Tag: gardening

Pond

Here it is. My northern-most hugelkulture bed was refactored into a pond. Here’s the before pic:

Here’s what it looks like after.

Here’s a video of my pond more recently with my aquaponics bed:

I didn’t want to import rocks and was curious what I could use around my area, so I experimented with burlap & with different parts of varying types of palms: cabbage, golden, royal, saw (frond, stem, sheath).   I settled on saw palmetto for the first couple years.

I also decided not to use a pump for the first year, the pond was populated with water hyacinth for nutrient removal, hornwort for oxygen, and guppies for mosquito control. I’ve enhanced the pond over time with a solar pump that moves water around during the day (supplementing oxygen) and tops off a rain barrel which drains into a garden bed over night (supplementing nutrient removal).

I wish I could post in-progress pics, but my phone died before I had a chance to back them up. The following are pictures starting from just after I dug the hole and put the liner in:

Playing with aquaponics: This little raft worked well for sweet potato and rooting onions but my the romaine grew for a while then got root rot. I now have an ebb and flow bed I’m trying. You can find that here:
Water powered timer for grow bed

Within a half year, water hyacinth had completely covered the pond. I net out overgrowth and mulch/layer on them on the beds surrounding the pond.

After a couple years the thatch disintegrated and I started using banana stem. It’s a easier to tuck under the liner because it’s flexible (after you roll it) and it’s more locally more renewable for me too; since banana is growing next to my pond :)

Swiveling Solar Panel

I sized my solar panel to my pond pump. The pump is a brushless motor pump which uses 54 watts max and can pump a head of 33 feet. My solar panel is 100 watts and runs the pump well (even a little on cloudy days) and better yet when the panel is facing the sun.

Initially I wanted to track the sun and I was hoping to make a water/drip powered solar tracker, but I ran into issues at certain angles with my design. Here’s some pictures of that:

I abandoned the above project for something I can just turn by hand. Here it is:

If I can use rope and knots in a project, I probably will. This panel is suspended and adjusted by paracord and friction hitches. Here’s some pics of the build:

Water Powered Timer

So, I’m playing around with a gravity fed Aquaponics bed. Most ebb and flow systems I’ve seen use either a bell siphon, or an electric/mechanical timer. This idea is a little different, it uses a Shishi-odoshi (“scaredeer”) or sōzu to start a siphon which drains a 5 gallon bucket of water into a grow bed. The timer is governed by the flow of water into the scaredeer (the 2 liter bottle).

Some background:

I have a fish pond, a rain barrel and a gravity fed water timer. The rain barrel is 10 foot off the ground and a solar powered pump replenishes the barrel with pond water while the sun is out (like a water tower). The barrel, in turn, drains into my water timer overnight and on super cloudy days.

The aim of the timer is to be able to slow down the water flow as much as needed and not worry about stalling the siphon or fully draining rain barrel.

Here’s what I got so far:

Here’s a video of it in action:
Here’s the sunshade I made for it out of sugarcane leaves.  I’m thinking of re-making it out of banana later on.  We’ll see.

Sliding Hitch and Shackle

Since making the video (see below), I’ve switched to rattail cord which is a little thicker and handles better. I’ve decided to offer it as a handmade product, and I’m willing to make some for those who are interested. The lines can shackle objects up to 7ft away.  This picture shows the black rattail line and the carabiner (bamboo pole not included). There are a dozen lines in all. Two of the lines are shackling plants to the left and right of the pole.  Cost is $50.00 USD plus shipping if it’s outrageous. You are welcome to throw money my way here: http://paypal.me/ShaunMoen and email me your address/information to shaun@dittyjamz.com.

IMG_20160417_152010


The video supports HD. Select it if you have it :)

I’m currently growing Florida Everglades tomatoes which I let grow a bit too long without any supports. At first I ran some lines horizontal and tried to prop them up by hand.  It worked, but I ended up breaking a few branches which I didn’t like.  After some thought, I came up the idea shown in the video.

As a bonus, I was able to use some old music of mine for a sound track.

This idea hasn’t stood the test of time yet but here’s my thinking for benefits:

* Flexibility and reach
* Adjustability
* Reusability
* Small foot print
* Quick strapping and release

Sliding hitch and Shackle tied in larger rope
Sliding hitch and Shackle tied in larger rope

Here are some interesting links:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BxxLD1TT4NI

My First Hugelkultur Bed

 

Hugelkultur. What is this word?  Simple. Buried wood – namely. I buried wood first and then a bunch of other stuff:  On garbage day, I ran around collecting random organic material: leaves, trimmings (grass, trees, bushes, fronds, etc..).

Then I went to the beach and collected mounds of seaweed.  I brought over my kitchen compost and began layering all this material.  I made a donut and used dirt from the center in between layers. Last I topped it off with some more dirt and peat moss.   Looks like a donut.

I’m gardening in the layered mound and use the middle as a compost pit for dog doodie and random garden/yard trimmings.

What have been growing?

On the beds

  • Banana plants, short and tall (cavendish)
  • Moringa
  • Papaya (volunteered)
  • Sugercane
  • Sweet Potato
  • Oxilis
  • Crepis Japonica
  • Cranberry Hibiscus
  • Milkweed
  • Watermelon
  • Sugar cane
  • Lemon grass
  • Tomatos on vine (unknown variety)
  • Florida Everglades tomatoes
  • Onions

In the middle

Carolina willow for medicine (looking for white).  I’ve had good luck alleviating headaches with willow east of I-75. However, I haven’t been able to reproduce results locally. It’s a young tree, which might be the problem. Time will tell.

More updates later.

 

Mini Bell Siphon Seed Sprouter

This is a mini flood and drain setup made from stuff around my house. See a video of it in action and/or make your own, referencing the photos below:

I made it because I didn’t like sprouting seeds in a paper towel – mainly because I had know idea when the seed actually sprouted, but I also encountered the following issues:

  • I’d forget to add water to keep the towel moist. And if I remembered, I would add water because I didn’t want to forget (making them too wet :)
  • The seeds would stick and/or roots would grow throughout the paper making them hard to separate.
  • Requires paper which I’m trying to avoid using if I can.

With this seed sprouter, I just watch the progress of the seedlings and when they sprout, I nab them! Sometimes my little girl wants to plant seeds and I just say “drop it in the seed sprouter!”.

Maintenance:

When the water is low (every 2 or 3 days), I recycle the water from the bottom catch to the top. I refresh the water every few cycles or so and give couple good squirts of hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is the key to maintenance free (or relatively so).

What else can I say? It’s great!

UPDATE: 2018

I learned that some seeds won’t sprout (not sure why). Some do some don’t. Also when trying re-growing onions, make sure water doesn’t get on the top of the onion or it will rot and don’t keep the onion in the sprouter for too long; it seems they might inhibit the growth of other seedlings.  I’m moving to an aquaponics/hydroton ebb and flow setup for seed sprouting.

Water Powered Timer

Pond