Garden aquaculture June 24, 2013

There were some roots to battle but like most ponds mine started with digging a hole.

The hole was then lined with cardboard boxes taken from a store dumpster, a blue tarp found along the side of the road, and finally a pond liner.  The liner is part of a poond kit I bought on clearance over the winter.  The fake lilypads were part of the kit as well.  I also added a small formed plastic part to help form a small waterfall.  Shallow areas got a thin layer of pebbles.

I added plants and fish soon after that.  There are some real lilypads in the deep area.  The more shallow areas got a mix of pond plants and plants usually used in aquariums.  Within a day of adding the first plants a toad came in and laid eggs.  You can tell they are from a toad, not a frog, because the eggs are laid in a chain instead of a cluster.

Less than a week later thousands of tiny tadpoles hatched. 

I found a swamp hibiscus at a local nursery and added it to the edge of the pond as well.  One of the secrets to a successful system is having a balance of fish and plants.  The plants use the fish wastes which keeps algae overgrowth from becoming a problem. 

Since this is a garden feature, as well as a place to grow fish, I am aranging stone around the waterfall.  It isn’t completely pretty yet and you can see all of the stuff that makes it run.  There are 2 solar powered water pumps and a solar powered air pump.  The small solar pannels can be seen sitting on te rocks around the waterfall area.  I would like to buy a bigger solar pannel and put a battery in to store the energy so the pond will circulate at night but it is fine for now.  The real secret to keeping water oxygenated enough for fish is to have a large surface to volume ratio.  That is part of the reason for the large shallow areas in the pond.  These areas also give space for shallow water plants to live with just their toes in the water and a safe, warm area for baby fish and tadpoles to hang out.

These are not the fish in my pond, but the grown up version of one species.  These golden talapia are a great food fish and capable of surviving a variety of water conditions.  I have several babies in the 1-2″ size range (I think there are 7) in my pond.  I have also added tropical fish including paradise fish, white skirt tetras, black fin neons, and tiger barbs.  The tropical fish will thrive and breed over the summer but when cooler weather gets here I will have to either set up an indoor aquarium, adda a heater to the pond, or sell the originals and their offspring to a fish store.  Most tropicals will thrive but eat less during the winter with water temperatures as low as the mid-low 60s.  They will slow growth and eat less in cooler conditions so expect that if over wintering tropical fish in an outdoor pond.  Temps much below that will kill most tropicals so there does need to be a plan for their safe keeping.

I am still waiting for the lilypads and other plants purchased dormant to grow but the rest of the stones are in place around the edge.  I will tweek things a little, especially around the waterfall but for now it is complete.  I’m sure I will add more plants and maybe try growing lettuce floating around on top or some other such craziness but I am already enjoying my little pond.  It is both an attractive garden feature and a place to grow fish for both food and sale in the aquarium trade.  Total for supplies, including pond kit with liner, waterfall liner, water pumps, air pump, stones, plants and fish is less than $200.  This is because I buy things on sale or clearance.  The pond is about 5’x8′ and 3′ or so deep in the center.  It is home to a variety of life already and I can’t wait to see how it changes as nature works its wonders.

Growing ginger February 3, 2013

Ginger is supposed to be pretty easy.  I decided to give it a try and wanted to share.  This is going to be another one of those posts that will require some updates as things progress but here it is.  I am basing what I am doing on what I have read and will be growing my ginger in a pot since it will not take frost or freezing at all.  I might try some in the ground once the cold snaps have passed.  It might just make it if I get it established over the summer and mulch it deeply for winter.  I will let you know but for now back to growing in a pot. 
First thing you need to do is go to the grocery store and find a nice plump chunk of ginger root.  I am lucky to have found organic ginger, but there is no reason not to use whatever ginger you can find in the store.  This is by far the easiest way to get a start on the type of ginger used for cooking and also medicine.  There are many types of ginger that are more ornamental and lovely to grow if you like.  I am more interested in growing food so the kind from the grocery store is the kind I want.

Pick out a nice plump section with buds on it where new growth will emerge.

a close up of what the buds look like

I have read a few different thing about what the next step should be.  Based on all of the reading I decided to let mine soak in water for a day.  If yours isn’t organic you may want to wash it, soak it and wash it again before planting.  This is because it may have a growth retardant on it which needs to be washed off.  If you do not get it off you might not get it to grow at all or it might be slow.  I do not really trust my organic ginger not to have anything on it plus it seemed like a good idea to soak it so it wouldn’t be so dried out on the surface.  Mine had a few buds so I broke it up a little to make separate plants.  I am starting them in one pot and from what I have read they like, or at least don’t mind, being crowded.

Lay them horizontally with the buds facing up.  They do not need deep soil so you can use a shallow container or only fill the pot part way.  I am using a mix of my native soil ammended with peat and a little bonemeal.  My native soil is very dark and rich looking but sandy.  Ginger likes well drained soil that is evenly moist with plenty of organic matter so the extra peat will help with that and my native soil is sandy enough to drain well.  If your native soil is heavy, clay soil you may want to add large amounts of compost and some sand to the mix.  Be careful adding sand to clay heavy soil because you could end up making some primative concrete instead of goot potting soil.  Clay needs enough organic matter added to be loose and airy, then you can add some sand to it.  If you have really heavy soil you might be better off not using your native soil at all.  You will really just have to judge this for yourselves though. 
Cover the ginger with a small amount of soil.  It likes to be near the surface and planting too deep can cause problems so I left mine peaking out a bit.

Water well from the top so any air pockets have soil washed into them.  After that just keep soil evenly moist.  In warm weather set the pot out in dappled shade.  Add mulch to the top if the soil is drying out too quickly. Keep inside durning cold weather.  They are a forest floor plant and like some shade so you shouldn’t need a grow light.  I don’t have any other tips on this since it is my first try.  I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

Good gardening weather January 14, 2013

Today is so warm and lovely that I decided to drag out all of the seeds, trays, flats, peat pots, etc and get some stuff started. I am starting both cool and hot weather plants. They will be the last of the cool and the first of the hot. Since it is so nice I set the dragonfruit cuttings and grapefruit seedlings out as well. I plan on bringing in everything except the tray of peatpots started with cool weather veggies and the tray with potting soil and lettuces in it. The one tray has tomatoes, peppers, okra, and cucumbers in it and will not only need to come inside but be set on a heat mat since I have been snuggling with my dog at night instead or turning on the furnace. I have been keeping the dragonfuits inside until now. They could have gone out yesterday for sure but when I am busy I neglect such things. Some of the cuttungs have roots escaping the bottom of their flat so I know it iis nearing time for their first transplanting even though only one actually shows any signs of new growth on top. I am happy to see good root growth and will plan to start giving some appropriate fertilizer after I get them transplanted. I will be asking more about them at the Lowcountry Fruit Growers Society meeting this Sunday coming up to make sure I am doing the right thing. I’m off to work as soon as I get cleaned up.