http://statebystategardening.com/carolinas/blog_01_summary/ en stormingon@bellsouth.net Copyright 2012 2012-04-28T11:39:36+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/aquaponics_-_the_missing_piece/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/aquaponics_-_the_missing_piece/ My miniponics system continues to amaze me.  Tomato cuttings love the floating raft system…and my fish are so happy they are reproducing!  All of this inspires me to get going on the big system (okay…and all my seedlings are still in the greenhouse)…so yesterday afternoon, we went shopping at one of the big box home improvement stores…then we went to one of the big box farm supply stores…and STILL we are missing an important part…it’s the fitting that goes through the tank and grow bed walls and connects the piping.  We found a small one, but nothing in a size we could use…1” and 2”…so I went home and got on the internet…at the stores, the only name I could find for the part was “water tight straight connector”…NOT very helpful…but here you go…I found it on the internet…it’s a bulkhead fitting…most specifically it’s a threaded pvc bulkhead fitting…will be placing an order today. In the meantime, we are building a table for the grow bed, which must be higher than the sump tank.  We have a pump and lots of plumbing elbows, connectors and reducers…should be fun…stay tuned for the putting it all together post coming soon. In the regular container garden, it’s been a rough season, one moment its hot as blazes, the next moment we are having frost  far later than our average last frost date.   The corn in my three sisters garden hasn’t minded the cold but my beans will have to be replanted.  My rhubarb is flourishing in the ground, my asparagus overstepped its bounds onto the driveway and needs a trim.  Volunteer (those mystery tomatoes) tomatoes are STILL popping up everywhere.  I’ll keep the healthiest looking ones and clip the rest, and it’s time to redo the front beds.   The front beds have been filled with lantana for several years.  It takes 6 flats of flowers to fill the beds, so the lantana has been perfect, except it comes out so late the beds look sadly neglected until they do.  Pansies are deer fodder here, so I am at a loss as to planting schemes.  I thought of keeping the lantana and planting lots of spring bulbs underneath them, so that the lantana covers the dying foliage and the beds aren’t empty in spring and winter…but my husband says no…something green…something perennial…in builder’s sand…with root nematodes…one side in sun, one side in shade BUT because they are mostly symmetrical, they should match…hmmmm…little wonder I love my containers so much…but next week, we will tackle this problem.  This weekend is aquaponics, my favorite local fair: Sparkleberry Fair, and a fantastic horseback ride for charity, The Boykin Spring fling…how are you spending your weekend? You can find more information about Sparkleberry Fair here: http://sparkleberrycountryfair.org/ .   Aquaponics 2012-04-28T10:39:36+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/the_dark_side_of_refurbishing_your_container_soil/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/the_dark_side_of_refurbishing_your_container_soil/ Well, I know we’ve had all these late frosts and tomatoes should NOT be in the ground yet; however, Mother Nature knows best and she has planted tomatoes and other “foreign” seed into every container I own.  Welcome to the dark side of being green by reusing your container soil: unexpected seed germination. Sweet Baby Girl is one of my favorite tomatoes.  She’s as close to a grape tomato as you can get, both sweet and prolific…perhaps too prolific, as she has reseeded my entire container collection and the seedlings are popping up now, in the midst of 38 degree mornings and 60 degree days with no ill effect. I also have something resembling sunflower seedlings competing with my salad garden.  I surely didn’t plant any of these plants THIS season.  This is the problem of refurbishing container soil instead of replacing it: mystery plants.  I happen to like mystery plants, but not when they steal nutrients from my intended plantings.  So, you have two options for dealing with these intrepid interlopers. Just pull them out by the roots.  If they are too close to your other seedlings, then cut the tops off with a pair of scissors. Or you could: Transplant them to a more desirable location.  Use a trowel and dig a good two inches around the seedling.  Using your hand, carefully pull the seedling from the soil.  You may want to dip the roots in water (this lessens the stress of transplanting) and then gently plant in its new home. So how do we prevent this issue while still being green and conserving our container soil as much as possible?  In a dirt garden, we would mulch the soil, but even there we don’t mulch until the soil warms.  In a dirt garden, you can also turn the soil over three times, at intervals of 10-15 days prior to planting, but we already know that destroys soil ecosystems.  In both dirt and container gardens, you  can solarize your soil by covering it with black plastic mulch for a week or two.  Then turn all the, shall we say, unplanned plantings under.  This also disturbs the soil ecosystem though perhaps not as much as multiple tillings. In our containers, we can add new soil to just the top of our containers, making sure to add at least three inches of new soil, earthworm castings or well-aged compost.  We can also embrace the adventure of mystery seedlings, trim or move them as necessary and see what happens.    Take advantage of this inevitable cavalcade of seedlings with your herbal pots.  I have not planted cilantro, parsley or basil for several years now.  I let it flower as it will, and  voila, perpetual  pungency for my pantry!    Container Gardening How-To 2012-04-15T20:43:46+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/aquaponics_big_small....the_next_step/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/aquaponics_big_small....the_next_step/ Well, we managed to cut the top out of the shipping-tote-turned-fish-tank and bought the third stock tank to act as a sump, worked out locations for everything, moved my old garden out of the way (don’t worry, if the veggies do well in aquaponics, we will have flowers and root veggies in the pots!) and bought all the lumber needed this weekend. To cut the tote, we did the following: 1) Removed the top metal bars with a screwdriver 2) Used a framing square and a permanent marker to draw a cutting line all the way around the top of the tank 3) Cut the tank using a jig saw 4) filed the rough edges of the tank 5) rinsed the tank We also checked for leaks AFTER we cut. I would recommend doing this first.  We had no leaks but assuming does no one any good. My miniponics system is up and running WITH fish now. Spent a hilarious hour laughing with mom as we dipped net after net of water weeds before FINALLY capturing 7 tiny minnows. They’ve been in the tank for 5 days now and seem to be adjusting well. They still get skittish when I come to the tank but are quickly figuring out that food mysteriously appears with me. Have no idea what kind of fish they are and will probably have to re-release them back to their pond at some point in the future because they will quickly outgrow the 3 gallon tank. In the meantime, I pulled lettuce from half of the planting cups on top of the tiny aquarium, placed a camellia cutting, a tomato cutting and started corn and sunflower seeds there instead. Harvested the last of my winter carrots and my 2-year old asparagus this past week. Made delicious honey glazed carrots. Cherry trees continue to grow and my blueberries are starting to ripen if the deer don’t eat them first! Next weekend is good Friday. I’ll hopefully be building shelves for the big aquaponic system grow-beds and I will be cleaning harnesses for a family picnic complete with carriage rides. Happy Planting everyone!   Aquaponics 2012-04-01T18:26:46+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/refurbishing_old_potting_soil/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/refurbishing_old_potting_soil/ So all this nice warm weather and rain gets us all in the mood to garden, but what about all that old, compacted soil in our containers?  Your containers will not be productive if you don’t refresh the soil.  Let’s talk about 3 different ways to do this: 1. Throw out the old (on the compost pile or on garden beds maybe), bring in the new.  Nice idea, but expensive and doesn’t work for balcony and other small gardens with nowhere to dump the old soil.  I have used my old soil in my small landscaped islands.  It still has the moisture crystals in it and of course, my islands are “builder sand” so any little bit of organic matter helps.   2. Dump the old into a container, mix 50/50 with compost (mushroom and earthworm castings preferred).  This method works great for plants that need repotting and for empty pots.  I use a medium size Rubbermaid container for mixing my soil and for holding extra soil at the end of the season.  The lid keeps the soil from getting too soggy if it rains.   3. Poke holes in the surface with a dibble or hand rake to loosen the soil.  Add container re-booster product from your favorite gardening supply store.  This is a great solution for large plants you don’t want to repot every year (like fruit cocktail trees!). You could also add earthworm castings instead. There is a fourth method yet to be perfected for container gardens and that is the no-till method of growing 5 or more cover crops together while over-wintering.  This is a new-old method of farming may or may not work for our containers, but the biochemistry is undeniably successful on larger gardens and fields.  Don’t forget to start your seeds now for summer vegetables.  You can find out more about that here: http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01_summary/P24/ I’ve already got mine going for the year and have already transplanted tomatoes, eggplants and artichokes into larger pots.  Love these new seed starting containers, the biodomes, as they allow me to ventilate my seedlings while keeping the cat at bay! The mini-ponics system has FINALLY started growing nitrites…which means we are on our way to completing the nitrogen cycle and adding fish…more about that next week.  Thanks so much for dropping by, don’t forget to fertilize and deadhead your bulbs if you haven’t already and start checking your asparagus plants for those delicious little stalks! Container Gardening How-To 2012-03-17T10:17:46+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/aquaponics_report_1_-_desktop_system/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/aquaponics_report_1_-_desktop_system/ Hope this day finds you well.  I have been running my desktop aquaponics system for 2 weeks now and I wanted to share with you how to set up an small aquaponic system. For my mini-ponics system I used: 3 gallon aquarium Standard aquarium power filter (doesn’t need an air pump) Styrofoam (the kind they use for takeout trays) Net pots from a hydroponic or pond supply house Old panty hose Vermiculite Seamagic seaweed emulsion Aquarium test kit Tools used: razor knife, pencil, circle template   I trimmed the foam to fit the top of my aquarium, then I cut out the area for the filter to sit. Check this carefully: I forgot to check this and had to trim two holes I thought I could use once I put the filter in place. Then I measured the pot my circle template and used my pencil to trace the correct size circle onto my foam lid.  You want the circle to be slightly smaller than the top of your pots.  Cut out the foam with your razor knife.  The holes in my net pots were too large for my vermiculite, so I used panty hose.  Tie a knot in the end and pull the knot through the bottom of the pot.  This creates a wick while holding all the vermiculite in place. Next, place the filter, then place the foam lid on top.  Fill the pots and place those in the holes in the lid, fill the aquarium with water, plug in the filter (don’t forget to add water inside the filter to help start the siphon) and place your seedlings in the pots…voila…now we feed and wait for the bacteria: Carefully add a small amount of pure ammonia and a nice dose of seaweed emulsion (for the plants). The picture above shows my system after two weeks. Next time we talk about aquaponics, I’ll walk you through the nitrogen cycle, the next step in setting up an aquaponic system.  For the next 6-8 weeks, we test the ammonia levels with our test kit, daily.  We also test for nitrites.  Once nitreates start to appear in our tests, we will also test for nitrates.  Add the seaweed emulsion every other day using half a capful or so to keep the plants going until the nitrogen cycle is complete.  If your ammonia levels fall, you will want to carefully add a bit more of that too until the nitrites appear.  Things to do in your garden this week:  Prune roses, fertlize winter blooming bulbs, start harvesting asparagus and start your summer seedlings indoors and check out the latest Carolina Gardener magazine for my article on growing Salad in the South! Also, I plan to teach a gardening class at My Favorite Things shop in Irmo this spring.  I'm giving away a free pack of zinnia seeds (one of my favorites) for the best idea for that class.   Post a comment here or on my facebook page: Sharon Self Johnson this week. Aquaponics 2012-02-19T13:24:46+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/stick_planting_-_another_family_project/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/stick_planting_-_another_family_project/ Don’t you wish you could just stick a seed in the ground, any seed, and it would sprout and grow?  I knew a woman like that…my grandmother.  She grew roses and tomatoes in whiskey barrels and grew fruit trees from the grocery store produce seeds by sticking the seeds in houseplant pots WITH the houseplants.  I had a client once who called this method of dream planting “stick planting”.  She would buy things and just stick them in the ground and hoped they grew. My grandmother stuck seeds in her pots and knew they would grow and grow they did.   Well I participated in a little stick planting of my own this past summer at the height of cherry season, you know…when they were on sale in the supermarkets.  I tucked a few seeds into my office plant and voila…here in January I noticed some funny looking weeds growing in my container…surely they are cherry trees in the making.    Of course, they need to be repotted.  So this beautiful weather prompted a repotting session for the cherry trees.  I carefully removed them from the pots with my handy dandy bonsai tools (a great buy from ebay!) Fascinating to see the seedlings still sporting their cotyledon, which feeds the seedlings until they get their first root (the radical) and stem (the hypocotyl) going.     Once they cherry trees were at home in their new pot (complete with a good dose of worm castings), I pruned the other plants and placed them back in their pots, who knows what fun babies they might nurse this next growing season! Easy Family Projects 2012-02-11T13:51:46+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/3_types_of_aquaponic_systems/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/3_types_of_aquaponic_systems/ This week I promised you we would talk about aquaponics.  So today, let's discuss types of aquaponic systems: The first type of system, the Nutrient Film system, is adopted from the hydroponics community.  In large commercial systems, water and nutrients are constantly pumped through PVC tubes.  Plants rest in holes drilled along the top of the PVC tubes.  This system requires a separate filtration tank to remove fish solids from the water before the water reaches the growing plant roots.   If the solids are not removed,  they begin to build up on plant roots, blocking nutrient absorption.  Separation and treatment of these solids requires space, time and energy. Another system called the deep water raft system is also very similar to standard hydroponics grow systems.  In this system, however, plants are set in netted pots (like the ones you buy for your garden ponds) on a foam raft which floats over a water tank.  This system can be built at home over an existing aquarium, provided the fish are more carnivorous than herbivorous.  Goldfish love plants, so I’m thinking tiger barbs, catfish, cyclids and maybe some of the tetras and gouramis would be nice for this project.  Maybe you could just add your extra minnows from your latest crappie fishing jaunt.  You should also add an extra air pump and air stone to provide the plants with more oxygen.  This is the system I will attempt to build in my 3 gallon aquarium.  I plan to use it to start seedlings for my larger aquaponic system.  My larger system will be a basic flood and drain system, specifically the Chop II system by Murray Hallam of Practical Aquaponics in Australia.  This is the third type of aquaponic system.  If you’ve grow sprouts, you’ve done a flood and drain system in its simplest form.  In this system, Unlike the previous two systems, plant beds are filled with growing media instead of water only.  The growing media acts as a biological filter, which is basically a place for bacteria to grow.  This bacteria is going to break down the fish waste (ammonia) into nitrites. Then another, slower growing bacteria converts the nitrites down into nitrates…and guess what? Nitrate is a form of nitrogen plants can use.  Because this process takes place in the grow beds, no extra filtration is needed.  ¾” gravel or hollow clay beads called hydroton fill the grow beds.  Other materials can be used but they may alter the chemistry of the water and cause pH problems later on. Flood and drain systems can grow a wider variety of plants because the roots are exposed to more oxygen.  Water flows into the grow beds, reaches a set level, then flows back out again.  There are many different version of how to get the water from tank to tank and back again and many more will be developed as this potentially world altering food technology evolves. Here’s where my systems sit: This week I ordered two more 50 gallon stock tanks and bought another 300 liters of hydroton. I also ordered all my garden seeds for the season and started bok choy, onions, spinach and lettuce seed in my biodome.  Spinach and bok choy are already sprouting inside, daffodils and forsythia are starting to bloom outside.  What’s happening in your gardening world?    Aquaponics 2012-01-23T10:00:46+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/starting_winter_seeds/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/starting_winter_seeds/ Starting your own seedlings is fun and easy.  This year I will have two gardens, my container garden and aquaponics system here and a co-op garden with a friend who lives down the road, so I’ll need more plants than usual.  I’d also like to sell a few seedlings here at the local farmers market, so I’ll be growing quite a few different seedlings this year…things you won’t find at the local big box stores.  I spent a good deal of the morning shopping for these items at a new seed store:  www.botanicalinterests.com. They offer a very nice selection of heirloom plants in small quantities, ideal for the container gardener! For more great seed catalogs, check out the February Edition of Carolina Gardener magazine.  Back to planting, I can’t plant the seeds I mail ordered today.  Even if I had them I wouldn’t be planting them today.  Typically here in the Midlands we don’t want to put summer transplants out until April 1stin our container gardens and about two weeks after that for our in-the-ground gardens, so I’ll be planting more spinach, lettuce, onions and maybe a few snow peas to replace the ones knocked down by the cold winds we’ve been having.  I must say the winds have done horrible things to my normally most sheltered spot: The peas are not as bad they look though…most of the plant is just hiding behind the container where the wind blew it down…I do need to pollinate the pretty blossoms.  Not many pollinators out there in this cold wind. But back to the seedling starts: First, sterilize the seed starting trays with a solution of bleach or vinegar and water.  I just put a splash of bleach or a cup of vinegar in my mud sink, fill with water to cover the trays and let things sit a bit.  VERY excited about my find at the Master Gardeners sale last year…I have a slightly used bio dome seed starter this year.  It has a taller lid than most seed starting kits and a vent you can use to regulate humidity levels.   I bought sterile planting media instead of the bio sponge refills, which is another reason to start early to try things out. What I didn’t notice until I started cleaning the bio dome is that the foam insert has holes all the way through the foam, so the soil goes in and comes right back out…oops!  If you don’t follow directions exactly, you can’t expect exact results, right?  The planting media I bought doesn’t hold together like the bio sponges, so instead of putting my planting media in a bucket and covering it with just enough water to make it evenly moist, I will be putting the planting media into the foam insert and watering it well in there. All of this can be done while the seed starting trays are being sterilized. Once your trays are filled with planting media, add your seeds (don’t forget to label them as you go…you will NOT remember what they are, at least I never do and a surprising number of seedlings look quite alike!).  You can put the spinach, onion and lettuce seeds on top of the unplanted holes and pat them down into the soil.  Sprinkle a little dirt over the onion and spinach seeds but leave the lettuce seeds uncovered.  Now, just a word about onions: here in South Carolina, you should not plant onion seeds at any time other than fall; so I’m just experimenting a bit.  I want bunching onions, so I’m planting bunching onions, which technically should grow anytime.  We’ll see, won’t we?  Another word on onions: they can be short-day, long-day or day neutral.  Long-day varieties will not grow here in the south.  According to Clemson, my onions are going to bolt as soon as the weather turns warm, but I’ll probably be chopping them up for omelets way before then!  Happy Planting!    Seed starting 2012-01-15T22:25:46+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/beets_lost_and_new_year_lists/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/beets_lost_and_new_year_lists/ So, I was going to cook beets this week…I harvested them and guess what?  I was ROBBED, that’s right, ROBBED…see what happens when you DON’T give a dog a bone, as the song says you should?  But she’s so cute, who can be angry for long?  Actually, this is a game we’ve played for years.  I don’t like feeding my dog rawhides or other questionable chew toys, so we started playing in the garden when she was a pup.  I would pull up carrots and other root vegetables for her to eat (in the yard…really fresh carrots and beets stain anything they touch!), while I worked, but her favorite plant is the asparagus plant, as you can see.   She also likes to attack empty flower pots, so she enjoys spring planting very much and waits at my side to steal any pot as soon as I empty it.  Of course, the game is no fun if I don’t go chase her, at least not as MUCH fun!  Here’s a link to the beet game we played this past weekend:      So having failed to rescue my beets, let’s talk about the New Year and what’s coming up:  my new goal is to publish here weekly.  Every other week I will focus on garden to-dos and fun family ideas.  On the alternate weeks, aquaponics will be the focus.  Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture and hydroponics.  You see, this goes back the sustainability we discussed last post.  Hydroponics require expensive chemicals and fairly frequent water changes.  Aquaculture produces fish waste which requires treatment and disposal.  Aquaponics combines the two, using the excess fish waste to feed the plants which in turn filter the fish water, cleaning it.  And anyone can do this at home, at least that’s what I’m out to prove this year.  I will have two systems going.  The first will be a fairly large system requiring some outdoor space, using a 250 gallon IBC tote and several 50 gallon stock tanks.  This system will use the ebb and flow method.  My second system will be a 3 gallon aquarium with a floating raft on top.  This weekend, I bought hydroton pebbles and one stock tank for my large system and started making a list of other items I will need. Hydroton is expanded clay beads used in hydroponics as growing media.  You can use ¾” gravel in your aquaponics system, but hydroton weighs about 1/3 as much as gravel. Here’s where my garden is right now:  my mini green house has been put together and sits outside full of tropical and tender perennials like my lemon tree, stevia plant, lemon grass, basil and a volunteer tomato I found growing in my mustard plants.  One of my blueberries, being very confused by recent weather, blossoms as we speak, as do my snow peas, so I’ll be pollinating this week. Spinach is sprouting, and I need to plant more lettuce, which I will do this week, for next week’s blog, showing you how to start seeds inside.  Until then, have a great week! If you’d like, you can find me on Facebook: Sharon Self Johnson, linkedin (sccontainergarden@gmail.com), youtube or Google+ (if I ever figure it out!). Remember, bloom where you’re planted!  Getting to know SC Container Garden 2012-01-08T11:34:46+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/sustainable_gardening/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/carolinas/blog_01/sustainable_gardening/   Sustainable…the word of the day, what does it mean to container gardeners and urban dwellers?  How do we live sustainably?  Even Long Horns Restaurants get into the act now with their micro-wavable, freezer safe reusable take-out containers.  Can we as gardeners incorporate sustainability into our growing practices as well?   I recently visited an apple orchard in York county doing just that…they made wine and cider from their apples trees and fed the remnants to their potbelly pigs.   At the end of the season, the pigs roam the orchards, cleaning up debris.  Baby pigs earned extra money for the farm by roaming free, begging for bottles from anyone who passed by (bottles are $5 and worth every penny!!! You can find out more about them here: www.windyhillorchard.com ). I am personally looking forward to the apple blossom festival next spring! So, aren't all home gardens sustainable?  Why are we even asking this question?  Let’s tour my garden nook and see how I compare to the Windy Hill example…well, obviously, the only animals I can use in my garden is my worms and they have grown into a large colony, so large in fact that my stand has started giving way….so I’ll have to fix that at some point, meaning I'll build my own and show you how too in an upcoming issue of Carolina Gadener Magazine.  And that white stuff coming to the surface of some containers…what’s that?  Excess salts?  From my not-quite-overcome habit of using of synthetic but water soluble fertilizers (ie Miracle Grow).   Peas are blooming but my greens lag, collards and mustard just reach a point and quit on me.  My bok choi bloomed well…when it was two inches high…must find another variety and maybe plant a little later in the season when the temps don’t reach the 80’s every few days! Geraniums, lavender, forsythia all bloom.  Holly bushes burst with berries.  Shredded paper and left over vegetable scraps make their way into the worm bin where it quickly becomes worm food, the worm castings, then back into the pots it goes.  So there’s some sustainability here…but it could be better.    Looking at the pantry shelves inside, I didn’t put away as much as I would have liked to because I didn’t make it to the local farmers market for bulk purchases as much as I should have.  I have been purchasing pork from a friend who raises and butchers his own hogs, so that’s something too, but it could be better. I recently visited a dairy goat farm (Jeremiah Farm & Goat Dairy (http://www.jeremiahfarm.com/Jeremiah_Farms/Welcome.html ) ))  )where I tasted fresh goat milk and thought, wow, that’s just delicious, if only…if only I had a little land...if only I had a farm...well, here’s a hint, sustainability is about living where you are, in the here and now of your own particular situation and making things better.   Here’s a few ways we can make things better:   Find a local pick-your-own or CSA (community supported agriculture) to support next season. Find a friend with a garden plot and co-op. Swap other services for garden products. Buy in-season items in bulk at the local farmers markets and learn to preserve the harvest. Find someone nearby with an excess of eggs, milk or meat producers and buy fresh and local. Find spots in your landscaping for fruit and nut trees, herbs and perennial vegetables like asparagus. Share your garden with a child.  Passing on a love of the soil to the next generation, what is more sustainable than that? So what's up with me for next year? Shortly I'll be harvesting some beets and trying out some new recipes from  a new all vegetable recipe book, "The New Southern Garden Cookbook".  I'll also be building a worm bin and keeping Praying Mantis as pets (hmm...sound more like the bug lady than the SC Container Gardener, don't I?).  And something more sustainable in my backyard...aquaponics...you got it....I've already bought the videos, I've got the fish tank...so I'll be building that next year and you can follow along...should be an interesting journey.  I'm guessing my neighbors won't see me walking a dairy goat through the neighborhood just yet, but you never know what might happen here in our South Carolina Container Gardens!!!        Getting to know SC Container Garden 2011-12-30T20:21:46+00:00