Sites I Want To Revisit

This first site may be local to Chico, CA, but you too probably have community gardens and garden groups in your area.  I founf this with a Google search for Community Gardens CITY NAME.
http://cultivatingcommunitynv.org/community-gardens/list-of-community-gardens/

Here are a few sites with many good articles on everything from grafting to pest control
http://deepgreenpermaculture.com/
http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/
http://www.permaculturenews.org/


Heres a REALLY COOL APP.
It calculates fish tank perimeters.
http://www.cnykoi.com/calculators/calcnh3c.asp

I will continue to update this post.

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I love bacteria!

Yeah!
Its been 21 days since I started cycling the system.  Overnight the Nitrite levels fell to an acceptable level..

Its simply amazing to see the results of a Nitrospira bloom.

Just 12 hours ago this test was still off the chart purple.

It always seems to take about three weeks to get the bloom, but here are a few things I did to hasten the process.

• Gravel from the existing Koi pond was used in the grow bed, but its been cold and may not have had an active culture.
• One small bottle of NiteOut was added at the beginning.  To be fair they suggest much more.
• Aqua Gold was also added on the first day.
• During the past two days I have been adding water from my aquarium, and even rinsed that bio filter in the water.
• Limited the draining of the grow bed to half way (may not have been the best thing to do)

My take on the actions above are that the commercial additives quickly promote ammonia conversion, with bacteria and enzymes, but the Nitrite conversion takes time.  My feeling is that Nitrite will always take about three weeks with or without the commercial additives.

For many years the bacteria responsible for ammonia conversion were thought to be Nitrasomonas species, but more recent research indicates that these bacteria may do little or nothing in freshwater, and that bacteria known as Nitrosococcus may be the true ammonia-oxidisers.
NiteOut claims to contain select strains of Nitrosomonas, Nitrospira and Nitrobacter.

• Nitrosomonas oxidize ammonia to nitrite
• Nitrobacter and Nitrospira oxidize nitrite to nitrate

It was originally thought to be Nitrobacter species which were responsible for nitrite conversion to nitrate, but again, recent research (by Dr. Timothy Hovanec and others) indicates a different group of bacteria - Nitrospira - are responsible, but NiteOut includes both.


I added eight of the largest fish into the 800 gallon tank today!

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Weeding

Ray has documented an experiment where he weeded one section of his garden and let the other go natural.  So what do you think?  Is weeding just for show or does it help your plants grow better?

This link will start his video at the point where he shows his experiment.
http://youtu.be/Zl_zxmqQ1EU?t=8m48s

Or you can watch the entire video about compost tea nutrient extraction which is different from brewing compost tea for microorganisms. 

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If I could design a system from scratch

A Perfect Day
If I could design a system from scratch, and if I didnt have any constraints, I would:

• Use a bell siphon for my ebb and flow (already in heaven on this)
  
• Use locally sourced expanded shale aggregate for my grow medium
  
• Site the greenhouse in a clear area with only norther shade
  
• Make the walkway 36" wide and paved, so it is wheelchair accessible
  
• Sink the fishtank and sump so the growbeds are about 30" high
  
• Install a rocket mass heater under the walkway for winter
  
• Install a rain catchment and storage system
  
• Install a biosand water filter
  
• Install a windmill and solar panels for power
  
• Have a nifty greenhouse (like this Royal Victorian)
  

The Royal Victorian 10 x 15 Greenhouse
In the mean time, I have a wonderfully robust system where the plants are exploding, from which Im already been able to harvest lettuce, beans, peas, strawberries, mustard, and basil.

Last night we had homemade pizza with pesto sauce made from basil in the garden. So Im already in heaven!

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What I Learned From My 2014 Summer Garden

I wanted a record of this years garden.  The foliage grew so thick in the hydroponic section I was unable to track down a leak.  Usage became ridiculous and I ended up filling the sump twice a day with water rather than waste the hydroponic fertilizer. 

The bioponic systems did well.  Summer heat put a damper on everything including the tomatoes.  Even the squash seemed to regain vigor once the 100+ days passed.  Bell peppers in the hydroponic system did well, but failed due to blossom end rot in the bioponic systems.  I found [this article about Blossom End Rot] that may be helpful.

One Earthan bed became clogged by a root and I lost all the flowers on my Tomatillo, but even though a second set of flowers came back, I doubts I will get a crop.

My wicking barrels did not wick quite as well as I would have liked.  So Ill adjust the soil mix.  These barrels did not get enough sun in this location, so I will have to find a different location.  That is one of the best attributes of this simple low cost design.  Relocation is not a problem.

The vertical section will get a modification to the water supply.  I plan to install a check valve after the pump and a high pressure connection after that.  When the 1/4" tubes clog I will simply give it a blast of fresh water.   In fact this is how I will maintain the level in the sump tank.  Each time I fill the sump I will be clearing the 1/4" lines.

The 8W Earthan Bed system performed well over the summer.  Water usage was extremely low in both the wicking barrels and the 8W Earthan Beds.  Without a doubt I feel these two systems hold the most promise.  But one thing Ive learned is that any garden that relies on a mechanical system is prone to some type of failure which places the wicking barrels squarely in the best position.

I began the season using weed teas, fish emulsion, and kelp in the 8W Earthan Bed and the Vertical Garden, but the Vertical Garden was abandoned due to high maintenance (clogging).

After the other bioponic Earthan Bed clogged I began to fear that the system might become clogged, but I now feel it would have been okay since it was a root not muck that caused the problem.

But this caused me to switch the 8W Earthan Bed over to plain well water with an occasional slurp of fish emulsion and liquid kelp plus a little Fe DTPA, MgSO4, and HCl after only a few weeks.  My goal for this system was to use no urine.

Clogging is a concern I will eventually have to face with all of the Earthan Beds as I doubt even the worms will be able to keep the rock bed clear forever.   The advantage is that the water stays well aerated which should increase plant vitality and vigor. 

Water use was extremely low in this systems even though I top watered every few days.   

Im still enjoying handfuls of cherry tomatoes from every section of the garden everyday The soil less section of the bioponic system produced more cherry tomatoes than we could eat. This and the hydroponic section were the best performers.  I credit this to aeration and high nutrient levels.  The main bioponic garden (not the 8W garden) received about 50% of my fresh urine plus fish emulsion, kelp, Fe DTPA, MgSO4, and HCl.

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Aquaponics External Tomato growing in fishtank

Ive been away for a few days.

It was nice.

One of the best things about aquaponics, is the fact that it takes care of itself. I came home to a system overflowing with produce, and with lettuce that was ready to eat, where when I left, it was nowhere near ready. Its amazing what a few days can do.

Also, not seeing my system for a few days made me realise just how big my tomatoes were getting.

Thats them hanging off the side of the little grow house.

Im calling this experiment a complete success. I had to tie the foliage to the growhouse to support it, because it was starting to pull the roots out of the water.



Theres fruit forming everywhere, and in spite of the late start due to pruning it all back to only a few leaves, I think it will be a good season. Once the capsicum season is over, I think I might just pick up the tomato, and move it back inside for winter.

The tomato grows through a PVC pipe to stop it growing inside the growhouse, and the roots are all just hanging inside the fish tank. There is no media involved, and it relies on the water being oxygenated by the water movement, and the nutrient it gains from the fish.

This has been a lack luster post.

Im sleepy from too much driving.

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Electronics Aquaponics Demand fish feeder software

As far as I know, the software is all working on my demand fish feeder.

Its a bit of a mess, with a few goto statements and a few unused variables. Ill fix it in time, but for now Im going to move onto getting a finished product up and running. As far as I can tell with the software simulator everything works, but the real world might be a completely different story. (the breadboard version also works)








A switch lever extends down into the water. If a light near the lever is lit, the fish can press the lever and feed is delivered. Feed can also be offered with an override button that sets the light on and the feed on if the fish hit the lever (so you can show people how it works)

Dawn detection seems to work. In the end I went with two startup options.

1. A human who holds down the FeedNow override button during startup, then taps out the approximate number of hours since dawn. This skips the code that searches for a new dawn.

2. An abnormal restart with no human. This stops all feeding (there might have been a blackout, and subsequent ammonia buildup) (note to self - add code that flashes some lights to indicate the device is in abnormal start mode so a human can reboot it if they desire). Feeding resumes after night time is detected, and a dawn is detected.

The user can select (via a screwdriver to resist little finger making their own adjustments) ...

 - the feed amount per day in tenths of a second of motor on - from 0 to 65 (Im guessing Ill use 1/2 a second per feed event) The motor turns an auger under a hopper full of feed. So there is another adjustment available

- The number of feeds in a day that are offered (0 - 255 per day)

- The level of light at which dawn is detected. This allows for a system built in the glow of a streetlight or whatever. At dawn each day, all the numbers reset. This is a bit of a problem as far as reading how many feeds were delivered in a day, but for now Ill leave it as it is. My fish feed like crazy at dawn, so I want to give them the greatest opportunity to feed. Eventually Ill add a data logger, so it wont matter when it resets.


The system reports...

- the number of hours since dawn

- the number of feeds since dawn

- The number of false hits to the feed lever when the FeedIsAvailableLED is NOT lit (these will go down to near zero once the fish learn they can only get food when the light is on)


I ran out of feed a while back, and have been feeding my two big silvers on duckweed, lettuce, and worms, so I will need some pellet food before I can test it in the real world. (I still have the PVC device from the first version).

Ill also need a motor as my original one is no longer with us.

The feeding regimen isnt very intelligent at the moment, but Ill do a bit of research, and add some code that tries to deliver the maximum amount of feed in a day that the system can handle. This will probably involve allowing 3/4 of the feed to be dumped at will, with the rest being spaced out over the day ... or something. I havent given it enough thought because I dont really know what the fish need. My experience in fishing for wild fish indicates that the feeding pattern is far from a constant grazing all day long. Ill work it out.

But...

Its going to work. In fact, it already does.


120 Things in 20 years Thats all. Just 120 Things in 20 years.

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Test results Rock Dust BioChar pH

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Easy Tea Brewer

Last year I build a compost tea brewer that created a vortex. Time has taught me a few things and today I rebuilt the brewer to make the whole operation a lot easier.
The whole vortex thing is impressive and fun to watch but I really dont see the benefit.  If you are into the mystical power of vortex then this design is not your cup of tea  (Like the pun?)

Once the tea was made transporting to the garden became a choir that I disliked so much that the tea would often sit too long and ended up being wasted.  The trick was to make clean tea that I could pump through a hose to the garden beds. Experiments showed me that simply placing the compost in a strainer bag did not let sufficient water flow through the bag.

This new design uses an airlift pump to recirculate the tea water through a strainer bag filled with compost. The airlift adds plenty of aeration to the tea.

I built this from parts I had around and will change the 3/4" pipe going to the bag to a 2" pipe for even better flow.   A PVC Slip Coupling on this pipe holds the bag in place with the zip tie just above the coupling.

I also cut the container down to a depth that I can comfortably reach the bottom of.  Cleaning the 33" tall 55 gallon drum was quite difficult and messy since I had to place my head an shoulders into the drum in order to scrub it out.

Im running the new design for the first time right now.  Cleanup will be easy as removing the bag of compost and wiping out the barrel.  Distribution will be done with a high powered sump pump.  I will be able to spray full strength tea on my plants and water them with an abundance of active microbes.

With this easy brewer I will be far more likely to brew very often.

For those who are looking carefully at the photos you may have noticed the 2" pipe connects through the bottom.  This adds stability to the pipes.  I might not have done this except the original design used this hole to create the vortex.  It think it is a good idea and may even replace the cap that I put on to seal the bottom with a 2" valve in case I should ever want to drain the barrel from the bottom.

Most of these pipes are not glued so they all come apart easily for cleaning.

After using this design I saw a way easily increase the flow so I extended the air lift all the way to the ground.  This design works just as well and turned out to be even quieter than the previous design.  Cleanup is not significantly more difficult so I will keep these changes,  In fact it is so easy that I would not have any trouble making tea every day.

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