Other interests
As a lifelong maker of things, I have many interests outside of ceramics. I am currently building a 16' flats skiff, designed by Chris Morejohn - www.hogfishdesigns.blogspot.com called the Conchfish 16. It is a carbon core foam and epoxy/ fiberglass build. I completed this build in 2021.
I also enjoy fishing, cooking, printmaking, and gardening.
For the past several years I have been playing with a hydroponic garden in our back yard. At the right is the image for setting it up, below are the supplies and other directions.. Email me if you have more questions.
Basics of drain to waste hydroponics with links
Parts
Pots- https://america.ezgro.garden/product/ezgro-quad-pot/
I have 15 pots, 5 per stack. I bought the white ones, these are the best ones I have found, much nicer than the Styrofoam (vertigro) and other plastic ones (Mr Stakey). $12 each
1 piece of ¾” EMT electrical conduit for each tower
2 feet of 1.5” PVC for each tower- to raise them off the ground
1 ground pot (5 gallon-ish pot to grow either root veggies, beans, cucumbers, etc)
1- 1” PVC T fitting per tower
assorted zip ties
Timer- Intermatic Hb880R 15 amp 7 day timer
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B0XIIGE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
$20
Ecoplus 728310 eco 396 submersible pump
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018X2XT4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
$22
Nutrient
I use a 50:50 mix of calcium nitrate and 5-11-26. Dilute 1 pound of calcium nitrate to 1 gallon of water. In another container dilute 1 pound of 5-11-26 in 1 gallon of water.
I use two cups of each solution per 32 gallons of water until the plants get pretty big. Then I back off the concentration to one cup of each. Dispense each material into separate cups. As you are filling up your reservoir pour in calcium nitrate solution, then pour in 5-11-26 solution. If you mix them in a small container they gel up.
Once plants get growing and are big (this is subjective) I scale back the nutrient to one cup each per tank of water.
Calcium nitrate
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HETEHCM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
$29
5-11-26 southern ag nutrient
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HUVT64S?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00
$80
Rubbermaid 32 gallon trash can (dark grey with black lid) Do not get a light colored container
$30
DIG ½” tubing (20 feet)
DIG end clamp
¼” tubing (one foot per tower)
barbs for DIG tubing- 1 per tower
1 small cheap plastic 1 gallon pot per tower
three handfuls of rocks per tower (to disperse the nutrient when dripping from top.
Coconut fiber- I like the large bags, I think they are three cubic feet, maybe two cubic feet. They are about $23 a bag from the hydroponics shop (I always pay cash at the shop).
I mix the coconut fiber with pearlite- ratio is 75% coco to 25% pearlite. The pearlite helps the coco drain, 100% coco doesn’t drain and you need the nutrient to drain from one pot to the next. I use one called “black gold”
http://www.kalyx.com/shopexd.asp?id=1223797&gclid=CLrsl9_Qrc8CFRZbhgodEM4BTQ
Two bags of coconut fiber /pearlite will fill about 10 of the ez grow pots and two ground pots (about half full for the ground pots)
