Fishes Be Crazy

Got my fishes yesterday. 

I called Liley Fisheries earlier in the week to see if I could come pick up some trout and we decided on Thursday morning for pickup.  Originally, I thought I would get fingerlings (very small fish), but the smallest they had were 4-6 inch fish, which makes sense since the fingerlings they had earlier in the summer would have grown.  Anyway, this changed my original idea that I could pick up the fish in a big bag inside a box.  The man I spoke with (K.C.) told me I would need about a 30-gallon container and that I would need to have a way to aerate the fish during transport.  Apparently, cold-water fish are very sensitive to low oxygen levels, so even the two-hour drive would be too long for them to be without some kind of aeration.  So, I went to Walmart and bought a power inverter so I could use my aquarium air pump.

Power Inverter

I also purchased a 35-gallon trash can and drilled holes in the top so I could run the air hoses into the container.  I packed my air pump, air hoses, tie downs, and my trusty roll of duct tape and at 6:45 Thursday morning, I was on my way.  I knew driving through Denver at 7:30 wasnt a great idea, but I needed to be back by 11:00 for a meeting.  When I got to the fish farm, the guys were expecting me.  The guys at Liley Fisheries are awesome!  Very friendly and helpful - nice guys!  I was worried about having to tie down the trash can and get everything prepared for the drive home, but the guys at Liley were awesome.  They filled up the container with water, added the 40 fish, tied down the trash can and set up the air pump for me, ensuring that everything was secure.  And, of course, the duct tape came in handy.  :-)

Tied down and taped up

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Air pump and hoses running into container

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The ride home was uneventful (and much faster than the drive up).  I tried to get a few pictures of the fish, but the container was so dark, I couldnt see more than a couple of inches into the container.  Even with a polarizing filter, I couldnt see very far into the water.  Here are a few pictures.  I adjusted the brightness and contrast a little, which helped.  I used the green bucket to move the fish a few at a time from the trash can to the fish tank.

Silvery 1

Silvery 2

Silvery 3

Silvery 11, Silvery 25 and Silvery 31

I was worried that the pH of my water was going to be too high, but a few days ago, it actually lowered a little.  When I got home, I checked the pH and temperatures of the water from the fish farm and the water in my tank.  The pH of the water from the fishery turned out to be as high as mine was when I first started cycling the tank (about 7.4), so apparently the theory that the pH is more important to the plants than it is to the fish must be true.  These guys grew up in high pH water and they seem to be fine.  The temperatures happened to be almost identical.  I replaced some of the water in the trash can with my tank water a few times, but when the pH level in the trash can didnt change, I got impatient and just started moving the fish over. 

I was upstairs working from home for the rest of the day.  Within the first hour, I started hearing fish jumping.  Not good, since the water level is only a few inches from the top of the tank, so they could easily jump out.  Apparently, trout like to jump, and are especially prone to do so when theyre introduced to a new environment.  So I went downstairs and covered the tank with chicken wire.

Fishy Lockup

I was so excited to get my fish so I could watch them swim around and name them (Silvery 1, 2, 3...), but unfortunately, this tank is really dark and I cant really see anything.  I bought a submersible pond light and put it at the bottom of the tank, so now I can see a few of the fish.  They actually like to swim up to the light and look at it.  But I cant get any pictures of it.  Maybe my next purchase will have to be an underwater camera with a light.  :-)

BTW, the fish cost $1.21 each.  And I highly recommend Liley Fisheries to anyone who is in the market for trout and other game fish.  Theyre great guys!  They stock public and private ponds (and other bodies of water) and perform other types of services, such as pond aeration and consulting services.

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Methods

As I browse the net I often find interesting techniques.  Fukuoka, Bokashi, and Hugelkultur are three that Ive recently become interested in and wish to try in my backyard

This post only serves as a collection of sites and descriptions Id like to bookmark and share with you.

This first method is my favorite.  The video is 2 hours long.  I enjoyed the entire presentation, but it gets a bit repetitive after the first hour.    

Back To Eden

 http://vimeo.com/provisionsproductions/backtoeden.

Basically the Back to Eden copies the nature of a wooded forest to bring dirt back to rich living topsoil.  

A similar method is Fukuoka.  The theme of  each method is mulch. As with anything in life, the simpler the better.

Fukuoka -
No-till mulching gardening and wild gardening Fukuoka

 

Bokashi  -    

Fermented food waste

Wheat Bran  10 lb
Sea Salt (C90)          1 Tablespoon
Ceramic Powder     1 Tablespoon
Molasses                30 ml          1 part
Water                     3 Litters  100 parts 
Inoculate                30 ml         1 part

  Korean Natural Farming  - Making Essential Microorganisms

Making Essential Microorganisms from Scratch.
Mix one cup rice with two cups water and shake.  Strain out the rice.  Cover and secure a paper towel over the top of the jar.  Leave in the dark, between 68 and 77 degrees F for five to seven days to culture the active microbes.  The mixture should smell sour.   Add 10 parts milk (about 5 quarts) to the one part strained rice wash, and let it ferment for 14 days.  The rice wash grows many microbes,  both beneficial and pathogenic.  The milk kills off everything but the lactobacillus. Strain the solids off the top of the bucket. The yellow liquid is purified lactobacillus serum.  Dilute the lactobacillus serum in a 1:20 ratio with water and add it to your compost.

Hugelkultur  -  
Soil on wood makes a raised garden bed that can support your favorite garden plants all summer without irrigation.

 

Water is becoming a scarce commodity.  Aquaponics is one way to grow with less water.

Here is a another brilliant alternative for dirt based farming.

 

  http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/

Im currently building my own hugelkultur beds, and will post a video here when Ive completed the first bed.  This method has proven to be incredibly labor intensive.  My body aches and each day I go forward with the pleasure of knowing Im closer to finishing this project.  I cant access this area with a backhoe so Im forced to do move all the dirt and logs (some must weigh more than 200 lbs) by hand.

  Bio-Char

Albert Bates wrote this lengthy article with in depth scientific research 

I posted this article in ChicoAquaponic which contains many good links.

  No Dig Garden

Bob Jones and Myk Rushton show how to install a No Dig Garden which conserves moister and provides nutrients.

 

 

The Kratky Method & Floating Raft

 

 

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Aquaponics

Aquaponics : system is built between two ways ... (The first)  .Hydroponics ... (second) growing fish in intensive culture ... These two systems are integrated to form the system outputs contain inputs for the last .... Plants use water resulting from the raising fish loaded with fish remnants of ammonia and solid waste and the second carbon  dioxide.... Where the use of plants to feed on the ammonia and carbon dioxide directly from the roots
Special technological way. in the same time, filtered water and is given oxygen increase .. to come back and clean to the fish with all Oxygen

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Fishy mis Adventures Part I The Feast

WARNING - some of this might be a little graphic for the PETA set.  Or for squeamish people (like me) who prefer to buy their meat already dead and wrapped in cellophane.
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After watching what appeared to be a few rather large fish swimming around in the tank for the past couple of months, we decided to take a few out for dinner.  The water is still too dark to see the fish very well, so we werent sure if they were really that big, or if it was a trick of the light, but what could it hurt, right?

So, on January 3, my son and I pulled a few out with a net, but they were way too small, so we put them back.  We did this a couple of times, until we finally came out with a few that were smallish eating size.  Not wanting to allow my fish to suffer by letting them die of suffocation, we put them in a bucket of water and took them upstairs.  I had done a few searches on how to "humanely" kill a fish, and the most popular way I found was using something that stabs them between the eyes, stabs their brains, and supposedly instantly kills them.  I didnt trust my skill at getting just the right spot through the skull, so I decided I would try the next best thing (IMO)...chop off the heads.  I knew killing the fish would be the least pleasant part of the entire aquaponics process, but its got to be done. 

The Six Fish We Decided to Eat

First of all, this method turned out to be very messy.  In hindsight, this should have been very obvious.  Usually, by the time a person cleans a fish, it has been dead for at least a few minutes, so the blood circulation has stopped.  Chopping the head off a live fish - blood spurts everywhere, all over my kitchen counters and all over us.  So, first lesson - dont chop the heads off of live fish.

Fish out of Water

Yuck

Ready for the Grill...or so We Thought

Next, just like the proverbial chicken running around with its head cut off, the trouts nervous systems are still active, even after they are dead.  Flopping around, gills moving.  Ricky even found a little tiny fish heart that was still beating several minutes after the fishs death.  Gross.

Thinking the drama is over, we put the beheaded and cleaned fish on a cedar plank to be grilled.  Apparently, the nervous system was still active for longer than we thought, because when my husband went out to the grill to check the fish, a couple of the headless fish had "jumped" off the plank and onto the grill.  Weird.

Well, either way, dinner was good.  Fish, rice, corn, and naan.  I was so excited to taste the fish that I almost forgot to take the picture.  So, here is the half-eaten, grill-jumping fish.  Yum. 

Trout Dinner

Stay tuned for Fishy (mis)Adventure Part II - Trout Rapture....

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Wicked Beds

A look at the construction of my Earthan Beds. Previously these beds were Wicking Beds with sand in the bottom, but now I want to be able to let aquaponic water flow freely through the beds so Ive replaced the sand with rocks. The soil I place back into the Earthan Beds is a mix of sand, compost, pumice, and garden soil, amended with Azomite. Pumice is not required, but it provides plenty of surface area for bacteria while making the soil light and airy. When I first started to use my wicking beds I noticed the smell of anaerobic bacteria. By allowing some water to flow out of the overflow tube each day I was able to prevent this anaerobic condition. When I removed the sand and soil from the wicking beds I found no sign of anaerobic bacteria. By letting the water flow through the Earthan Beds I will create a good environment for nitrification and prevent anaerobic conditions. The water from the Bioponic System will also provide nitrates and other elements for good plant growth.

The first video shows how I constructed the Earthan Beds

This video starts out with a tour of my fall garden.  

Click the hot spot to skip ahead to the nearly finished wicking beds.

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We are working to complete the first grow bed

 Now We have some    works.....i am fell by tired but i go to 

working to complete the first grow bed....

And At morning i go to finish the end touch ...

If you feel with healing illness ... Thank God for everything

.....

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Good bye to winter

What do brownies, garlic, and heart-shaped dog biscuits have in common?

They were all found at the last-of-the-season Bozeman Winter Farmers Market today.

Wrapped in the invigorating aroma of fresh-roasted coffee from Little Red Wagon and surrounded by live music from a solo guitarist, about 20 vendors displayed wares that included bright spring greens, goat cheese, jams and jellies, hand-knit socks, soap, and, well, a whole lot more.

I didnt go as an investigative reporter, I just wanted to meet everyone and see what the last market of winter looked like.

As usual, I found people excited about their products and already planning for summer markets.

Many of the vendors will be at the Gallatin Valley Farmers Market and/or the Bogert market. Others are going to Big Sky, Belgrade, Livingston, or Manhattan.

I was excited to learn about a new market open for the first time last year in Three Forks. Watch for a report this summer!

I am also making plans to improve this blog and my website at yummymontana.com. I will be introducing you to vendors and showing you around some of the farms and ranches. Every one of the vendors I meet has an amazing story to tell. Any of them who want to share that story will be heard here.

Check the list of Montana farmers markets as I update it and make plans to shop local this summer, or at least look for made-in-Montana products -- there are a lot of them!

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How to adjust pH in aquaponics systems

Here is a great video on how to adjust your aquaponic system naturally. I have been scared of the ph, this makes it easy to understand and can be done naturally without chemicals.

Please watch this video and go over to Grow Dinner Aquaponics channel and subscribe to his channel.

 

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Fungal Diseases

Green house pest management can be an overwhelming problem; especially in an aquaponic system.  I posted this in my other blog Chicoaquaponic.blogspot.com.  But these fungi are not limited to soil less gardens or greenhouses.



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Id like to thank Forestry Images for thier wonderfully helpful site.
With great photos to help identify various problems,  microscopic slides and petri dish samples they have made identification much simpler.

Pythium diseases

brown spot

Phytophthora blight Fusarium wilt
blue mold   powdery mildew leaf scorch sour rot
white ear rot and seedling blight of maize bitter rot and anthracnose

Jon Parr and Vlad are some of the best contributors to the aquaponic  forums.
Heres a little advice they have pasted on that I appreciate.

Link to discussion

GH (Green House) pest management has three strategies, and which is best is really open for debate.
1- intentionally low pest security, meaning wide open large screens for honey bees, pests, and pest predators. This works pretty good for lazy folks like myself, especially if you are planting beneficial plants to attract the predators. No fuss about pollination, and no big concern about sterilizing everything.
2- moderate pest security. This one is fine for new greenhouses, and light traffic GHs with cleanly guests. Once a pest gets inside, though, trouble trouble.
3- high security, meaning positive pressure and HEPA filters, thrips screening, humidity and temp control, haz-mat suits and dissinfect routines. Just the thought of all that work spoils my mood, but is probably the smartest long term plan for commercial use.

Im a low security type guy. Address the pest directly. Mold? Increase airflow and temp, decrease humidity. Spider mites, fungus gnats, white flies, aphids? Allow predators, spray with tea, nuke them with CO2. Nasturtiums are awesome for the garden by the way; trap crop or aphids, pest predator magnets, repel white fly and spider mites. Yep. And borage, and multicropping.

 Vlad Jovanovic
Link to discussion.

You can use the ol 3-5% oil + 0.5% dish washing detergent remedy...works well but you have to be real careful to get as little of the concoction into your system and take measure to cover up your FT to protect from overspray. And even this low % of oil will burn pepper plants if you have any...wont damage them beyond repair or anything, just dont be freaked out by the necrotic lesions that will be left on their leaves. peppers seem especially sensitive to this type of treatment.
A better/easier/more fish safe bet might be a naturally occurring fungus called Beauvaria bassiana that will take care of a whole host of common garden pests...spider mites included (and then some). B. bassiana can be purchased under the trade names Botaniguard, Naturalis-L or Mycotrol-O the later two being okd by OMRI...and more importantly it is fish safe (unlike any kind of oils or most soaps).
Whatever you spray with make sure to repeat after 3 or 4 days...then again after 3 or 4 days...and then once more...since most of these sprays wont kill the eggs that theyve laid...so make sure you get the bastards that have hatched...and spray the under-sides of the leaves...Good luck. Spider mites are a royal PITA.

Here is a link to another in depth discussion about Botrytis cineria and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum
Botrytis blight 
Sclerotinia rot

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Another delicious bazaar

Every year I look forward to the popular Big Timber Womens Club bazaar, which takes place on the first Saturday in November.

Vendors are smiling, customers are smiling, and everyone is just, well, happy.

Of course there are lots of artisan things to buy like handmade dolls clothes (how about a kimono for your Barbie?), wooden cutting boards, and Christmas trees formed from barbed wire. But for me, its the food.

Downstairs at the Legion you can buy homemade pie or a light lunch, which are fund-raisers for the Womens Club and St. Josephs Church.

Jolie and her mom and grandmother (three generations of cooks--what a lucky family!) were at the bazaar again, selling Jolies tasty lollies and grandma Sallys sweet-faced dolls.

Lucky early shoppers got to taste Windy Bakery fresh-from-the-kitchen scones, buckeyes, caramel rolls, and cheese bread.

The Friends of the Library were selling books as well as homemade cookies.

The Sons of Norway (who I am certain should be called the Daughters of Norway since I have never seen a Son at any public event; where are they hiding the guys??) had a table covered with lefse and Norwegian cookies. This year one member is sharing the secrets of making lefse through the adult education program at Sweet Grass High School (November 16, 6-9 pm).

Two new varieties of Tumblewood Teas are available this season: one flavored lightly with orange and another redolent of pear. Tumblewood Teas are always fresh, always tasty, and always so healthy. I like the clever names, too. (In case youre wondering, the shortbread bites are provided to cleanse your palate between tea tasting; there were plenty to taste at the bazaar.)

Since the bazaar is divided between the American Legion building and the Civic Center, shoppers must walk two blocks. Luckily, today was warm and sunny. (The area is expecting snow on Monday.) Even luckier, the kettle corn man was there to warm tummies with delicious popcorn.

Some nonedible items were tempting nonetheless. I have long enjoyed the "flavors" of Natures Bliss soap (made in Bozeman). Today I bought a jar of Vanilla Sugar and Cinnamon Body Butter. Oh, so very nice on the skin, but I hope it doesnt drive me to craving cinnamon toast every time I use it. If you missed the bazaar, you can sample these products at the Gallatin Valley farmers market next summer.

And last, but certainly not least, is a new business called Its A Wrap, where you can order candy bars, bottles of water, and even dog biscuits wrapped in a customized label. Email Lisa in Big Timber at ljcberg@cablemt.net if you want to order something for a special occasion (or make a dull occasion special).

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