I have been growing tomatoes and greens hydroponically on my
patios for the past six years. Tomatoes grow well on my north-facing patios
because they receive enough sun during winter and I'm more than happy to take a
break over summer.
Last year I bought some cherry tomato and grape tomato seedlings and grew them in tubs connected to two Smart-Valve MK2 hydroponics systems. The seedlings were planted in perlite and fed from 25 litre tanks replenished with rainwater. After lackluster yields over the two previous years and an extended rainy season last year, I didn't think it was worth planting tomatoes until May and June which was later than I had started previously. It also took a while for good seedlings to become available after the Brisbane floods.
In previous years I had added hydroponics nutrient to the tanks but last year grew my tomatoes organically. Some organic fish emulsion and seaweed spray were purchased. When these were used up I tried worm tea from my worm farm along with the liquid from vegetable and fruit scraps blended with water. Both varieties of tomatoes grew to a larger size than normal and were a welcome addition to my lunch time salads.
I will do the same again this year in feeding my vegetables with a combination of worm tea and blended scraps liquid. My worms are the happy recipients of the residue and seem to get through the blended scraps quicker than roughly chopped scraps. I try to avoid letting any of the solids from the worm tea into the Smart-Valve systems as this might block the flow although this was easily fixed the one time it happened by detaching and shaking the piping to remove the obstruction.
Last year I bought some cherry tomato and grape tomato seedlings and grew them in tubs connected to two Smart-Valve MK2 hydroponics systems. The seedlings were planted in perlite and fed from 25 litre tanks replenished with rainwater. After lackluster yields over the two previous years and an extended rainy season last year, I didn't think it was worth planting tomatoes until May and June which was later than I had started previously. It also took a while for good seedlings to become available after the Brisbane floods.
In previous years I had added hydroponics nutrient to the tanks but last year grew my tomatoes organically. Some organic fish emulsion and seaweed spray were purchased. When these were used up I tried worm tea from my worm farm along with the liquid from vegetable and fruit scraps blended with water. Both varieties of tomatoes grew to a larger size than normal and were a welcome addition to my lunch time salads.
I will do the same again this year in feeding my vegetables with a combination of worm tea and blended scraps liquid. My worms are the happy recipients of the residue and seem to get through the blended scraps quicker than roughly chopped scraps. I try to avoid letting any of the solids from the worm tea into the Smart-Valve systems as this might block the flow although this was easily fixed the one time it happened by detaching and shaking the piping to remove the obstruction.
I now feel like I am practicing true recycling with the
blended residue going into the worm farm and the resulting worm tea then
feeding the vegetables that I grow, and scraps from what I grow going back into
the worm farm. Best of all, I am finally growing my veggies organically which
feels great.
Postscript: In addition to feeding my vegetables with worm tea and blended scraps liquid, I have ended up also applying organic fish emulsion and seaweed spray as the plants were not growing as well as last year. Ah well, sometimes my experiments work and other times not...
Postscript: In addition to feeding my vegetables with worm tea and blended scraps liquid, I have ended up also applying organic fish emulsion and seaweed spray as the plants were not growing as well as last year. Ah well, sometimes my experiments work and other times not...
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