How to Survive the Occasional Garden

You may know that I garden in the soil and using aquaponic techniques in South Florida.  Our climate and pests can make gardening in zone 10B a real challenge.  But it is not the largest challenge in my gardening life.  My largest challenge is maintaining the gardens in my North Carolina mountain cabin.

I may be there one week a month, three weeks a month, or not at all for months on end.  Just because I am not there on a regular basis does not mean that I accept that I cant have beautiful gardens.  It just takes lots of planning and dependence on some old, time-tested plants and a few new ones as well.

The first challenge in my North Carolina mountain garden is that it sits at 3,200 feet in a mixture of clay, rock, and some pretty good soil...it just depends on where you dig.  It sits in USDA Zone 5B and I have spent my life gardening in Zones 8, 9, and 10.  In other words, a totally different part of the south where winters are milder and you almost never see the mercury plunge below freezing for long.  So the first thing was learning to garden out of my comfort zone.  I depended quite a bit on regional gardening boards, the University of North Carolina, and the gardening column in the local weekly paper.

My second challenge was to find plants that could thrive in the sunshine in the spring when there are no leaves on the trees, the dense shade in many areas once the leaves are on the trees in the summer, and the brutal cold of winter with the first snowfall happening in October or November.

I realized within the first year that annuals are pretty much out of the question, except as accent plants. My go to plants became the ones that are either hardy evergreens (like boxwood) or plants that become dormant in the winter and resume growing in the spring.  Bulbs are great for this!

Hurray for daffodils, crocus, tulips, iris, daylillies, gladiolas, and hostas!

Daffodils in Snow

These bulbs/corms can provide a procession of color in a bed without much fuss or muss. They dont need heavy fertilizing and can thrive on neglect.  Just a little dividing every once in a while and a covering of leaves in the fall are about all the attention they require.  The crocus and daffodils begin the procession of color.  They will even sprout and bloom through the snow.

Daffodils without Snow

Daylilly

 

Next come the tulips and iris to end the Spring season.  Come summer, the daylillies, gladiolas, and hostas  provide colorful foliage and pretty flowers.  The daylillies are particularly handy when you are planting on a slope and need good roots to prevent erosion. 

Hydrangeas are a great bush for the occasional gardener.  They grow and bloom each year from the prior years growth.  The dont need any sort of pruning unless you are looking to simply control the size of the plant.  My experience is that few pests want to eat the plant but the birds and butterflies love them.  Because they are dormant in the fall and winter months, you dont have to worry much about them freezing.  We have had below zero temperatures and the hydrangeas didnt seem to mind a bit: they just slept on.

Oakleaf Hydrangea

Other great bushes that are fairly fuss-free are azaleas, buddleias, and camellias.  I have been told that camellias can have pest problems but that has not been my experience so far.  If you are in a cold zone, just make sure that you select a camellia that is cold hardy.  Some are and some arent.  I learned the hard way.  Another great blooming plant that can take the cold and neglect is the rhododendron.  It will bloom in the shade, part-shade or even the sun.  Its cousin the mountain laurel also prefers to be left alone, making it a great choice for the occasional gardener.

Speaking of plants that want to be neglected, no occasional garden would be complete without a knock-out rose or two or three.  I love roses, but can only grow them in pots in south Florida because of our nematode problem.  In North Carolina, they can be grown in the soil but require care

Knock Out Rose

enter the patented Knock Out Rose.  I have both single and double types and both perform beautifully.  Come winter you just know they are dead because they dont have a leaf on them, but in spring they start to grow quickly.  Because I have such shady areas, it is important to have plants that arent prone to mildew problems.  I havent had a bit of mold problem with these roses at all.  Makes me think about replacing the ones I have in my full-time garden!

If you notice the one thing I have not mentioned in the occasional garden is the presence of grass.  Having a lawn is labor-intensive.  You have to feed it to encourage it to grow and then turn around and mow once you are successful in getting it to grow.  If you arent going to be around on a regular basis, you arent going to have a great lawn.  My approach is to let the grass that wants to grow go ahead and grow and I pay someone to mow all three acres that has some form of grass on it once a month once the weather is warm, and weed eat the non-mowable areas every few weeks.

Hosta

Whether you own a vacation home and are looking for gardening tips or you just want a beautiful garden without putting much work into it, I hope you will use these ideas to create your own garden that only needs your occasional attention to survive.  If you want to visit the Smoky Mountains and see what is blooming in my garden, go to Cabin On a Creek and check availability.  Its the occasional gardeners place where peace and quiet come together.

How does Aquaponics work The basic blue print

How I made my first Wicking bed

Dear Presidential Candidate How Would You Address Hunger in the U S and Around the World

Photo: Bread for the World

Over 100 Christian leaders have asked each presidential candidate, “What would you do as president to offer help and opportunity to hungry and poor people in the United States and around the world?” These videos, produced by the campaigns, are their response. The Circle of Protection, in partnership with Bread for the World, presents them without comment or endorsement. Additional candidate videos will be added as they are received.  As of Sept. 9, nine candidates (six Republicans and three Democrats) had responded.

The presidential videos are a major part of Bread for the World’s efforts to make hunger and poverty part of the national conversation during the campaigns for both president and Congress. Read more in Bread Blog

This link has the video responses from Jeb Bush, Dr. Ben Carson, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, Martin OMalley and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

(The videos have received coverage in religious and other media and in some religious Web sites, including Mother Jones, Catholic News Service, The National Catholic Reporter, The Christian Post, Mennonite Church USA, National Association of Evangelicals and PRNewswire. Most of this coverage took place when the initial set of videos from six candidates was released in July). 

HOW MANY FISH IN A TANK

 HOW MANY FISH AM I ALLOWED TO HAVE IN A TANK?

Aquaponics, ækw??p?n?ks, pisciponics

Again this will depend on whether the system is a commercial or backyard system, with the commercial systems requiring the correct amount of fish and plants for optimum production. The more fish there are in a system, the more nutrients there are for the plants to consume, but if there are not enough plants to consume these nutrients, the excess build up in the water can cause the fish to suffer. As a general rule, backyard systems can stock between 10 - 30 kg of fish per 1000 litres of water.

How to start an aquaponic system

Starting an aquaponic system

Introduction

This experiment is an introduction into the functions and management of a small aquaponic system. Like a home aquarium, an aquaponic system requires special attention in the first weeks, since the microbial community in the water and in the plant boxes need some time to get established.

Learning goals

• Know why an aquarium requires a filter.
• Know how to monitor the water quality by using simple aquarium test kits.
• Be able to explain what the measured factors indicate in terms of water quality, fish health and plant growth.
• Understand how to react in case of bad water quality in the aquarium.

Starting an aquaponic system

Background information

There are at least three species of living organisms in an aquaponic system. There are fish, plants and bacteria. In our small classroom system we will have about four goldfish in the aquarium, 60 plants in the plant beds and about 100000 billion of bacteria and other very small species in the gravel or LECA. Bacteria have been on this planet for 3 billion years while man exists for at most 3 million years, and our civilisation for just 10000 years. A human being couldnt survive a day without the help of bacteria and neither would the fish and plants in our classroom system.
The fish need oxygen to survive - in the same way as human beings, i.e. by breathing - but the fish take oxygen from the water and excrete ammonium and carbon dioxide over the gills. There is also ammonium in the excrements (faeces) from the fish. The ammonium in the water can become dangerous to the fish. The bacteria can transform ammonium into a substance (nitrate) which is harmless to the fish and at the same time an important plant nutrient. This process is called nitrification and it is necessary to supply the plants with nitrogen fertilizer.
So the first thing we need to do before we put any fish in the aquarium, is to start growing a lot of bacteria in the plant boxes, so that they can take care of the fish excrements i.e. the ammonium in the water.




Another important factor influencing the water quality is pH. It indicates whether the water is acidic, neutral or basic. The pH is measured on a scale of 1-14 with 7 being neutral. Is the pH lower than 7, the water is acidic, if it is higher, the water is basic. Depending on the fish species, the optimum pH varies. Goldfish tolerate variations in pH much more than other fish species, but to avoid stress, the pH should stay within the range of 6.5 - 8.

Time requirement

The starting phase should last at least for three weeks.

Material requirement

• 1 classroom aquaponic system
• 1 aquarium test kit for ammonium (NH₄⁺)
• 1 aquarium test kit for nitrite (NO₂^-)
• 1 aquarium test kit for nitrate (NO₃^-)
• 1 aquarium test kit for pH
• 1 bacteria starter package for aquarium filters
• 1 aquarium thermometer

Lets start

Start the biofilter - multiply the bacteria! Fill the system with water and start the air pump. It is important to keep the oxygen level high for the bacteria to thrive. The water pump is now circulating the water through the system. There are different ways to multiply the bacteria. For example you can add a starter package of bacteria, or you add a very small amount of ammonium to the system in order to feed the already present bacteria in the substrate. We suggest to add a fertilizer containing ammonium, to achieve an ammonia concentration of 10 mg/l. If using ammonium sulfate, you would add 4.7 g of the powder to 100 l of aquarium water.

Is the filter working? If there are enough bacteria in your filter to transform ammonium into nitrate, your filter is working. To find out, you need to measure ammonium, nitrite and nitrate. You can begin with measuring the ammonia concentration and monitor, how every day it is decreasing. After a week you can start measuring nitrite and nitrate, using the sticks from the pharmacist or the aquarium dealer. During the first days you can have some indication of nitrite but when the system is ready you should have no response of nitrite. It normally takes between three to six weeks to multiply the bacteria enough so they can digest the ammonium amount that will be caused by the application of fish food.

Control and regulate pH! To measure the pH in the water use the pH-sticks. If the value is between 6.5 and 8, there is no need to do anything. If it is above or below that value,change part of the water! If you feel experienced enough, instead of changing the water, you could add formic acid in case the pH is higher than 8. Add one part of the acid to 50 parts of water and use a drop of this solution every day until pH is right. If pH is too low, you can add a tea spoon of calcium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide in a cup of water and use a drop of this until pH has the right level.

Temperature: Temperature is very critical because it influences other water quality variables. For example cold water can hold more dissolved oxygen than warm water. Fish are very sensitive to changes of temperature, smaller fish being more sensitive than larger ones. Goldfish belong to the group of coldwater fish and prefer temperatures between 18 -25 °C. They will tolerate any temperature from 4-30 ºC however, as long as the water still contains enough oxygen and low amounts of ammonia. Remember that the body temperature of fish is always the same as the water temperature. Therefore, in colder water fish will eat less or stop eating at all when the temperature drops below 9 °C (Mette, 2006). On the contrary, in warmer water fish will digest faster and get a lot more hungry. Be careful, though, not to give too much feed! More feed means that the fish need more oxygen, but in warmer water there is less oxygen. So these two factors are working against each other, and you have the balance in your hand.

See and feel

• Ammonia (tolerance value: < 0.8 mg/l) and Nitrite (should be 0 mg/l at all times, max. 0.2 mg/l) (measure each second day).
• Nitrate - its raising indicates that the filter process has been started (once per week). The nitrate value should be between 10-100 mg/l.
• pH should be between 6.5 and 8 (once per week).
• Water temperature should be between 18 - 25°C, depending on the fish species
• If the values of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH are out of range, stop feeding. In severe cases, change part of the aquarium water.

Didactical comments

In order to understand the process of nitrification, or what happens in the filter, some basic knowledge in chemistry is required. However it is possible to explain it in using metaphors: two little animals (bacteria) are responsible to transform the poison (ammonium) into a non toxic substance (nitrate), which at the same time will feed the plants. With the ammonia and nitrite test kit we indirectly measure the existence and quantity of these bacteria.

Aquaponics, ækw??p?n?ks, pisciponics http://aquaponics-commercial-backyard.blogspot.com.es/

How I got introduced to Aquaponics

Every weekend i used to build something like a DIY, sometimes furniture or sometimes toys. And then on day Chaitanya mailed me a video of a small DIY aquaponics system that was interesting. The following weekend I jumped into action... and set up my first aquaponics unit which was a NFT system.

I already had a 500 liter water tank that was used as a raised pond of sorts, with gold fish, koi, sword tail and a few guppies.

The fish tank or raised pond with fish and water lilly

The plan was to create a NFT frame work next to the tank and pump the water from the FT to the pvc pipes. For the drain to to flow back into the FT i raised the pipes above the FT.

A full saturday of shopping at the hardware store, cutting drilling and assembly.

Here i primarily used 4 inch pvc pipe and drilled 2 inch holes. I used some tank valve and some 0.75 inch pipes to create the drain.

I then used some plastic cups i had, drilled a few holes in the bottom and just placed it in the holes.
I had some aqua clay left over from my aquarium that was decommissioned a few weeks before this build, so i used the aqua clay to fill the cups. I then hooked up the water connection and planted the seeds directly into the cups. And 10 days later .... it starts to sprout.

More Fun With Dandies How to Pull the Petals

If youve been following this blog for any amount of time, you might have noticed that weve slowed down quite a bit with our posting schedule.  Its not for lack of things to post about, of that you can be sure.  Its mainly because weve got so much going on that we havent had a chance to sit down and write about all the fun weve been having!  Last week, our homestead population increased from 2 to 7,027 due to the arrival of a package of honey bees and 25 chickens.  (At this rate, well have to annex the neighbors yards by June!)  Weve also had significantly increased off-the-homestead responsibilities since the end of March.  But above all, the primary reason weve been so slow in posting is that weve been trying to use every dandelion flower in our yard. (We havent even come close, but maybe next year.)

In the course of making use of all these dandies, weve improved our technique for pulling the petals out of the flowers, so we wanted to do a quick post to let everyone know about our new technique, in case someone else might want to get out and try it before the dandelion production drops off this spring.

This is the part of the yard where they have to share with grass and other flowers.  Other parts they have all to themselves.  Clearly, if were going to get them all, weve got to move quickly. 

Most sources on collecting the flowers agree up to this point: keep just the flower head.

This is where our new technique diverges.  While others say to dig out the petals with your thumbnail, weve found its quicker and easier to split the flower head in half, but not go all the way through, like so.

Then we take the pad of our thumb and rub the petals from one half from the split outward.  Almost all should come at once, if not, the stragglers are easier to grab with the flower split open.  Sometimes a few of the green parts on the back side will break off also, but for the most part, its not a problem if they come along.  At the end of the day, weve usually got about 99% petals and 1% green stuff in the bowl.

Repeat with the other side, and were done!  After a while, we get in the zone and can run at about five seconds per flower, except for the most stubborn specimens.  Its close to the same time frame for processing strawberries or green beans or the like.  Also, weve noticed that from about four cups of flower heads, well end up with about three-and-a-half cups of petals if they dont get too packed down.

With the petals, you can make all kinds of stuff, like wine and jelly!  While the petals themselves dont have a lot of flavor, they definitely add something besides yellow color to the end product.  Its just the right amount of je ne sais quoi...

The jelly looks especially nice when sitting on a matching honey bee-themed hand towel and catching the afternoon sun through a washroom window.  Also, since we know youre wondering: yes, it goes great with peanut butter in a sandwich.

The wine is still going, so we probably shouldnt post a recipe until its done and we know its good, but heres the recipe for the jelly, based in part off of Kristinas recipe here:

4 cups dandelion petals
8 cups water

Boil the water and petals for ten minutes, strain out petals (we used an old t-shirt) to give a nice yellow dandelion petal tea.

4 cups of the dandelion petal "tea"
0.25 cups lemon juice
2 cups sugar
4 teaspoons Pomonas pectin + 4 teaspoons calcium water (from powdered CaCl₂ included in the pectin box)

Mix the sugar and pectin together well.  Mix "tea," lemon juice, and calcium water together, and bring to a boil.  Add sugar/pectin mix, stir vigorously to dissolve, bring to full rolling boil, keeping a close eye on the stove so the pot doesnt boil over and make a thick layer of dandelion fruit roll-up in the nether regions of your stove.  (Not that that would ever happen.)  Remove from heat.  Pour into clean canning jars and process according to preferred instructions. (We normally use the inversion method of turning the full jar upside down for 5-10 minutes, then flipping back upright, but food safety experts recommend at least a boiling water bath for a reliable seal.  General instructions are here; to apply to this recipe, replace every instance of chokecherry juice with dandelion petal tea.)


What are you using dandelion flowers for this spring?  Have you managed to pick all of the dandies in your yard? (Dont forget, today is mothers day, and mothers love flowers!)

Father James Martin How to Avoid Christmas Stress No Less Yes

(Thanks to Jesuit Father James Martin for this reflection, which was one of his Facebook posts)

Can I make a confession? I’m starting to dislike Christmas. Before you ask me to hand in my collar, let me clarify.

When I say “Christmas” I mean the unpleasant cultural trappings that have almost suffocated the holiday: overheated stores packed with stressed-out shoppers; the pressure people feel to buy, buy, buy; and the endless commercials that make the season feel more about spending money than about anything else.

Is it possible to set aside the unhealthy aspects of Christmas and focus on the Nativity of Our Lord?

Yes, and let me suggest three ways to do so.

• First, just say no. You don’t have to go to every party, send a card to every friend, or buy a gift for every family member. Saying no to one thing (a party) means saying yes to something else (time to pray).
• Second, just say less. Try sending three-quarters as many cards or buying half the gifts you did last year.
• Third, just say yes. Choose events that are more spiritual (church services, lessons, and carols) as a way to nourish yourself and prepare for the real Christmas.

Overall, it’s important to pull back from the craziness and to carve out more time for prayer during the Advent and Christmas season. Happily, the beautiful readings of Advent easily invite us to prayer.

Christ wants to enter into your life in a new way during these holy weeks. But if you’re in a store listening to two people fight over a video game, you may not hear him.

How to Set Up Automatic E mail Notifications for a Craigslist Search Using IFTTT

A while back, we wrote about the wonders of IFTTT, which automatically updates us when a new posting for something cool shows up on Craigslist.  Shortly after, Andrew from Green Machine Farm took it one step further, showing how to make more sophisticated Craigslist searches that filter out unwanted results and capture related searches in a single IFTTT recipe.  Today, we wanted to run through the steps of how we actually set up an automated notification for a Craigslist search.  Just in time to pick up some last-minute Christmas bargains!

Start out by going to www.ifttt.com, and clicking on either sign in (if youve been here before) or sign up.

If you clicked Sign In, it should take you here (assuming you remembered your login).  If you clicked Sign Up, youll have to click through a few pages to get to this page.  Once youre here, click Channels.

Then scroll down until you see the Craigslist logo.  Click on the peace sign.

Then scroll down until you get to the Triggers option, and click it.

The one we like the best is on the far left, which tells IFTTT to send us an e-mail when a Craigslist search results page is updated.  Click that button.

That should take you to this page, where it gives a spot to enter the url of a Craigslist search.

Now open a new tab in your browser and navigate to your local Craigslist.  Enter in a search term or click on one of the subcategories.  Today, were going to look only for free stuff.

Search for something youd like to find.  Katie says, "why would you eat pancakes you found for free on Craigslist?!"

Good point, Katie.  Lets use some of Andrews tricks to search for free windows instead so we can make a greenhouse!  Then, copy the url from the browser address bar...

...and paste it into the IFTTT form, then click Add.

Success!  Now click Done.

That takes you to a page where you can give the recipe a title.  Thats helpful if you set up more than one search, because they all default to the same title.

Thats better!

Then, scroll down and click Update.   Youre done!  Youll get an e-mail from IFTTT whenever the results page for your search is updated.  Normally, we get the e-mail about an hour after something has been posted.  To see stats on your recipe, scroll back up to the top and click on My Recipes.  Happy Craigslisting!

Do you have another tool for getting automatic notifications when a good deal pops up on Craigslist?  Let us know in the comments section below!