Disabled Marine Pursues New Goal of Aquaponics Farming

In Florida, a disabled marine has started up a new aquaponics operation where he grows “herbs like fennel, dill, cilantro and chives, as well as a wide range of greens including Bibb lettuce, Tokyo bekana, Cressida cress, mizuna, red Russian kale, Swiss chard, bok choy and red giant mustard greens.”

Besides the fresh produce, he’s also raising 300 tilapia fish which in turn feed the plants that he is growing in a closed-loop aquaponics system he built himself.

“The way I grow food here and give it to people is the way I eat it, the way I want to eat food, free of pesticides, the most natural way of growing things,” Mickell said. “This is a place where we take pride in what we grow and we care about what people are consuming.”

You can read the full article here: “MilitaryTimes.com“

Source By : http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2016/01/disabled-marine-pursues-new-goal-of-aquaponics-farming/

Lasagna Gardens, Perfect for Beginners!

Do you dislike tilling? Have you heard about lasagna gardening yet? If not, you may want to read up on this popular gardening technique that allows you to do more with less work. It’s also referred to as “sheet composting” or “layer gardening”.  It’s a no-dig, no-till method that provides the gardener with rich and fluffy soil, perfect for vegetable and herb gardening.

“Just like the lasagna you cook, your lasagna garden has to be layered in a general order.

• The first layer of your lasagna garden is either brown corrugated cardboard or three layers of newspaper. The space underneath the cardboard and newspaper will attract earthworms to your lasagna garden because it is dark and moist. Earthworms help make the waste into soil. Worms will also help keep this new soil loose.
• Lay the cardboard or newspaper directly on top of the grass or weeds where you want your garden. The grass or weeds will break down fairly quickly because they will be smothered by the newspaper or cardboard, as well as by the materials you are going to layer on top of them.
• Wet this layer down to keep everything in place. Water also helps waste break down.
• Put a layer of browns (leaves, shredded paper) on top of the cardboard or newspaper. Put a layer of greens (vegetable scraps, grass clippings) on top of the brown layer. Layer until your lasagna garden is about two feet high.

In general, you want your “brown” layers to be about twice as deep as your “green” layers. There is no need to get this exact. Just layer browns and greens, and a lasagna garden will result. What you want at the end of your layering process is a two-foot tall layered bed. The layers will ‘cook down’ (compost) in only a few weeks.” -via “GreenThumbscedwvu.org”

Read the full article here: “Accessible Gardening: Lasagna Gardening”

 Source by : http://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2016/01/lasagna-gardens-perfect-for-beginners/

Soil, Your Garden's Engine Room

Soil is the engine room of the garden and healthy soil will help the garden perform at its best. One of the most important things that gardeners can add to their soil is organic matter. Organic matter provides some fantastic benefits:

• Absorbs moisture like a sponge so helps to increase the water holding capacity of soil.
• Helps improve soil structure by binding mineral particles together and creating additional spaces for air and water and allowing easier root growth.
• Encourages earthworms and beneficial microorganisms which enrich the soil and help create plant available nutrients.

Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food is pelletised composted manure so is an easy to use, concentrated source of organic matter. Dynamic Lifter is rich in organic nutrients to gently feed plants over several weeks and is also boosted with the goodness of blood and bone, fishmeal and seaweed.