Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Rupe,
have you ever been able to tell if it makes very much difference?
I still try to avoid planting on days when it says "seeds rot in ground" but I haven't been able to tell if there is much difference in growth between lettuce planted on "above ground days" and lettuce planted on "root crop days".

Sorry for the hijack Ryan but I do want to hear your take on the subject.

This is the very first time I have ever heard of seed germination being affected by the lunar cycle.

Sweet!

TC - ill keep you in mind when things get closer to operational

As for planting, I stick to a schedule and try to buy seeds with pre-determined germination rates so you can clearly tell if it is something you are doing or the seed stock itself. I don't plant by the moon and really don't have any germination problems. Certain seeds need to be manipulated a bit (scarification, cold stratification, starting in a wet papertowel/ziplock until the pop, etc)but the majority are straight forward stick in the hole and wait type seeds. I do modify water temps in the heat of the summer to get good lettuce germination. Some seeds just have a little trick to getting them to start well.

And now for some more pics!
Still getting stuff done, still working hard! DAS BOOT!

Fresh raspberries Im getting daily. Enough for a quick snack

Edible sage flowers that are a huge hit in the local restaurant scene

Yuca or cassava starts for next year!



Nice tight mini romain

Lettuce seedlings ready to space out

Hearts of Fire

Papaya fruiting in a large flood and drain

Seed ready for harvest on malibar spinach

Random pic

That Baccy plant is going gang busters mate Been interested in that one as time goes by. Might be a good market there?

And of course the rest looks marvellous. Very inspirational.

How do you sell this for $4/head?

Make it look better!



It's not all clean and green!

Playing with fire is fun no matter how old you get


That's all for now!

Thanks Charlie! Don't know how the market would be on that but I would imagine you would have to set yourself apart from the big growers with the high quality, locally grown and zero pesticide angle. It grows awesome though! I was thinking you could just sell to the cigar rollers b/c they need those large perfect leaves. We have weird laws here surrounding the sale of it so this was really just to experiment with how it grows.

Looks good!

Im experimenting with my hydroponic farm on removing the lettuce with roots intact. My hydro is in stackable towers with media. So i am washing the roots off before sale. Its kind of a pain in the butt. Id imagine from the styrofoam floats it would be easier/quicker but am curious as to how much root you loose when you remove the basket... or do the baskets just slide right off?

Ha ha, yea no interest in fighting the big baccy industry... thats a sure loss.

Hey nice moto-cross boot your sporting by the way When do you hope to get back on 2 feet? Whats it been? A month now?

Maguire- I remove the roots below the basket, slide the basket off and then package. I haven't found it necessary to leave the entire root mass. They also sell rafts that have tapered holes so you dont need a basket(or you can drill your own with a tapered bit.

This Sunday will be 6 weeks and I'm supposed to be able to take the boot off, then go back to crutches and normal shoes until I feel comfortable enough to walk on my own again. I'm bringing home a 180lb pregger milk goat tomorrow so I'll need to use it until at least Sunday night, then I'll take it off and try not to hurt myself!

Stand up ya cripple.. stop your whinging.. and pull ya finger out...

Such an inspirational thread. Your microgreens look great! I currently do small soil trays for my microgreens, I will have to try them in AP, they would probably harvest even faster! Keep up the good work and thanks for the motivation!

Thanks for you take on the moon calendar Ryan.

I've also done the live lettuce, though I don't have the fancy clam shells to put them in. I've found if I pull some of the roots below the basket, I can then slide the basket off and grab the root ball with the produce bag and pull the produce bag up over the rest of the head of lettuce (only works with small heads or big bags though) the lettuce lasts much longer in the fridge this way. I've also done the tapered bit and peat pellets in close spaced rafts but that is still a new experiment for me.

How much do the clam shells cost each?