rfeiller's greenhouse revamp

[rfeiller]

a 4x4 raft with salad greens

[rfeiller]

they appeared to be happy , but most have vanished in the green house

[rfeiller]

blooming sweet potato vine, not the healthy bugs!

[davidstcldfl]

Is the sweet potato in a media bed ? I tried some last year...it went nuts. It was growing so fast, I was afraid to stand too close to it...

[rfeiller]

it is in a matt system, the plants container sits on top of the matt and the roots go into the matt. the solution flows through the matt contineously. sweet potatoes are sure nutritious, i am trying to find a way to grow them AP

[rfeiller]

first tomato on AP in greenhouse

[urbanfarmer]

it is in a matt system, the plants container sits on top of the matt and the roots go into the matt. the solution flows through the matt contineously. sweet potatoes are sure nutritious, i am trying to find a way to grow them AP

I'm not sure if this helps you, but I just toured an organic farm locally. They are growing sweet potatoes in leaves, just leaves. It's in the hydroponic area of their farm; so, they irrigate with the same hydroponic solution. They haven't had a problem with disease or pests with the exception of a few ants gnawing at the potato, but they only take a little.

[rfeiller]

i can do that, thanks for the idea. i had planned on using red lava (i've been searching for info on toxins since you mentioned it). i just may make one of the new EDPM lined 2'x8'x1 ' boxes with the core mulch, the chunk type instead of leaves. pototoes require a lot of nitrogen, i would think the leaves would be pulling out nitrogen for decomposition. there are endless twist and turns in this game. core doesn't pull out the nitrogen. i wonder what species of trees these leaves come from. years ago when i was a kid, the best leaf compost was said to be oak leaf mold.

[rfeiller]

Several plants are doing well. Chiles, tomatoes, the sweetpotatoes I'm not sure if they aren't just taking over. They pull about 30 gals of fish water a week from the aquarium that provides for their GB. There are no leaks that I can find. Need to add at least 1000 more gallons of grow beds for the vat. Sure don't have the room for it.

[rfeiller]

first time i've grown sweet potatoes. these were part of the mat system. it took about 6months. the mother potato was planted in an 8" net basket in coir/perlite on top of the mat. very pleased with the results.

the seet potatoes that were planted in GB's with bell siphons and those in raft systems rotted.

i also harvested red wrigglers from the mat in the GB