Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Went out this morning (real morning about 5:00) and planted stuff. Lots of stuff. Sarah is off to Ballarat today so she will be instructed to purchase a watering can and I'll water my little dears until I see them sprout and beyond for a bit I guess?

I water after sprouting, only on hot days.
The gravel with tend to 'wick' a bit, but the plants that get the roots down faster, sure do outstrip the others.

A new moon is normally gentle on germinating plants,
with minimal heavy rain and not too much heat

Does anyone else WATER DAILY?

I sprouted many seeds when I started my system several weeks back, but the success rate has been very low. About 20-30 seeds were put in, and fewer than 10 sprouted.

Nitrates finally appeared last Monday!

Used the same seeds in little plastic containers and they have grown really well. However, they were indoors so this may have promoted their growth (outside is still 3-10 degrees daily).

>> Does anyone else WATER DAILY?

depends on the heat. I try and water on warm days - even at moment as we come out of winter.
same when I use bulk seedlings punnets.

old thread but pretty much valid advice throughout. I tend to find that I need to water can for a while until seeds become established else they tend to die off pretty quickly. I also raise my standpipe if I put a lot of seeds in so water/moisture is closer to surface [I use timer flood and drain so simple case of putting a joiner on 25mm standpipe].

other thing if you use coarse gravel/clay balls is that seed may get washed too deep.

p.s. wonder whether Stuart will still use a watering can on his new commercial scale AP.
(see post at top of page)

Thanks Dlf! Indeed, I thought I had read all threads of significance but I had somehow missed this thread!

No wonder my seeds didn't succeed - funny having to water in an environment that is full of water

It is still very very cold here (3-10 deg c) - would you still water for such a case?

cant really comment on that - being from sunny West Aust (where its raining at present).

I don't raise seedlings in my AP at the moment as it is all around the back in shade, so I am starting tomatoes and bits on a seedling rack that I use to grow tree seedlings (that starts in sept/oct). The rack sits in full sun and gets 1 min microjet spray and extra hand watering if day is particularly warm. Just use plastic seedling trays and seedling mix then transplant in 3-4 weeks. Couple plants I have in large 'quasi wicking pots' against a wall in full sun which is warm most days (these will be replanted to full bato buckets soon on the AP)

In colder situations [there are other threads around from the US guys] many basically have to raise seedlings early in season indoors or in small glass houses to get going and then transplant into the AP. Seeds probably require it to be a bit warmer to germinate. But would be fine once spring gets underway and definitely go well as progress to early summer.

Personally I would try raising seedlings rather than seeds if you are not getting enough sun or warmth.
Then transplant them in 3-4 weeks ready to go once the weather warms.

But there are a few Victorians around this forum and hopefully they might comment.

I'm wondering if planting seedlings in sand, inside one of those plastic mini-greenhouse trays, might make it easier on the roots when you transplant into the AP bed? My thoughts are that once a seedling gets large enough to transplant you could simply flood the tray with water and gently swish the seedling around and most of the sand would fall off the roots. Then, transplanting into your AP bed, the water flow would wash the rest of the sand off.

I might give it a try, I am close to having my 4ft x 8ft bed ready to plant into.

Eh..no.

I water seeds sown in AP daily. I water them sown in rockwool as needed...usually every 2-3 days.
I actually have had the best germination in a commercial, sterile seed starter media. But, it's a PIA to have to clean all the dirt off roots, and then you get some shock. Sowing directly in the seems to work the best for all greens. I like Colum's idea about spreading seed over the whole bed and then harvesting in sections multiple times. Very easy, and if you randomly mix the types, you get nice salads with each trimming.

Fruiting plants I start in rock wool or seed starter mix, then transplant. I clone toms from suckers, especially if they're a good one! getting ready to plant my seeds in a few weeks..pretty anxious for some fresh greens. Right now, I have some of the malabar spinach growing. It loves the heat, and has a nice flavor.