Root Crops

[organicusrex]

I've been searching for threads in this forum on the results from growing root crops in an AP system.

Does anyone have any pics of their plants and crops? It seems to be very little written about root crops. Just curious.

[fishfood]

Only these Carrot grown in vemiculite flooded 15 min on 2 hrs off also had success with onions

[GaryD]

Hi OR,

Aquaponic (hydroponic) growing systems are best suited to high value leafy green vegetables, soft herbs and salad vegetables.

If you wish to grow root vegetables (and potatoes), you can use vermiculite (particularly good for carrots) or coco coir. While both media are infrequently used in aquapoics, their use in hydroponics is very common.

Your other (and probably better) option is to use a non-hydroponic growing method like square foot gardening or raised sheet mulch beds.

Gary

[Jackalope]

Hi OR,

Aquaponic (hydroponic) growing systems are best suited to high value leafy green vegetables, soft herbs and salad vegetables.

If you wish to grow root vegetables (and potatoes), you can use vermiculite (particularly good for carrots) or coco coir. While both media are infrequently used in aquapoics, their use in hydroponics is very common.

Your other (and probably better) option is to use a non-hydroponic growing method like square foot gardening or raised sheet mulch beds.

Gary

I'm not sure it's through snowing in our neck of the woods, and we only have a 2 1/2 to 3 month growing season, then back to freezing -- so my wife has taken to produce our root crops via "bucket gardening." she starts the potatoes at the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket .... as the plant grows, she fills up the bucket, just enough to keep the leaves out of the dirt until it's an inch or so below the top of the bucket. This way, we can take them out on the sidewalk on good days, and when it snows, we don't take them out ;) with beets and carrots, of course, you don't have to fill the bucket gradually. By Fall, the buckets will be full of potatoes and we can harvest them as we need them, and the soil in the bucket should protect them from the freezes (until it gets -40F in late Dec, Jan and Feb). If I can afford the coal, I'll be doing the aquaponics in the Saloon over the Winter as well. (We bought an old Saloon and now we've moved a mobile home in next to it -- we lived two winters in the Saloon, and it's just about impossible to heat above 40F, so this year, we'll be living in style ..... I hope ;) )

[GaryD]

Hi Jackalope,

Central montana sounds like it might be like Alberta in Canada in terms of its cold weather. Dr Nick Savidov is experimenting with greenhouse production. Try Googling New Alchemist bio-shelter......there might be some ideas there that can extend your growing season.



....so my wife has taken to produce our root crops via "bucket gardening." she starts the potatoes at the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket .... as the plant grows, she fills up the bucket, just enough to keep the leaves out of the dirt until it's an inch or so below the top of the bucket. This way, we can take them out on the sidewalk on good days, and when it snows, we don't take them out


This sounds interesting.....what does she do to the buckets prior to using them for this purpose......drain holes, etc?

Gary

[Dufflight]

Don't put holes in the bucket. Just a length of PVC so you can see if there is water in the bottom.

[organicusrex]

FF and/or Gary,

Thanks for the pics. :)
Does the vermiculite tend to hold up better with repeated soaking than perlite?

Is it possible to mix coir, vermiculite and perlite for a unique mixture?

Has anyone out there experimented with whole sphagnum moss as a grow media? This may not be available in Oz but it's readily available here in the US and Canada. It's in most plant nurseries and craft stores.

Jackalope,

Love the potato bucket idea for getting a jump on the growing season and for extending the end of the season too. Arkansas is pretty warm and snow is seldom seen here yet it can get pretty cold in the winter. Year round food production is a big desire of mine.

************************
I wonder if AP GB's are good for starting softwood cuttings? I apologize, I know this another subject altogether but my imagination has been kicked into hyperdrive with the help of everyone on this forum.

I normally use a rooting hormone in mason sand with a misting system on timer to keep the cuttings moist at all times. Perhaps small gravel similar to that used in fish aquariums or even tumbled recycled glass bits could serve the same function as the sand for support and having more moisture available. Being 1/4 inch in size they may not clog up like sand does in an AP application.
Since moisture is the primary goal, a shallower (but still using a siphon method) cutting bed could fall in between a draining GB and the fish tank. Heavy nutrients aren't necessary to get cuttings started. Once adequate roots have formed they could be moved to a standard GB to gain nutrients.
Just thinking outside the box with this phenomenal method of gardening that seems to have endless ways of being put to work. :D

[fishfood]

Hi Organicusrex
my vemiculite is now 2 years old and shows no sign of breaking down Never use perlite in ap it floats and blocks every thing Coco coi will turn your water brown

[Jackalope]

Hi Jackalope,

Central montana sounds like it might be like Alberta in Canada in terms of its cold weather. Dr Nick Savidov is experimenting with greenhouse production. Try Googling New Alchemist bio-shelter......there might be some ideas there that can extend your growing season.



This sounds interesting.....what does she do to the buckets prior to using them for this purpose......drain holes, etc?

Gary

Thanks for the hints ...... with the wind, I'm not sure a greenhouse will stand up ..... I see all kinds of ex-greenhouse frames around here ......

As for the potatoes, yes, she drills 1/8" holes all around on the bottom and a few about an inch or two up the sides ..... she puts an inch or two of pea gravel in the bottom for drainage, and then the potting soil/compost/steer manure/dirt/mulch (whatever you use for your gardens) for about an inch more, then cover the potatoes with just the sprouts showing and nature takes over. She waters them with some of my fish water every so often, and that takes care of my water changes ..... with the evaporation and her taking out some for the potatoes, beets, etc. I usually put 5 to 10 gallons every week to week and a half.

Dufflights idea of just putting a pipe in to see if you have water ..... with no drainage, it would possibly take a long time to use up whatever water you were using, and it would also possibly rot the potatoes on the bottom of the bucket if there was too much water in there, don't you think? I may try that just to see how that works ..... sounds good, and it would certainly be less messy, because the buckets seem to drain over a long period of time, so if they're brought into the house/shed it would be a good idea to have a pan under the bucket to catch the water draining/seeping out.

[Dufflight]

Most buckets I use have a hole part way up the side. You only add water when the bottom is dry for a couple of days.

[nwestwood]

Jackalope, I'm in Highland, Utah and we routinely get 50+mph winds and my double poly greenhouse has survived them all. The hoop type double plastic (inflated) greenhouse are some of the toughest around. High winds they survive fine, flying branches, and other pointy objects they do not like. As long as the plastic is intact, the shape keeps them on the ground and solid. My last plastic lasted 10 years before it rotted and split.

[GaryD]

Hi,


Does the vermiculite tend to hold up better with repeated soaking than perlite?

Yes.......I'd prefer not to use perlite for any recirculating system.


Is it possible to mix coir, vermiculite and perlite for a unique mixture?

Yes.......leave out the perlite.....but vermiculite and coco are often mixed when used by hydroponicists. We use vermiculite, coco peat and cow manure as the growing mix in our square foot bed.

Gary

[Jackalope]

Jackalope, I'm in Highland, Utah and we routinely get 50+mph winds and my double poly greenhouse has survived them all. The hoop type double plastic (inflated) greenhouse are some of the toughest around. High winds they survive fine, flying branches, and other pointy objects they do not like. As long as the plastic is intact, the shape keeps them on the ground and solid. My last plastic lasted 10 years before it rotted and split.

Have you got a link to the "hoop type double plastic (inflated) greenhouse" that you use? I'd like to see how they're made .....I always thought that an inflated building (like they put over tennis courts at rich people's athletic clubs) would make a heckuva greenhouse.

We get those same high winds, coming out of the North .... maybe we're sending them down your way :D:D

[organicusrex]

Thanks for the info Gary and FF too. My dad always said don't learn just from your own mistakes but also the mistakes/trials of others; it's easier that way. I'm doing raised beds that are 3 courses of concrete block in height for the sake of my back. I use a square foot method and in some I use a lasagna style of compost layering and grow plants.

The only limits to gardening seem to be imagination and climate. It's definitely the most rewarding hobby I've ever had in my life.

Jackalope try this link for making your own. http://www.hoopbenders.net/highthoopframebender.html or you can go http://harborfreight.com/ and they have tubing benders reasonably priced.
Another idea I was kicking around was a geodesic dome greenhouse with either clear poly on it or even clear marine shrink wrap like used to over winter large boats. http://www.geo-dome.co.uk/3v_tool.asp
With the calculation tool you can cut electrical conduit and bolt it together by flattening tabs on each end. This method doesn't require any fancy bending.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Geodesic-Dome-Greenhouse/ This is helpful to get a perspective.
Send me your email address in a private message and I'll throw in some Word dox I put together pertaining to building your own dome. It's research stuff and isn't laid out in an organized fashion but there's a lot info plastered in them. They were too big to post on the forum.