Projects, projects...

So I had a wonderful Mother's Day, puttering around with all my current projects:
The pond, which is ground-zero for the hydroponics attempts, was emptied and the hydropipe repositioned so it flows but sits entirely out of the water and has an adequate slope to keep the water moving without rising more than an inch or so. The plants that had survived in there for the past few months had shown serious signs of too much water- pale, stunted and barely holding their own. So now I'm ready to try the next run of plants- this time I'll focus on herbs since they require less fertilizer and grow smaller so I'll have less of a tipping issue. I will also think about different ways to set the pot on top and hold the growing media in, since that was part of the tipping issue as well (lost a lot of perlite that way).
One interesting outcome of my time emptying the pond is that I found out that chickens like fish as much as cockroaches! There were hundreds of small fish in the pond, mostly volunteers from who-knows-where: mosquitofish, killifish and varigated mollies. Invariably, some fish got caught in the bucket I was baling with and ending up flopping on the ground as the water drained away. The chickens saw them flopping around and had a seafood feast. I still saved plenty of fish to put back in the pond but the girls had a great time dispensing with the overflow.
Last, but not least, the garden's soaker hose was repaired so now I can be sure that my tiny garden will get watered- at least until the rainy seasons starts. I planted this garden very haphazardly over the course of a week and it shows in the growth of the plants. I don't mind the lack of organization but I wish I hadn't planted the beans so close to the fence. The girls have quite long necks when they are reaching for a tasty treat and all the leaves nearest the fence have been picked and poked. Ah, well... It'll be good for the eggs.
Next possibility on the research horizon- rabbits!

Seeds are sprouting!

So the bad news is- I'm down to one tank; but the good news is- most of the seeds have germinated and seem to be doing fine, despite the heat. The only variety that has not sprouted is the red basil but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed ;o)

Slight glitch in the system...

The second tank developed a leak, which emptied out the pond rather quickly. With our lack of consistent rain, I had to fill the pond at least to the level where the pump wouldn't run dry and burn out the motor. I disconnected the second tank and will continue this experiment with just the one tank.
I received my seeds in the mail and, while I know it is not the best time of year here to expect great results (the temperatures have been in the 90s with a heat index over a 100), I just had to give it a shot. I added about a cup of perlite to each unit, then added the seeds and covered with a half inch or so of perlite for added moisture retention and to help slow evaporation from the wick/drain socks. I added a shade cloth to help block some of the intense sun. On June 13, I planted these vegetable seeds in the following order:

tomato tomato pepper squash
cucumber- basil- cilantro- redbasil- pumpkin

10 days later and still no seedlings. I just may have to wait until fall whether I like it or not :o)

Hydroponics log 06.05.09

So I looked around in the local discount stores to see if I could find some inexpensive seeds to further testing on the hydroponics system, but alas, it is past the cheap seeds season. Rather than take what is left at Home Depot (the only local store that still carries a variety of seeds), I decided to go for the good stuff and placed an online order with Parks Seed (I chose this company strictly because they are located in South Carolina and specify in their descriptions whether the variety is good for southern gardens- and because they have a long history of quality service). Here's my order:
Order Shipping To: Dolly
Item Description
Tomato Terrific Vfn Hybrid
Bean Mon Petite Cheri
Pumpkin Jack Be Little
Squash Sunglo Hybrid
Basil Dark Opal
Cucumber Muncher
Lettuce Merlot
Pepper North Star Hybrid
Cilantro Delfino
They should arrive within a week. We will see how these do in my system.
By the way, the tomato cutting I put in as a test is still alive although that's about the most I can say about it. I am concerned that the temperature within that open cup is higher than the plant should be exposed to during the hot afternoon hours. I will test it today if it doesn't rain.

Hydroponics experiment

So one of my problems with growing a garden here in Florida is that after just one season, those nasty root-knot nematodes find my beautiful garden and reduce it to a wilting mass of frustration. I've tried solarizing the soil and that lasts for a couple months, then those critters are back to destroy all my efforts. Even if I was pro-pesticides, I would still have the problem that the only tried and true method for ridding the soil of nematodes is by fumigation with a chemical is that is dangerous enough to be on the list of items that are being phased out world-wide and currently available only to commercial growers (just Google methyl bromide).

My solution, which is years in planning and revision, is a hydroponics system that takes advantage of the fish waste generated by my ponds. Time will tell if the idea will work but this past weekend I've installed my first experimental plant- a tomato cutting.

One of the things I will record on this blog is the progress (or setbacks) of this very makeshift system. Stay tuned...