tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post6243008264839617662..comments2023-09-29T18:37:14.377+10:00Comments on Eight Acres: Hydroponics basicsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-47870950562240743482016-04-11T11:07:22.281+10:002016-04-11T11:07:22.281+10:00Hm, I found my way to Our Sustainable Life blog vi...Hm, I found my way to Our Sustainable Life blog via your bee-keeping interview with her and she had a kelp brew. You could take a trip to the coast and try that perhaps?Annethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05277567837590067506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-85159245462911988962015-03-26T05:32:50.629+10:002015-03-26T05:32:50.629+10:00Very interesting post, so glad you shared it on th...Very interesting post, so glad you shared it on the HomeAcre Hop. As one of the co-hosts of the hop I am going to feature your post tomorrow! Hope you'l stop by and share again!<br />- Nancy<br /><a href="http://homefront.prudentliving.com/" rel="nofollow">On The Home Front</a> Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08300672967014972850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-88397173693312920782015-03-18T15:40:34.190+10:002015-03-18T15:40:34.190+10:00Interesting post and lots of food for thought. I ...Interesting post and lots of food for thought. I can see real advantages for places with poor/no soil or extreme weather. I do wonder though if it should be more of a temporary measure while you work on building your soil. I guess it really depends on your individual circumstances as if you have good rich soil it might be a lot of work to go to.Fiona from Arbordale Farmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05196630415124998431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-25152089655994836952015-03-16T21:31:35.610+10:002015-03-16T21:31:35.610+10:00I'm looking forward to trying it too! (and lo...I'm looking forward to trying it too! (and looking forward to the tomatoes....)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12874273438983052621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-74846172753446428282015-03-16T21:31:05.231+10:002015-03-16T21:31:05.231+10:00Hi Chris, yes I agree, you can never account for a...Hi Chris, yes I agree, you can never account for all the stacking! I was thinking about loading up the worm farm with lots of mineral rich "weeds" like comfrey etc, to really produce a good range for the plants. In the aquaponics we can certainly use azolla and duck weed to feed the fish too.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12874273438983052621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-83009983626432640852015-03-16T18:40:45.683+10:002015-03-16T18:40:45.683+10:00well, i'll go with what chris just said, do a ...well, i'll go with what chris just said, do a 2nd one & see the results for yourself, it wouldn't hurt & you'll know for sure if it can be done<br />good post will be looking forward to the follow up results<br />thanx for sharingselinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10173172460099566314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-65640791505938317612015-03-16T08:11:11.835+10:002015-03-16T08:11:11.835+10:00I respect the fact you're trying to address th...I respect the fact you're trying to address those problems which have prevented you from pursuing this avenue before. I don't like to buy seasol and slow release fertiliser, but if I want to grow things in pots I have to. I've put it on the agenda to set up a worm farm, so we don't have to rely on these expensive inputs. Growing food in our unpredictable and often harsh conditions, requires some short-term inputs and compromises.<br /><br />I like the sound of your second system to see the results for yourselves. I've heard it argued that its difficult to measure conventional growing systems against natural ones, simply because of the stacking effect in nature - it doesn't just produce one thing. But comparing two conventional growing systems (in this case, hydroponics) and seeing what your natural fertilizers do, versus the synthetic ones, it will be a good exercise to glean information from. I wonder if you soaked old coffee grounds, if the liquid would help as a natural nutrient. Coffee acts as a stimulant to chemical receptors, so I wonder how it works on plants. Worms seem to love coffee grounds, maybe for the same reason humans do, lol? <br /><br />I've heard that azolla or duck weed makes for a good addition to garden soil, or compost because of its high nutrient content. It is a water purifying plant after all. Wonder if you can use them in your aquaponics system?. Possibly even liquify some of the water plants and use as a natural fertilizer, like a green smoothy through your hydroponics system. I wonder what comfrey leaves would do in the same way? I imagine any weed soaked to make weed tea, would make for good natural fertilizer. I've been known to make a weed tea and pop in some roo poo nuggets, let it ferment up and put it on my plants. It stinks something terrible, which is why I don't do it much, but the plants really seem to respond to it.<br /><br />Looking forward to seeing what your experiment turns up.Chris https://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.com