Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

my 4 month old system is at a consistent pH 7.4-7.6
I've decided rather than use HCl to lower the pH I'll plant according to what my system gives me.
Is there a list of plants & vegies that do well in high pH & Perth climate?

pH 7.4 - 7.6 ... isn't really that high Gorotsuki.... most plants should grow just fine...

You may need to add some chelated iron, and foliar feed some seasol... for trace element provision... but you shouldn't have nay real problems with anything...

I've added both chelated iron (2x 1 teaspoon in 1000L tank) and seasol a few weeks ago but still no noticeable improvement in some plants e.g basil and eggplant. The weather's warmed up here in Perth so it can't be the winter blues
so I'm blaming pH unless I've missed something else?

Hi gorotsuki69 sounds like we may both have the same problem. My basil hasen't grown at all and the flowers are falling off the tomatoes. The only thing that is showing any progress is the lettice. My system is only about 6 weeks old and I am going to try some chelated iron and some seasolto see if this helps. Will be watching this post to see other thoughts

I have not found how to put a link to my setup uet but you can search on GnomeMans first system and see it.
Good luck
GnomeMan

no more answers so we're on our own here gnomeman...

I'll list what has grown well for me so far if you can do the same

chard
garlic
broccolini
sugar snaps (was very productive then died suddenly)
leek
laksa
spring onion
strawberries took a while but are starting to come good now
tomato - also slow to come good
lettuces

Don't blame the pH because it is something you can easily test. There are a lot of other micronutrients that you cannot test cheaply but can only identify through the leaves of the plants. Post some of the pictures here and someone might be able to help identify any deficencies.

Are you feeding your fishes aquaculture quality fish feed?

For your info, I had high pH last year in my new 3rd system almost consistently at 8pH, and basil in that system grew into a small bush...

Patience I think is very important... When I first started AP, I was concerned about plant growth like you but now after almost 3 years (I think), you learn to stop being concerned. Some plants will grow better than others in AP. And don't try cauliflower, for some reason they don't grow to the same shape as you can purchase in shop. So give your system another 6 months at least. I also hope that you have added some worms into the growbeds, as they also breakdown the solids and give good nutrients to the system.

I've got consistently high pH also as we are using limestone media.

Most things are growing really well though. I have nearly 60 different types of plants in my system right now and the only thing that has failed after many attempts is cucumbers! My basil and eggplants are slow but starting to take off with the warmer weather.

Keep up the foliar seasol. Also I'm trying a product called Greendex which is a liquid combination of chelated minerals specifically for alkaline soils. I'm using that by foliar application too, seems to be helping keep things a little greener.

Good luck

hi
I did post up earlier but didn't get an answer to solve my problem...
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10618&p=295730&hilit=yellow#p295730

feed is BYAP 3mm floating pellets supplemented by insects from my bug catcher. I've recently increased the SP from 18 to 28 fish.

worms have been added and I'm currently breeding more in a worm farm

my basil is barely 10cm tall with stunted leaves after at least 6 weeks and the poor thing has gone to flower

Hi gorotsuki69

Here's a list of my plants (As I write it I am wondering if I don't have to many to start with)

6 x Chard
2 x Tomatoes ( have increasted in height but the flowers are all falling off)
8 x Lettuce ( the only ones growing have picked leaves twice)
3 x Chives
4 x Zucchini
2 x Capsicum
4 x Peas ( starting to look poorly)
4 x Spinach
10 x Bok Choi ( caterpillar attached it before spraying Dipel now growing again)
2 x Cucumber ( for the Boss as I don't like it)
3 x Rocket ( went to seed and now look as if it is dying off)
4 x Basil ( not worth talking about hasn't moved since put in about 30mm high after 5 weeks)
Radish from seed has sprouted an appears to be ok.

I added 2 level spoon of Chelated Iron and 1 cap of Seasol last Monday to see if this helps.
Everyone says patience but they don't sell it down at BYAP ( make a fortune if they did )
Still having fun
Cheers GnomeMan

LOL - That would be funny to have "the little box of patience". For all those AP enthusiasts that just want to fiddle with everything.

I've got too much of this

I've got a system that has had a pretty constant pH of over 7.6 for years. many thing struggle more because of the potassium being precipitated out because of too much calcium from my ill advised use of shells as media. Very regular doses of chelated iron and seaweed extract help but the potassium lock out is really an issue on some plants.
That said, water cress and water chestnuts grow great and funny enough I've grown bananas great in the system. Papaya, Tomato will grow as does lettuce, basil, oregano, rosemary, broccoli, veronica, kohlrabi, cabbage, collards, swiss chard, kale, purslane, onions, leeks, carrots, turnips, beets, radish, eggplant, peppers, aloe, sweet potato, lufa, and much more.

I've also had very dismal results with cucumber.

That said, I've started the process of switching out my media to get rid of the stuff mixed with shells. Anyone with limestone as media, I would recommend you start working to switch it out unless you really love water cress.