That was my first thought, along the lines of 'how much plant mass will you need to significantly reduce N in the water, enough so that it has sufficient reduction of unwanted photosynthesis'? I look forward to reading of your progress.
The projects they are doing in Florida say they are targeting 10% surface coverage, that would be unrealistic in our situation, so we're just going to do our best and balance cost/looks/effort with effectiveness.
Interesting, so less than 10% might be sufficient for your needs? That dosen't sound too onerous. I was at Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami, FL some years ago. They had a small pond, roughly 20X30 feet more or less, with Amazonian plants. Initially the local algae was interfering with the Amazonian species, so they put black dye in the water to inhibit the algae. At the time, there was also a showing of Dale Chihuly's glass work in the garden, including several 1-2 ft. multicolored spheres floating the the black water of the Amazonian pond; looking like alien planets floating in the darkness of space. It may well have been this pond, pictured.
Well, to get to 10% coverage on this pond, we would need 700 of these islands (assuming they were all the same size), which would mean we needed to prep around 37,000 plants every winter to install every spring.
We'll probably shoot for a more realistic target to start with.
Yep, hemp has been long known to rejuvenate soil. It's been used for decades (or more) as a rotation crop to restore soil after something like corn or wheat sucks up all of the nutrients.
For soil rejuvenation you mulch it back into the soil for compost I thought, you can’t do that if you’re using it for remediation to pull stuff out of the soil as you would be just be putting it right back in again.
You are correct but I think hemp is similar to clover in that there is some symbiotic relationship with other organisms that help rejuvenate the soil even if you don't mulch it back it in. I could be wrong here but I know that plenty of farmers grow hemp between other crops and likely don't "waste" it by mulching it back in.
If you are looking to pull bad stuff out of water, I'd think that growing anything that would hold onto the bad stuff as it falls to the bottom of the river or lake and stores it there would be a solution as well as harvesting and transporting it elsewhere.
There would be some benefits to growing hemp, but in our situation, it wouldn't apply. We aren't looking to add nutrients to the water, we're looking to remove it.
We aren't concerned about other toxins that the hemp would absorb, so while it might be useful in some areas with more industrial pollution, it doesn't apply to this project.
Cannabis can be used for rejuvenation and remediation, it pulls out toxins and nutrients, but can also add nutrients. It can do anything, it’s just how it’s used, so yes it could maybe apply to your project.
Love it, but we're not as concerned about metals or toxins as we are about excess nutrients.
The papers I listed have plants that they've been using for their remediation, and we're following those lists. I know some of the researchers on those projects, and we'll modify our plant list based on any changes in their recommendations.
Cannabis would pull out excess nutrients as well, I’m just saying there’s probably other options if you wanted to do a little research, but apparently no one wanted to discuss this topic.
Well you rebuffed and turned additional avenues I gave you to look up, it didn’t sound like you were willing to do anything additional. Cannabis does all of those things you are looking for, so clearly there’s more than what the researches you’re using for options.
Usually when someone shares a topic they want to talk about it and learn more, is that not why you posted?
I'm not sure why you're acting like I didn't respond to what you posted. Your paper discussed heavy metal toxicity and I responded that this wasn't a concern in our situation.
I'm not sure why you are offended at my post, because I responded directly to the topic you were discussing.
Through discussion, which was extremely hard, you found out that it can be used for both, and there is potentially other options you can find out for your floating garden.
Why do you think I was offended by your post? I was trying to start a discussion and you apparently immediately thought I said you didn’t do any research.
You are coming across as argumentative and rather rude about your insistence, when OP has already said whatever you want them to look into is beyond the current scope of the project, which roughly translates to “thanks, but I’m not interested in doing that right now”.
And in response to that, to telling you it’s not in the current scope of a trial project, you are implying they are not doing research or learning or whatever it is (you literally said in your second comment “if you want to do a little research” which does indeed imply you feel they didn’t do enough). When really, you just want them to do something with their time that they don’t want to do, and frankly don’t need to do at this first stage of trial. And you seem to be getting butthurt that they aren’t interested in doing what you want them to. The condescending tone in the comment I’m replying to is a dead giveaway.
Besides which, not everyone wants to deal with growing weed or hemp which looks identical. In fact, most people don’t want to deal with it (obtaining licenses, dealing with theft, etc.). So your focus on that specific plant through your comments seems really genuinely weird, like you can’t fathom people not being stoners or something. That’s quite off-putting.
If you were genuinely trying to start a conversation, you may want to look at how you approach that. When someone says they aren’t interested, like OP did, you can say “ok, well if anyone else is, or if it interests you in the future, here’s the info” and someone will probably reply to it if they want to talk about. You can’t just unilaterally decide what people are going to talk about and force them to participate if they don’t want to discuss it, which honestly seems like what you were trying to do.
I don't know how deep your buckets are, but after three years of growing sweet potatoes, I found out they'll grow down 24"-36" . So a deep bed is best.
That's actually just a section of cattle fencing with some landscaping fabric around the bottom to hold in my growing medium (3:1 compost/native soil). Kind of a raised bed/cage situation
I got decent results last year in tubs, but there were some drainage issues. I'm hoping, as you said, going bottomless gives me more room to stretch and won't give a a bunch of rotten potatoes
Kale and broccoli coming up nicely. Bush beans starting to really take off. Peppers are kinda finding their footing. Onions and garlic in the back bed are struggling a little bit, but I should get something out of it.
And finally, the mulberry! I got a cutting from an event at a park near me and I put it down the same day. Of course the ferals had to fuck with it, so I was worried it wasn't gonna make it but here we are!
First off that's not a watermelon. It's a Cucurbita sp.
That is extreme nitrogen deficiency. It needs a big dose of fertilizer.
Transplanting watermelons and other cucurbits is highly effective if done correctly. It's commonly messed up.
First off you should only start them 3 weeks before you want to transplant them. It takes 3-4 weeks for most cucurbits to be ready to transplant.
Week 1: Seed and allow to to germination at around 80F.
Week 2: Fertilize and first true leaf should emerge. If the cotyledon turns yellow, it's under-fertilized.
Week 3: They need to go outside for hardening off. The 2nd true leaf should develop
Transplant: They do best when transplanted at 3rd-4th true leaf. Plant them so that the cotyledons are level with the soil surface. Transplanting larger plants increases transplant shock and slows down their development.
I discovered that the reason some of my starts were yellow this year was due to poor drainage and over watering :( we have tons of happy house plans, but I had it in my head that small pot + lots of grow light must mean high water needs.
Shit yeah it could be over watering, they were pretty good until I sent them out to harden, but it’s been rainy as well, but if I don’t start they’ll never get outside or hardened before it’s 35c either. Damned either way haha
Its 100% watermelon the only gourds I started are pumpkins and they were only 1 seed per pod.
And yes you’re right, but without starting them extra early you won’t be able to get the crop to finish in time here, the can go on the ground last week, but can still frost for another week here. So the advice is start 6 weeks before last frost. And life and nature has been getting in the way, so here we are.
Sorry, but it's 100% a pumpkin. When the flowers open up in a few days compare them to pictures of male flowers of pumpkins versus watermelons.
It's counter-intuitive but starting them 6 weeks early actually delays how fast cucurbits develop in the field. The larger the cucurbits plant is, the more severely they are affected by transplant shock. I don't know where you got your recommendation from, but it's incorrect.
I was worried about the soil, it’s from last year and was outside, so I was thinking the nutrients had been leached out. I don’t think it’s gonna recover if it’s shock, so I was thinking it was worth the try to plant it with some transplant nutrients and if it shocks or gets frosted it is what it is. I’ve got others for these reasons.
I started hardening them this week, and it’s been rainy, but I’ve kinda gotta start now for next week. So could be multiple things. The adventures of gardening.
Watermelon don't really like being transplanted. Best to direct sow. Of course, your zone is a problem for that, but this guy I'd give up on. The window you have to hope it recovers is pretty small.
I'm trying some watermelon transplants myself. Seeing if I put them in young if they'll get over the shock faster or not. They've only been in a week, but they're definitely looking a bit sad. Good color, but the growth is still slow, leaves curled a bit. I'll get some pics when I get home.
*(I'm still working on doing melons on purpose. My kost successful guys have been volunteers)
You get it haha, yeah could be spent soil, or it’s been rainy while hardening, so multiple things. I was hoping maybe there was something specific, but if it’s try transplanting it with some nutrients and sending it, worth the shot.
We had a beagle that ate everything we planted. She hobbled around barely able to walk but would ninja jump through a tiny hole in a garden fence to eat all the greens on the other side and trample all the fresh sprouts. Sure do miss her.
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