Sprout Transfer

We puts the seedlings in the gravel and sprays it with the water

Yesterday (16 May 2011), I picked up the hose for my water pump. Today, as I was getting things set up, I realised I left the spigot from the pump at the other house. D'oh!

Regardless, I drilled holes in the bottom of the grow bed, 1 in each corner and 1 in the middle. I poured the remaining gravel into the bed, and then decided which plants were getting transferred.

The strawberry seedlings are still really teeny-tiny, so they're staying in their pot. I took the tomato pot and emptied the contents into my palm. The peat dirt stuff was damp and clingy, so I gently tore the dirt apart, carefully extracting the seedlings. Sprouts. Whatever. I hadn't realised the roots had grown twice as much as what was showing above the surface! I was extra careful when I saw how much root structure was going on in that little pot.

I rinsed the dirt from the roots in a small cup of water, then gently placed each plant into the gravel bed. Once I had a half-dozen seedlings in the gravel, I took the remaining tomato plants to the back yard and used a small garden fork to break up some dirt by the garage. I gently planted the remaining seedlings in the freshly-turned earth. If they grow, great. If they don't, I really don't care.

I then repeated the process with the sweet pepper plants. They weren't as big as the tomatoes, and I didn't have has many leftover seedlings for the back yard. Only 3. I honestly don't care if they take root. I'll be thrilled if any of them thrive, but my concentration is more on the aquaponics rig.

I realised that I couldn't leave the fish and the plants on my kitchen counter. I had to move them to where the plants and fish will get plenty of light during the day. They are now on the enclosed patio, much to the delight of one of our cats. Until we live here full time, she stays on the patio, and she is overjoyed that she now has the Goldfish Channel as well as the Orange Tree Channel.

So, once the rig was moved onto the patio, it was time to water the plants. I used a hose that I'd purchased last week to siphon water from the fish tank into a large mixing bowl. After I got what was probably a quart (maybe less), I poured that water into the grow bed. Much to my delight, the bed drained slowly, so the plants got plenty of fish water. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm happy. And the fish aren't dead. I call this win-win.