Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi Team AP,

Just about to do my first planting next weekend when I finish my system.

I wanted to use a mix of seeds and seedlings.

If the water level of a flood and drain is at 20mm below top of the gravel, how deep do i plant the seeds? Do they need to touch the water, do they just go on top, maybe halfway?

I want to be a great vege gardener but I am at the beginning of the steep learning curve. I am sure this would be discussed already but my searches didn't pay off. Any assistance would be great.

* With seedlings, would you plant the roots so they are in the water and the body of the seedling is in the 20mm of dry gravel at the top?

Most people from what i read just sprinkle seeds on top of growbeds and they fall between the cracks and germinate. This is what i have done with small seeds and they seem to germinate fine.
Larger seeds i have buried just on the waterline, bearing in mind that some seeds don't like to be wet constantly and will rot (peas, beans etc)
Most seedlings will be fine if planted as same depth as in the pot but with tomatoes its ok to plant them as deep as you can (leave a few leaves above gravel) as the buried part of the stem will send out more roots (probably doesn't matter as much in AP compared to soil) and give you a better start.


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I was once young and stupid, i'm not so young now

I usually scrape the top layer of the gravel off until I see some moisture.
The water will "wick" up to the surface until dried by the sun.
Normally 1-2cm or so you will see moisture, I stick my seeds there and gently put the top layer back on.
Seems to have been successful so far, and stuff germinates much quicker than in the dirt, in my experience anyway.