Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Here is a picture of our dirt garden, as opposed to our water garden of course! Corn (I wouldn't have it otherwise but the wife really likes corn), green beans (my favorite), peas, tomato, onions, peppers (the little ones on the side), cucumbers, and watermelon. The cucumbers and watermelon were most likely a mistake - they are spreading out now from the center of the garden and will likely destroy it all! Corn kept falling over, we get high winds with some storms, and I strung twine from a post to the wire mesh sides in a radiating pattern to keep them from falling over. They seem sturdy now that they have grown more.

No powerlines!

Those zuchinnis - hot tip - skim milk diluted to 10% will kill 90% of powdery mildew.

Looks like a very productive garden Dave. I have always loved gardenning and my aqua will never replace my soil gardenning.

Lovely little garden you have going there!
decided to do something similar - but mostly for herbs... I used to have a big herb garden and used them for almost 80% of all my ailments... They work better than conventional medications most times, and I want to do that again!

R u on a farm Dave. What is that big object accross the road on the left? Nearly looks like a massive boat on a trailer - or a rock

Hi veggie boy:

Yes, next to the neighbor's driveway is a big-assed rock. She got it from somewhere. No, it's not a farm, our lot is about 3/4 of an acre, and it is along a retired highway (Route 30, the first interstate in the U.S., goes from Atlantic City, New Jersey on the East Coast to Portland, Oregon on the West Coast) in a little town. There is a state forest within sight, a big unspoiled, wide ridge of trees. Apparently the mountain chain it is part of (the South Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge mountains) is between 1/2 and 1 billion years old. All around and especially N of us are apple orchards, for miles. The first time we came through that area N of here was at dusk, and the hills and trees were in silhouette and it was really spooky. It reminded me of the Wizard of Oz with the forest scene.

Our ground is nothing but clay and big rocks. Our neighbor's adult son came over and was telling us about the cranky old guy who used to own the lot when he was a kid. The guy had a big garden and he piled up any rocks he found on the edge of the yard by the road, and apparently the pile was taller than him! That is the story of why I have a raised bed. Oh, and the shed is old too. It used to be on a farm down the hill somewhere, and the kids (old adults now) used to call it the "bee house", for some reason. I don't know if the farmer raised bees or if they had just set up a nest in it... I couldn't move it so I painted it. I have considered cladding it in polycarbonate and making it my greenhouse.

Oh, and another thing kind of interesting about our area is that just up the hill is a Christmas tree farm, run by an "intentional community", one of the only ones in PA. When my system is actually producing something resembling plants I want to invite them down to peek at it. I know they'd like it; they were talking about starting up a CSA (community-supported agriculture) and their homes are using passive and active solar.

sounds like a fantastic place to live...

I agree with the rest, a good looking garden. vb is right, nothing like planting in the earth. I'm originally from Ohio and always had a garden. I used to take my 2 week vacations just to put up the vegies. Florida can raise crops, I've seen it done. Just don't understand it. Sand and good ole dirt just are not the same. Enjoy the apples that will be coming in season soon.

Anyone else have pictures? I am sleepy...

Dave, you and I are both in the same time zone. We must be getting addicted to this as it really makes midnight get here way to fast.
Joyce

You asked for one..
this is the future herb garden..
I only finished leveling it a day or so ago (all the rockwork is new)

Neat! You could hollow out the stump and plant stuff in it. Our stump is peeking around the shed. Looks like you have clay soil too.

Considered that already... I have a large hole saw which would do the job nicely... The tree was cut down just over a week ago and the stump is still drawing water and weeping it out the top!

made a start on my dirt garden (at last) I have planted watermealon...
what greens would make good fish food?

I grew some snow peas seedlings in my trough with plastic, replanted in my raised vegie beds, and put snail and slug pellets around them. Most of them are gone 2 days later. Can anyone offer any suggestions?

Thanks