Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Does anyone here have an aquaponics setup?

We're working on a hydroponics setup. I want to start with that first.

This thread has a few interesting links ... viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3131

@theanimal - In IL you require special permits from the state for aquaponics, mainly because the typical fish that are used are invasive to IL. Therefore some inspector needs to verify that the fish can't escape from your setup, etc. This is actually the case in most states.

Final harvest. The swiss chard and carrots are going straight into the freezer for use in smoothies.



Here's a review of how each plant went:

Strawberries - went great. I bought, I think, 25 little plants on the internet. They all grew to about 10 times their initial size, and sent out a bunch of runners. Also, new strawberry plants are springing up on their own - I guess from the seeds. There are even some about 6 feet away from the strawberry patch that I'll move over to the patch in the spring if they look like they're still alive. There were a small amount of strawberries this year. I expect the patch to be filled up by the end of next year, and probably a lot more strawberries than this year.

Tomatoes - I tried starting from seed, but I started them too late. I bought some plants, and got some from the seeds. I went really simple with supports for them. My brother got me some fencing to use next year that should work better and allow them to grow higher and spread out better without falling on to the ground. The plants all did well and I had a ton of tomatoes.

Bell Peppers - I bought some plants, and grew some from seed I believe. They didn't get very big (maybe 2-2.5 feet tall) but they grew a lot of peppers. I'm surprised how many peppers the little plants could grow. I got just as many peppers as tomatoes, and the tomato plants were much bigger. Definitely planting more next spring.

Carrots - Did fine. I planted them way too densely. Still got a lot of carrots. Will plant some next year, not so densely.

Spinach and lettuce - Did well. I planted it early so it grew nice and I had a lot early on. Will plant again next year. More spinach than lettuce this time.

Swiss chard - Seemed to do well. Got a lot. I'll probably plant more next year just to have a variety of greens.

Broccoli - Horrible. I planted to too densely. I grew too tall. It bolted and made very few florets. I pulled off a few but didn't eat a single one from these. I won't plant it next year.

Squash - Grew huge and fast and made squash like crazy. I had to make sure I harvested them each week or they would get too big. The plants expanded a ton and I cut them back a couple times, which basically killed them.

Cucumbers - Also grew really fast. Got quite a lot of them. I don't really care for cucumbers or squash much, but they work ok as filler for smoothies, and grow so well. So I'll plant more next year.

Cantaloup - It came up pretty slow. I didn't watch it close enough and watered too much. There were about 5 melons growing but I didn't notice them, and they got all wet and rotten on the ground. One of them, that was growing on the grass was doing well, but then got all nasty and fucked up before it finished. Total bust here but it was my fault, so I may try these again next year.

Various herbs - big failure. Basil was the only one that did well. And I don't really like basil. I mostly wanted the oregano but it didn't do so hot. There was a plant or two that was growing well at the end of the summer, but it was in/below a bunch of other plants and didn't get much size. Never harvested it. I don't know if I'll do any next year..

Flowers - did well. They grew so damn tall. I think it was partly due to how densely they were planted, but also just the type of plants. I'll pay more attention when I buy seeds next year. I also had one other patch of flowers that never really sprouted up. Not sure what happened there. It was nice having the flowers. I can see them from my bed - out through my kitchen and the back door, I see them whenever I'm entering and leaving my house, I was cutting them and putting in vases every week or two, and I had flowers to give to women.

Cabbage - I planted to too late and way too close together. None of them grew to maturity. I may do a smaller amount next year to see how well they grow when I do it right.

Beans - I had just a couple bean plants. I think they may have gotten ruined from over-watering. I watered using a sprinkler and programmable timer. The sprinkler doesn't water entirely evenly though. May need to be more careful next year.

Winter Garden

Herb garden. Tarragon, Italian parsley, thyme, scallions, rosemary, basil. The Italian parsley was developing powdery mildew so I thinned it out. I bought the green onions at the grocery store three months ago. I cut the green parts to use as needed and they grow back like reanimated zombie onions.


Planter Box 1. Spinach, kale, parsley, and dill. Everything was grown from seed. All is growing well except the spinach which is infested with aphids. The green netting is plastic chicken wire to keep out raccoons, feral cats, and other critters.



Planter Box 2. To the left are leeks which are growing very slowly. Probably not enough sun. Next, the mixed lettuce leaves are almost ready for harvest. Lacinato kale is also growing slowly. At the far right, the broccoli is holey due to cabbage loopers. They seem to like it more than the kale, so I may use broccoli as a sacrificial plant in the future.


Experimental garlic patch. In early October I bought a couple heads of organic garlic at the grocery store, then separated them into bulbs and planted the largest ones. All of the bulbs sprouted minus one.

Interesting video on front yard gardening. They had to fight their township because neighbors complained.

Drummondville's front yard vegetable garden (in French with subtitles)

After a good first year of balcony gardening, now the time is coming to start again. I have left all the containers outside during the winter. Everything died, like tomatoes, basil, etc, as would be expected (I think) and I have managed to grow Winter Spinach from October to now!

However, right now I face a dilemma: should I replace the soil from the containers? It makes sense to me that it might be nutrient deficient, after a season of nurturing plants, but at the same time it sounds very wasteful...

The only problem I've had last year was with cabbage looper caterpillars (which by the way still linger around in some of the spinach leaves in one particular container). My fear is that there might be eggs in the soil waiting for the heat to hatch...

You can reuse the soil if you sterilize it first ... http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/urban-ga ... -soil.aspx It's a tedious task, but worth it. While you're cooking the soil, wash out the pots with a mild bleach solution to kill any germs in the pots.

The soil will also need a nutrient boost. Mix in some compost and let it sit a couple of weeks before planting.

That video of the couple with the front yard garden was neat. I think there's been talk of the subject here a few times. But I'd be curious to know if anyone here has a front yard garden?

theanimal wrote:That video of the couple with the front yard garden was neat. I think there's been talk of the subject here a few times. But I'd be curious to know if anyone here has a front yard garden?

We do at our pre-retirement residence, but it's not for food.

We've decided to invest in a CSA this year. TBH gardening isn't super exciting to me. It's just under $20/week, but provides a lot of local organic produce. It's actually a lot cheaper than what we've paying for organics (I'm embarrassed to admit it here). The people running the farm are pretty great, so it beats the traditional "industrial farm -> cheap labor -> warehouse -> warehouse -> ? -> cheap labor -> store shelf" and associated energy waste. Now it's nice farm -> my plate.

I like to think of it as "investing" because I'm paying upfront, it requires a little foresight and available cash, and I receive a % return based on produce instead of directly exchanging cash for ready consumables.

If you need some inspiration to start working your garden, it's World Naked Gardening Day

This year's garden is in. I still have some fine tuning to do, but all of the fruits and vegetables are in, so I'm playing the mother's day card and calling it a weekend.

We're trying several new varieties of heirloom tomatoes and peppers, and we doubled the amount of onions we planted. After some debate, we decided not to plant cucumbers and are using the space for pole beans. The beans produce more and can be frozen for use during the winter. DH is trying sweet potatoes, and I'm working on an expanded, permanent herb garden.

It's been hot and dry here, which is making me a little nervous. I hope we see some May showers soon.

Six very small raised/container beds constructed in Zone 1 backyard. 3 planted in mixed greens/herb polycultures. 3 reserved for hot weather crops to be planted out later this week. 1 cherry tree planted and 2 3x8 raised beds constructed on Zone 2.5 vacant lots. 1 bed planted cabbage/broccoli. Will construct and plant 6 more 3x8 beds this week and do some kind of massive sprawling planting of squash mulched with cardboard and straw just to get rid of some of the grass I am having trouble keeping maintained with just my rotary mower and grass whip. Late start so harvest thus far just 4 oz. salad greens but looks like enough bok choi for dinner tonight. Goal for year will be 365 lbs. of produce total.

ffj wrote: What kind of heirloom tomatoes are you planting?

We always argue about this. My family prefers the hybrids with thinner skins and a milder taste. I don't like them because they don't last as long on the vine. If I don't pick them at just the right time, the skins split or they drop. I like the hardier heirlooms with thicker skins that can stay on the vine until I'm ready to use them.

That said, here's the line-up for this summer:
beefsteak
early girl
mortgage lifter
red pear
yellow pear
rutgers
cherokee purple
brandywine

new this year:
german johnson
german queen
old german red
polish paste
amish paste
homestead

Sure, I'd trade seeds. I'm hoping I have better luck with the mortgage lifter this year. When I was a kid, everyone near me (central NJ) grew mortgage lifter. Not so much anymore. We used to let it grow along the ground instead of staking it. We'd get sand from the beach to put under the vines to keep the tomatoes out of the dirt. The tomatoes were better and much bigger (like 5lbs!). Once we ditch our swing set, I'll have room to grow tomatoes that way. I don't know how I'll do with the german varieties. I've heard they do better west of here. Worth a try.

I like that site. Have you tried growing in straw bales? My beds and pots are full. I was going to plant anything else I find in cardboard boxes, but I like the way the bales look. I wonder if I'd have a yard full of crows, though.

Joining this thread (from Holland) as gardening has become a major hobby for me in the past few years. Already harvested and ate some asparagus that we planted from seed last year, as well as swiss chard that survived the winter, spring onions that we planted in october, and some salad that rather oddly started coming up in early spring from seeds that we sowed last year.

First up from what we sowed this year should be snow peas, salad, rocket and radish. And after that, much more to come Really looking forward to this summer. Picking fruits and vegetables from your own garden is so enjoyable and satisfying.

From what we sowed this year we are now eating radishes and lettuce. Flowers on the early potatoes and peas (in polytunnel) promise more to come but overall a late start. Much better than in previous years when its been tomatoes and tomatoes.

In production (not yet in ground) peppers, chard, pak choi. beetroot, broccoli, cauliflowers, spring opinions, beans (various), peas (various) and a single endemame (what happens when you try older seeds). Oh, and six varieties of tomato. No pictures because the place is far to untidy. May offer some pictures of produce later. Love seeing all what you guys are up to. Very jealous of that productivity.

The not yet in ground is because we have a MAJOR rabbit problem. They will eat and dig up anything we plant. (Well almost anything). We have now resorted to extra strong barriers around our raised beds and enticing a local cat to visit us.

Can you eat the rabbits? I felt for those poor bunnies in Watership Down, but my poor grandfather would have probably starved if it weren't for wild rabbits.