Issue 3
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Table of Contents:
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1. Some Suggested Organic Hydroponic Fertilizers:
Earth Juice is considered to be the best. It comes in four differ- ent mixes: Catalyst, Bloom, Essential Spray and Grow.
All except Catalyst are composed of various amounts of bat and guano seabird guano. Essential Spray is for foliar feeding.
Nothing artificial is contained in the various Earth Juices, and no synthetics either. No urea is allowed. It's quite complex, a gallon of which when mixed with water will give over 516 gallons of fertilizer.
One address from which it can be obtained is:
Albuquerque Hydroponics and Lighting
1003-A San Mateo SE
Albuquerque, NM 87108 1-800-753-4617 ahl@swcp.com
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2. Hydroponics in the Tropics:
As has been said before, hydroponics is a growing technique which can be practiced anywhere. Having said that, it must be pointed out that severe limitations such as those encountered in desert and/or tropic climes can put the theory to the test.
If you have read my book on hydroponics, you may have seen an article about hydroponics as being practiced in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The same article can be seen on our web site at (http://wwww.mayhillpress.com/arabian.html). However there isn't much to be seen about tropical problems. Perhaps that can be remedied to some degree here.
In the desert it's bugs and heat. In the tropics, it's bugs, heat and rain - lots of rain! And neither one of these climates has any soil to speak of. It's either sand in one and jungle growth in the other. And very little virgin soil. Even after the jungle is cleared for farming purposes, the little bit of soil that's left will only produce crops for two-five years.
There are two main considerations for a hydroponic operation in the tropics. You have to protect from rain and you have to pro- tect from heat. The first is done with an inventive type of structure known as a "saw-toothed greenhouse". This is to allow for ample ventilation and to keep out the rain. The second is done by moving your operation to a higher elevation in order to take advantage of the cooler temperatures.
The green house roof is like a row of slanted panes which are all in a line with their mouths standing against the prevailing winds. The slanted panes can be adjusted to keep out the rain while their mouths allow for air to circulate throughout the house.
You can visualize how this all looks by imagining a row of large outdoor hot (or cold) boxes with all their lids opened up and pointing in the same direction. Most of these already in the tropics are made of panes of glass which can be quite expensive. Plastic will usually last for only a year because of the heat. If you're fortunate, you may be able to import plastic which is tougher and will last longer.
Another problem which can be bothersome is nematodes. These tiny worms infest the soil in tropical areas, particularly in South America. What do they have to do with hydroponics? Well they can migrate via air and water. The best thing to do before planting any crop is to sterilize the media you're using. Chemicals or steam are quite effective for doing this.
This is quite important for those who are using sand and sand/gravel beds which are one of the main features of some South American hydroponic setups.
The salt content of tropical water is often quiet high, but this can easily be corrected.
Getting sufficient supplies would be a problem. This includes fertilizers, piping and other raw materials. But if one persists and gains a foothold, he can reap high rewards. The crops he can raise will bring high prices because they can only be obtained elsewhere from abroad.
Sand is a favorite medium for the tropics. And also for desert economies. You have to go with what you have. For others it will be gravel. Years ago, when I was living in Texas, two citizens from Mexico landed upon my doorstep to talk about hydroponics. The medium they were using was volcanic pumice. And it worked quite well!
Almost anything will do, except soil. The objective for a medium is to hold up the plant. That's its sole purpose.
Some growers are leaning more and more toward NFT. It takes time and money to set it up, to train people to do things right. But after that, things are a lot easier. Not only must your people be trained in growing, etc., but they must also know what to do when watching for insect damage. In the tropics, the rule is: you have to use insecticides. So you have to know what you're doing.
Again, educated labor will be the problem.
So after you have solved all the problems, you can look forward to grossing 3-4 times what greenhouses do in the States. Particular- ly for lettuce and other salad crops. Think of it this way: you don't have to worry about heating the greenhouse.
A very good book on this subject is Howard Resh's "Hydroponic Food Production" which can be obtained through Amazon.com or any of the other book stores. We used to drop-ship it but time and energy are now at a premium. Look up the topic on "Sand Culture".
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3. Grower Tips on This and That:
Tips on harvesting:
Harvest at the end of the day. Do not water until after har- vesting. Don't have air from the fan blowing directly upon plants - better to use the exhaust fan rather than the intake fan for cooling.
Flushing the plants: withdraw fertilizer from water reservoir two weeks before harvesting.
When and how to use fertilizer
Since hydroponic plants are not buffered from the fertilizer in a medium, they instantly recognize any subtle changes in fertilizer mixes. That's why you must be alert and don't "overdose" a plant at any stage of its growth.
Weak or "thin" fertilizers are used for: cuttings, hot garden areas, low light areas, stress from bugs and disease, crowded growing areas and plants going from one stage of growth to another.
"Regular" Fertilizer is the strength you would normally use on plants in good health and under good growing conditions.
Extra heavy or "strong" fertilizers come in handy when plants are making their regular bursts of growth and for plants who have the best of growing conditions.
The last two cases are somewhat similar. What differentiates the two is the condition of the plants. They will be ready for strong fertilizer if the following are present. Large amounts of Carbon Dioxide are available. Exhaust and Intake fans work very well. A lot of air moves through the plant area.
In all cases, increase or decrease fertilizer amounts on a gradual basis. Keep your eye out for leaf burn, etc., from inadequate or too little fertilizer.
This rule applies especially for nitrogen. If you're using a low nitrogen fertilizer to avoid stretching plants at certain growth periods, be careful when you go back to the regular dosage.
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4. Rearing Butterflies (Part Two):
Basically the rearing of butterflies goes like the following. You start out by buying the artificial food from a supplier (listed at end of this article). This food is mixed with a little water and placed along with a few caterpillars inside a plastic cup with a firmly attached lid having small pin holes for air.
After a few days, say 8 or 9, the caterpillars will change into pupae. You take them out of the feeding cup and hang them inside a butterfly cage which you can make yourself. This cage is 10-12 inches in diameter and usually 2 to 3 feet high. The butterflies will soon emerge from their chyrsalises and you can either sell them or use them for breeding.
The same cage can be used for that purpose too, although I prefer different cages for different uses. The cage's sides are made of a soft but porous material which also lets in sufficient light. If you're using a cage for breeding, then place some branches of that particular butterfly's host plant inside the cage. The butterflies will then mate and lay eggs on the plant which is there to feed the larvae when they emerge from their eggs.
At which time, the process starts all over again. Clean and simple. And very easy to do.
Diets vary from species to species. Artificial diets, when used, can alleviate a lot of expenses involved in raising crops suitable to your insects' tastes. Sometimes the crop is free and readily available, such as milkweed along highways and in fields nearby. Monarch butterflies are especially attracted to milkweed. In many cases, you can grow your own in a garden nearby or inside a greenhouse.
It all depends upon the climate in your area. If you live in a reasonably warm climate, you can probably raise most of your stock's food requirements in a space nearby. But you must know in advance it takes a large amount of weed stock to give you the big quantities of butterflies you may need to satisfy your customers' needs.
Host specific means that an insect will only lay its eggs on a specific type of plant - one which its caterpillars will feed upon. Butterflies need both nectar and host plants. The nectar plants are for survival; the host plants are specific and for propagation. For example, the host plant for the larvae of the monarch butterfly is milkweed (sometimes called "butterfly weed"). But the adult feeds on the nectar of entirely different plants.
Most states should have available at the county extension office a list of butterfly nectar and host plants available in that partic- ular state. Most important of all, before you even get started, get some educational background by attending forums, seminars and even buying startup kits and other materials such as nectar and seed for plants specific to butterflies. Some of these outfits can be found listed in the following web sites:
To find out how to build inexpensive butterfly homes:
http://mgfx.com/butterfly
To get garden seed which would comprise a butterfly mix:
http://letsgetgrowing.com/detail/butterflies/bflgar.html
To find monarch butterflies:
http://www.adver-net.com/FMonHome.html
The following companies sell startup kits (which is a good idea to see if this is for you):
Butterfly Express
9755 Q Street, Ste 226
Omaha, NE 68127-3272
402-891-1522
Hole-In-Hand Butterfly Farm
147 W Carlton Ave
Hazleton, PA18201
717-459-1327
Insect Lore
P O Box 1535
Shafter, CA 93263
1-800-LIVE-BUG
And, of course, keep in mind that monarchs are just one of the many varieties you can rear. That's why it's important to get in touch with one or more of the web sites above to get the neces- sary startup information.
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bsaffell@mayhillpress.com...Last Update: 52008 copyright 1996 - 2008 by Hilmur Saffell
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"How to Start on a Shoestring and Make a Profit with Hydroponics"
"Big Dollars Growing Gourmet Salad Greens"
"Beneficial Insects - How to Mass Rear and Make a Profit"
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