Homestead Happiness and Progress February Week 4

Winter returned with a vengeance this week, dumping two 8+" storms on us, and never really stopping in between.  Its sunny today, but were supposed to get another couple inches overnight and tomorrow.

As a result, the homestead looks like this, and most of our time was spent getting to and from work.  However...

On Friday, a large round of robins descended upon our boxelder tree, probably to discuss why they were in such a hurry to head north.  Theres at least two dozen of them there, and probably more hiding behind the snowy branches.

Look at em all in there!

It sure doesnt look like spring, but theyre here!  A tell-tale sign that the actual spring is not far behind, which is good enough for this week.

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Floaters versus Sinkers Seed Wars

When it comes to planting okra, I always like to soak my seeds for a day before planting.  I am sure there is a highly scientific reason that okra seeds should be soaked, but I do it because my father always told me "Cheryl, soak your okra seeds before you plant them."  He has been dead over 15 years, but I still do what he says.

Soaking this last batch of Cajun Jewel okra seeds, I noticed something strange.  Some of the seeds floated on the top and some sunk to the bottom.  As many times as I have planted okra, I couldnt remember if I had ever seen this before.

Floaters and Sinkers

It is possible this happens every time and I have never paid attention before.  Honestly soaking the seeds is usually one of those "Oh Crap" things you remember just before you go to bed.  You are in your jammies, turning out the lights and locking up the house when you remember that you were planning on starting those okra plants the next day.  So the standard practice is usually to find the seeds, dump them in a glass of water and go to bed without giving it another thought until I am ready to plant them the next day.

This time I remembered so far in advance that I paid attention to what I was doing when I popped the seeds in the glass.  Immediately I noticed floaters and sinkers.

I had a theory about floaters and sinkers.  I decided that the floaters didnt have much to get them started and that they would probably not germinate at all.  I hypothesized the sinkers were better seed and would have a higher germination rate and would grow faster.

So, the next day I carefully separated the sinkers from the floaters.   The floaters went in one starter flat and the sinkers went in another starter flat.  They were placed in the same area so that they would receive the same amount of water and sun.

I planted them on Thursday afternoon and as you can see that by Sunday morning there was a definite difference in the germination between the floaters and sinkers.  The floaters were sprouting away and the sinkers not so much.

Sinkers on Sunday May 11

I waited until Tuesday to check on them again.  At that point, the floaters and sinkers were the same size!!!!

So, the sinkers germinated quickly, but once germinated didnt grow up any faster than the slower germinating floaters. 

Floaters on Sunday May 11

Unless you are in a really short growing season and you need those extra two days, there is no difference between your floaters and sinkers, except that some float and some sink.

I transplanted both floaters and sinkers into flood and drain grow beds.  I have one bed filled with lava rock and the other filled with hydroton.  I also set a couple of floaters and sinkers in a DWC raft.  I also put one each floater and sinker in soil.

Since transplanted on Saturday, floaters and sinkers in the lava rock have produced their first true leaves.  The floaters and sinkers in the hydroton and the DWC raft have not produced true leaves yet.

As you can see in the photos I took today (Monday), in the lava rock grow bed, there is no difference between a floater and sinker.

Floater and Sinker on May 19

So, dont throw out your floaters. 

Stay tuned for updates during the growing season.

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Part II Aquaponics in New England

Part II of Aquaponics in New England discusses how aquaponics can improve the sustainability of produce and fish production. A PDF of the entire paper (Parts I-III) can be downloaded here, including a full list of sources referenced by footnotes. 

Improve Sustainability of Local Harvest

Water Use

In addition to providing a sustainable source of fish, aquaponics has other sustainability advantages over traditional farming, hydroponics, and aquaculture. First, these techniques use a lot of water. Traditional aquaculture methods use between 0.57 and 33 cubic meters (m³) of water produce 1 kilogram (kg) of fish, depending on method⁸ (See Table 2). Research at the University of Virgin Islands has shown that their aquaponics system uses less than half of the water of the most productive aquaculture systems: 0.25 m³/kg.⁸ On average, aquaponic systems use between 90 and 99% less water than traditional aquaculture systems.⁹

 

Aquaponics also uses less water than hydroponic crop production. Aquaponic systems...

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Join Us at Parish Social Ministry Conference Next Saturday

"Sowing Seeds of Love in Action" is a conference for anyone interested in the social mission of the church including parish social ministers, teachers, youth ministers, young adults, catechists, St. Vincent de Paul volunteers (Vincentians), outreach volunteers, Deacons, JustFaith grads and more!

Please spread the word and help us to make this Archdiocesan conference! Registration is now open on line and is accessible on the Archdiocese of Santa Fe Web site on the Social Justice and Respect Life page. The direct link to registration is here . On this link, you will find the schedule for the day.
 
Conference Objectives: · Build capacity in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe for the social mission of the church · Increase knowledge, skills and abilities of parish social ministers in all outreach ministries · Inspire social ministry—charity and justice as “love in action”

Workshop topics include Global solidarity, the new Encyclical, Laudato Si, keeping your spiritual center, life and dignity of the human person: respecting life from womb to tomb, using media and technology for social mission, engaging youth and young adults in solidarity, exploring Communities of Salt and Light, how to be a voice of the poor, immigration and migration, Catholic social teaching, how to form a social concerns committee, and more!

Workshops offered in Spanish and simultaneous translation offered.

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Vertical Aquaponics Grow Pots

Six weeks later the vertical grow pots are doing fantastic. There is so much space this is saving and running on my 650 litre system does not increase the load on this system. This system is still running at 50% capacity in my opinion. I can easily add another few more vertical grow pots and two more regular grow beds. Periodically I have been adding a little seaweed extract which seems to take care of some of the micronutrient deficiency. Compost tea is the next addition which I will be trying soon.

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Aqua what

Aqua....what? Yes Aquaponics. Funny word = amazing results! Im not really sure when I found this amazing idea online but once I did it was full steam ahead! Of course, I did my research and daydreamed about how this would all come together. Now that my walipini was under construction I was positive that I did not want to plant in the dirt. I need something bigger, better and of course ORGANIC!

Aquaponics is aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (the soil-less growing of plants) that grows fish and plants together in one integrated system. The fish waste provides an organic food source for the growing plants and the plants provide a natural filter for the water the fish live in. More info for Aquaponics

During my online searches I was surprised that there was not a lot of information on the what and how to build these systems or even buy them for that matter.  Sure there is a company here and there that want your arm and leg as payment for these systems but thats not my style. I wanted a larger system so that I could provide not only for my family but also sell fresh organic produce to my friends. 

I finally ran upon a site that made an aquaponics system out of 55 gal barrels! This system is know better as a Barrel-Ponics system. I thought what a cool idea! Not only can I get these for a little expense but Im also recycling. After MORE research I finally located my Food-Grade 55 gal plastic barrels in Longmont, CO.

Cut them in 1/2 with a jig saw.

Now on the Barrel-Ponics site you can download a copy of this guys instructions on how to make a 2 bed system out of barrels. This was a great start for me but later found that I just had to improvise and use some solutions from my problem solver brain. We cut the barrels in 1/2 and really scrubbed them out well. Next added a frame to the barrels and finally all the plumbing. (Thanks to the horse barn my plumbing skills are above average)

10 grow beds with pea gravel

After I got the system up and running and all the fine tuning was done I was ready to plant.  In the barrel-ponics manual he said you could use pea gravel as a planting media. BIG mistake! The plants did start to grow in the gravel. However, I tried everything under the sun to lower my constant PH problem. After about 2 months my plants started to suffer from the effects of high PH. I first though this was my well water and finally determined that it was the pea gravel its self that what the issue.

Barrel-Ponics in a walipini

How to test your gravel...simple. Get a 5 gal bucket. Fill it with your tap water. Test. Adjust your PH if needed. Let sit for 24 hours. Retest. If PH has not moved its not your water. Then add your media to the bucket of adjusted PH water. Test after a couple of hours. If your PH has moved then your grow media is NOT PH neutral and you will have constant problems with it.

Green Beans in pea gravel

Once I knew it would no longer benefit me to have the gravel in the system I had no other choice but to replace the grow media. In my search for grow media that was close to me I found a place that had not yet opened but was going to in a couple of weeks. The Aquaponics Source WAS my new friend and not to far...50 miles but worth the drive. I added the clay pebbles to the system and have had no issues since! It was also nice to chat person to person who knew what I was talking about.

Grow beds with clay pebbles

Transplanted the green beans from the gravel to see if they would make it.

600 gal Fish Tank

Flood tanks

In Total my system has a 600 gal fish tank which is big enough for 20 grow beds.  I only used one fish tank for the whole system and Im still happy with this decision. This wouldnt have been possible without the help of my family. I hope to blog this year about how the system is working and what I would change.  I look forward to your comments.

Kaydi

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Reminder B2B eBook Bundle Sale Ends Today!

We just wanted to post a reminder that if you were still thinking about getting a copy of the Back to Basics eBook bundle, the sale ends today!  It doesnt just go back to regular price after today, though--the bundle actually wont be available at all!

So, hop to it if you still want a copy!

You can read our thoughts on the bundle here.

Its cold out there--bundle up!

Note: The above links (other than to our recent post) are affiliate links.  If you prefer to get the bundle from a non-affiliate link, go here.

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