Updates

New DWC Growbed

Here is my newest picture, showing off that shiny new dwc growbed.


In Other news, I purchased an FishMate p21 automatic pond feeder from PetsMart. I liked the digital ones better, but when I got to the petstore I realized they would hold maybe 3 days worth of food, max. The P21 should handle the feedings for the whole time we are gone. It uses what looks like a clock mechanism to rotate a drum that spins once every 24 hours, and dispenses an amount of food controlled by adjustable baffles. It is setup over a bowl in the garage right now, testing to make sure it works, and that I adjusted the baffles for the appropriate amount of food. Tonight I'm going to change 1/2 of the ammo-carb media in the filter, and that should control the ammonia and nitrites until we get back. Then it is back to the process of inside-outside water changes.

Observations:
Corn does better in gravel than DWC.
Lettuce does better in DWC than gravel.
For green growth, Tomatoes seem to do better in DWC, but the gravel plants may just be crowded.
Oxygenation seems to be the limiting factor in the DWC beds.

Lessons Learned:
When planting seeds, label them or draw a map. I have a HUGE viney plant, the trunk is about 2 inches in diameter, right behind the corn, and no idea what it is.
Oregano seedlings need to be more developed before transplanting. Every one of the Oregano seedlings baked off or was eaten by friendly caterpillars.
Caterpillars are evil.