The Cheap Vegetable Gardener

Cheap desktop aquaponics system

10.4 years ago Uncategorized 3 Comments

I wanted to create a fun project with my daughter and a proof of concept for an aquaponics setup to have running in my grow box.  For those of you new to this concept this is growing plants in a soilless environment (much like hydroponics) but instead of paying for expensive nutrients you use naturally occurring bacteria and fish poop to grow plants.

Now there are fish farm kits out there but given most of the parts for this build I had sitting idle in my garage I decided to construct my own.

First after a trip to IKEA I found some plastic tubs just the right size for my grow box.  I got two of the bins and one lid.

This is the basic idea of how this goes together, fish in the bottom plants on top.

Next I took a 1/4 inch drill and made several holes on both the bottom of the top tub and also through the lid.  I also added a few extra hole in the lid to ensure water can drain faster from the lid than the water coming in from above.  I also drilled a big enough to fit some 1/2 in plastic tubing from an old fountain pump I had lying around.

It is a bit hard to see from this picture but I cut the top of a 2 liter bottle off and drilled a hole in the cap just big enough to fit the top of the plastic tubing through.  I then drilled six 1/4 holes and pushed a 6 small pieces of irragaction tubing (pieces of straws could probably work here as well) and positioned them right under the plants roots.

I then filled the top tub 1/3 with aquarium gravel (washed pea gravel would work as well) that I had sitting the the garage and topped the rest with some clay pellets.

Next add some plants and pour water from the top until the tub below is full, start the pump and add a few goldfish and the process begins.

 

As the fish breath, poop, and pee they will produce ammonia (NH₄) this is pretty worthless to the plants but after a few weeks Nitrosomas bacteria will begin converting the ammonia (NH₄) to Nitrates (NO₂) which plants can absorb some of the nitrogen from but not very efficiently.  Finally Nitrospira bacteria will convert the Nitrates (NO₂) to Nitrates (NO₃) which is easily converted by the plants producing some nice vibrant greens with fish poop.

You can even do this whole process without even having fish by simply adding pure ammonia to you water which will create the same natural bacterial processes without having to remember to feed your fish and a small bottle of the stuff only costs a couple dollars on Amazon.

        

Handy Tips for a Great Garden

9.7 years ago Uncategorized 1 Comment

Put an end to the mini-gardens you have been planting along the windowsills and rooftops. They are well kept and easy to look after but are in no comparison to the garden you can plant around your house. Let this be the time when you decide to go with the urge of planting a proper garden and experience its beauty and charm.

Garden lovers do plan to plant their own garden every year, but without proper information they expect that it may soon turn into a disaster.

A well-planned garden may save you from many problems. Once saved from these problems, your garden will be your admiration and the best part of your territory.

Here are just a few handy tips for a great garden. Keep these in mind before you pick up a trowel or open a seed packet.

1. Plan Your Garden

A complete plan should be made to plant a healthy garden, which may save you a lot of time and energy later. Everything is important, from selecting the right place for a garden to choosing what you can grow according to the season. Seeds are usually sown in spring, while Fall is favorable for planting trees, shrubs, bulbs and some other perennials.

You should keep in mind what kind of garden you want to grow, a fruit garden, a vegetable garden or a flower garden. Know when to sow and when to reap. And the area should also be selected according to your plants’ need of sunshine.

It is your garden and it is up to you to plant whatever you wish to. As in the beginning, we suggest that start on a small level and once you understand the nature of your plants then go expand the boundaries of your garden.

2. Clean up the Area

You need to clean up the area where you are planning to start growing a garden. You can get rid of the sod covering by smothering it with newspaper. Place a layer of five sheets of newspaper with a 3-inch layer of compost (or combination of potting soil and topsoil) on it and then wait for about four months to let the compost and paper to decompose.

3. Your Soil Matters A Lot

If you know your soil type, then you can easily manage it and get the best out of it. The three basic types are – sand, silt and clay. And if you can’t recognize which one is yours, then take help from a nearby nursery on garden center.

Soil needs a boost as well, which can be done by adding some simple organic matter to it. Such organic material includes the addition of a 2- to 3-inch wide layer of compost, decayed leaves, dry grass clippings, or old manure. It enhances the nutrient level and encourage life-giving soil microbes and worms.

Know when to dig the soil. Though, digging loosens the soil so roots can penetrate more easily, but digging when the soil is too wet or too dry can ruin its structure. You should dig only when the soil is moist enough to form a loose ball in your fist, but dry enough to fall apart when you drop it.

4. Mulch, the best friend of your garden

Sun, rain and mulch are known as the best friends of a garden. A couple of inches of mulch will help in keeping weeds out and water in. The different sorts of mulch which are available are pine needles to cocoa hulls to bark chips. As for a vegetable garden or bed of annuals, you may choose a mulch that decomposes in a few months. Longer-lasting mulch is used for perennials, such as bark chips.

5. Bring seedlings home

Bring all the seedlings outdoors (whether home grown or store bought) and expose them to a steadily increasing amount of sun, wind, and temperatures lower or higher than what they were used to indoors. This process of hardening off gradually introduces seedlings to the conditions in your garden. It may take about 2 weeks.

6. When to Plant

The ideal time to plant is when there is rain in the forecast and no frosts or heat waves expected. Incase forecasts are not that helpful, then try to plant in the late afternoon or early evening to minimize the time the seedlings bake in the sun. And before planting anything, water the soil a day before to keep it moist.

7. Planting

You should know which species to plant together depending on their similar requirements of soil, light and nutrients. You can either plant a single type or multiple types. Planting different species together may eliminate the risk of facing attacks from plant-specific pests.

Keep some space between your plants. Spacing is good for their growth and the bare patches can be filled with flowering plants.

8. Water Wise

The most important element in a plant’s life is water. Seedlings should never dry out; they should be watered daily while they are small. New transplants also need frequent watering, every other day or so, until their roots become firm. The rest of the water requirements depend on your soil and climate.

Watering should be done slowly and deeply. The way you water a plant determines its health.

9. Pests and Diseases

Once you have decided to plant certain species, then make sure you know what kind of pests and diseases attack them. Find organic ways to keep your plants healthy enough to avoid any pest problem. And be prepared to tackle their arrival. It is better to know your problem beforehand.

10. And the hard work continues…

A healthy garden is not a single-day story. You have to keep watering your plants properly and keep maintaining your garden. Fertilizers may change according to the season and you shall need to fertilize the soil halfway through the season. Keep up with your plants’ needs and take care of them.

Get ready to have a garden of your own and rejoice its pleasure. You just need to keep investing time and effort. It will all pay off when the plants will grow up and you will be sitting back enjoying the blessing of having your very own garden. A little hard work today will bring in plenty of joys later.

Author Bio:

Christine Rudolph is a content writer at B&C Pest Control, a Lake Mary Pest Control Provider. Serving homeowners and business owners with its effective pest management and extermination solution.

Create your own hydroponic window farm

14.2 years ago cheap, hydroponics, recycle 11 Comments

If I didn’t have a big house blocking my southern exposed window, otherwise I would have completely tried this myself.  The basic idea is to take come recycled plastic bottles, use an air pump and some tubing to create an air water pump to push the nutrients to the top and gravity takes care of the rest.

The great part of this is that it is an open design community making and sharing new innovations as they are discovered.  Here are the complete instructions of the most recent (version 3) of their system.  They also offer a complete kit if you want to save some time with assembly.

 

 

Via LifeHacker [via Window Farms]

Making your own garlic powder

14.1 years ago cheap, dehydrator, garlic bulbs 15 Comments

I like to use garlic powder for making my own BBQ rubs and in cooking where I am too lazy to cut up some fresh garlic.  Whenever I go to buy garlic powder at the grocery store I normally end up convincing myself to get 11 ounces of garlic salt at $3.99 versus the $7.49 for a 9 ounce container of garlic powder.  Though this not what I really wanted, the cheapness in me always wins.  Given I picked up a fancy food dehydrator recently, this year I have opted to make my own.

When creating my garlic braid I found many imperfect bulbs as well as some small bulbs which I set aside to be the victims into making garlic powder.

Step #1: Peel the and clean the cloves

The title pretty much sums it up but you need to get the cloves and peel off the outer layer of all the cloves.  I normally following this up with a quick rinse to help get rid of the various loose pieces and make them a little less sticky (and smelly)

Step #2 Slice the garlic

The size is not that important, though the general idea is all of the slices should be about the same general size.  This way they all should complete drying at the same time.  Obviously the smaller you slice the quicker they will dry which may not be a good thing which I will explain later.

Step #3 Dry the garlic

Place the garlic in your food dehydrator with no pieces touching at 125-130F (or as close as yours can get) and if you sliced thin they could be ready in about 12 hours or if they were huge hunks like mine more like 3-4 days.  The easy way to tell if they are done is by picking the largest clove chunk you can find and break it in half with your fingers.  If it brittle and breaks cleanly they are ready, if it is soft and bends some check again in about 8-12 hours.

Step #4 Grind the garlic

Here is where you have a couple options, you can grind all of the cloves using a spice/coffee grinder and store in an airtight container or simply store the chunks in an airtight container and grind into powder as needed.

If you smell the chunks you may be surprised that there is not a strong garlic smell, that is because the outside has become oxidized.  Though if you break one in half and take a smell or pop it in your mouth (if you are daring) you will see there is plenty of flavor inside.  If you grind the garlic chunks they will start to oxidize reducing their effectiveness and given the new much larger surface area of the small particles it will not take long for your garlic to lose the great aroma it previous had.

You can preserve this potency longer by keeping the garlic as chunks and grinding it into powder right before using.  Though bringing out and cleaning a spice grinder each time you cook with garlic can be a pain, so I would recommend grinding as much as you expect to use for a couple months and save the garlic chunks in an air tight contain and grind when needed so you always have fresh garlic powder ready to use.

As with any spices once opened they are good for about 6 months ground or 12 month whole when stored in an airtight container and twice those numbers if vacuum packed.  So the garlic chunks are useable for one year with about half that for ground variety.  You can also store garlic powder or garlic chunks in an airtight container in your freezer to gain a few extra months.

Why should you have a grow box?

15.7 years ago indoor growbox, indoor seed starting, LEDs, seeds 6 Comments

Other than the “Do you really just grow ‘strawberries’ in your grow box?”  question.  The most common question I have gotten is why exactly do I have a grow box.  Hopefully I will be able to answer this question below, as for the first question the answer is yes (without the fingerquotes)

Necessity:  I am cheap and don’t want to buy all my plants from local nursery or garden center, but do not have a good location inside my house to grow seedlings with a normal table/shelf light setup.  I definitely do not have the space to setup a greenhouse in the backyard.  This unfortunately forces me to do my growing in my cold windowless garage.  Using a grow box allows me to maintain a safe temperature for my plants no matter what the conditions are outside.

Control:  I have nearly complete control of the conditions inside the grow box.  I can provide my plants with the perfect temperature, humidity, lights (intensity and wavelength as well as day/night simulation) and even can simulate a slight breeze using a small fan if desired.  This gives me many advantages which I would not have even if I could grow indoors.  One example of this is growing peppers, which can be fairly difficult in our climate but with some modifications settings in the grow box can create the perfect conditions for it.

Saving Money:  Given my options such as the $20 PC Grow Box and my $6 Christmas Light LED Grow Box the cost of entry is pretty low.  You do have the expense of lighting the thing but given the 48 watts required for the PC Grow Box and 10 watts of the Christmas Light LED Grow Box even those maintenance costs are reasonable.

Portability:  All three of my grow boxes (PC Grow Box, LED Grow Box, Computerized Grow Box) all have a single plug that goes into the outlet and can literally be picked up and moved to another location if needed (try doing that with your greenhouse)

Scalability: Need more space in your grow box?  As little as $6 can get you a new one, or $10 worth of lumber can double the size of your existing one (assuming your old lighting can support the space)  You are limited to what your creativity can imagine.

Fun:  Call me crazy, but I like the idea of tricking my strawberries that it is a nice spring day and get them to start blooming and producing fruit.  If all goes well I can move the plants outside during the real spring and get even more harvest while freeing up some space for more plants.

How to use egg shells in your vegetable garden

14.2 years ago calcium, egg shells, nutrients 27 Comments

Egg shells are a great additive to increase the calcium content in the soil of your vegetable garden.  Calcium is important to plants specifically because it helps with cell wall structure imperative for strength of plants.  There are many specific plants that respond well calcium supplementation: apples, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cherries, citrus, conifers, cotton, curcurbits, melons, grapes, legumes, lettuce, peaches, peanuts, pears, peppers, potatoes, tobacco, and tomatoes [1]

Now you know why you need calcium in your garden, now lets talk about how you can make your own calcium supplement at home from egg shells heading to your trash.

1. When cooking eggs for breakfast or baking rinse them quickly.  They do not have to be spotless just enough so they will not create an odor.

2. Lay the shells on a cookie sheet or a piece of aluminum foil in your oven for 5-6 minutes at 350 degree F until the egg shells start to brown.  I normally do this when I am doing some baking and throw them in while the oven is preheating, by the time I am ready to bake the eggs are ready to go.

3. At this point (after they cool for a few minutes) you can simply put the shells in a plastic bag and roll them out with a rolling pin, though the smaller you break up the shells the easier it is to leech the calcium out of them.  For this reason I like to use my Magic Bullet using the grinding attachment to really pulverize the shells into powder.

4. Place the egg shells into a sealed container for future use.  I used the same aluminum foil I used to bake them to funnel the powder into an old spice container.

How to use your ground Egg Shells:

1. Sprinkle a couple of teaspoons into planting holes when transplanting new seedlings

2. Sprinkle on surface and gently work into soil when tomatoes are beginning to flower to prevent blossom end rot and promote overall health of the plant

3. Add 2 tsp of egg shells to 1 liter of water and let them sit for 24 hours, apply directly to plants

4. Add ground egg shells to your compost bin.

5. Sprinkle around plants to deter slugs