Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Nice hoop house Don! Can you show a closeup up of how the perlins are attached?

You could make some pesto out of the basil, do you like pesto?

Also I like your bumblebee. I don't know if it's possible to cultivate parasitic wasps but that was the first thing I thought might help with the big worms. Also to help bring in good bugs I think an area should planted as what is called an insectary, which are flowers and plants to attract the good bugs. These could just be dirt beds around the AP system. Your shade cloth should help things a lot, sounds like.

One more thing, I was at my cousin's at night a while ago and a moth came by and pollinated their flowers, just like a bee. I had no idea moths did that, it was really neat.

Here is a shot of the sky tru the shade. It is so much cooler under the shade. It should do lots of good for the plants.

While in town I checked the unlikely source for some different gravel. The Ace Hardware here has small gravel 3/4 inch size. I got a sample of it and brought it home and put it in vinegar to test it and it has been about 12 hours and no bubbles. 5 cubic yards will cost about $120 US. Here is my answer. Cheap replacement gravel. Sure wish I could get Clay but at 10 times the cost plus shipping, would make it 20 times the price.

Here are some shots of the perlin clamps. The end ones are standard chain link fencing clamps the offset ones. I plan to get more of the clamps to make the angle bracing on the first and last hoops. I will use the straight ones there. The hose clamps are kinda hard to use as you need to bend them up pretty close to fitting so you can start the end into the screw. They clamped the hoops to the perlins pretty good. But you really have to work to get them tight so nothing will move.

As to Pesto we do not use it and I do not remember ever tasting it. We may look up a recipe on the net and decide if it might be something we would like.

HI Rupe The shade cloth is 60% and it is hung on 5 cables that hang under the Hoops. I made some wire loops to hold the cloth on the cable. I had to put a small rope on each end of the cloth by each cable and pull it tight to keep it out flat. I can pull it back and forth as I need it. It really made it a lot cooler. I am going to start changing my gravel out maybe tomorrow. I am going to use the gravel from Ace Hardware. I have a few beds that the plants have died in so I will just start with those beds. I think the maxicrop is the reason the plants that are alive are still alive. With the Ph so high 8.2 and some times worse.

Great thanks for the pictures Don!

It was kinda tough putting on the hose clamps but they seem to be able to hold lots better than I expected.

I started to replace the gravel yesterday with some that does not have any limestone in it. I hope to get the Ph down below 8 one way or another. I changed out 7 beds already when a friend said take a new set of pictures. So, Here are some new shots before I make it look different.
Wide view and two halves of the grow beds. That light green thing is an ornamental Sweet Potatoe vine, Pretty but it is going away for now. It really puts down lots of roots when it can touch the ground or a water source. It creeps all over the place pretty fast.
East and west views of the same side.

Here is looking at the south side of the south run.

Very impressive set up donone!

OH made Pesto and Chicken and it was not bad. Im not really a sauce kinda person but it was good.

More pics included. Gotta hand in one but no toes

I pulled out the tomato in the first barrel as it was nearly dead. I expected to find a huge amount of roots but did not have many.

Question....I put in a lot of red wigglers but have only found a couple of them in one barrel so far. I am guessing the heat killed them. Before the shade cloth some of the beds got pretty hot. The two I found were not fat and healthy either. Any ideas.

Silly me, I thought we were going to see pics of your meal. Hehehe

Faye
The meal was just a test and I forgot to take a picture of it for you. Are you a Pesto affectionato?

Been having problems with my computer but maybe they are solved now. Here are the last three pics I meant to post just after the last pics. I had to reload my browser to fix the problem.

Question

I have been considering building a solids removing tank and having the flow that is bypassed from the main pump go to a 55 gallon barrel and make a sort of swirl filter and have it dump the clean water back to the FT. Is it really necessary to put any filter in to catch stuff if you get a good swirl action? The only one I have seen just had a laundry basket inside to trap stuff in the bottom. The basket was above the bottom a few inches. It has been hard to find any other stuff on the swirl filter design.

You will need something to catch the solids otherwise they will just make it back to the FT.

Im planning to use some dish scrubbers to make one