|
Post by auriela on Dec 30, 2013 0:40:11 GMT
Hey does anyone have any suggestions for keeping slugs off my kale, and romaine lettuce? Ive tried salt, and a few other very odd southern suggestions, but nothing helps. I don't want to spray cause that defeats the purpose of having an organic garden. Take a two litre coke or juice plastic bottle cut it in half and use the top part with the lid to cover your veg until it gets two big for the bottle. Surround your veg with gravel they hate it.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2014 15:30:51 GMT
A wee update on the aquaponics system I set up. I had a wee hiccup when the new timer I bought on boxing day for flooding the garden packed it in. I didn't notice until yellow leaves started to broadcast distress on the lettuce. (likely a couple days) Just been plugging it in and unplugging it manually since (until I make it to town for a replacement timer) and everything's green and lush again. The lettuce is about 4 inches tall and bushy. Peppers are only about a good 2 inches but healthy and robust. The broccoli is a good 3 inches and looks quite content. And finally, my biggest want, my tomatoes are almost 6 inches tall and very happy looking. Underneath in the fish tank, the big cichlid and the 2 big barbs seem healthy and very robust. I'm thinking however that it's getting to where I may benefit from a bit more fish poop in the solution so I'm considering grabbing another good sized tank-mate or two for the fishies. Plecos that outgrew their original haunts and aren't wanted anymore seem pretty easy to come by.
|
|
|
Post by Stumour on Jan 14, 2014 22:26:59 GMT
2" is superb for peppers, considering they grow into wee trees. Slower growing than likes o tomatoes.
We got two plecos for Aurie's new tank cos it's a big yin.... are ye sure ye want plecos in an aquaponics system, or are they just to keep algae growth down?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2014 1:14:36 GMT
Plecos would be fine additions in the system as there's lots of room. (42 inches by 54 inches, and over a foot deep) The algae would only be able to provide part of their diet, but it would be nice to keep the algae in check as it consumes nutrients that I'd rather made it to my garden. If the fish were a decent size they'd hafta supplement their diet with scavenging, but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be a problem as in my experience, plecos been pretty omnivorous. After all is said and done though, I don't really think the plants could give a hoot what kinda fish is supplying the poop where they draw their nutrients from. It's impressive how much stuff has picked up the pace again now that I discovered the faulty timer and manually plugged in and unplugged the system for a couple days. Lettuce is lush again and around 4 inches tall now. The peppers aren't much taller, but it's a stocky and bushy good 2 inches. The broccoli is kicking in bigtime too and a good 4 inches tall now. And my t'maters... 6 inches is kinda conservative anymore and they're bushier than Brooke Shields' eyebrows. I went to town today and replaced the faulty timer with a really good one. *knock on wood* I've got everything programmed and set up but I wanna go downstairs in 2 hours and make sure everything's working properly. I also grabbed a couple new fish for the system too. They looked pretty stressed when we finally made it home so I'm hoping they pull through. They'll be in quarantine (little 10 gallon tank) for a couple days yet so I'll be able to keep a pretty good eye on them. I also grabbed a good half dozen cherry shrimp for their janitorial aide and to provide a bit of fancy vittles for the fishies once they start reproducing heartily. They'll inherit the 10 gallon tank once it's no longer needed for quarantine purposes.
|
|
|
Post by Stumour on Jan 15, 2014 1:42:58 GMT
mmmm Brooke Shields
the shrimps are a good add to the plecos cos o them being bottom dwellers.
Still have doubts on the plecos... what type are they? We got Chinese (Hong Kong) ones that won't grow big... adult at a couple o cm
edit... meant to add... I struggled gettin the long hair's wee 40 litre tank into her loft... my poor auld back
My own tank is wee, but I do stay in a tiny flat... 70l it is
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2014 2:33:26 GMT
I actually don't have any plecos at the moment, but the bigger the better really, so I'm kinda keeping an eye out for any cheap ones. There are actually a few around that folks just don't have room for anymore and will just give away to a good home. I'd still throw em a little something though as a thanks.
I've got the three setups. A little 10 gallon one (quarantine, and soon to become shrimp central) a 30 gallon one that's in the living room and the showiest one, and then the 110 gallon pond for my aquaponics system. I'm also using about a one gallonglass bowl for the new shrimp until quarantine detail for the 2 new big ciclids is through.
And yeah, cherry shrimp are a terrific addition for almost any tank as they do lots of janitorial work. They'll clean algae and uneaten food almost until the place shines. Carcasses, whether from their fallen brethren, or from other unfortunate inhabitants, will be cleaned up and turned into regular waste. (or better still, food for my plants) They're even mentioned as being beneficial in combating some diseases, but I never read the whole affair. On top of that they're allegedly VERY prolific and can provide a considerable source of rich food that's quite enjoyed by many different fishies. A welcome addition to my collection indeed.
|
|
|
Post by Stumour on Jan 19, 2014 13:26:25 GMT
It's just a pity I can't really have anything in with the frogs. They frogs are fast n would devour any additions. Some have said plecos can avoid them, but ain't chancing it.
Got a tank that's about 56l that needs a new hood afore setting up... gonna fabricate one for it so it's custom to suit my needs n get some neon tetras n maybe a couple o ciclids. Love watchin neons dart about
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2014 13:34:23 GMT
A good fish for breaking in a tank being newly set up is those little zebra danios. They're almost as small as zebra danios so they're real unimposing, plus they're about as cheap as it gets, but the really great thing about them is that they're virtually indestructible and will get the desired bacteria cultures established almost no matter how tough ya make it.
|
|
|
Post by Stumour on Jan 19, 2014 18:35:40 GMT
Ye gave me a hankering for the aquaponics as my frogs need cleaned often. All I need to figure is how best to utilise the compact space I have. Bay window is ideal as it's very south facing. So much so, I have to draw the curtains on sunny summer days!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2014 21:20:02 GMT
The sun can't be beat of course, and it's free. The setup in my basement is only using 2 55 watt bulbs and it started with just 1 for the first couple weeks. I'm gonna grab 2 more though as a 2 foot square is about what each of them is really effective for and my garden is about 4 feet square, so 4 bulbs in a square would be just about right. If you've got a nice sunny window though then that's a piece of cake.
I'll be eating romaine lettuce in a week or two now (I could already start plucking leaves if I really wanted to, but those first big leaves are valuable factories for the plants so I'm leaving them alone for a while yet) and I'm expecting to see the tomatoes begin flowering by valentines if not sooner. Now that I replaced that timer and stuff's getting fed/watered regularly it's getting pretty lush down there.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2014 3:42:17 GMT
Every time you talk about the aquaponics I keep seeing the movie "Saving Grace" in my head.
|
|
|
Post by Stumour on Jan 20, 2014 3:45:29 GMT
we usually call it hydroponics here, but normally related to growing "greenery" under heat lamps.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2014 13:11:50 GMT
Actually aquaponics and hydroponics, though related, are a bit different. I used hydroponics twenty some odd years back when I did fiddle with ... gardening for recreational purposes. Like you said though, it's strictly concerning the garden. Aquaponics melds that aspect with farming fish and/or other critters. Although I have no intentions of eating the fish I'm growing below my garden I am utilizing the valuable coexistence they share. The fish are fertilizing the garden in a great way, while at the same time letting the garden carry out much of the filtration requirements for the fish. A real pain in the butt showed up yesterday though as I was looking stuff over and noticed a small drip from the growbed. Despite the fact that it's a very minor leak and occurs directly above the fish tank so there's no mess, I've decided that it's likely wisest to address it now before there's a jungle to work around. I've never known a leak to get smaller and smaller and eventually go away. Quite the opposite in fact, so today I've got everything taken apart and am going to clean up then scrub the tray, whereupon I'll caulk everything and apply a good coat of sealant of some sort. Like I said, it's quite a pain in the butt, however I know that if I procrastinate the chore will only get bigger and bigger, as well as the cause possibly getting worse as well.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2014 20:42:26 GMT
That wee pain in the butt that I mentioned yesterday evolved into major grief today, despite me trying to head it off at the pass. Turns out that the tiny leak I noticed was actually a flaw in the tray, and when I was flooding it after removing the gravel, it decided it was going to crack wide open. Like I mentioned, luckily it's all above the fish pond so at least there wasn't water everyplace. I do however hafta dismantle everything and repair the tray.
I figured since I'm most of the way there already, I might just as well move the entire operation over to the bigger room beside it. The extra elbow space will definitely come in handy, and I will have room to consider expanding if I desire. As well as that fact, it has two wall outlets where the small room it was set up in initially only had one. I was making do with power bars in the one wall plug but another outlet will definitely be a big improvement, not to mention a considerable added convenience as well. Looks like I'm gonna be pretty busy for the next few days though.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2014 14:58:36 GMT
Everything has been repaired and reinforced, and it's all been moved to the bigger room for a few days now. During all the handling I noted that some of the stalks were rather easy to make wobble around (stocky, but just not soundly anchored by the roots) so I decided to hook up an oscillating fan and plug it into the timer with the pump/garden-feeder. Only 6 minutes 4 times a day, but after 2 days stuff's already sound enough to shake lightly with no effect.
|
|