Aquaponics Update - 12/18/10

It has been 7 days since my last update and O-M-G! I am thinking the claims that veggies grow much faster in aquaponics systems than in soil medium are possibly true. I only wish I had my raised garden bed prepared to test this hypothesis. Maybe next time.

I shoulda known the ants were up to no good! Where there are ants, there are aphids. I found the source ... hidden amongst my mint leaves was a healthy colony of fat aphids that eventually invaded my fennel. One nice thing about the floating rafts is I can pull the plant out, spray with soapy water, wash it off, and return it to its spot. :) Aphids are HISTORY!
I had some problems with what I think is iron deficiency so treated with some foliar Fe/Zn spray and added some Maxicrop with iron for insurance a couple days ago. I'm still waiting to see the results but chucked one struggling chlorotic mizuna. No space for the weak in this system! LOL
I've started a new rotation of lettuce in the hopes this system will provide lettuce year round.

Joan's aquaponic setup

33 golden tilapia, 12 cayenne peppers, 11 kinds of veggies, 5 colorful koi, 4 grow beds, 3 collard seedlings, 2 electric pumps, 1 timer, and a flower in my eggplant treeeeee! Happy holidays everyone!

More requested info: pump in 100-gal tank runs @ 500 g/hr (runs intermittently, every 2 hrs for 30 min but only twice after sunset for 5 min), pump in 40-gal sump runs @ 250 g/hr runs continuously. Since I live in Hawaii, the system runs year round. Cost of system (plus fish and plants) is in the $1000 range. I'll post more accurate totals once I figure it out. (Updated, 8/18/11)

Aquaponics update - 12/11/10

The aquaponics system is finally equalizing and the little buggers have the nitrates and other nutrients they need. The veggies are doing well and the little sprouts are about as big as the ones I started separately and transplanted 2 weeks before! Seeding the beds directly saved me tons of time and the seeds seem to have set at the right depth, which means the mizuna and collards won't fall over like the others! Check here to see the beds two weeks ago.Whoa, is there enough space to fit everything? Prolly not but I'l cull as we go. However, I think the system should be able to handle the close proximity. With the roots bathing in nutrients, there would be less competition, right? It's all theoretical now so I'll be interested to see how things go. I'm so stoked about the mizuna. Just the idea of having it available year-round is worth the effort of putting together this system!
The deep water culture beds are doing well too! The watercress is finally picking up speed and so are the ong choi and mint. Click here to see the beds two weeks ago.

I'm so glad that my lettuce are doing what lettuce is supposed to do!

Aquaponics update - 11/27/10

11/27/10 - 6 days later ... The sprouts have come up! (I added the eggplant to the cinder bin about 5 days ago, on 11/22/10). Check out how big the cayenne chili and kale got!

cinder - 11/27/10 hydroton - 11/27/10

I transplanted some starts six days before, on 11/21/10. The plants are from KTA (curly parsley, purple kale, fennel); vegetables I started myself (Swiss chard, mizuna); and a couple basil starts that the guy at Ohana Greenhouse gave me. I planted the chili and larger purple kale a few days earlier. I also sowed some mesclun, mizuna, and Swiss chard seeds in the hopes they'll start and sustain themselves on their own. But really, it's jus' cuz I'm really lazy. Check out the pics above to see what the bins look like 6 days later!

cinder - 11/21/10 hydroton - 11/21/10

Name that fruit!

Our Farmer's Market rocks!!!! I don't know the name of all these fruit but I bought them at my local farmer's market in downtown Hilo at the corner of Kamehameha Highway and Mamo Street. The market is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays but you can find vendors there throughout the week. It's a great place to find organic fruits and vegetables and on a practical level, the produce is really inexpensive so very easy on the pocket book. Supporting our local farmers is a great way to promote island subsistence and get inexpensive super fresh produce. For example, you can usually get 3-6 solo or rainbow papayas for $1! I spring a little more for my daily strawberry papaya but they are still only 4 for $2!

Ok, here is the list from top to bottom, counterclockwise in each bowl (some of the fruit is imported but most are locally grown):
Bowl 1: Kabocha pumpkin
Bowl 2: Strawberry papaya, purple sweet potato, ginger, tomatoes, mandarins
Bowl 3: Persimmons, pulasan, dragon fruit (yellow pitaya), dragon fruit (red pitaya), rambutan
Bowl 4: longan (Tiger's eye)