Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Probably just stick with onions for now. Or something with small roots system

Check out the self watering rain gutter gardens using 5 gallon buckets that Larry Hall posts on YouTube - basically they are 5 gallon bucket wicking beds getting water from a rain gutter channel that a float valve and reservoir automatically refill. I may add a flow through version to my system if I can work out some bugs.

I will give it a look, after the onions bulb, do you have an idea of anything else I can plant that has a very shallow root system?

Self watering rain gutter gardens are rad.

East love the gutter addition

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Well I got my new shipment in of lady bugs. I was saving these for the outside garden, but the aphids in the green house were to much.

The instructions said to let them loose at dark so they eat and dont fly......

well man you should of seen them eat, I am going to keep ordering these things every few months, 6 bucks a pop doesnt hurt.

I literally watched them clean out an entire leaf full of aphids

Hard to see without light, but they were doing magic

16 minute video to show how to put a gutter between 2 pieces of wood! do these guys get paid by the minute?

however good idea, but I think East was planning on putting the plants in the gutter?

the plants are in the gutter

and ti is working great except for one little leak, that I am hoping build up will stop

Good deal, where do you get your ladybugs.

I think they must get paid by the minute

I was mainly posting it for HairyCamel's benefit. It would be difficult to incorporate in East's system where the gutters are located.

Cheers

Thanks Scotty, I had a look at a couple of Larry Hall's videos and I'm really regretting not getting a bigger block of land, there are so many good ideas on the net and so many new things I'd like to try for myself.

Just order them off Amazon, sorry I was wrong on price. They are 8 not 6, I usually order then when I am ordering bunch of other stuff to justify the shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Live-Ladybugs-Gar ... s=ladybugs

sorry guys I didn't realise yous had a thing going on.

anyhow East its looking good...

alright so.....

the grow beds seem to be doing well.





the towers are doing okay?

as of right now they dont have much light.....



we actually harvested our first lettuce off them the other night, it was semi bitter. Doesnt bother me, but now good with the GF



Strawberry towers are fixing to explode, and I cant wait



I still need to buy black tubing for it

Either way I do have some concerns.

My nitrates have dropped way down and growth is slower than I expected. I am around 10 ppm.

On a side note, the aphids are almost completely alienated after the second batch of lady bugs. Guess they have a reason to stick around now.

Hopefully all the ones I saw breeding laid eggs inside the green house.

I have ordered some shade cloth, but it will be two weeks before it gets here.

Should I increase feeding to get nitrates back up or let it ride?