Because Spring gets you restless. You want to grow something.  Too watch it sprout.  Face it you’ve been doing this for years and you still get excited by the first seed popping out.  But there are other things I have to dwell on.  That picture of the Standard Moon Glow pear tree roots growing the same amount of time produced much different root mass.  You can look thru the pictures on this site and see how the trees grown on their own roots have large masses of roots. 

The idea here is that you don’t need large amounts of either dirt, water or space to grow large trees for fruit.  I’m looking to start a one hundred tree Orchard using DWF fruit trees.  Using the comparisons above.  The other understanding is the environment the roots will be growing in.  The second line of picture are about the different types of effects air and no air have on roots.  Or which types of roots set you back two weeks if you disturb them.  Checking out roots is something you can do in a water system.

Remember I learned w, little d and an S.  Think how much of a plants root structure fail away with dirt.  Those fine hair roots.  How could I stop those from falling away.  Make them thicker.  Which brought me to water.  Brought me to Hydroponics which out my mind just as quickly left because of the SHEER VOLUME of poison I flushed in just 2wks.  Then Aquaponics.  Oh child, do you really know how much work that is.  How many fish you need and have to feed.  How much water 5,000gals is with evaporation.  How much space that is. Thing was it took me having all that for free that scared me.  Made me think  about ...smaller.   Making better use of.   A chance to make the ABC’s of XE and Z. 

That’s The Gardens of Ease.  

The mineral or nutrient cycle

The water cycle

The energy cycle

The dynamics of the biological community 

These are the four principal working parts of Agro-Bio-ponics.   

The first, the mineral or nutrient cycle    What it takes to produce the food that we eat.   We as the biggest consumers we give back very little to our food production.   Which means we import large amounts of minerals from else where for that purpose.   With Argo-Bio-ponics the symbiotic relationships formed between plants and soil bacteria (fauna) are produced in a three part hydroponic environment.   The sometimes moist part, the always moist part and the wet part.   Waste produced by bacteria feeds the plant while the waste from the plants feed the bacteria.    This is Natures nutrient cycle.   This is how trees live for years on end in the same spot.   Without ever having a change of dirt from us.   The fauna ( bacteria)  in the dirt is recycling it.       

The water cycle is about how much water is wasted.   In ground farming wastes about 90% of the water sprayed onto a field.   Hydroponics is a 100% waste and toxic as well.   Argo-Bio-ponics has a near 100% water savings.    Each container is sealed and water only transpires out thru the leaves.         

A lot of energy in the form of oil goes into plant production.   From the machines to the fertilizer.   Not only that but the use of oil based fertilizers destroys the land it’s grown on.   Argo-Bio-ponics uses sunlight to move the only moving part to the system.   Water.     

The biggest worry right now is how modern farming is destroying it’s very base.   The land it’s grown on.   How farming is destroying the fauna large and small to produce mono-crops.   Argo-Bio-ponics creates individual environments with in each container.   There’s very little fertilizer used and next to none in the water.   The system works on the Boom or bust cycle of Nature.         

One of the basic principals of self sufficiency is low external inputs.   Being able to produce your crops on what you provide yourself.   That the nutrients for your crops are produced and recycled back thru the nutrient chain.    Since each container is sealed and works as an independent environment there’s no emissions or water waste.   Argo-Bio-ponics works with synergies that take the place of intensive knowledge 

Low external inputs - input self-sufficiency 

• Low emissions - closed nutrient cycles 

• Knowledge intensive - biodiversity that captures synergies, biologically controls pests 

• Management intensive - labor intensive but other-resource efficient, to optimize sustainable yield: productivity/acre (we have to grow more food ourselves)

• Local food self-sufficiency and national food sovereignty 

I was just thinking about “change”.  A skill I learned is photography.  Free lance and wide rangeing. You had to know the type film, type settings, wide or telephoto.  Is the lighting front back or side.  That’s before I even get to the dark room.  Point being now everything is set.  You have it on your phone.  And prints become a matter of ink.  Things change. The Gardens of Ease that uses Agro-Bio-Ponics as a method is the same kind of change.  Or a better way of saying it is Plug an Play.  The thought that you can put any plant, tree, vine, cutting and seed into the same mix under Anaerobic conditions grows.   These pictures below are of Blueberries I planted last year and came back this year.  You can see the water level.  An these were frozen many a day last Winter.  

Oh joy, found that I have Fuzzy Apple Aphids.  So I made my "Lethal" " to Life mix.   I've used it for many a pest.  I could it was instant death but will it kill off all the effects of these aphids.   I was worried about Fire Blight.  A growers problems never end.   Here's a worry.  How many viruses, pests of all types are being sold all across the country.  Last year I worried about Fire Blight.  A Big box store was selling trees with Fire Blight.  Didn't know, didn't care.   Figured I was safe because I figured it was a ph thing.  Typed a few thoughts on that last Fall.  Now this Aphid thing really brings home how fragile our food system is.    We buy these plants thinking "cheap" but it also can set us to fall.  Before we even start.   Since I'm small scale I can use the "killer" spray.  But if these were full size trees  the amount sprayed on them  would kill them as well as the Aphids.     

Still want to order several more trees.  Have two of the Comice pears and want two more.  Plants and fruits are influence as well as food.  I see that being needed in the future as well.  I’m musing here.  Thinking that I have to take measures to protect the fruits and berry’s I’m growing.  This is a Food Forest in a Food Desert.  There are no wild area’s around here.  Barely trees.  In total area this isn’t even a postage stamp in this block alone.  As far as the mind’s eye can see there’s nothing till the mountains.  A desert of lawns and concrete.  Is it any wonder the fruits barely out the bud don’t even get the chance to grow before their eaten. What have I gotten myself into.  All I wanted to do was grow some plants.  Didn’t now how good I had it at the other place.  Yes there Lantern Fly’s but the Sumac took care of that.  I got spoiled.  Those 5yrs working a real greenhouse.  Allowing me to perfect The Gardens of Ease growing System.  A system that doesn’t require KNOWLEDGE.  An I didn’t stammer either.  See when I first got into photography you had to KNOW.  There were different films, different speeds , black and white, color, dark room, papers, chemicals and a little thing called an enlarger. Look at how many words that was.  Now your phone comes with a camera.  Even fills with a flash.  Doesn’t even ask you.  It even Bluethooths to your computer before you can get the Darkroom door open.  Well this is the same concept.  You don’t need that Gardening knowledge any more.  With the Gardens of Ease Method you remove the dirt of “ANY PLANTS” roots set it in the mix and forget it.  Just check for water.  If you set the insert into the right size container you may not have to water all Season.  But bugs, rodents, and disease.  Sorry just old man ranting’s in the early morning.  Going to need netting by the end of next month.  Blueberry’s will be coming in. 

Well here it is several days later, still early morning and I’m going to rant again.  Found a newly hatched turtle Dove on the front porch.  Haven’t gotten it to eat yet but does drink water.  A little rat with wings and I’m taking care of it.   Now I have 3 Roses going in 2gal inserts with 5gal containers.   The first I have the first pictures of above.  A White rose with 7 buds growing.  It’s about 30 days.  I have the next 2 ready to go.  

Fire Fly, Fire Blight and the Summer Solstice

Ever have one of those times where give no thought to something but as soon as you do it appears.  That’s the Fire Fly.  Just as I thought about them I saw my first nymph. Ok, got that one.  A day or two pass and again not thinking about them but when I remember there’s another nymph.  Bad thing is there’s a Mulberry tree that 45' wide by 120' long and 40' high.  That’s a lot of food.  For them.  

Then to there’s the Fire Blight.  Everything was going just great.  Trees full of blossoms.  An I had to and muck it up.  See I was thinking about increasing the amount of apples I might get.  So after the blossoms set I fertilizer.  In a week the flowers were dying.  I knew better and did it anyway.  Now the trees are suffering for it. I did leave some trees unfertilized and their all right.  Last Fall I was thinking that Fire blight was entering the plant because using a ph balanced fertilizer allow it thru the plants walls.  Now the fertilizer wasn’t ph balance but strong.  With in a week all the fruit dropped off and leaves started to brown.  The unfertilized one’s have about 10 fruits.  Next year it might be 20.  But I didn’t want to wait.  None of the pears show signs of the Blight.  Less fruit on them tho.  

The English Walnuts are showing signs of growth.  In fact I think their both are flowering.  The part that’s worrying me is that thick piece of wood I saw as the root. That may have been 2" thick and 2‘ long.  That’s a big piece of wood sitting in water before the roots form.  How deep do I set it in.  Never had the problem.  

Next problem is the plants sales start next month.  There will be trees and fruiting bushes on sale.  The box stores have half price sales.  Now if I wait they might be 75% off.  That would be like $6. There’s 10 of the very large Sweet Heart Blueberries.  I’d get all ten.  Then the fruiting trees 

In thirty days it will be the Summer Solstice.  It’s 9pm and the light hasn’t surrendered to the night yet.  Was working on the back and found that I had neglected the front.