Rooting update

[WillsC]

Finally finished starting cuttings, you can tell by the difference in progression that it took AWHILE Added 3 more 500 gallon tanks to the front greenhouse also, to be used for the breeder tilapia and just more heat storage.

[KyFigs]

Now THAT is some operation. Impressive!

[JohnnyK]

Looks great Wills. I thought I had my hands full...

[Backyard_Fig]

That is impressive!

[COGardener]

Very, very nice Wills!!!

I can't wait to catch up!

[figwood1]

Awesome!! Looks great, I would be crazy watching all those babies!!!

[eboone]

Wills, are most of those cuttings from your own inventory, or cuttings from other growers?

[WillsC]

Ed,

Most are mine. I did not add a lot of varieties this winter, maybe 25 new varieties or so?

[zone5figger]

Looking great! How many are rooting and what will become of them?

[lauralou]

Wow. Looks fantastic!

[WillsC]

Looking great! How many are rooting and what will become of them?

Well so far they are rooting great, over 90% but it is way too early to celebrate. They will be sold in the spring and summer.

[chuckell]

finally finished starting cuttings, you can tell by the difference in progression that it took awhile added 3 more 500 gallon tanks to the front greenhouse also, to be used for the breeder tilapia and just more heat storage.

looks really nice

[Zuny]

Great job, it looks awesome.

[F. Bennett]

Lots going on in there, Wills! I hope you have a great season.

[lilfiggy]

Wills does a great job what a set up ahhhh hmm green looks good on me so envious

[Taverna78]

Very impressive Master Green Thumb

[WillsC]

It is a bit of a challenge to build the tanks in the GH full of plants but due mostly to luck no figs were harmed in the process, but it was a close call a couple times. Somebody asked me via PM why the black liner in the two tanks and the plastic in the third. Well.......the pond liners are $125 each and the plastic is free, ends of the rolls of greenhouse plastic courtesy of Hershell. The ends of the rolls are useless to them and they would be dumpster bound so he saves them for me. For the breeder tank since it will hold 7 pampered adult tilapia I just figured a real liner would be a good idea as the fish get large and are active. For the tanks I just grow azolla (water plant the tilapia eat) in and that help to keep the GH warm the GH plastic is perfect. The tank in the pic closest to the camera that looks messy I just have not trimmed it yet. That tank is actually divided in half and is 2 250 gallon tanks and holds 2 different species of Daphnia (small water bug) that the tilapia fry will eat. So far this winter just solar heating has kept the water warm, at the lowest it hit 61.3. The tilapia will die at about 50 degrees. For next winter I will build a small wood fired boiler (of sorts as there is no boiling) to run the water through for added insurance and the fish are happier above 70 degrees.

While I am updating and yes this is very off topic lol. I devised a way to automate the rotating drum filter, definitely hill billy engineering to be sure. The water enters the drum filter, a 55 gallon barrel on its side that the plastic is removed and fine nylon net covers, something Hershell and I built. The drum rests horizontally across a 300 gallon tote. Water coming from tilapia tank drains enters it and the only way out of that drum and to the sump and back to tanks is through that screen. As the screen plugs up with fish crap the water level in that tank drops as the pump is pumping more water than is returning to it. Eventually the pump cavitates due to lack of water. There is a motor and belt on the drum that turns it and a spray bar above the drum and it sprays water down through the screen into a trough that exits the drum removing the waste from the system (great fertilizer). Once the sprayer kicks on the screen is clean and water flows and water level rises. Up to this point I have simply been running it on a timer that would kick on once an hour to turn the drum and turn the spray bar on but that is sometimes not often enough and if the drum gets too full of water due to not being able to exit it gets too heavy for the motor to spin and that is it till I can intervene. So I ran a 4" line out of the bottom of the drum tote to inside my shop as they share a wall. In the 4" pipe I added a water bottle first but caused issues then found a coconut oil jar that was perfect. To the top added a fiberglass rod and above that a well pump switch that I removed the springs from to lighten the trip load and the rod is connected to its swithplate. As the water level in the tote falls due to the screen plugging up the water in the pipe falls also and the jar also drops. As it falls it kicks the switch on and the drum starts to turn and the sprayer kicks on. As the water cleans the screen the water level rises and when it rises enough it kicks the switch back off. In the commercial rotating drum systems they use optical sensors to accomplish this but this was cheap and easy and fool proof as far as I can tell.

In this pic you will see the rod at the bottom is connected to a water bottle but did not have enough buoyancy or weight and had issues with it, the jar solved both problems. This was before I wired the switch of course.

[wellingtonbill]

Wow Wills, you have one magnificent set up. I hope all the cuttings turn into dollars and great plants for others this coming Spring and Summer.

[Fygmalion]

Nice engineering, Wills! Between you and Hershell, it seems you guys could engineer just about anything....

[Coop]

Looking good Wills. Best of luck with your newest crop and greenhouse

[blindesign]

Impressive setup! I was wondering what you use for your cuttings rooting medium?

[WillsC]

Impressive setup! I was wondering what you use for your cuttings rooting medium?

Its just a mix I make. Combination of compost, jungle growth, pine fines, coir and chunky perlite.

[eboone]

Thanks for the defense Wills!

Another example to show my wife when she says I am getting obsessed with figs, that makes me look relatively normal

[ross]

Wills,

What are those two big trees in the background?!

[Backyard_Fig]

Wills,

I have noticed that several Growers have tilapia in their Greenhouse is there a secondary purpose for the tilapia?