As many of you know I have become a huge fan of aquaponics over the past two years, but if you said, what is the best thing about aquaponics, okay, I’d say fish and cool water gardens.
Though if you said what is the best part about aquapnics for growing vegetables, I would say, two words, wicking beds. I don’t really think I would be that big into aquaponics without them. I would likely have one small system or just garden ponds. Once I learned how to integrate the two, I was hooked.
And yes, they go together like beer and pretzels, but i don’t always have pretzels with beer and you certainly don’t always need to have aquaponics with wicking beds, in fact most people that use them, don’t. And the good news is as long as you design them right, if you ever want to add fish, it is just running a few pipes.
Join Me Today to Discuss…
- What exactly is a wicking bed and why do they rock
- Mixing up the right soil mix for your wicking beds
- Different types of wicking beds
- Large rigid containers
- Self watering planters (grow buckets, etc)
- In ground beds (generally done with pond liner)
- Flow though vs. static wicking beds
- Keys to good design
- Use media excluders
- Allow for over flow
- Make over flow levels adjustable and serviceable
- Mulch, mulch and mulch
- 6-8 inches of water
- 12-18 inches of soil
- Use a well draining media – lava rock is best
- Use scrap pipe, etc in the bottom media
- Developing and improving fertility
- Yes you can add nutrients to the water
- Compost should be added frequently
- My four part fertility program
- My Two Mineral Supliments
- Hydro Organics Earth Juice Cal-n-Mag Plant Food
- Liquinox Iron Zinc Chelated Solution
- Azomite – Often Best Sourced Locally
- Green Sand – Also Often Best Sourced Locally
- Dry Molasses – Also Often Best Sourced Locally
- Worms – Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm
- Final thoughts – this is more work in the beginning and less work forever
Resources for today’s show…
- Join the Members Brigade
- Join Our Forum
- The Year 128
- Walking To Freedom
- TspAz.com
- The Granddaddy’s Gun Club
- Bullhead Fishing Forum – A new little site I started
- Binance.com
- Biltong for Breakfast
- All I Can Do is Write About It – Lynyrd Skynard
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