantly be scouting for infestations and treat them quickly once they are found. When left untreated, insect pests can quickly destroy an entire plant or even a large section of your garden.

Some of the most common problems with vegetables include:

Aphids

Spider Mites

Scale

Japanese beetles

Cutworms

Leafminers

Whiteflies

Earwigs

Mealybugs

Colorado potato beetle

If you spot problems in your garden, the first thing to do is to try to physically remove pests by hand. This is helpful with larger species like cutworms but might be inefficient for smaller bugs. Once you’ve removed what you can, spray your plants with a stream of water to knock as many off as possible. Then apply an insecticidal soap or neem oil, covering the plant

As a last resort, treat your plants with a chemical pesticide and follow label directions, especially if it’s close to harvest.

Common Garden Diseases and How to Treat Them

A long list of fungal, viral, and bacterial diseases affect plants. Some of these diseases are specific to certain plant varieties, and others infect hosts regardless of the plant type.

Some of the most common diseases that wreak havoc on garden plants, and show no preference for species, are:

Powdery mildew

Early blight

Late blight

Leaf spots

Canker

Bacterial wilt

Fusarium wilt

Anthracnose

Grey mold/botrytis

Viral diseases

Root rot

Unfortunately, when it comes to many diseases, there are limited treatment options. Once your plant is infected, the best action is to pull it from the ground and discard it. Some fungal diseases are treated using sulfur- or copper-based fungicides.

Why Is Prevention Better Than Treatment?

Since many diseases are untreatable, and insect infestations can quickly reduce plant yields, it’s essential to try to prevent problems. It’s easier to put preventative measures in place than to scramble to control a situation. Any infestation, even a small one, can significantly impact the plant, even if you don’t see physical symptoms.

Supporting Young Plants

As your garden vegetables grow from tiny seedlings into larger, mature plants, some will need support while others won’t. Knowing which plants need extra help is essential so you can address it early instead of waiting until it’s too late.

Why Do Plants Often Need Support?

There are a couple of different reasons vegetable plants often need support. It is usually done as plants get heavy with fruit to keep the stems from snapping or the fruit off the ground. Keeping the fruit up minimizes mold and fungal problems and results in fewer pest problems. Fruit is easy to feed on when it’s near the soil.

Plants can also be staked, or supported in other ways, to improve air circulation through the foliage. Having them grow upwards instead of sprawling all over the soil allows you to walk between the plants and makes harvesting easier.

Garden Vegetables That Need Support

Climbing peas, which are sometimes called vining peas. - Pole beans. - Most types of tomatoes. Some plants are shorter in stature, but the heavy fruits weigh branches down. Indeterminate varieties continue to grow all season and will sprawl unless you support them.
Pole beans.
Most types of tomatoes. Some plants are shorter in stature, but the heavy fruits weigh branches down. Indeterminate varieties continue to grow all season and will sprawl unless you support them.

Some varieties of squash, melons, cucumbers, and miniature pumpkins produce better-shaped fruit if trained to grow up a trellis. But their fruits may need extra support if they get heavy to keep them from snapping off the vines.

Different Ways to Support Young Plants

When it comes to supporting your plants, sturdier structures are always better. It may be difficult to imagine how heavy a fully-laden mature plant will be, so it’s best to over-prepare.

The most common ways to support plants include trellises, cages, and stakes.

Trellises have two or more vertical supports with horizontal cross supports to create a grid pattern to support climbing plants. They’re popular for growing peas and pole beans.
Cages are usually circular frames made of wire, but newer heavy-duty square cages are commonly used for tomatoes.
Stakes can be metal or wooden. They’re driven into the ground close to the plant, and the main stem is lashed to the stake.

When Should You Put a Support Structure in Place?

The best time to install the supports is when you plant. As your vegetables grow, you can attach them to the structure if necessary using stretchy ties or specially designed plant clips. Some plants like peas and cucumbers grow tiny tendrils that wrap around the support naturally.

Once a plant gets larger, it’s much more cumbersome to attach it to a trellis or set a cage around it. You also increase the chances of snapping stems or branches.

Direct-Sowing Crops

Direct sowing is when you plant seeds directly into the garden soil versus starting them in containers and then transplanting them into the ground.

Some people like to direct-sow as many crops as possible, while some gardeners prefer to use starts completely, and others use a mix of the two.

The Benefits of Direct Sowing

Choosing to direct-sow seeds over buying plant starts has many advantages.

Seeds are cheaper to buy than plants, and you have more varieties to choose from. The great selection is helpful if you’re looking for lesser-known or heirloom vegetable varieties.
Growing your own plants from seed guarantees you know how they were raised and gives you control over all of the inputs used to raise plants to harvest.
Buying seed packets is more environmentally friendly than purchasing plants. They use less energy in their transportation to the store and have less packaging.

When Should You Plant Your Vegetable Seeds?

Depending on their cold tolerance, there are two different timing schedules for direct sowing vegetable seeds:

Seeds that you can plant early in the season

Plants known as cool-season crops can be sown in the garden much earlier in the season. These plants prefer cooler air and soil temperatures and might survive a light frost. Therefore, you can plant them before the spring frost-free date. Cool-season crops include leafy greens, peas, carrots, beets, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, parsnips, and turnips.

Seeds that need to be planted after the last spring frost

Warm-season crops are less tolerant of cold and can’t withstand frost, so they can’t be planted until there is no threat of frost. These vegetables include peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, and sweet corn.

Prepping the Garden Bed Before Planting

Before sowing seeds, you must prepare the garden soil. Start by digging down about ten inches to a foot, working it to break up any large clumps of dirt. Remove any large rocks, trash, or other debris. Add three to four inches of finished compost to the top of the soil and work everything well again to incorporate the organic matter.

Proper Seed Spacing

Each vegetable seed packet has a recommended spacing on the back. This spacing is different between vegetable species. While it’s tempting to plant them closer together, it’s essential to follow this guideline.

When plants are adequately spaced, they also create a canopy over the soil that shades out weeds and helps keep the soil moist.

Do the Seeds Need to Be Covered?

It’s also important to read the seed packet regarding planting depth. Some seeds can be scattered on top of the soil and left to germinate. They need sunlight to germinate, so they can’t be covered. Other seeds don’t need sunlight and should be buried under the soil, so they don’t get dislodged or eaten.

Transplanting into the Garden

Moving your starts to the garden is a little more involved than digging a hole and putting them in the ground. You need to know the best time to move them, how to harden them off before planting them outside, and some other vital tips.

When Is the Best Time to Transplant?

The best time to move starts to the garden is highly dependent on how tolerant they are to cold temperatures.

To understand when you can transplant, you need to know if your veggies are classified as cool-season or warm-season vegetables.

Cool-season crops love the lower temperatures of spring and fall and do not like high temps. They are typically also more cold-tolerant and may be able to handle light frost so that they can go in the ground earlier in the spring, sometimes before the chance of frost is over.
Warm-season vegetables like the high heat of summer and typically aren’t cold-tolerant. You can’t transplant them until after the chance of spring frost is gone.

Hardening Plants Before Moving Them Outdoors

When you start your seeds indoors, the plants have become accustomed to indoor conditions. To minimize transplant shock caused by moving them outdoors, you need to begin acclimating them to the different sunlight and temperature about a week before moving the plant to the garden. This process is known as hardening off.

Set the plants outside for a few hours in a sunny spot protected from the wind, bringing them in at night. Every day put them outside a bit longer until it’s time to transplant.

Tips and Techniques for Transplanting

Dig a hole at least twice as wide and one and a half times as deep as the container the seedlings are in before transplanting.
Remove plants from their container carefully to avoid damaging their roots.
Water the garden soil before transplanting so it is damp but not overly wet.
Plant tomato transplants deeply. You can bury them past their first set of leaves to encourage roots to form along the entire part of the buried stem.
Plant other vegetables at the same depth they were in their containers.
Make sure you space plants at their recommended distance apart. Plants compete with neighboring vegetable plants when planted too closely, and no one receives the resources needed for optimal growth.
Work in overcast or drizzly weather if possible. If this isn’t in the forecast, plant early in the morning before the sun gets too hot.

Protecting Your Transplants from Weather and Pests

The first few weeks your starts are in the garden, you need to keep a close eye on the weather. If there is an unexpected chance of frost, cover them to protect them from cold damage. Also, watch closely for pest problems since the new plants are more susceptible to infestation.

An excellent way to protect against both is to use row cover tunnels for the first weeks until your starts get established.

NLD/Fertilizing D- Leaves problem

Groeit uw _COMMON_NAME_ langzaam en heeft doffe, doffe bladeren? Tijd om hem te bemesten! Een wateroplosbare meststof met een hoog stikstofgehalte of een uitgebalanceerd NPK is een goede keuze. Stikstof kan de bladeren van de plant helpen sterker te groeien en een levendige groene kleur te krijgen.

In water oplosbare meststoffen bevatten over het algemeen kant-en-klare-/water oplosbare korrels/geconcentreerde vloeibare meststof, etc. Kant-en-klaar kan direct worden gebruikt, terwijl water oplosbare korrels/geconcentreerde vloeibare meststof moeten worden verdund voor gebruik. Een gebruikte methode kan zijn om de meststof rechtstreeks op de bladeren van planten te sproeien – vooral die met grote bladeren – waar hij door de bladeren zal worden geabsorbeerd. Als alternatief kunt u ook de meststof toevoegen aan het water wanneer u het in de grond giet, zo zullen de planten het via de wortels opnemen.

Meststoffen met langzame afgifte zijn over het algemeen Smart-Release korrels of spikes, en samenstellingen. Meststoffen met langzame afgifte geven de meststoffen langzaam vrij, zodat de planten voortdurend voedingsstoffen krijgen. Wanneer nieuwe planten worden geplant, kunnen langzaam vrijkomende meststoffen als basismeststof aan de grond worden toegevoegd. Wanneer de plant stabiel groeit, begraaft u de langzaam vrijkomende meststof regelmatig in de grond rond de plant of strooit u de langzaam vrijkomende meststof gewoon op het grondoppervlak, en de meststof zal langzaam vrijkomen met water geven of regenval.