Natural Hydroponics part 2 (Growing)

With the nutrients out of the way, I put together a makeshift hydroponics tank. I didn't want to buy anything, so I used a big plant pot with a sheet-plastic liner and a cover over the top which I drilled four holes in. It fitted down into the tank so the net pots holding my plants were initially touching the water line.

I added ash, powdered eggshell, and my chosen nitrogen source. I also added some vinegar to cancel out the alkalinity of the ash. I put in two cucumbers (one from my own seeds and one purchased) and a seedling tomato, leaving one space open to add water if necessary.

The plants thrived. Then one day, they didn't. It was literally overnight that I saw signs of a nutrient deficiency on my tomato. At the same time the cucumber plants started shriveling and drying up in the sun. They recovered overnight, but it worried me.

I researched and learned that what I was looking at in the tomato was a sulfur deficiency. I put in epsom salt (I'll do more experimentation next summer on a natural source for sulfur) but nothing happened. The cucumbers continued to die. No change on the tomato.

Puzzled, I pulled the top...and found that the water level had sunk so that only about an inch of the tomato plants roots was in the water. Ack! No wonder it couldn't take up the epsom salt!

Once I brought the water level back up, the tomato recovered immediately.

It was almost too late for the cucumbers. For some reason, even though they each had a massive root system, they suffered more than the tomato from the lack of water.

Because of the mid-season emergency, the tomato got blossoms late. The tiny tomatoes were nipped this morning.

The cucumbers recovered to a certain extent, and even got more blossoms, but only a few small cucumbers. Since they were heavy with fruit when the water level dropped, I know the nutrients were working. It was only my own mistake that prevented this season's hydroponics from being a rousing success.

The non-chemical nutrients work. This winter's job is to figure out amounts, percentages, and get a baseline on what different plants need. Right now the hydroponics dry bean in the basement is thriving and has beans on it.

We'll see.

Natural Hydroponics part 1 (The nutrients)

This year I started a new project. Up to this point I have ignored hydroponics.

Traditional hydroponics is an expensive proposition, requiring tanks, flooding, pumps, timers, lights (more or less optional) and chemical nutrients among other things. If these things are not precisely balanced and continuously operational, the system dies.

I am not "traditional" in any sense of the word, and I absolutely refuse to use chemicals on my property. I also have no income at the moment so buying all the STUFF required is beyond me even if I wanted to.

I discovered Kratky hydroponics some time ago, but again it needs chemical nutrients. Kratky hydroponics is a water-air static system, requiring a bucket and a net pot or similar to put the plant in. The water level gradually decreases over time, leaving a space for air roots (roots that grow in the air to capture oxygen) and the main mass of the roots deeper in the water.

This is essentially what happens in the soil, as water is not always available and the plants use the roots to gain oxygen as well as water. Except with Kratky hydroponics the water eventually reaches a static level which the operator has to maintain.

So the technical pieces of the system can be dispensed with, if you're careful. Kratky actually suggests that his system be connected to an automatic float to keep the water at the safe level.

The next part was chemicals. If I'm not buying chemicals, what can be used? In accordance with my own determination to use nothing that can't be sourced naturally and within a reasonable distance of my home, I started researching various easily obtained substances. The two I settled on were ash and eggshell.

Ash contains a lot of nutrients, primarily calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, aluminum, and sodium. So approximately a 0-2-4 NPK, and holding many of the nutrients needed for plant growth. Not complete yet, though.

Eggshell contains calcium, protein, strontium, fluoride, magnesium, selenium, manganese and molybdenum. It can include other things depending on what the chickens have been eating, but that's the base. So nothing added to our 0-2-4 NPK, but more nutrients that are needed for plant growth.

But still not complete. I was missing, among other things, iron, nickel, and copper. For iron I used an old rusted nail. For nickel and copper I used a penny (US) and a dime.

I later discovered that I didn't have sulfur either, so I'll be doing additional tests next summer to see if I can find a substitute for that.

There are easily acquired sources of nitrogen under most circumstances--take the time to do your own research and figure out that part for yourself if you decide to try this. Many of these sources provide additional nutrients, so keep that in mind. It will not only bring your N up, but also possibly the PK depending on what you use.

Part 2

Fruit vinegar

Most of the vinegar we get is from grains, primarily corn. And while it can be used for many things (being distilled and essentially colorless) it also has most of the nutrients and yumminess taken out of it.

And since I crave vinegar anyway (see my post about vinegar craving here) I use a lot of it.

A while back I was speaking to a friend on Modern Survival Blog and he started talking about creating his own vinegar. While I'd been vaguely aware that this kind of thing is done "by others," up to that point I hadn't connected the possibility to myself. It was the middle of apple season and I decided to try it.

I took the peels and the cores that didn't have worm yuck, and put them in a wide mouthed gallon jar covered with water.

And I waited. And waited. Two months later they still smelled like apples and there was no sign of fermentation. I was told the temperature in the house was too low and I started consciously trying to keep the bottle warmer and a few weeks later I started seeing bubbles. Then more bubbles!

The vinegar smell when it began was quite distinctive. It still smelled like apples, but also like vinegar. When I got around to testing it, the baking soda bubbled just like it did for the distilled corn vinegar. So the acid level is high.

And I've caught the bug.

I now have apple cider vinegar and apricot vinegar sitting on the kitchen counter, and pear vinegar in the big pickle bottle fermenting.

Yum!

Pear Vinegar Video

2019 Project Update

Man, it's been a while. Fall of 2018 since I wrote anything here.

Updates first:

The watermelon landrace is meh. Four melons this year, none of which have matured yet. All have the Ali Baba patterning, but two of the four surviving plants have the icebox size melons. The plants that were supposed to be the primary female parent didn't survive the spring. I'll plant them in the greenhouse next year and transplant so I make sure I have the crosses I need.

The commercial variety sweet potatoes appear to be doing exactly what I want. Because of the dry conditions they're sending their roots deep. Most of those roots will not be harvested, but will remain in the soil to provide compost. The sweet potato breeding project is in its first year and I got two well adapted plants that produced flowers. I'll be keeping those two and planting them next year to evaluate.

Dry bean landrace is going to have to be restarted next year. I keep trying to do too many things at once--in this case, inter-planting non-adapted dry beans (to get the start of a landrace) in a dry area that doesn't get much water, where the soil doesn't hold water well, without mulch, and in bad soil. Hm... One thing at a time, Lauren! :)

The dry garden is doing OK. The parkstrips were watered only once this year. Tomatoes, squash, pumpkins and sunchokes all thrived. Still getting too much water, I think, because it's the "dry" stuff like echinacea and irises that are struggling. The main dry garden has thriving tepary beans but again they're just starting to bloom. If I can't get seeds, I can't get my 1st generation and start the adaptation process.

The plum and almond trees didn't get watered at all this year. There was more mid and late season fruit drop, and the fruit on the plum was smaller and less sweet. The almonds had more empty pods and shriveled nuts, but both plum and almond still provided a reasonable harvest. The nectarine was deeply watered once a month and absolutely thrived. While water is available I'll use the once a month watering schedule for all the trees, but with the knowledge that they can still produce if that is not possible.

This spring I again planted my tomatoes in regular garden soil (primarily sand), in bad light, and with little water. The survivors are thriving and most have fruited. Next year I'll do the same, and probably every year after. My eventual goal is tomatoes that thrive in bad soil, with bad water and bad light, and still produce a decent harvest.

The bell peppers are actually producing this year. The seeds are probably (?) first generation, but previous years have produced spindly plants that don't produce before the first frost. Last year they actually started to bloom in October. I started and will start the seeds the same way I did the tomatoes. If they can't thrive here, I don't want them here.