Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

might have to do reading on soap................


i got a feeling that mahy people use the words soap and detergent interchangably......................... i have a feeling soap (the old fashioned stuff, not the stuff with SLS) might be fine,...................................

I have used insecticidal soap on plants in my growbeds, and been OK so far. However, that won't help with borers. The soap would have to coat the insect, and borers are actually making little tunnels in the leaf. They are safe and cozy in their tunnels.

Although I have had leaf borers in my dirt-garden plants, they have never done enough damage to make me bother to go after them. I would suggest just removing and destroying the few affected leaves.

Thanks Janet. I removed the leaves yesterday. Friends rabbit didn't seem to mind the bugs.

A cooked down emulsion of chive concentrate

ADM uses it.

Steve said:
"i got a feeling that many people use the words soap and detergent interchangeably......................... i have a feeling soap (the old fashioned stuff, not the stuff with SLS) might be fine,..................................."

You might be right about that, I was thinking of my neighbors 'concoction' it's foams up quite a bit. When they were spraying their roses a tiny bit got in the pond and they lost ALL their goldfish.

I'm using insecticidal soap. I think its called safe soap or something and its non-toxic. Me and the fish haven't died yet...

jp might be able to tell us how to make the old school soap.
brother in laws brothers friend made a heap from the dregs of his olive oil from his grove................... was a huge hit with the city folk especially those with sensitive skin. I think it took a bit of experimenting/aging to get the final PH right.

sideline, monya?

Errrr, uhmmm... actually, I -can- tell you how to make soap the old fashioned way, starting with ash, water and lard. But I would hesitate to use it as an insecticidal soap.

I have heard of using dishwashing detergents and household soaps as an insecticidal soap, but I'm not sure I'd do that either.

'Safer' brand insecticidal soap was also what I used. I was careful to coat only the plants, and not to soak the gravel.

Ok so I thought my plants were having some iron deficiency symptoms so I went and bought 10% chelated iron powder and added to the water. I dunno if its just me but in like 2 days the plants looked much better.

How much iron should I add if I have 100 gallons of water? I searched but I got all thrown off with the 10%. Anyway i was conservative and added 2 teaspoons. How much should I put?

Thanks!!!

There was a commercial setup that stated they added 5 grams(one teaspoon) per 1,00 litres (264 gallons) every 3 weeks, I use this measure and it keeps my plants looking healthy

HN on the leaf miner problem, I had a honeysuckle that was overrun with the buggers. They are the larvae of flies or moths (generally) and are quite protected inside the leaf. Look for the orange colored eggs on the leaf. You can squish em both the egg and larvae, but I have just learned of using milk @ 2 oz per gallon of water cheap to use, or liquid seaweed most expensive, or garlic juice in-between in cost but a pain to prepare. Spray weekly until they are gone and then every other week until you think things are ok.

WOW, i didn't mean THAT old fashioned Sodium hydroxide and fat would have been good enough, but hey the older the better!

does it have a grey colour due to the ash?

oooh oohh, just learned something new, potash makes soft or liquid soap, lye makes hard soap!

is that right JP?

I don't know about liquid soaps. You'll have to go look up a recipe.

Soap made using wood ash is not gray. The ash is soaked in water to yield lye water and the gray ash is discarded. Finished soap is dark ivory and gets darker with age.

Ok Folks, here's an update. I've been harvesting manoa lettuce (local variety)for the past week. I had about one bunch a day. Real good!

I have chinese parsley and mustard cabbage soon to be ready. I still haven't figured out a good timeline or schedule to plant seeds to keep my GB full. After harvesting I have some empty spaces that I wasn't able to fill because I didn't plan to have any seedlings to transplant. Live and learn.

I'll have some pics up soon. Its turning out to be very productive. I'll also be adding another GB or 2. How many more GBs do you guys think I can add if they are about the same size? I have 7 koi, 2 comets, and 8 tilapia. I know I should add more fish if I put in more GBs.

I am also having trouble figuring out when the tilapia give birth. The babies get eaten immediately. Ack!

Thanks all!