Recent content by RichnSteph

  1. RichnSteph

    What did you do in the garden today?

    Well I'm happy to announce that we've gotten some actual in-the-dirt planting done. Some of you here actually helped out with our two year attempt at growing veggies and fish in an aquaponics system. Well it failed. Good news is that the two 12x4x10 grow beds and double stacked 12x4x12 deep...
  2. RichnSteph

    Coffee grounds. How much is too much?

    Thanks folks! I got on Google to do some looking and found that I can mix coffee grounds and oak leaves in as close to 2:1 as I can get. What I mean is I need to mix in 2lbs of coffee grounds to 1lb of chopped up leaves. I don't have a leaf chopper thingy so I spread a layer of coffee grounds...
  3. RichnSteph

    Coffee grounds. How much is too much?

    I've recently gotten the green light from two Starbucks here on base to collect their coffee grounds each day and take them home for our garden. Our soil is 99.9999999% sand and nothing will grow in it without help. We also have oak trees all over the place and have been raking them up into a...
  4. RichnSteph

    Aquaponics

    lazy gardener and politicalcenter, We really really hated to loose all those fish but to be honest the system just wasn't doing what we'd hoped it would. We'll not delve into aquaponics again for at least a few years as I'd rather put that effort into our raised beds, chickens (did I tell you...
  5. RichnSteph

    Aquaponics

    Quote: I'm glad to hear you're doing well! As far as the small flies go we used a mixture of plain dish soap, lemon juice and water to spray on our plants when we had an outbreak of aphids. It's harmless to the plants and simply suffocates any insect/bug that gets sprayed. Perhaps you could...
  6. RichnSteph

    Aquaponics

    Old thread but wanted to revisit it for an update. We've taken our aquaponics system apart and have converted it all into traditional raised beds and what will be a decorative goldfish pond. Two days of sub 20 degrees killed off all of our fish except one small catfish and 11 small native perch...
  7. RichnSteph

    Aquaponics

    South Texas here so freezing isn't a problem and I leave mine on all the time.
  8. RichnSteph

    Aquaponics flowers

    Thank you. What I'm planning to do is use the system as a food plot for bees over the winter.
  9. RichnSteph

    Aquaponics flowers

    We'll be pulling our system apart next spring to convert into something a little more enjoyable but have found a use for it between now and then. Since we've started keeping bees I figured I'd plant the aquaponics beds full of fall flowers or at least full of flowers that are a little more cold...
  10. RichnSteph

    Aquaponics

    Thanks PC, glad to be back. Our neighbor at the back of the property has a horse and a huge pile of manure sitting back there, probably need to go talk to her about hauling it off for her and using it in the garden. I'd not considered it until now.
  11. RichnSteph

    Aquaponics

    I think we're done with aquaponics. Two years and we've seen very little return on the $$ and time we've put into it. Our fish are just now getting big enough to eat. Last night our primary pump died and the DWC reverse-siphoned itself bone dry. 500 gallons of water on the ground in July is a...
  12. RichnSteph

    What did you do in the garden today?

    We're about to revamp our entire garden idea. After two years of running an aquaponics system and getting next to nothing out of it it's time to put it back on the ground. Our primary pump died last night and poured 500 gallons of water out of the DWC onto the ground. Our choice now is wait...
  13. RichnSteph

    Battling Extreme Desert Heat

    We're starting a treatment of VetRx and Tylan this week to stop the bubbly business and are doing a complete coop sweep out, cleanse and disinfect to top it off this weekend.
  14. RichnSteph

    Battling Extreme Desert Heat

    Very humid.
  15. RichnSteph

    Battling Extreme Desert Heat

    Stupidly hot here in Texas again. So far the birds seem to be doing well other than the few that have developed a bubbly coughing fit. We'll start putting ice in the waterer this week to help cool them off.
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