Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

And Mustard Greens go berserk...

You're right Rupert- the last time I did mustard greens I almost killed myself taking the towers down. . . I had 18-22 lbs/each tower, plus the equivalent weight of roots- it takes an 8 lb tower and makes it pretty heavy. Here's what the roots looked like when i took out the insert:

Oops the picture isn't on this computer. Let me get on my laptop and send it.

Here it is:

Man I really love roots. They're so cool.

On another note, when I harvested last there were a couple towers where the redoworms had gone gangbusters. . . just tons of baby worms. I didn't get a good photo, but I made a video, which I'll put on YouTube sometime this week. Pretty cool. I like worms too.

Embi- I'm super excited to see how bok choi does- it's looking much better than anything else right now.

Well, it's been a while since I posted and some things have changed. I've got a spider mite outbreak on my strawberries and instead of working to get rid of the mites, I'm thinking I'll just get rid of the strawberries. It's time to do something new, and even though they're still bearing really well, I'm tired of caring for them. . . So mites are a good excuse to turn my strawberries into worm food. Even though I'm not going try to kill the mites, anyone know a good control for them?
Here's one of my harvests from last week though. Lots of nice big berries. Anyway, it's been a bummer of a week. I found out that my research won't be funded, so I'm basically on my own. It's really frustrating trying to get AP research going. . . I've wasted so many hundreds hours grant writing only to be told that AP isn't technically or economically feasible. The Scotch blood in me boils. Well, I'll show 'em. Over the next couple months I'm going to convert my strawberry system into an awesome economics study using my latest invention. By the end of it I'll demonstrate that aquaponics can be more economically feasible than traditional hydroponics. I'll post some photos and details as the project moves forward. I have the patent protecting my latest invention, but being silent and mysterious is always more interesting right?

Here's a couple photos of the Bok Choi, Arugula (not doing so well, too much light I think) and mustard trial.

That is a real downer on the funding!!!!

But your are such a tease with these hints about new inventions, don't keep us in the dark too long.

Yeah, well, I'm finding that both the hydroponics industry and the aquaculture industry are a bit resistant to any kind of AP research. . . wonder why. . .

As for my most recent creation. I'll share it soon enough, once I have pictures. . . I will say that it kicks serious booty, and I think it will present a way to make AP production considerably more profitable.

Well, all of my strawberries have mites now. I guess it's time for some "out with the old, in with the new." Any recommendations?

Cool weather means salad and greens

Ladybugs will eat mites. I wouldn't order any from Planetnatural.com though if you do think about ordering any. My first order had over half dead and missing an item and they said they would rectify the situation over the phone but I didn't receive anything for weeks afterwards until I sent them an email choc full of pictures on my flickr with details about who I got them from and I got a reply in less than 24 hours saying they'd send a new order giving me a choice for what they had left or a fresh batch that would soon be arriving (they included the ETA). I choose the fresh batch since I just got burned with the current one and I received my replacement bugs weeks after they quoted an ETA and well over 3/4th of the batch was DOA.

Anyways, I should have gone with the previous place that I had purchased bugs from. Their website doesn't look as nice and the price is slightly more expensive but barely any of my bugs were dead. I also ordered nematodes from them which took care of a fungus gnat and fly problem I was having in a compost bin.
http://gardeningzone.com/

Hi N8:

How did you get your patent, did you use a lawyer and how much does it cost to get one? (I'm being mysterious and interesting too) Thanks for the info!

Wow, thanks for the tip Mike. I ended up taking out the towers (calculated total yields at 44.5 lbs for the 9 towers) but I'll try ladybugs when the mites strike next. It was too bad, but I needed to get the towers out for my next AP project. The one that shall not be named. Anyway, almost done prototyping it and then I can disclose it. . . I might try nematodes sometime for fungus gnats. . . they don't really hurt anything, but they're sure annoying. Do you know if nematodes are ok in AP systems?

Hi Dave,
If you have something patentable, you should definitely go for it. If you want to call me sometime (308)249-2301 I can walk you through the basics and refer you to my attorney.
Basically, the big points are:
1. keep a journal (bound notebook, every page dated and filled, in pen)
2. do not disclose your technology to anyone before you file a provisional patent (unless you have a non-disclosure agreement with them)
3. do a patent search (you may have to pay to have this done, but it might save you money. in my state the University does it for free).
4. file a provisional patent first (around $800)
5. File a utility patent a year later after you're sure it's useful, novel and enforceable. (this is the potentially expensive part.)

N8, did you already try gnatrol? If I remember right this is just another B. thuringiensis product and should be safe in our systems. Have to use it more than once because the gnats are only affected at certain stages in their life cycle.

Scotty- no I haven't tried gnatrol, but I will for sure. I wasn't sure if the B. thuringiensis spores being sold were in some kind of oil suspension or not. I've been aching to try it though. I'll add it to the to do list. Have you used any other kind of fungal/microbial controls for insects? Do you know if the BT can be used on other pesky bugs?

I've used thuriside BT against caterpillars on my AP system plants.

I've also used the mosquito dunks BT against mosquitoes in AP systems.

N8, I noticed some folks here use Dipel for caterpillar control which is also Bt but I think a different subspecies.

You want Bt subspecies israelensis for gnats. Gnatrol used to come as a dry powder that you mixed with water - called Gnatrol WDG. It's a wettable granule. That's what I would get if you can. Don't know about any oil formulations - I wouldn't use them for AP. You might want to check out this guys site he has some more info that might be helpful regarding how to control pests and treat gnats http://www.utahcountyweather.com/Utah_Aquaponic_System_Pest_Management.htm

I have used this as a drench by adding it to the grow beds and have seen no ill effects on plants, worms, bacteria or fish. I feel very comfortable that this is safe because of the method of action (very insect specific toxin that requires alkaline conditions of insect gut to activate) but I kept to the low end of the recommended dose. I doubt the manufacturer has gone through getting this approved for AP so use at your own risk applies.