Pictures, tomatoes and more...

All is going well in my system. I have noticed that the carrots that were once yellowing are now slightly greener. I am wondering if the worms are helping? Time will tell. I also put up a reflective surface along the walls behind my shop light. I am hoping the mylar will increase the captured light and therefore help increase photosynthesis. This is my system currently... Just to the left are seedlings of tomatoes and a spinach.

I have recently added some tomatoes to my system. I planted them when the second set of leaves were just visible 6 days ago. This is them today...

I have been up and running for a little over 105 days. I am pretty excited to begin to figure this out!

Check the pictures link for some new photos -------->

I Got Worms

I have added red worms to my system. I was able to get a hold of some free worms thanks to a nice lady. I got about a large yogurt container full of worms and bedding. I put about 20 worms into my grow beds to see what happens. I have started a worm bin with the remaining worms. 

I learned a lot about red worms today. I showed up to a strangers house expecting to just simply get some worms and was told how these little guys live and thrive. I had a lengthy conversation and am glad I got a better background. Essentially she told me how to start Vermicomposting. This is a whole world that I will begin to learn about. I hear that worms are the secret ingredient in aquaponics. I hope to find that true.

Tomatoes & Spinach

I have seeded some Italian Grape tomato and spinach a couple of different ways. I directly placed some spinach into the right growbed about 1/2" below soil line. This is slightly above the water's max fill. I have also planted some spinach and tomato seeds into some 1"x1"x1" rockwool cubes. It has been only about 4 days since I seeded so I expect to see sprouts soon. I placed the cubes in direct sunlight beneath a window to help expedite the growth. According to my readings, spinach and tomato are supposed to do well in a frequently watered, hydroponic system. Spinach and tomatoes therefore seem better suited for my system than the carrots or onions did, of course I had to learn somehow.

Running strong

     The system is doing great. Been running for 85+ days now. My greens look very green and are getting bigger. Still no carrot mass under the medium. Oh well. I have some grape tomato seeds germinating and plan to plant those girls soon. I’m also going to look into getting some spinach because I’ve read that it grows well in a system that floods as often as mine.  

    

     My goldfish are doing great and they are slowly growing. There are eight left. It has been that way for the last month. My little survivors. I want to add a few more fish so I will have potential nutrients for the tomatoes once they get into the system.  

     

     I have been testing water quality regularly. I test the pH daily and about once a week I test the ammonia/ammoniums, nitrates and nitrites. My levels for those three have been about zero for the last 60 days or so. My water temperature has been staying around 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The pH is staying around 7.2 (according to my dye). I would like to see it around 7.0. I am slowly trying to get it closer to 7.0. Aside from that the fish look happy as they swim and chase each other around. 

Looking good so far

It has been a few…

The system seems to be getting stable. I am currently at 8 fish and some underdeveloped carrots. The roots of my carrots are not forming into a tuber.  I have Italian grape tomato seeds en route and hope to have better luck with above ground fruit. I am able to see that the carrot greens are a nice green color with only traces of light green on a few leaves.  I have confidence that the plant food is available in abundance for tomatoes. 

I would like to get more fish but I am hesitant to do so because it might unbalance my system and potentially threaten the fish I have managed to keep alive. A smaller population is easier to keep alive. I suppose that if I don’t try I can never know for sure.  When I do get more fish I plan to get more fake plants that the fish can hide under/around. They have seemed to like the fake plants I have in the tank currently. When I look into the tank, most of the fish are hidden beneath some sort of cover. 

Until later...Happy Cultivating!

All is well...

All is well in my system. I have only had 2 fish die since my last post. I am not sure as to why, but it is promising. I had to relocate my system to another room because the room it was in needed to be used for storage space. I couldn't fathom showing people my system in a room full of other things. I have begun to notice the lack of growth with my carrots and onions. The greens of the plants are nicely colored but have lost their turgidity and seem to not be producing a larger root. I suspect I would see a developing root by this time and I have not. I am beginning to think that the way I have the ebb & flow setup provides too much water to these types of crops. They receive a source of water several times per hour, which I believe is too wet of an environment. I have read of potatoes grown hydroponically so I am not deterred from attempting to grow onions and carrots hydroponically. The carrots and onions seem to dislike my particular ebb & flow.

I am planning to change crops and plant some peppers and grape tomatoes. I think above ground fruit will grow better in my system. Time will tell.

Attack of the gato!

I went into my room yesterday morning and noticed something odd. My carrots were trampled down in my right grow bed. I looked and discovered that my catnip was devastated by one or both of my cats. I found the stalks chewed down to the hydroton. One could also notice little paw prints in the grow beds.

I got a good little laugh as I thought what it must have been like to be a cat and discover a fresh catnip stash. I can see two little sprouts below the clay pebbles. Hopefully they will sprout and I can keep the catnip a better secret this time.

Oxygen :)

All is well. I have added a second airstone into my system. The other day it was noticed that a couple of the fish were gasping for air at the surface as well as eating air bubbles. Thoughts were that perhaps there may not be enough oxygen in the water, and that could be another reason for my fish dying.

The fish look happy and seem to be swimming better. They don't surface nearly as much as before and like to chase each other around.

As the days go on I am zeroing in on homeostasis!