GardenFork – Eclectic DIY

Tag: aquaculture

Viewer Mail, English, and Aquaponics : GF Radio

We read a nice note from Alice and reflect on what is GardenFork?

And a big thank you to Christina of FelineDesignInc.com , check out her site if you need web and graphic design work.

Kevin takes us to task for mispronouncing words like Propolis, for Rick, english is a second language.

Gardening for the fall season, what vegetables do you plant to harvest in the fall? Kale, spinach, lettuces, mesclun, radishes. Rick brings up a few gardening apps, Mother Earth News has a few good ones for gardening.

Rick tells us about grafting tomatoes. neat. And the importance of providing water for your honeybees.

Rick also tells us about a black light flashlight that he uses to find tomato hornworms on his tomato plants.

Then we talk about olive oil, is it adulterated? Rick tells us a few olive oils that were recommended by a consumer magazine.

Related to the olive oil talk, we talk about how to make your own balsamic vinegar dressing in this video and if you want to make your own balsamic vinegar reduction, or the balsamic vinegar hack, watch the video here.

For the salad dressing recipe, its not necessary to use a metal bowl, i just like to use a metal bowl.

And finally, Rick liked Eric’s Porchetta Recipe Video, watch it here.

August 14, 2012
DIY Worm Composting How-To : GF Radio

How to do worm composting in your house is our main topic. Rick has almost zero waste in his house by using worms to compost his kitchen scraps. Rick tell us how to make your own worm composting bins and where to get composting worms, aka red wigglers. You can also use night crawlers for worm composting.

Rick shreds paper, be it junkmail or newspapers for bedding material and mixes this with the food scraps from the kitchen into his worm composter. He tells about how to make your own worm composter and where to locate the composter in your home. And how to aerate your worm compost bin with a home made rig.

Fruit flies are easily controlled with the shredded paper and keeping the worm bin not too wet.

How to build an aquaponics system is next, Rick tell us how to make your own aquaponics or aquaculture system. If you have an aquarium, you have half the the parts to an aquaponics system. Balancing the pH of the system of a challenge. Right now Rick is using goldfish to fine tune his system, he is growing tomatoes, lettuce, peppers with his aquaculture system.

You can read some of Ricks aquaponics how-to posts here.

photo by Kahanaboy

June 4, 2012
Aquaponics and Hydryponics How-to GF Radio

‘Being pregnant, that will knock you out’ is how Eric describes pregnancy. Hamburgers with eggs and peanut butter is on Mike’s to do list at his favorite pancake place. Mike is enjoying his Zombie Bait shirt.

Rick updates us on his DIY aquaculture and hyrdroponics project. Aquaculture is like organic gardening in a closed system using fish and the waste water from the fish feeding the plants, and the filtered water is then returned back to the fish tank. If you already have a goldfish pond, you are that much closer to having an aquaculutre system. What kind of fish to use, what is the difference between hyrdoponics and aquaculture, and how you can build an inexpensive hydroponics system using 5 gallon buckets and PVC pipe. Mike’s friend Eric has a site about aquaponics here.

Rick made a video about basic Dutch Bucket hydroponics system here

Here is a simple hydroponic setup you can buy
The advantage of the dutch bucket system is that the PVC pipe runs underneath the bucket to allow easy drainage.

Eric and Rick both cite Eliot Coleman’s Book Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long

Rick talks about the GardenFork Radio interview with Deek Diedricksen, author of Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts . Rick talks bout several of the projects, Deek is a brilliant designer.

Following up on the Simple Backyard Pizza Oven, viewers have sent in photos of their Brick Pizza Ovens, and one viewer has made Simple Bread Oven, see the photos here.

With viewer mail come discussion the video of How to cook a great steak, and propane torches.

More on winter beekeeping, Eric and Rick discuss the warm weather and winter feeding of honeybees.

February 5, 2012
New Years, Growing mushrooms, Aquaponics on GF Radio

Eric and Mike start off their new years day show with Chris Brogan and his 3 words for 2012, Eric suggests not going to Times Square for New Years Eve, you probably wont like it, its very crowded.

Fireplace safety comes up next, Eric suggests everyone have glass doors or a wire screen over their wood burning fireplaces.

Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors have an effective life of 8-10 years, according to FEMA, and don’t cheap out when buying new ones, you get what you pay for. Its also important to follow the installation instructions you get with the detectors, smoke detector placement is very important.

Eric tells of his visit to a green home supplier that sells kitchen cabinets from deconstructed renovations. One of the projects will involve creating an opening between two rooms by cutting an opening a load bearing wall, which will be a future GardenFork video.

Sauerkraut fermentation times are discussed again, with more comments on Eric’s How to make sauerkraut video. Eric knows that yes, he did not let the cabbage ferment long enough.

Viewer mail takes up a lot of the show.

Eric talks about how to grow mushrooms and inoculate wood plugs with mushroom spore, and inoculating logs with mushroom plugs and spore. All about mushroom spawn.

Rick will be back on the show to talk about aquaponics and aquaculture , and Eric of chicago writes us about his tires being cupped.

Eric still plans on having breakfast with executive coach Rich Gee, and Radio Rick thinks it was the best interview we’ve done.

Eric talks about building his portable wood fired pizza oven, which will be a how-to pizza oven video for the show.

January 3, 2012
Start an Aquaculture Farm : GF Radio

How to start an aquaculture farm starts GF Radio today, as Rick has decided to grow vegetables using aquaponics and hydroponics. Aquaculture is a system which uses fish in tanks and plants in trays. Listen as Rick tell us how to start a low cost aquaculture system, aquaponics systems, and aquaponic gardening. The plan is to grow tomatoes in winter with this fish and plant sytem, using available materials.

Rick wrote about his new greenhouse aquaculture project on our site.

We talked with a GF listener, Eric, about his aquaculture project on this GF Radio show. Eric has a simple aquaculture setup in his home using an aquarium and some grow lights.

Rick also tells about a Texas turkey hunt, and why not all wild turkeys taste great. Eric talks about his deer hunting trip to the Catskills in New York State, hunting on NYC watershed land, and why you should have all your permits in order when hunting.

We then move on to highway safety, a recurring subject on GF Radio. Driving too fast or too slow can cause accidents.

If you have an aquaponic garden or an aquaculture setup , we’d like to hear from you, please leave a comment below or email us, always interested in hearing from you all.

photo by iamgoo

November 23, 2011
OMG – What Have I Done?

You’ve signed a two-year lease on what? Have you taken full-moon-French-leave of your senses…again?

I can tell…She, Who Must Be Obeyed, is intrigued with the idea of my going into business for myself.

“Well…technically I’m extending my Melissa Bee Farms business into new areas, opening new markets, joining the green revolution,” I counter. “Besides, last year we both agreed I needed a bigger beeyard. I’m outgrowing the backyard. I’ve got plans! ambitions! projects! I need ROOM.”

“And MONEY, lots of money. Besides, WHAT bee business? You mean that expensive soup kitchen for bugs-in-a-box, that bee business? Businesses make money; you’ve got another expensive hobby, not a business.”

“Reminds me, I need to pick up another 20 pounds of sugar for syrup,” making a note in my iPad.

“Again? Already…?”

“er….want to see some pictures of the new project, she’s a beaut?”

green house from rick kennerly on Vimeo.

my new green house rehab project

And so it begins. Secretly, I know She, Who Must Be Obeyed, is right: I’m in over my head…way over my head. The tape in my head is looping: Oh, My God – What Have I Done? I feel a bit sick and a little panicky. It’s put-up or shut-up.

So, what should I do with this green house? (Yeah, I got some space for a beeyard in the bargain.) The owner’s still clearing it out, but it’s mine for two years. That’s two years of lease payments, two years of electricity payments, two years of water payments, two years of buying supplies and materials. I have to make this pay…and I don’t have a clue.

Sure, I’ve been through the Master Gardener classes and I can talk a good game. I grow a pretty good vegetable garden, but what do I know about Growing for Market? Running a green house? Hydroponics? Aquaponics? Marketing?

I need your help. I need reading resources, web sites, advice, suppliers, ideas. If you’ve got experience growing for market, chime in.

First order of business, making it weatherproof. First freeze is predicted for tonight.

November 17, 2011
Mike Is Now A Ford Guy : GardenFork.TV

Mike and Eric talk about Mike’s Ford Bronco from the mid 80s, and then Eric joins us to talk about aquaponics, which is a pretty cool system for growing food and fish. His aquaponics blog is here.

You can listen to Rick talk about how to set up an aquaculture farm here on this GF Radio show. Rick has rented a large greenhouse and starting up an aquaponics greenhouse.

Then we move to viewer mail about being prepared for disasters , eric’s idea for floating houses, and the listener call in line. neat. call us 860-740-6938

photo by gracey

May 23, 2011