This is my first harvest of globe basil…with a scent as strong as reg basil, plus a slightly spicy taste, this herb is heaven…and growing like a demon! This clump is bigger than the initial planting and with a clump the same size left in the tower…I think I’ll be seeing plentiful harvests of this through the year.
One of my three (one cutting got broken) tomato plants. Big, sturdy, tall and growing in spades. Same thing happened last year…after the initial sprout it grew slow…then seemed to suck up nutrients quickly and just get big. Take a look at this post from May 7th to see the sprout sizes when everything started. Amazing plant growth from a fish tank. I’m expecting these vines to stay smaller than last years (I think these are determinants) but to have a bountiful harvest…as long as the sun and heat hold out. I am a month behind on planting from last year…so I might not start to see fruit until the end of this month? We’ll see.
This is the temporary hold over tank. Spathiphyllum and a benjamin ficus are hanging out and growing rapidly until the fall. I wanted to obtain a 3rd large tank and use it to grow fish food as well as house the house plant filters until fall/winter….but life got in the way, lol. My boyfriend is moving in late Aug, which means a lot of moving around, and a third tank would suck to move. So right now they are growing in a plastic tote…small pump running with lots of leftover fish poo to use…and a growing population of snails. These big guys will be nice and healthy for planting once the veggies get harvested this fall.
This is the planter box for the bow front tank in my living room. That is a rex begonia. It is only supposed to get leaves 5 inches across.
This is the same front leaf in the first picture…and that is my hand. It is 6 inches from my pinky tip to my thumb tip…that leaf is almost a foot wide…ALL the leaves are a foot wide. I had that plant in soil before and was always amazed at it’s growth and big leaves, but it never grew like this. The whole tank is healthy. Fish are flourishing, aquatic plants are taking over the tank, and bacteria colonies seem to be in full swing. Earth worms are being added to both systems soon, everytime I go to buy some the store is out 
As you know my last post spoke of a possible sight to start a farm and practice phytoremediation. That did not work out. So I started searching for grants & a warehouse space to open a farm/school. Two weeks into searching and finding dead ends I got a random call from Seattle Parks Department.
They heard about my work and were told to call me! I still don’t know who knew me…but thank you! They have started a new program and asked if I could teach an 8 week course on AP for teens. I will be lecturing and also having them set up a working garden from beginning to end. We have a bunch of equipment donated, WA fisheries is donating fish, and I have ordered text books. I’m using Sylvia Bernstein’s book as a text because I consider her not only to be a extremely knowledgeable source, but one of the main reasons AP has such a large community for DIY. This project for the Parks Dept is VERY DIY. I have to teach the kids how to build a system from donated and scavanged parts.
I will have weekly updates starting July 17th on the teaching project. Pictures, the kids progress, and system health. Last year I published a quick guide to setting up your own tank, I plan on having these current updates reflect the class lessons over eight weeks and turn out to be a more detailed guide for home set ups….ready to start yours?
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