Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

that was weird.. lol

anyway... got the frost cloth installed tonight.....

supposed to get down to 30 degrees...... -1 c

the frost cloth is held on with spring clips.... quick and easy.....

it transmits 70% of the sunlight.. so I could leave them on if daytime temps never get above freezing..

I will just pull the cloth back during the day and quick re-install tomorrow night

jT

good work JT,

Any drivers that go by must be wondering what the hell that is lol

Hope it saves your plants JT.

thanks guys...

got down to 27 degrees 2.7 c last night... every thing seems to be ok....

luckily no one can see my WB's from the street.. they are behind my house and garage

but if they could, Im sure someone would wonder who was buried there

working on phase three..... will be a week or so before I get this part up

will post pics when ready

JT

Benefit you can also use for some plants is that the floating row cover fabric can also be left on to exclude certain pests if they are a problem. Some farms use floating row covers to keep squash bugs out until the plants start flowering and need pollination.

True TC

I left them on the other day as it didnt get above freezing.... whats up with this weather.... tues night its supposed to bottom out at around 20 degrees -6.7 C

so I started phase three on the frost frames and covers

I just threw this together for now....

Will see if it works any.... will double up the covers with some blankets and sheets to help hold in what little heat there is

jT

Another option for helping warm the beds would be rope lights.

Yea, weather is strange this winter. We have been swinging from cold to hot to cold and not having much in the way of "normal" in between and the plants can't figure out what they are supposed to be doing. This is normally my best growing season but when the water is below 50 F even the lettuce doesn't grow very well.

+1

Welcome to the Pacific Northwest that's what we get for much of the year . Of course it's not as cold usually but it just never warms up until late Spring.

Another option could be heat tape, but I don't know what temp those are set to, they're mainly just to keep pipes from freezing: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_ ... =heat+tape

JT since a little time has gone by I just wanted to know if any of the pallet wood has weakened or rotted?
Would a fence picket maybe be a better way to go even though their is a cost involved? I know I saw somewhere what you used for a liner but can I ask again? Thanks you for all the info..

Well

another HARD FREEZE last night.....

I'm scared to look under the sheets and blankets and frost cover......

this weather sucks... I've been down here 10 years and have never seen it this cold, the ground
is frozen, I know I have lost my moringa trees as I'm sure the roots have frozen....

my outdoor AP systems have frozen over for the 4th time this year, this is getting old....

we will have a brief warm up today and tomorrow and then another polar blast with
another hard freeze....

Rain barrels have 1 1/2" of ice on them (3.8 cm) and hoping the piping that connects them hasn't split

but not much I can do except try and save what I can......

"CANT WAIT FOR SPRING"

worst winter since I've been doing Aquaponics....

Now that's just awful not to share pics of how it looks under those covers.
I really hope they work for you though. Good luck to you.
What the heck are we going to do without incandescent light bulbs?

Without incandescent light bulbs, you could always buy those Goldenrod dehumidifiers that are used in closets, gun safes, and boats. They put out the same heat as a lightbulb, but with slightly less electricity, because no electricity is wasted on light.

hey all

Bill: I just uncovered the Wicking Beds today.... only one casualty - a small swish chard plant...

everything else looks ok....


A New Project:

Im going to do an in-ground wicking bed on the side of my house and put in 5 blueberry plants...

2 early season yield, 2 mid-season yield, and 1 late yield so I can pick blueberries all spring summer and fall

first thing to do is take out the two white azaleas and 2 gardenias

pics below....

will keep a photo log as I go...

jT

I used the same trucknique to remove 6 boxwoods from the front of my house