Urban Farming Externship-Week 5

Week 5- Aquaponics Externship

Well all, I got to embark on a new and great experience. So excited to be able to volunteer and finishout my externship with Billy Duggar of Billy's Botanicals in Richmond Hill, GA. here is a link to his website:
http://www.billysbotanicals.com/   check him out and if your in the area you can find him at the Farmers' Market at Forsyth Park in Savannah GA on Saturdays; Best Tilapia and product. Awesome guy, I can't thank him enough for the opportunity.

I didn't get a chance to write down notes or take very many pictures; we were on a mission to get seeds planted for new plants. Billy had seeds planted but they did not take due to the drastic temperature changes we have been having. I trust and believe they will sprout in about 2wks big enough for us to transfer over to the Aquaponics system. We planted about 12 trays that held more than 100 seeds each. Seeds consisted of several varieties of lettuce, celery, dill, fennel, rosemary, thyme, parsley, basil, kale, mustard greens, etc. I'll be back out to help him next week. We might be trimming back the tomato plants, as you will see in the pictures below they took over. Lots of work to be done to prepare for spring.

Billy has 2 different Aquaponics systems setup. He started his farm 2yrs ago with an outdoor system not pictured below and in June built and setup a greenhouse system. Take a look at these pictures:

Here are the tanks that hold the Tilapia. Water is pumped out and back in keeping it flowing between the plant beds and fish tanks. Water is heated to about 78-82 degrees to keep the fish happy.                    

Trays on top of tanks are the seeds we just planted.

Here we have celery growing in water bed.

A few more celery plants and beets.
Soon all of these pods will have life.

These are tomato plants. They are strung up and taking over. Still producing an abundance of cherry tomatoes and Roma. Billy is going to cut back and build a shelf with laticce to make for easier harvesting. 

Can't wait to help grow and learn some more. Next week I will report on the organic materials seeds and plants grow in. I didn't get full details but it felt smooth and look dark and rich. Billy told me and showed me a Coconut Coir Brick but I didn't get any info written down or pictures. I'll have that next time.

~Blessings & Love~

Urban Farming Externship- 1/10/15

1/10/15- Community Gardening Externship

I hope everyone is having a Green 2015 so far this year. I've had to take a break from the garden for several weeks with the holidays and New Year brings change and new adventures. Here is a bit I learned from my last trip to the garden on transplanting and growing fruit trees:

When transplanting fruit trees from the store it is best to get a self-watering pot. Pot should be 2 x's the size of the root bulb. If you are using clay pots(which breath well) it is suggested to but pebbles on the bottom to allow drainage of water so roots won't be saturated in water at the bottom of the pot; this could cause root rot. A nice soil mix to use is compost, pine bark(just a little) and peat moss. Avoid any air pockets in the soil when transplanting and fill soil just over the roots. It was suggested to feed Citrus-tone in the spring. We transplanted a Sacsuma; a citrus fruit that is like a tangerine.

Here are some helpful hints for caring for Blueberries. Pictured below is a Rabbit Eye Blueberry. Blueberries are dormant in the winter. It is best to prune them when dormant. When pruning; prune from the cane. Blueberries fruit will produce on the new growth branches. Blueberries are happy in high organic matter and acidic soil. Hybrids can get about 6ft tall. Soil Acidifier was suggested to add to pots in the spring. Another important thing to note is that Blueberries cross pollinate so it best to have more than one plant in order to product fruit yearly.

Another helpful tip I learn that can be applied to other plants is that Neem Oil helps prevent Afits and other pests.

On a side note the garden greens are not doing well. Temperatures dropped to freezing and some of the beds did not get covered, resulting in frost bite. Even the beds that were covered are hurting. Hopefully we can save some of our beautiful greens. I'll report back in a few weeks when I go back out to volunteer.

~Blessings & Love~