E. coli and growing your own

June 6, 2011 by 7 Comments
lettuce field

The last few weeks of shopping here in Germany have been interesting. You've likely heard by now that in Germany there has been an Escherichia coli (my favorite bacteria, BTW, because of the amusing name) outbreak and for about two weeks now, no one has had a single clue about where the source of the outbreak started. First cucumbers, salads and tomatoes from Spain were blamed -- but no proof was found. Now, they are targeting bean sprouts which they are fairly certain are the culprit. But all … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Aromatherapy & Herbal Medicine, Container Garden, DIY, DIY Projects, Foodie Desires, In the Garden, Natural Living, Veggie & Herb Garden Tagged With: ,

How to build a cold frame for the salad table

March 4, 2011 by 2 Comments
cold frame

In 2009, when winter just seemed to be dragging on forever, we decided to build a cold frame for our beloved salad table so that we could extend our growing season just a bit. We've actually had lamb's lettuce and spinach growing (oh so slowly) in there all winter. The regular baby lettuces that we use as a cutting mix found it a bit too harsh in there but the others are quite hearty for the winter months. There were a few times that they wilted a bit but once the temperatures were out of the … [Read more...]

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What we’re up to this week

June 7, 2010 by 5 Comments
rasterstein sl

I mentioned a while back that we were thinking about digging up a bunch of the pavers in our courtyard and putting in some new growing beds. Although I haven't mentioned much more about, we have been thinking about how to realize this plan and finally found the perfect edging stones that will help us complete the task at Bauhaus (home improvement store). The stones are called "Rasterstein SL" and are 30cm long, 20cm high and 20cm deep. We wouldn't have minded if they were a bit higher but we're … [Read more...]

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Filling & trimming our aquaponics grow bed

June 3, 2010 by 8 Comments

I talked a little bit yesterday about the different types of aquaponics growing media that are available for consideration. As I mentioned, we went with expanded clay pebbles (4-16mm big) which were actually made exactly for this purpose. The exact pebbles we got are actually a brand new type of aquaponics pebble that is hitting the market so we were really excited to be one of the firsts to try them. Because we're planning several aquaponics systems around our homestead, we went ahead … [Read more...]

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Selecting aquaponics growing media

June 1, 2010 by 7 Comments
aquaponics how to

It's been a while since I talked about our aquaponics system, but we have indeed been working on it and it's actually running very well. We've had our beds filled and even have plants in it but I putting the events down in words has taken a while longer. When building an aquaponics system, there are several growing media which can be considered. You may be lucky enough to have an endless supply of small pea gravel or river rock in your backyard. Or perhaps you will be using lots of growing … [Read more...]

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Show us your garden: Starting a lasagna garden

May 13, 2010 by 4 Comments
lasagna garden

You get to hear a lot about me, our farm and our garden here every day, but I know so many of you are doing fantastic things at home, in your own gardens, and I would really love to hear about it. There are so many great ideas floating around and I'll never be able to read all the books fast enough to learn everything, so I'd love for you to tell us about your experiments. If you'd like me to feature your garden, whether it's an oasis or just getting started, just send me an email at … [Read more...]

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What’s so great about aquaponics

May 7, 2010 by Leave a Comment

I know you've been reading the word "aquaponics" a lot lately on this blog and I don't think I've really explained what it is. So in case you're curious but just lack the time or sincere interest to go learn more about what it is and why people love it, I'm going to save you a trip to Google. Aquaponics mashes together hydropronics (growing plants without soil) and aquaculture (farm-raising fish). By linking together the fish tank to a grow bed, you are taking the wasted nutrients from your … [Read more...]

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Thanks and pebble happiness

April 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that Growing Edge, a massive resource about anything and everything to do with sustainable growing from aquaponics to backyard gardens, had mentioned our little aquaponics project on their blog. As if that wasn't enough, they have also asked if I want to do a guest blog so I'll be working hard on that post in the next few days and let you know when you can go check it out to leave a bit of comment love. There has been a flurry of excitement … [Read more...]

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Medium-sized aquaponics how to — The grow bed

April 20, 2010 by 6 Comments
aquaponics grow bed

Be sure to check out the first part of this aquaponics how to in case you missed it. So you've got your tools and materials together and you're ready to start building. Here's where I'd recommend getting out the sawhorses if you have any. Working on the ground sucks. Or maybe we're just getting old. First you're going to build a support frame for the grow bed which is attached to the large plywood board you've got. Ours is 105.5 x 165.5 cm, which when added to the lumber will make our … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Aquaponics, DIY Projects, Expat Life, Featured, Homesteading Life, In the Garden, Veggie & Herb Garden Tagged With: ,

Medium-sized aquaponics how to — Preparation

April 19, 2010 by 4 Comments
tools

A couple weekends ago, we decided it was time to start putting together our first aquaponics system. It's a 500L fish tank with  200L sump pump and a grow bed which is 120x180cm large (30cm deep). Our intent is to grow either catfish or tilapia in it and crawfish in the bottom of the fish tank. The sump will only be used for water overflow and to flush the system. We will eventually add a few more small beds and a few wall pipes too with hopes of adding a bit more filtration since that's a lot … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Aquaponics, Container Garden, DIY Projects, Featured, Homesteading Life, In the Garden, Veggie & Herb Garden Tagged With: ,
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