What's happening in aquaponics?
Building the NFT System
NFT(Nutrient Film Technique): The NFT system works by having a steady supply of water that contains the nutrients the plants need. This works by having fertilizer in the water and pH balancing the water. pH is how acidic or basic the water is. Then this water feeds the plants by the roots.
The way the NFT was made is that we had the materials in boxes. We had to hammer the frame together. Then we had to place and glue the plastic guards and pipes. After this, all that needed to be done was set up the water line to the pump so water can circulate.
Our plants: How they started vs. how they're going
The first seeds we planted were basil and bibb lettuce. Those were both planted on September 24th, 2021.
On September 27th, 2021, our lettuce seeds were 100 percent germinated.
On September 30th, 2021, our basil seeds began to sprout.
Currently, the crops in our NFT system are growing beautifully! But sadly, the crops in our green house aren't looking as good as they should be by now. But they are still growing. This process takes time and patience. They will get there at some point!
Over the course of the year, we have planted other seeds such as: kale, swiss chard, various flowers and house plants, chives, mint, potatoes, and just recently and avocado!
Our worms!
Ms. LaRochelle started a project with DonorsChoose to tell people about our class and what we are doing. She stated that we wanted to have worms in our classroom so that way we can learn about composting and so we would have something to do with our scraps from the plants that we have grown. We are so thankful to have received donations from various people to help us get these worms. Our worms started off in peat and we give them organic scraps weekly to create nutritious soil.
House plants!
We are experimenting with hydroponics by growing cuttings of various types of house plants that were donated to us without using soil. We are growing these in hopes that someday we can generate more funds for our program by selling cuttings and full plants.
Thank you to Tom S., Tom R., and Liz at Kingfish Maine for all of your help with setting up our systems, delivering our fish, and your expertise in all things aquaculture and aquaponics!
Aquaculture class setting up one of our tanks in September.
Fish Delivery
Thank you for caring for our fish over the summer and delivering them to us this year!
Potatoes have sprouted!
We planted potatoes a month or two ago, and they have started growing! These potatoes are red potatoes. We grew them from a cutting of a red potato from the grocery store. This is our second attempt at growing potatoes. The first attempt resulted in the potato rotting from the inside out. The stem and leaf still lived until one of the two potato plants blocked the sun.
An Update on the Potatoes
The bigger potatoes
The plant and the potatoes over all have grown bigger
The smaller potatoes
Not much has changed other than the color.
3D printed hydroponic net cups
A big thank you goes out to a senior at JBHS (Nick Stusse) for 3D printing us net cups to put in the holes of our NFT system. We are hoping that these cups will help promote water drainage, prevent the roots from overgrowing and getting tangled up with another plant's roots, and they're also great for air circulation for our plants. The biggest benefit we hope to see is not losing our plants when shifting the gutter systems. Currently, we place the rockwool plugs directly into the system and they often fall into the gutters. Placing the rockwool into the 3D printed net cups will prevent them from falling into the gutter system.
The new system
This system makes cleaning easier. It works by blocking the waste that the fish make from the rest of the tank. With the waste stuck we drain it all out. This makes everything cleaner.
Featured School Garden of the Month!
We were lucky enough to get a gift from the Maine School Garden Network. We got this gift because we were featured as the school garden of the month in February! In the gift, they gave us seeds, a seed distributor, a tote bag, and some booklets! See the write-up about our school garden here.
Our Sunflowers!
We planted these sunflowers on January 24th and look how big they are already! These are red sunflowers. The picture in the middle is showing that we'll be getting a flower soon!
Harvesting our Potatoes!
After waiting roughly 3 months, we were finally able to harvest our potatoes! On March 18th, we pulled up 600g of these potatoes. The chefs class used them and made a delicious twice baked mashed potato casserole!
