Comment

Comment by Jim Fisk on February 17, 2015 at 8:29am

@ David: Naaah, just run with it Best addiction around especially in this day of so many addictions.

3 yrs. + in and I just wish I had more time to finish up "the plan" but always making improvements which brings up my best advice: just dive in at whatever level you feel comfortable at and it will grow from there. While it is great to keep reading, nothing will teach you more than diving in. (and btw please don't believe everything you see on YouTube as they never seem to retract what fails down the road. Some do, to their credit)

Right now we are experiencing below zero temps but the GH wood stove has kept everything in there looking like Spring. Sanctuary on these cold Winter days. The trout are as hungry as ever with system temps running 45 - 50F. Be sure and pick the fish that will thrive in your temp zone. We may be in the South but here in the mountains below zero is not at all uncommon. Also we only grew winter crops this Winter from Kale to Brussel Sprouts but even the Avacodo plant is doing well so far. March is coming or so they say. You would never know it from the snow on the ground and below zero nights.

@Mike: the hybrid method works pretty well if you must have Hydroton or the like. Moving it must have been a gas though. But expansion is always exciting.

Comment by David L. Eisenbrandt on February 17, 2015 at 7:22am

We all need help.    to build more- ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Comment by MikeH on February 17, 2015 at 4:56am

Vlad, we picked up 4 bags and found there are no markings on them will call the hydro store later to find out brand etc. When we washed the LECA we found that 2 bags were almost 80-90% floaters and 1 bag had about 50% floaters, last bag is still unopened.
To alleviate the floating guards and pellets we used about 3" of 3/4" rock in the bottom of the bed and made a pyramid of rock around the guards and stopped about 6" from the top. We moved our system this last weekend so we had to seperate and organize the media again.
Jeff S, yes it is very addicting. We moved our garden because we want to be able to expand to double its size, we have currently 4) 4'x3' GB and 1) 8'x3' DWC bed, not to mention that were we had it we had some sun blockage.

Comment by Jeff S on February 16, 2015 at 7:26pm

David, I've been at this for 1 1/2 years and I know exactly of what you speak. Started with an outside IBC with the top cut for the grow bed. Simple huh? Within 3 months there was an 8 x 12 GH with an in ground sump. Started producing Tilapia fry so I put a 45 gallon aquarium in my dining room (with a small GB on top). Watched a lot of YouTube (big mistake) and the ideas rolled in. This summer added a 3 x 16 raised bed garden, red wiggler worm farm, more compost bins than I'm proud of, a new IBC FT, 3 new GBs, expanded the GH 8 x 22, put 3 FTs in my basement.... heard enough? I've not even touched on this years plans. Addictive? I think I've overdosed.

Comment by David L. Eisenbrandt on February 16, 2015 at 3:31pm

Today I found 4 marble-sized tomatoes!!  Have been at this for 5 months now. 40 bait house perch, 12 gold fish, 1 ibc tank, 7   3.5 gal buckets containing perlite drip feeding 14 tomato plants, 25 lettuce plants, blue barrel,on it's side for a sump -150 gal black tub for blue board raft catching the drip from the buckets. 8x12 hoop [cattle panels] covered with plastic covered by another panel covered with plastic. 2" dead air  space. GOT TO INCREASE [ did some one say that this is addictive] not an adequate word.

Comment by Jim Fisk on February 16, 2015 at 9:18am

And that's why we love our local granite at 18.00 per ton graded and washed. That's enough to fill 2 IBC 12" depth GBs.

I happened to get a few bags of the very expensive Hydroton (along with a bunch of other pot growing stuff after a raid) and I was appalled at how nothing would stay in place in a small kitchen herb garden, not even the gravel guard. I had never experienced this before and it certainly explained the gripes I have heard over the years. I have had nothing but good luck with the granite and it looks great as well and adds important minerals to the system. I have yet to see a down side. Oh, and there are no floaters and no rearranging of seeds and gravel guards even when I flood the beds 1 or 2 inches above the media for predator control (which works very well for slugs, cut worms, etc.) I limit the flooding to about 15 minutes as any longer starts to effect the composting worms that live in the media. They always are the last critter to show up at the surface gasping for air and that is around the 20 minute mark.

Comment by Michael Osman on February 15, 2015 at 10:00pm

Oops...I guess MikeH made the kiddie pool comment...sorry.

Comment by Michael Osman on February 13, 2015 at 7:57am

I like the kiddie pool idea Vlad.

Comment by Vlad Jovanovic on February 12, 2015 at 8:57pm

Sinkers not sinkers* (stupid spellchecker)...

Comment by Vlad Jovanovic on February 12, 2015 at 8:55pm

We need to define some things like name brands and batch numbers, in order for any of this to ha have meaning. Since in some cases 7-10% are floaters...while in others only 7-10% are sinlets...

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