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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2013 0:07:55 GMT
romaine is a splendid lettuce... try the red variety too, sir. Oh... now is the time to plant garlic... it needs severe frosts to kick it up the arse. Me n she have wild garlic in pots that we "rescued" late summer.... it's incredibly potent.... far better than the shit that stores flog ya. Also, garlic keeps other critters at bay such as carrot fly n cabbage whites (the main cause o caterpillars). Try planting marigolds too in between crops to deter pests edit.... marigold flowers are nice in salads too... That puts garlic on my "must grow some in my garden outside" list as them white butterflies and their little green catterpillars are terrible in a few other things, but especially my broccoli. I know about marigolds being great for repelling quite a few undesirable insects, but I've never heard of eating them before. I recently read that mint is also useful in very much the same bug-repellant way and it turns out I planted 3 different strains (moroccan mint, apple mint, and chocolate mint) down by the beaverpond last year since the soil there is so rich and moist. It was growing like mad there so I guess I'll just hafta grab some runners this Spring and transplant them up by my garden to see if they help. All that's months away though and pests are a non-issue in my basement where I'm doing the gardening for the next while. I just started a couple plants from a hardy tomato strain, and some sweet red peppers a couple hours ago. Looking like I'll hafta unwrap that second growlamp pretty soon the way things are going, but at about $30 a year for bulbs and maybe a bit over $100 a year for the power, it sounds like a pretty easy way to get some far nicer veggies than I can from the supermarket, and for notably less moola too.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2013 15:04:27 GMT
Don't ask me how it coulda got there, but I was just downstairs fiddling with my toy garden and was blown away to see a tiny slug has somehow found it's way to the plant growbed. It's just tiny (3/4 of an inch and not much fatter than a pencil lead) and they're actually not too unwelcome yet, as they are part of a complete ecosystem like I'm trying to establish. The only possibilities I can even possibly fathom is that it must have been holed up in the sack of spuds or the sack of onions over in the cold room, (next room over) so I'll hafta go check that stuff out for rot today and make sure it doesn't get a foothold if I find some.
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Post by swannie on Dec 9, 2013 20:10:46 GMT
Aquaponics ... I am shamefully dreadful at gardens n stuff, however a friend of mine has been doing this aquaponics way for a while and is always raving about it.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2013 20:29:10 GMT
I'm still in the basic setup stages and haven't even gotten to where I have everything automated yet by a longshot, but even still it's quite apparent that the rewards are going to be noteworthy, along with the satisfaction too. I've only been fiddling around with it for maybe a couple weeks so far, and already my onions are about 3 inches tall. The broccoli and lettuce are a couple inches or so and I already see a sprout from one of the 2 tomato plants I just planted 3 days ago. Granted, I have had a bit of a green thumb for a long time, but this looks like it'd be easy for even someone who has lousy gardening skills.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2013 16:06:05 GMT
I've gotta say that I'm pretty dang impressed with how well this stuff's working. My onions are already coming up on 6 inches tall, and everything else seems to be pretty happy too thus far. All from 1 compact fluorescent bulb that uses less power than a regular incandescent bulb like many use in their homes. (only 55 watts)
Looking like I shoulda killed that slug now as upon researching it a bit more it sounds like they're nothing but a nuisance, period, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I've been trying to spot the little slimeball for a couple days now but with no luck thus far. This morning I see some nicks gone from one of my broccoli plants and obviously that slug has to be the culprit. His luck will run out though.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2013 18:26:25 GMT
So did you find the little bugger? Where you able to replace your fish?
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Post by Stumour on Dec 17, 2013 23:02:05 GMT
I've been out (under instruction) the last couple o nights gathering rowan berries (yeah, the red ones... not the orange) for she who shall jam. And pickle. And chutney.
Hope they turn out as well as the chilli jam, crab apple jellies, rose hip syrup n elderberry cordial that has been appearing here in the Scottish heartland!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2013 1:14:05 GMT
So did you find the little bugger? Where you able to replace your fish? Nope, that dang little slug's still at large, and I see a new nick out of a different broccoli plant today, but his luck will run out. I finally found an adequate reservoir today and grabbed it. I also snagged a pump and good programmable timer, so all that's left is for me to get the lead out and set everything up. Still a while though as stuff all has to be cleaned well and tested prior to giving it the total green light. I'll also hafta make a couple trips for the water I'll require as their new home is gonna hold 110 gallons now. As far as me replacing any fish, I'm not in any hurry quite yet as I wanna make sure I've got stuff dialed in, and until the plants are big enough to demand more food than I have access to already there's no need. I have found a couple good sources though for when I'm ready.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2013 14:29:36 GMT
So did you find the little bugger? Told ya that little slime-ball's luck would run out. Really, I dunno how it even found it's way down there in the first place, but I'll REALLY be impressed if it somehow manages to find its way back after being caught and flushed down the toilet this morning. Sad part is that it gnawed down 3 of my romaine lettuce plants over the night. Pretty trivial really though and there's still a slim chance they'll heal and survive. If not, I've still got plenty of seeds left anyhoo.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2013 16:21:26 GMT
I've finally finished automating and fine tuning the little aquaponic system I set up downstairs. All except for an automatic fish feeder, but I'm considering just stealing the little one I use on my aquarium upstairs. (I'm still kinda looking for a bigger one though so it doesn't need refilling quite as often) I could use a bit bigger heater too as the old one I'm using can only get the temperature up to the high 60s. Progress is pretty impressive though and it looks like it will be providing romaine lettuce by March if not sooner, as well as a handfull of other plants that should be ready for the plate well before Summer starts.
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Post by Stumour on Dec 22, 2013 17:50:24 GMT
I've taken a bit from what you've been writing, Grey. Seeing as my frogs need frequent cleaning out (shitty arsed wee gits), I've started using the first bucket I syphon off to water my plants with. Will keep posted on how it goes.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2013 18:06:09 GMT
Frogs are a bit of a consideration for my setup too actually, but that'd be some time down the road. I am actually keeping an eye out for some shrimp though as they'd help already. Worms are on my list too but they can wait until Spring when there'll be plenty of free ones in the mornings. Detritus is a non-issue for some time yet.
And I think your water from cleaning the frogs' tank will impress ya when used for your plants.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2013 20:38:24 GMT
Well, after about 4 weeks trying this system out, I'm still thinking it's pretty impressive. (only a good week since everything was completed and automated, hence optimized) I've got lettuce on it's fourth set of leaves (about 3 inches tall and healthy/stocky) all over the place. The bell peppers that I initially thought were tomatoes (more like hoped ) are on their third set of leaves and nearing 2 inches tall. The brocolli is somewhere in between the two and my t'maters, which were awfully slow and stubborn getting started, (only showed up 5 days ago) are now well over an inch tall. The lemon grass looks iffy with the stalks I just have in mugs of water hoping they'll root, but the 2 stalks I treated with a rooting agent and planted in some medium, are showing signs of greening up a bit even though there still arent any signs of new growth. Everything's enjoying a notable increase in the nutrients supplied thanks to a few new good sized fish I found a great deal on on boxing day, so hopefully that should translate into more vigorous growth.
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Post by Stumour on Dec 29, 2013 19:55:54 GMT
wonder if I could do a set up in a 1 bedroom flat ha ha... could run pipework around the high ceilings... but may cause damage to the coving n have to get in the plaster casters
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2013 0:14:32 GMT
You ain't foolin' nobody. You wanna party with the plaster casters. The little setup I've got is only about 4 feet by 6 feet (six feet because I grabbed an extra big fish tank that extends a couple feet one way at the bottom) but the garden's only 4 feet square.
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