Applied Aquaponics: Turning the Growbeds

Here's the first in a slew of retrospective videos from the previous season, and the transitional phase between then and now. Hopefully soon I will get caught up and back in sync with "real time". Enjoy.

----

Here's a short clip of Rebecca McIntosh and I turning the grow beds between seasons. We are getting rid of any old root matter and organic waste from the previous plants, and getting the growbed ready for the juvenile plants that will be transferred in here very soon.

Often times (especially with really densely growing vegetables like tomato plants) it's a good idea to clear out the beds so that no old organic matter will build up and block the flow of the water as it drains out of your growbeds. It's not necessarily imperative. Some folks like to take the "hands free- let nature take it's course" approach to aquaponic gardening and that's fabulous. I think this technique is particularily advantageous if you have a mature growbed stocked with worms to further digest and decompose any loose organic matter that may find it's way into the beds.

My beds are not really that old (coming up on 2 years) and I do not have the advantage of a thriving vermicompost community residing in my growbeds. I also want to take as much advantage of my flood and drain setup as possible, and that would be to maximize the amount flow moving through my growbeds- exposing the roots to to as much air and fresh nutrients as each cycle can provide.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Jacob
• Harman
• Calvary
• Chapel
• Calvary Chapel
• CCCM
• Aquaponics
• Missions
• Outreach
• Rebecca McIntosh