Look for advice on soil/growstones for my AquaFarm

[zrdunlap]

Hello all,

First, apologies if this is the wrong forum to put this under, it just seemed like the most appropriate to me but please feel free to guide me elsewhere if this isn't the right place.

I have an AquaFarm and have been trying to grow some herbs with it. I've successfully grown some parsley and wheat grass but the basil that came with the kit and some chives I got are not doing as well.

I think part of the problem is my lack of knowledge on how to properly use the growstones that came with the kit. The instructions simply say to sprinkle the seeds on them after they have been treated with Zymbac which is what I did.

To get my questions, they are this:

• Does anyone have advice on how to work with these growstones to help make my herbs grow better?
  
  Are there any alternatives you could recommend to the growstones that won't harm my fish but might help the plants flourish a bit more (seed pods, sanitized soil etc.) ?

Additionally I've been thinking of switching to herbs that might thrive indoors and in shadier environments. I've been using an LED grow light since my windows aren't south-facing and while it seems to work great, summer is coming and it generates a lot of heat so I'd like to move my plants to the window. I welcome any recommendations on this as well.

Thanks to everyone in advance!

[imafan26]

You might try to grow you seeds out in plug trays first. You can use oasis plugs or potting soil plug trays. Once the seedlings are a couple of inches tall you should be able to transplant them to the grow stones.

Even with aquaponics some plants need more nutrients than the fish can supply. There are special fish foods for aqua farmed fish and some fish, bone, and kelp meal are available that will feed the plants without killing the fish. You need to be able to grow in balance.
https://www.farmxchange.org/fish-friendly-fertilizers/
https://www.bioponica.net/
Nitrates in the fish fertilizer can be too strong believe it or not, so worms can be added to the media to help in the conversion proccess. The original worms do not survive but their eggs will and those worms adapt.
https://theaquaponicsource.com/2011/10/1 ... rful-worm/

[zrdunlap]

Thank you for the awesome reply! I'll do some reading on those links you sent and try growing out the seeds in plug trays first as you suggest.

I'll be sure to come back and report my progress in case others can benefit.

[Rairdog]

I rarely start seeds in my AP setup. You don't know if they have fallen to deep and wet or too shallow. I start in dirt mostly and rinse well. I have started seeds with a small piece of tissue. You can wet it and stick it to a piece of media to stay at desired level. The only supplemental nutrient I use is maxicrop w/iron which gives the iron and other trace elements that are not in quality fish food. I also bury banana peels for potassium and have red worms in the beds to break down the nutrients so the plants can uptake.

[zrdunlap]

Thanks Rairdog, I think I'll try going the route of starting in soil myself. I've been thinking of getting a snail or maybe a small bottom feeder to add to the tank as well. I'm intrigued by your use of the banana peels and worms. Do you mostly use these in the soil or have you somehow incorporated this with your AP setup?

The AquaFarm is a bit small so I may not be able to take advantage of that, maybe I should upgrade though .

[Rairdog]

The red worms and banana peels go directly in the AP growbeds. The worms will break down peels, old and dead roots after harvesting. They will also break down solids from fish waste so the plants can use them.

[zrdunlap]

Very neat, thank you. I'll have to look into this, it sounds like it might help add some missing nutrients for the plants.