The bush beans seem to be growing freakishly tall. It might be because theyre trying to find full sunlight, so theyre growing toward the window and wont branch out much until they find the amount of sunlight they want. That could make for a really strange sight from the outside of our window in a few weeks. ? ?????
Beans want sunlight
??????? ? ?
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Growing toward the sun
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?
In contrast, below is a picture of several bush bean plants. You can see they are a lot shorter than the indoor ones and they branched out a lot.
Bush beans growing outside in full sunlight
Since were going to get even less daylight until next spring, I might need to consider supplemental light. Maybe I will use some high-watt fluorescent lights in the overhead light fixtures and keep them turned on for several hours per day.
Below is a picture of what I think are tomato plants. I planted them several weeks ago, and theyre just now sprouting. Maybe it was too hot for them before, I dont know.
Here are a couple of pictures of the growbeds today. The lettuce in growbed #1 had stopped growing and started wilting right after it sprouted. I think this is because of a heat wave we had. That was the same time the mature lettuce we had outside had turned bitter and started bolting, which is what lettuce does when it gets too hot. I was about to give up on the lettuce, but once the weather cooled down this weekend, it started to grow again.
Growbed #2, which had tiny pea sprouts on Sept 1, now has lots of peas and beans, and I think even some tomato sprouts.
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Growbed #1-beans, peas, lettuce and basil
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Growbed #2 - beans, peas and tomatoes
??I had to add a little bit of ammonia last week because the nitrate levels dropped. I need to keep the nitrate levels up until I get the fish. Once the fish are introduced to the tank, their waste should produce enough ammonia to keep the nitrate levels up. Here is the data Ive collected since starting the tank. Note that our tap water pH is about 6.5.
Date
pH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
17 Aug 2011
7.2
0
0
0
18 Aug 2011
7.6+
4 ppm
0
0
23 Aug 2011
(not taken)
2 ppm
0
0
24 Aug 2011
7.6
1 ppm
0-.25 ppm
5 ppm
27 Aug 2011
7.4-7.6
0.5 ppm
5 ppm
8 ppm
31 Aug 2011
7.8
0 ppm
0+ ppm
2 ppm
NOTE: added about ½ tsp ammonia powder on 31 Aug 2011
06 Sept 2011
7.4-7.6
0 ppm
0+ ppm
30 ppm
Room and water temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit -
It might be kind of lame to do all these different posts on the same day, but I wanted to break them up into useful posts, instead of one giant blog.
Once I had my pump and drain set up and one grow bed full of gravel, I planted a few test seeds. The cycling kit arrived the next day, so I wasnt really depriving my future plants of nutrients for long.
Lettuce and bean sprouts appeared only four days after planting. Once the beans sprout, they grow at an amazing rate. Well, maybe its not amazing to the seasoned gardener, but its cool to me to see everyday. :-)
Here are a few pictures. I tried to line them up better, but I gave up. :-P
I first tried some cuts of green onions. It was soooo simple. I used the tops in what ever I was cooking that night and then I placed the bottom of the bulbs in a net pot with expanded clay and within the next day I seen growth. You amazingly cut the same green onions every 2 to 3 weeks. And even sooner if you like the small ones. The only problem that I have is they grow so quick and absorb the water also if you dont cut them in a reasonable time they will fall over. The green onions get very big around. I usually juct cut a few bunches when I harvest and what I dont use I cut and freeze.
Then I tried the leeks the same way. And yes I know usually folks want the white part of the leeks. Well maybe so, but try some of the green part diced up like a regular onion and you will see its a gold mine. Just cut what you want when you want. And they grow very fast too. I have bags full in my freezer so that when I need a lil onion, this is what I use. Does well in a dip too. Growing Leeks in Aquaponics is definitely one of my top to grow.
And After doing an experiment with chives, Growing chives in aquaponics works pretty good too. They take a lil extra room, because they spread out, and if having the choice I prefer the net pots over the grow grips. The chives dont seem to get as wet on the bottom in the et pots. But all in all thay produce very well and after cutting it all back to put in freezer. I would say within just a couple weeks maybe 3 they are ready to harvest again.
Growing all these onions is such a great addition to your basic lettuce and basil plants. And they are hardy in most temps. They do like a lot of light but if not they just stay a smaller version longer.
Give them a try. I think you will like it.
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