Essentria_IC3

Essentria_IC3
http://www.envincio.com/essentria/product-dload/Essentria_IC3_PIB.pdf
This product uses an Octopamine Blocker which is a lot like adrenaline to an insect.  It over excites their nervous system and kills them.  I became interested in this product when I had a severe outbreak of ants in my aquaponic green house.  While it is safe for mammals and fish I would worry about using it around crustaceans.   It is broad spectrum so you must also be careful not to kill beneficial insects like ladybugs and bees.

I used this product in my house and green house.  I did find one dead cockroach in the garage where I dumped a very large amount of Essentria_IC3 mixed at the lowest recommended strength of 1/2 oz per gallon of water.   This same ratio did nothing to the ants and aphids I wanted to kill.

I then mixed 6 oz per gallon (the maximum recommended dosage) and sprayed heavily in the green house, and on a heavy infestation of aphids on my cabbage. Once again the product failed to kill anything including the aphids which received a heavy drenching.  I waited 5 days and then mixed the Essentria_IC3 at  96 oz per gallon.  Sixteen times the recommended strength.   The good news is it did not harm the fish and it did kill the ants.  The bad news is it destroyed many of my plants and the aphids have increased.  It may be a better herbicide than it is a pesticide.

I would not recommend Essentria_IC3.  It's was ineffective in my green house and garden.  The smell is horrid, and required that I air my house out for two days when mixed at the lowest ratio.

Will You Support Monsanto's Organic Varieties?

I have mixed feelings about Monsanto right now.  Breeding better varieties by crossbreeding has long been accepted whereas using enzymes, bacteria and viruses to genetically modifying genes has had a lot of us concerned, and calling for an all out boycott of Monsanto and other biotech corporations.

For me it's not so much that I fear their food, but more that they are not required to keep those genes contained and isolated, and when they escape they are legally allowed to claim ownership of plants infected by their Frankenstein genes.   It seems obvious to me this law was bought and paid for. So much for logic in our legal system,

Here's where is gets troublesome. Monsanto also breeds better varieties the same way it's always been done, but they are using their knowledge of genes to select only the offspring that they wish to propagate allowing them to create superior varieties thousands maybe millions of times more efficiently than traditional crossbreeding. 

I have to say this is brilliant, but here's where I find trouble brewing.  Monsanto is likely to use the same laws that allow them to detect their genetic patent in plants that are accidentally infected (pollinated) by these varieties.

I would love to show my support for Monsanto's crossbred varieties, but not if it will hasten their ownership of every seed and plant on Earth.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2014/01/new-monsanto-vegetables/

Nutrient Imbalance

Nate Storey has done it again!

Figuring out nutrient imbalance is in my opinion the most difficult thing about aquaponics.  Nate really lays it out in an easy to understand method for us to determine a course of action when our plants begin to look a bit peeked. I would post the link  to the KEY he has developed for diagnosing these problems right here, but I feel that you should go to Nate's site and find his offer.   When asked to register just do it.  You will be pleasantly surprised.

Videos by Nate's

Phoshorus
Iron
Calcium
Potassium


Below is another article that may interest you.
My Quest for Natural Macro and Micro-nutrients

Worm Farm - Small Tote System

A few days ago I started raising worms in a small tote system.  This video appears to have some very good ideas that improve upon the traditional tote worm farm.

I will soon be making these modifications to my farm, but I will cut the bottom out of the base and place the unit on a shallow tray.  This way I can simply pick the tote up to harvest the castings rather than scoop them out of the side.

Peeling a Pomegranate

I'm in the planning stages of establishing a small fruit tree orchard.  Any advise would be welcomed.  One of the trees I most wish to plant is pomegranate.  Many people don't like pomegranate because they are so much trouble to eat.  If done incorectly they will stain your counter and clothing, but there is a method which this lady passes on in this video.