Vegetable gardens at home.

[Pieter1]

We had two horrible syringa trees growing next to our house. In December I decided to remove them and use the space for a vegetable garden.

So far, it is doing really well.

Tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, herbs, mielies, carrots, beans and lots more are all growing like crazy.

20170215_183852.jpg 20170215_183914.jpg 20170215_184009.jpg

Jis man that looks good!!

[Formallyknownas]

We had two horrible syringa trees growing next to our house. In December I decided to remove them and use the space for a vegetable garden.

So far, it is doing really well.

Tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, herbs, mielies, carrots, beans and lots more are all growing like crazy.

20170215_183852.jpg 20170215_183914.jpg 20170215_184009.jpg

Mooi so.

[forkie]

Nice! I wraped mine in shade cloth. And put palet wood around it to make it look nicer and to keep the sun out of the tank. Try to keep it a dark as possible, algea became a big problem in mine. Also wrt fish. The tilapia I bought all got sick and died during the winter. If I was you I would stock it with goldfish or koi. Or if you can catch barbel, bass or kurper in a dam nearby they would work well and are good eating. The reason I asked where you are is because there is a nice aquaponics farm in muldersdrift.

Edit: Here is a SA online store. It is the farm in muldersdrift. They are pretty helpfull. Also you will need to add this to your system as soon as you see your leaves are not nice and green and start yellowing http://www.myaquaponics.co.za/iron-chelate-100-grams/

I am going to use koi and tillapia. I have an unlimited supply of tilapia so I will try them first. I put 7 of them into the resevoir at my father in laws farm just to keep the weeds in control. I must have 1000 babies in there now.

 

thanks for the advice

[P.A.K.]

 

Hi guys, can someone ID these pepper type things? They don't grow much bigger and these ones will soon get soggy if not picked. Any ideas.?

 

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

[Formallyknownas]

 

Hi guys, can someone ID these pepper type things? They don't grow much bigger and these ones will soon get soggy if not picked. Any ideas.?

 

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

Sweet piquante peppers.

My 2c.

[Readsalot]

Ikea Releases Open Source Designs For A Garden Sphere That Feeds A Whole Neighborhood

 

f you’ve already constructed Ikea desks and chairs, then it’s time to take your skills to the next level. 

This week the company released open source plans for The Growroom, a large, multi-tiered spherical garden designed to sustainably grow enough food for an entire neighborhood. Hoping to help spur local growing and sourcing, Ikea made the plans available for free on Thursday.

 

All it takes to complete the 17-step, architect-designed DIY garden of your dreams is plywood, a visit to your local community workshop, rubber hammers, metal screws and some patience:

http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/58a644c2280000c63a9996f7.jpeg?cache=h6pCys5MTy

 

OPEN SOURCE GROWROOM

The Growroom

 

 

http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/58a64490290000f616f26f29.jpeg

 

OPEN SOURCE GROWROOM

The garden's "slices" are designed so that water and light reaches each level. 

The Growroom is a brainchild of Space10, Ikea’s lab for futuristic, solutions-oriented designs. Though it’s intended mainly for use as a neighborhood garden in cities, you could also build one for your own backyard, a spokesman told HuffPost. 

 

The Growroom doesn’t come in a flat pack like most Ikea products. Rather, users download the files needed to create perfectly-sized plywood pieces, using a local fab lab workshop for professional cutting. Then, they can assemble them using the free instructions online. 

http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/58a6439825000034080b991e.jpeg

 

OPEN SOURCE GROWROOM

It takes 17 sheets of plywood to build your own Growroom.

 

 

http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/58a643bc25000034080b991f.jpeg

 

OPEN SOURCE GROWROOM

Assembly instructions are similar to other Ikea products.

 

 

http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/58a643f52900002200f26f28.jpeg?cache=R7q63MA6g1

 

OPEN SOURCE GROWROOM

The result!

[Ed-Zulu]

Ikea Releases Open Source Designs For A Garden Sphere That Feeds A Whole Neighborhood

 

f you’ve already constructed Ikea desks and chairs, then it’s time to take your skills to the next level. 

This week the company released open source plans for The Growroom, a large, multi-tiered spherical garden designed to sustainably grow enough food for an entire neighborhood. Hoping to help spur local growing and sourcing, Ikea made the plans available for free on Thursday.

 

All it takes to complete the 17-step, architect-designed DIY garden of your dreams is plywood, a visit to your local community workshop, rubber hammers, metal screws and some patience:

http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/58a644c2280000c63a9996f7.jpeg?cache=h6pCys5MTy

 

OPEN SOURCE GROWROOM

The Growroom

 

 

http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/58a64490290000f616f26f29.jpeg

 

OPEN SOURCE GROWROOM

The garden's "slices" are designed so that water and light reaches each level. 

The Growroom is a brainchild of Space10, Ikea’s lab for futuristic, solutions-oriented designs. Though it’s intended mainly for use as a neighborhood garden in cities, you could also build one for your own backyard, a spokesman told HuffPost. 

 

The Growroom doesn’t come in a flat pack like most Ikea products. Rather, users download the files needed to create perfectly-sized plywood pieces, using a local fab lab workshop for professional cutting. Then, they can assemble them using the free instructions online. 

 

http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/58a6439825000034080b991e.jpeg

 

OPEN SOURCE GROWROOM

It takes 17 sheets of plywood to build your own Growroom.

 

 

http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/58a643bc25000034080b991f.jpeg

 

OPEN SOURCE GROWROOM

Assembly instructions are similar to other Ikea products.

 

 

http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/58a643f52900002200f26f28.jpeg?cache=R7q63MA6g1

 

OPEN SOURCE GROWROOM

The result!

 

I seriously love and hate these type of designs, let me explain.

 

The material used is not durable enough (that would last no more than 5 years in exposed areas and probably the same time if not), unless you treat it and that will add more cost even if you use marine grade plywood. Now that will set you back big time, even in EU/US.

 

For a lot less effort a simple A-frame solution would be 100 times more practical, 1000times cheaper and not to mention durable. Simple PVC gutters can do the same trick. You won't need a ladder to tend the garden and water use can be cut down significantly.

 

As a matter of interest, a family of 4 can be fed all their nutritional needs on a piece of land the size of a standard door, making use of trellis and frame work no higher than 1.6m.

 

I love the design though, very modern, very hip and all that, but is it really a solution? I don't think so.

[Pants Boy]

As a matter of interest, a family of 4 can be fed all their nutritional needs on a piece of land the size of a standard door, making use of trellis and frame work no higher than 1.6m.

Do share

[Ed-Zulu]

Do share

Shall do so when I'm home tonight...way too much to do today

[Nancy Drew]

I had a lemon tree that was getting destroyed by ants. Turned out the aphids like the sap on the underside of the leaf and in turn leave a sticky residue that the ants love. So to get rid of the ants you have to get rid of the aphids.

 

What I did after some reading was hose down the tree to get rid of the sticky substance and then spray on a very diluted water and sunlight liquid solution. Haven't had a problem for the last month since I did this.

 

 

Without reading all 55 pages for the answer, did you ever find a solution for your lemon tree? Mine is currently being destroyed by what appears to be aphids. They leave a black sooty substance on the underside of the leaves. I'd like to save my lemon tree without using chemicals that will harm other insects like bees (or anyone that ingests the lemons!)

[splat]

Our veggie garden is slowly gathering momentum

 

(the two veggies with socks and shoes in the background are excited about homegrown carrots and tomatoes)

Edited March 2, 2017 by splat

[eccc whippet]

I need to get started with one of these... think it will probably have to be a vertical garden though - my staffies will make a meal of a flatbed - anyone got any cool idea's or seen any handy links?

we have a problem with the monkeys ripping the veg garden to pieces.

 

an interesting observation...i put some fruit from our garden into a bowl in the kitchen...with some other fruit bought at the shop...the ants have got into all the garden fruit and not touched the bought fruit.  

[fanievb]

Without reading all 55 pages for the answer, did you ever find a solution for your lemon tree? Mine is currently being destroyed by what appears to be aphids. They leave a black sooty substance on the underside of the leaves. I'd like to save my lemon tree without using chemicals that will harm other insects like bees (or anyone that ingests the lemons!)

 

The issue is to control the ants.

 

you can try borax at the base of the tree which the ants use to climb to the top of the tree (I have tried this with limited success) 

 

You can also use a jet of water to blow the aphids off the tree, but the ants will just take them back up.

 

You can also spray a mixture of vinegar and water to spray onto the aphids (you'd have to repeat a few times)

 

You can try bioneem (only kills plant eating pests) I have not had much success with it on my lemon trees.

[alleyne]

The issue is to control the ants.

 

you can try borax at the base of the tree which the ants use to climb to the top of the tree (I have tried this with limited success) 

 

You can also use a jet of water to blow the aphids off the tree, but the ants will just take them back up.

 

You can also spray a mixture of vinegar and water to spray onto the aphids (you'd have to repeat a few times)

 

You can try bioneem (only kills plant eating pests) I have not had much success with it on my lemon trees.

 

For aphids we do the following, spray bottle with a small amount of dish washing liquid and chop 2-4 of the hottest chills you can get your hands on and chuck that in. Spray once a week until they are gone, then spray every other week.

[100Tours]

For aphids we do the following, spray bottle with a small amount of dish washing liquid and chop 2-4 of the hottest chills you can get your hands on and chuck that in. Spray once a week until they are gone, then spray every other week.

 

Good advice - the problem with most pesticides on fruit is partly that it upsets the good bugs, but also that you want to eat the produce of your garden.

 

Most common aphid pesticides are designed as a stomach irritant (for the aphid), delivered through the plant sap. The mechanism for getting it into yourself is the same :S

[MTBeer]

Any opinions on using Vermiculite in the soil mixture when growing veg/herbs or plants in general?