Oceanside, CA..Three bed balcony kit

[rfoside]

Here are some pictures. They are dated so you can watch the growth. I have added a few more plants, and will add some strawberries today.
I have set up my Tilapia barrel farm and my 3 bed balcony kit in a 10x12 green house the temperature stays between 60 and 90 degrees. The fish water runs about 68 to 74 degrees in the barrels but seems to be a bit higher in the aquaponics system about 70 to 76 so far.

[Castaway]

Welcome to the forum rfoside. Your pictures are tiny. They don't seem to expand when clicked on. Feel free to attach bigger photos so we can have a better look.

[rfoside]

I see that I need to learn more about posting in the forum

[rfoside]

Ok here are bigger pictures and they expand,,Thank you I think I got it now.

[fishfood]

welcome theres no turning back now ,Nice photos big is better !are they solar panels on the glasshouse if so what for!

[rfoside]

There are solar panels on the greenhouse. Origanially I thought it might run thr exaust fan and it might still, I will need more testing when the weather gets warmer again. The solar now just keeps the back up battery system charged and creates a bit of shade.

[RupertofOZ]

Yep, an exhaust fan... or an oscillating fan... are valuable during summer... to lower humidity... and help pollination...

[rfoside]

Photos moved to this thread. Photos show excellent veggie progress.

[Murray]

Looking good rfoside, those veggies are doing well GBAnim
How is the water testing up ?

[rfoside]

Here is week 5 and 6. Have been having great salads every day and giving some to neighbors. Have started some more seedlings, including tomatos and broccoli.
Fish are doing great. I expect to harvest some of them starting in June.

[Murray]

How are the fish ? Are they putting on growth
It is a bit hard to get photos of fish. I have taken thousands of shots but very few turn out so well.
Your lettuce are looking great. My lettuce beds are really in bad shape at the moment, due to really high daytime temps

[rfoside]

Well 2 weeks ago I had a major aphid attack. My fault. I saw some signs of it but didn't treat it soon enough. I got a bit discouraged. I harvested all my winter lettuce and planted more. I sprayed lots of a product like SeaSol and bought lots of Lady Bugs and Praying Mantis. Also added some Marigolds and Garlic plants to help keep aphids away. All is under control now and here is this weeks pictures. Fish are growing fast and are trying to breed. Things are well.

[Tommy_B]

I've been reading about the treating of plants with a solution of SeaSol or with garlic-saline mixture... Does the garlic plant itself also act as a natural deterrent? (Same question with regards to marigolds) Also, have you noticed how effective the plants were in keeping the bugs off?

[bageera]

I've read that spraying the plants with a compost tea will help the plants to repel insects

[Murray]

I have not tried that Bageera but it is worth a try. It could do no harm and it just might work.

I found plenty of info making claims that worm tea controls pests but this is the only statement I can find , up until now, that describes how it works or might work.


When we use it as a spray it has additional benefits. The solution has ceitanese in it. Ceitanese has one major feature it dissolves ceitain. This is harmless to us but fatal to insects which wear their skeleton on the outside. An insects skeleton is ceitain.
It is effective against scale, mites, aphids, thrips, mealy bugs, and most other insects. Regular use of Worm Tea will prevent outbreaks of pests, but when a new plant brings an infestation into the growing area, we increase the concentration to 20:1. This is the concentration of the ready to use FX Organic spray. Mealy bugs and thrips are major problems with orchids. These insects have a three day life cycle. You must spray 3 times in a week in order to kill the newly hatching eggs or you will not eliminate the infestation.
With scale it may look like nothing happened, but it is dead. It you scrape the scale off with your fingernail and crush it, you will see it is hollow and a brown dust. Live scale is green when crushed. Worm Tea will also kill Asian scale on Florida Sago Palms. (You must soak the roots of Sago palms as well as the scale lives in the roots.)
Mobile insects like aphids will leave the area. It is great for eliminating aphids on roses and has the benefit of curing black spot on roses. It is excellent for all plants not just orchids.

[amh0001]

hows the system coming along? I am also in california!

did you solve you pest problem also?


PICTURES!

[Biggles1212]

Looks good, please do update us on what's going on.