Very nice set-up. Seems like you have a good system going on. I love the idea of growing my own veggies, I'd like to get into it when I have some more space and time.

Wow, I am very jealous that you already have some plants in the ground! I can't really get anything in the ground until the end of April which makes for a pretty short growing season. I will probably start some cucs, tomatoes and hot peppers inside, but the rest are starting from seed. I like to blend leafey seeds to get a nice salad mix when you cut down a row. Your thread inspired me to go out back and scratch around a bit before I go to the gym :)

I want to try more containers this year.

We should get our pack from the seed company soon! We get our seeds from Fedco Co-Op seed packers in Waterville, ME. If anyone is around that general vicinity, they are excellent! They don't carry genetically engineered seeds, and they are a part of the Public Patent Foundation's lawsuit against Monsanto. Occupy your garden!

Can anyone offer any tips on container gardening?

Is there an online specific tool that measures where the sun will be in my yard throughout the day and during the growing season?

Started tying the green beans that put up reaching shoots up to my bamboo trellis. Lettuce, Spinach, and Swiss Chard patch starting to get chewed up by bugs, so I'm increasing my harvest yield for my smoothies. Need to clip the green onions again, will probably get three to four cups out of it. Tomatoes, Dill, and Cilantro growing big and tall in Aquaponics unit No. 1 & 2 and the vertical NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) system. Should have some fruits in a few weeks once the plants get overgrown. Broccoli plants keep going to seed so I keep having to cut them.

The strawberries are putting out fruits, but the growth is slow. My transplanted oregano bush is finally putting down roots and coming back.

All in all it looks to be a good growing season.

@Tombutler That would be great Ill brainstorm a bit and send you some ideas. I made this really quick just to show you guys whats growing on over here.

edit:video deleted

TomButler said:

@Doctor_Bob

Wow that sounds cool. I would love to get an aquaponics setup going. I have been purchasing whole fishes lately to get better at filleting them. I went bass fishing last week and was able to use my new skills on the fish.

I agree that the season seems to be shaping up well. Thanks for stopping by

What you need:

-Fish (this part is pretty obvious)
-Fish food
-Any container that will hold your preferred number of fish (technically 1 cubic foot of water per fish, a general rule of thumb is a ratio of 1:4 tank contents to bed contents. Basically, for every one part of water and fish, you'll want to have four parts plant and bed material.)
-A submersible pump
-Learn how to make a Bell Siphon. It's easier than it may seem at first. The water rises to the level that you cut the inner PVC downspout at. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqKwRinbHdc&feature=fvst
-Have a separate container with either tubing or PVC connected to the submersible pump that pushes the water up to it.
-A medium to put the plants in. Either gravel (which you need to wash thoroughly, but it's cheap) or hydroton (which you don't need to wash, it's easier to work with, but it's somewhat expensive per pound).
-A water testing kit you can purchase at any pet store. You don't want the ammonia, pH, or nitrites to be too high, but nitrates are ok because it informs you that the plants are doing their job.
-A submersible aquarium heater.
-A submersible aerator to ensure the dissolved oxygen levels are sufficient for the fish to breathe.

If you're using tap water, you need two things to get the water quality to the level that that it won't kill off the fish:

-Vitamin C tablets (ascorbic acid), pulverized and put in the water to neutralize the chlorine.
-Salt, to ensure fish diseases don't take hold after they are introduced to their new environment.

Aside from all that, the design you want is entirely up to you.

I found a pretty good .pdf while searching for the Vitamin C and salt to water ratios (unsuccessfully): http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/adams/gh/pdf/Intro_Aquaponics.pdf

The whole system will run you anywhere from 100-300 dollars depending on how much you decide to complexify it.

Good luck dude!

It should be legal and considered regular. Does anyone know any good places for salvia cuttings?

It is understandable as many of us seem to be more open on this forum.

Here's an old picture of my little bridge to the neighbors property. It's getting kind of rickety though.



I'll take some pictures of my grape trellis, garden, etc. later. Where is a good place to host photos? I jacked that one off of myspace.

I'm used to garden a lot with my mother when I was a little kid, but this is the first year I'm trying to do it by myself. Just a small garden of tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro, thyme, chives, and tobacco, all from seed. I just planted, so I'm eagerly waiting for the first signs of germination. I'll post some pictures once things get going.

I need one of those!

@DrStribley You have a lovely yard. What do you do with all that mint though?

@DrStribley haha at keets and barrot, could have been big.. I need to start growing some things asap, you guys have given me inspiration.

I'm thinking jalapenos and tomatoes as starting points.

I'm seeing happy little sprouts in most of my pots now, although I caught some jerk bird eating at one of them before I shooed it away. Progress!

Most are doing fantastic. Will probably have to start transferring them to larger pots very soon. The tobacco didn't sprout at all, maybe bad seeds or I did something wrong. I'm struggling to keep the thyme alive, but I think they will pull through with some love. The rest are growing heartily.

Put some seeds in yesterday: Kale, Spinach, Salad Mix, Carrots, Scarlet Runners, Green Bush Beans, Misc. Herbs, etc. Will slowly start putting transplants in as the weather allows.

Also made some markers with rocks and acrylic paint:



My second year hops are already over 3 feet high.

Some P. Cubensis ready to happen in the next couple days :)