Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Photo 6: Butterfly's come in the farm and lay eggs.
Do not use any type of insecticide in your farm because it can kill you your fish. Here are
some organic suggestions to help control any problems you may have for coping with in-
sects in your farm. The best solution for the problem of insects and other issues is to keep
your farm clean, wear gloves, and keep the door closed to keep insects
OUT.
If a plant
looks unhealthy, pluck it out of the gravel and replace it immediately. Don't wait to see if
it will get healthy, if it looks sick, get it out of the farm FAST. No exceptions.
Please note: This is important) harvest food the
instant it's ready to be harvested and
do not leave it in the Grow Table.
Many fungal infections occur due to lack of air cir-
culation around the base of plants so keep the foliage at the base of the plant cut back.
Since we provide tours of our farms, we have 'waited' to harvest because of film crews
or important guests coming 'in a few days,' and we have
always created problems
for
ourselves by waiting to harvest the plants past their harvest peak and then discovering a
few insects chewing on the decaying roots when we removed the plants from the Grow
Table.
So, here's an important piece of advice: ALWAYS BE PLANTING. ALWAYS
BE HARVESTING. Don't wait to do either.
Fish Health:
We are happy to report that we seldom lose fish in our aquaponics system. We have lost a
few, but very few over the years. One reason is because we provide them with proper aer-
ation, good food, insulation from cold or excessive heat, adequate sunlight, and we have
always done our best to keep our fish from being stressed. When fish become stressed, it
lowers their immune system and they can become susceptible to disease. We wear gloves
when we feed them to avoid human pathogens from getting in the water. We don't over-
crowdourtanks.WeemptythelumpyfishwasteregularlywithaspecialdesigninourPort-
able Farms® so their water does not foul with ammonia buildups. We don't use chemicals
that could harm them in the system. We add make-up water during times of hot weather by
placing the hose in the Grow Tables before it circulates back into their Fish Tank. We even
give them occasional treats of chopped cucumber or lettuces grown in the farm.
Solutions to address aphids, whitefly, tropical snails, thrips, caterpillars, red spider
mite:
We recommend the use of worm casting tea (above) to treat basic insect problems.
Do not use organic insect sprays in your farm. The majority of them have pyrethrum-based
rotenone and ryania, or
neem as ingredients, all of which will kill the fish.
