This $40
light fixture is affordable to buy, and operate as opposed to the expensive
high powered grow lights. It's rated at
36W, 3600 Lumin LED with 724nm (4000K). This is on the edge of the
optimum 610-720 nm range, but since it appears to cast a white
light it's probably a fairly wide range, so I wanted to see if it would be appropriate for starting seedlings. I hung the light about 9 inches from the top of the soil blocks. The temperature was maintained at about 70F.
These LED light fixtures were available at Home Depot and Costco
This box is built with shinny Mylar to reflect as much light back to the plants as possible. I used a paper shop cloth to wick moisture into the soil blocks. This experiment turned out to be a good combination - saving
the cost of plastic pots, and providing moisture without
daily attention. Soil blocks also air prune the roots and avoid the
problems associated with roots binding in plastic pots. Transplant shock
is also minimized because the roots are not disturbed.
After 2 weeks I'm very pleased with the
results. The seedlings are dark green and full of vigor. .
Kale and Squash both responding well to the LED light
I initially filled the trays with water and the soil blocks soaked up too much water. They held their shape, but they were 100% saturated. This later caused some mold to grow. I was able to control the mold by misting with 3% hydrogen peroxide. Next time I will take care to add water as needed. The LED lights will last a lifetime. Florescent bulbs are half the cost, but they loose brightness over time. Halide and mercury vapor bulbs are hot, expensive and consume far more power. It may be that lights designed specifically for photosynthesis will work better, but I'm growing a few vegetables - not earning a living from my garden. My conclusion is that these lights are adequate and affordable.
This is basically the same Earthan Beds I've been building, but it's done in the ground.
Here are some pictures of how I built this water wise garden.
The hole was dug with a trench for the 4" drain line and a sump pit at the lowest point
The pond liner placed with 4" perforated drain line. Notice the filter sleeve on the drain line.
Gravel being spread level
Here the water is used to help me spread the gravel level across the entire bed. I find it useful to temporarily raise the water level to the top of the gravel for this procedure. When finished the water level will be maintained 2" below this level so that the soil does not sit directly in the water.
This black shade cloth is laid on top of the gravel to keep the soil from washing down into the gravel
The water tank has not been installed yet. I will bury it next to this garden bed and pull the pond liner down so that it drains excess water into the tank.
The soil has been added. This soil mix contains has enough clay that it will wick the moisture up from below
I will clean up the edge so that it looks nice. The pump sits inside the 6" PVC pipe. I used 1/2" PVC pipe to connect the tube that runs to the other end through the 4" drain line. I will also extend electricity to the side of the garden so that I don't have to use this extension cord.
A thick layer of mulch will be added when I plant. This garden will save rain water, and maintain moisture below the surface without loss to evaporation. There is no need to water this garden other than occasionally maintaining some water in the reservoir tank. The amount of water used will depend upon the type of crop and the heat, but it will not waste a drop.
After I install the large reservoir water tank the pump will be moved out of the sump to the larger tank. It would have been easier to have done it this way from the beginning, but I did not feel that I was up to digging a hole that size right now, and wanted to get this garden planted. Here is a diagram of how it will eventually work.
This could be duplicated on a much larger scale for commercial
farming. Sure it's a lot of work and extra expense, but the savings in
water should count for something. With a large enough
reservoir, and contouring of the land; the need for any extra water could be eliminated by capturing rain water..
This is July 4th. The basil and tomatoes have done well. It's been about 10 weeks since this garden was planted and it has used about 100 gallons of water from the reservoir which provides flowing water under the garden bed 24/7. It's been the easiest of all my gardens because I have not had to water it. The tank pictured below holds 135 gallons. There is a small Model 5 utility pump inside that pumps water to the far end of the rocks buried below the soil.
I plan to build a top for this so that it looks nice. I would not want someone to trip into the hole. I also need to finish running an electric outlet over to the pump.
I've recently began drinking Tea Smith's Wellness Teas. I am interested in knowing why they chose what they include in each blend, so I made a list of all the ingredients then listed the blends that contain that herb and finally created a hyper link to information about the uses for that herb.
Red Raspberry Leaf,
Recharge
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-309-red%20raspberry.aspx?activeingredientid=309&activeingredientname=red%20raspberry
I hope you will take the time to read this essay I've written. It describes the systematic failure of our political system.
The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1972 required candidates to disclose sources of campaign contributions
and campaign expenditures. It also limited spending on media
advertisements. But that portion of the law was ruled unconstitutional —
and that actually opened the door for the Citizen's United decision.
This was a step forward for equality and transparency of our elected
officials. But the very powerful very rich were still in pursuit of
more control and contrived a treacherous plan to deceive us by suing in
two important cases.
In 2010 the US Supreme Court ruled on the
Citizen's United vs Federal Election Commission and gave corporations
and unions the right to spend unlimited sums on ads and other political
tools. It's important to note that the Citizen's United decision was
about spending, not about contributions. This did not affect
contributions. For that they created what is know as
"independent-expenditure only committees" such as Speechnow.org which
represent spending by individuals, groups, political committees,
corporations or unions expressly advocating the election or defeat of
clearly identified federal candidates.
In 2010 the D.C.
Circuit Court of Appeals also issued its ruling in the Speechnow.org v.
FEC which removed contribution limits as applied to SpeechNow.
Previously the courts had ruled that limits set by the Federal Election
Campaign Act applied to this group called SpeechNow. It is still
illegal for companies and labor unions to give money directly to
candidates for federal office, but together with the Supreme Court’s
earlier Citizen's United decision allowing unlimited corporate
expenditures, the SpeechNow ruling was just what the ultra wealth needed
to create a government controlled by "Political Action Committees"
(Super PAC) where most of the funding comes from just a few rich
individuals.
The Supreme Court kept limits on disclosure in
place, and super PACs are required to report regularly on who their
donors are. The same can’t be said for “social welfare” groups and some
other nonprofits, like business leagues leaving another loop hole for
the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers to create a nonprofit called
the “Association for American Innovation” that will act as a hub for
funneling undisclosed spending towards the Kochs’ political projects.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is another "Business
League" which allows corporations and wealthy individuals to use
congressmen as lobbyist and collaborate on bills, often presenting
industry-backed legislation as a grass-roots organization. It brings
Republican state legislators and big corporations together to frame
right wing legislative agendas in the form of 'model bills'.
In
November we will have an opportunity to vote on reversing the 2010 U.S.
Supreme Court ruling for Citizen's United. Please vote.
As you know I am an advocate of the https://mayday.us/
superPac. It's time we used their trickery and corrupt laws against
them and put an end to "Political Action Committees" (superPAC) . Jim
Rubens is the only Republican running for Senate that supports Campaign
Reform, but there must be others who would like to get back to running
the country rather than spending 70% of their resources on being
re-elected. If we persist we can make this happen. Please contribute
to Mayday.us
I wanted a record of this years garden. The foliage grew so thick in the hydroponic section I was unable to track down a leak. Usage became ridiculous and I ended up filling the sump twice a day with water rather than waste the hydroponic fertilizer.
The bioponic systems did well. Summer heat put a damper on everything including the tomatoes. Even the squash seemed to regain vigor once the 100+ days passed. Bell peppers in the hydroponic system did well, but failed due to blossom end rot in the bioponic systems. I found [this article about Blossom End Rot] that may be helpful.
One Earthan bed became clogged by a root and I lost all the flowers on my Tomatillo, but even though a second set of flowers came back, I doubts I will get a crop.
My wicking barrels did not wick quite as well as I would have liked. So I'll adjust the soil mix. These barrels did not get enough sun in this location, so I will have to find a different location. That is one of the best attributes of this simple low cost design. Relocation is not a problem.
The vertical section will get a modification to the water supply. I plan to install a check valve after the pump and a high pressure connection after that. When the 1/4" tubes clog I will simply give it a blast of fresh water. In fact this is how I will maintain the level in the sump tank. Each time I fill the sump I will be clearing the 1/4" lines.
The 8W Earthan Bed system performed well over the summer. Water usage was extremely low in both the wicking barrels and the 8W Earthan Beds. Without a doubt I feel these two systems hold the most promise. But one thing I've learned is that any garden that relies on a mechanical system is prone to some type of failure which places the wicking barrels squarely in the best position.
I began the season using weed teas, fish emulsion, and kelp in the 8W Earthan Bed and the Vertical Garden, but the Vertical Garden was abandoned due to high maintenance (clogging).
After the other bioponic Earthan Bed clogged I began to fear that the system might become clogged, but I now feel it would have been okay since it was a root not muck that caused the problem.
But this caused me to switch the 8W Earthan Bed over to plain well water with an occasional slurp of fish emulsion and liquid kelp plus a little Fe DTPA, MgSO4, and HCl after only a few weeks. My goal for this system was to use no urine.
Clogging is a concern I will eventually have to face with all of the Earthan Beds as I doubt even the worms will be able to keep the rock bed clear forever. The advantage is that the water stays well aerated which should increase plant vitality and vigor.
Water use was extremely low in this systems even though I top watered every few days.
I'm still enjoying handfuls of cherry tomatoes from every section of the garden everyday The soil less section of the bioponic system produced more cherry tomatoes than we could eat. This and the hydroponic section were the best performers. I credit this to aeration and high nutrient levels. The main bioponic garden (not the 8W garden) received about 50% of my fresh urine plus fish emulsion, kelp, Fe DTPA, MgSO4, and HCl.
