Raised Garden Beds How To Build A Bed in 4 Simple Steps

Raised garden beds are always a good option for Gardening. Though it might sound pretty troublesome to prepare garden bed it is not that tough. This article will put some light on Garden bed preparation.

The first thing you need to do to make a raised garden bed is to kill the weeds in the area you have planned your bed. The best way to do this is to first till the area with a tiller or plough it (in case the area is larger).

Next add a thick layer of compost and till again. You can also add layers of newspaper or cardboard to cover the area before tilling the soil.

It will kill most of the weeds in the first place. Weeds which have deep roots or runners can be killed easily by this process.

After covering the area with compost add some water to the soil and till it a bit. This will make the weed seed (which are present in the soil) to germinate. Once they germinate, till it once more.

This total process of watering and tilling you need to follow quite a few times. After making sure that there are no more weed seeds present in the soil, you can use your vegetable or other plants. Try not to use seeds at first and go for transplanting in the first year. After that you can use seeds as per your likings.

Another way to get instant garden bed is to cover the whole area with the topsoil bags which are readily available in any garden store. Try not to use cheap quality product but go for the company which is known for their product quality.

Cut one or two areas of each bag and plant your seedling or seeds there. After covering the whole area with topsoil bags, cover the exposed plastic area of the

bag with thick layer of Mulch. Now you have it, your own garden bed.

This type of permanent raised bed gardening is always helpful and it also makes the surrounding soil much more fertile and healthier. Raised beds warm up faster than normal soil. The best part about garden beds is you can make it any size you want. Keep enough space for walking, beside the garden beds and never walk on the beds.

Keep adding composts at regular intervals. It will keep the beds fertile. First year it is recommended to add 4 to 6 inches of compost. In the subsequent years ½ inch of compost will be enough to provide the required nutrition to the plants.


Have you prepared you garden beds yet? Share your experiences with us.

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Riverbend Environmental Education Center in Gladwyne Pa to build Aquaponics Center

I recently saw in my Google Alert email for aquaponics that there is a huge aquaponics education facility being built in Gladwyne, PA, just outside Philadelphia.  The Riverbend Environmental Education Center is trying to raise $800,000 to build a 4,380 square foot greenhouse and aquaponics facility.  The Riverbend Environmental Education Center conducts programs to educate kids and adults about environmental issues and solutions.  The aquaponic facility will be staffed by local Veterans.  I cant wait to visit and hopefully I can get involved with setting up the facility.  Super cool!

http://www.riverbendeec.org/joingive/aquaponics-campaign.html

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Build an Aquaponics Grow Bed

All the food CCRES produced during the year is given to poor families.

Measure the length and width of the aquarium with the measuring tape.

Cut the plywood with the saw to the dimensions of the aquarium you measured in Step 1.

Cut four beams the same length and width of the plywood you cut in Step 2.

Drill holes into two beams and screw them together at a 90-degree angle. Lay the other two beams across the aquaponics grow bed.

Cut legs for the aquaponics grow bed frame. Place the frame where you will use it and measure and cut the legs to the length you need, keeping in mind the need to make them longer if there is a slope.

Drill holes into the legs. Keep them flush with the edge of the frame and screw them into place securely. Place the frame onto the plywood you cut in Step 2.  

 

Place the grow bed right next to the aquarium or pond. Line the grow bed with pond foil the same length and width of the grow bed. Pour gravel on top of the pond foil in the grow bed. Cut a hole through the center of the grow bed and pond foil with the saw.

Place the water pump in the fish tank or pond and connect the water-in pipe to the pump.
 Pull the water-in pipe through the hole in the grow bed. Install the overflow drain into the grow bed and set it to a few inches above the height of the grow bed to prevent water from overflowing.

Fill the aquarium or pond with water and place plants into the gravel of the grow bed.

 

CCRES AQUAPONICS special thanks to Zeljko Serdar for presentation of “How-To” module.

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Build A Fence Around Your Garden

Fencing is one the best way to save your garden crops. As they say Prevention is always better than Cure. Building a fence can be a great way to start living organic. It is a great alternative for traps, scare devices or repellents.

Depending on the types of animals you want your garden to protect from the fencing size varies. For example a 2 feet high chicken wire might work good for smaller sized animals but it will definitely not going to work against large animals like cow, deer etc.

Fencing Material:

Chicken wire: This is by far the most used form of fencing. It is cheap and provide good enough barrier to keep the pests at bay.

A 3 feet high chicken wire can save your garden from most of the small and medium-sized animals. Buy a chicken wire which is at least 4-5 feet wide. Bend it into a L shape. Position it around the sight in such a way that at least one feet of that wire should remain under ground.

Putting an underground barrier can save your crops from burrowing animals. Sometimes, animals become too persuasive and adding an electrical fence becomes necessary.

Here are some suggestions which you can do to reduce the cost of fencing:

1. Use recycled material which you already have in your hand or look for some give away materials from some junk dealer. It will definitely keep the cost to a minimum.
2. Use PVC pipes in stead of metal tubes.
3. Wire fencing is cheaper but can result in a larger sum in case your area is very large. Some times it is sensible to fence individual plants which are susceptible to pest attack rather than going for the entire area. It can really save your cost.

There are several other ways to built a fence than just using Chicken wires. Here is a look at the various other options which you definitely can try:

Hedge: A living fence or hedge can be a good and cheap option. They grow naturally and would keep other unwanted pests from entering into the garden.

Wood fencing: It definitely adds a charm to the surroundings but may not be a good idea if you are concerned very much about burrowing animals. Best solution for this would be to use it with chicken wire.

Brick or stone fencing:The best part of this form of fencing is that once it has been set up, it requires minimal maintenance. If larger rocks can be easily and cheaply accessed in your area then a dry stone wall is possibly the best option. It is a high security fence so if you are planning to move out in near future, this might not be a good idea to invest in it.

Bamboo fences: If you have a cheap supply of bamboos this can work very easily. Bamboos are strong and also look good aesthetically if used in fencing.

Picket Fencing: It is the most Traditional form of fencing. Look good aesthetically but the cost of maintenance can be very high. You need to paint it regularly to retain its charm and usefulness.

There are some cool tool available in the market to help you build a beautiful fence. You can buy them by from amazon

What do you think about the article? Share your thoughts.

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Would you like to help

 

Join us as we tackle the tough questions raised by the ongoing environmental catastrophe like one in the Gulf of Mexico. Topics will include mitigation of the spill and the impending cleanup efforts; energy alternatives; policy and economics; as well as new technology that can help us build a self-reliantculture.

 This people care about the ocean. 

Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue Read full bio

Sylvia Earle, called “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress and “Hero for the Planet” by Time, is an oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer with a deep commitment to research through personal exploration. Earle’s work has been at the frontier of deep ocean exploration for four decades. Earle has led more than 50 expeditions worldwide involving more than 6,000 hours underwater.

Philippe Cousteau, EarthEcho Read full bio

Philippe Cousteau is the son of Jan and Philippe Cousteau Sr., and the grandson of Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau. As a member of the legendary family, Philippe is continuing the work of his father through EarthEcho International, the non-profit organization he founded with his sister and mother and of which he serves as CEO. Philippe went diving into the Gulf oil spill, witnessing first hand the damage being done.

David Gallo, Woods Hole Institution Read full bio

Dave Gallo works to push the bounds of oceanic discovery. Active in undersea exploration, he was one of the first oceanographers to use a combination of manned submersibles and robots to map the ocean world with unprecedented clarity and detail. Gallo is now working with director James Cameron and other undersea experts on ideas to stop the oil spill.

Susan Shaw, Marine Environmental Research Institute
Read full bio

Dr. Susan Shaw is an internationally recognized marine toxicologist, author, explorer, and founder/director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute. Shaw is applying her expertise to the Gulf catastrophe by launching an independent, region-wide investigation of the toxic impacts of oil and dispersants on marine life and human health.

Andrew Sharpless, Oceana Read full bio

Andrew Sharpless is the CEO of Oceana, the world’s largest international nonprofit dedicated to ocean conservation. A graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and the London School of Economics, Sharpless was one of the founding managers of RealNetworks, the Seattle-based pioneer in the field of online music and video play-back technology.

Wolcott Henry, Munson Foundation and Marine Photobank Read full bio

For over 20 years, Mr. Henry has been president of The Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation, a private foundation that supports marine conservation with an emphasis on fisheries management, marine protected areas, and coral reefs. In addition, Mr. Henry is an accomplished underwater photographer. As a contract photographer for the National Geographic Society, he has collaborated with Sylvia Earle.

Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute Read full bio

Amory Lovins is Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. For four decades he has worked in energy policy and related areas. Lovins worked professionally as an environmentalist in the 1970s and since then as an analyst of a “soft energy path” for the United States and other nations. Time magazine named Lovins as one of the world’s 100 most influential people.

Phil Radford, Greenpeace Read full bio

Phil Radford is the Executive Director of Greenpeace USA. He has a background in grassroots organizing, campaign planning, and energy policy. As Grassroots Director, it was Phil’s vision and leadership that built Greenpeace’s $9 million Grassroots Program and our cutting edge online to on-the-ground organizing, as well as a robust student organizing and training program.

Carl Safina, Blue Ocean Institute Read full bio

Dr. Carl Safina is a prominent ecologist and marine conservationist and president of Blue Ocean Institute, an environmental organization based in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. He has also been a recreational fisherman since childhood. A winner of the prestigious Pew Fellowship, MacArthur Fellowship and Guggenheim Fellowship, Safina has written five books.

Reid Detchon, UN Foundation Read full bio

Reid Detchon is Vice President for Energy and Climate at the United Nations Foundation. He is also the executive director of the Energy Future Coalition, a broad-based non-partisan public policy initiative supported by the UN Foundation that seeks to bring about change in U.S. energy policy to address critical challenges related to the production and use of energy.

Ronald Atlas, University of Louisville Read full bio

Dr. Ronald Atlas pioneered the field of bioremediation and showed that fertilizer application can hasten the rates of oil removal following oil spillages. He has worked on several major oil spills, including the Amoco Cadiz spill in Brittany, the IXTOC-1 spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Exxon Valdez spill in the Gulf of Alaska, and the Kuwait oil spill following the first Gulf War.

Jigar Shah, Carbon War Room Read full bio

A renowned visionary committed to renewable energy, Jigar Shah launched SunEdison in 2003 based upon a business plan he developed in 1999. That plan became the basis of the SunEdison model: Simplify solar as a service. Shah was tapped by Virgin mogul Richard Branson to head up the Carbon War Room, which harnesses the power of entrepreneurs to implement market-driven solutions to climate change.

John Francis, Planetwalk, National Geographic Read full bio

In the early 1970s John Francis gave up using motorized vehicles after witnessing the devastating effects of an oil spill in San Francisco Bay. Soon afterwards he took an even more radical step: a vow of silence that lasted 17 years, during which he undertook a pilgrimage by foot across America on behalf of the environment and world peace, earning a Ph.D. in environmental studies along the way.

Darron Collins, World Wildlife Fund Read full bio

Dr. Darron Collins joined WWF in 2001. A cultural anthropologist and an expert in ethnobotany, Darron has designed and implemented human-centered conservation programs for WWF in Latin America, Russia, China and Mongolia. His most recent endeavors involve using creative media to share WWF’s work with new, influential audiences and use storytelling to drive conservation on the ground.

Mike Mendez, Sapphire Energy Read full bio

Mike Mendez has held a number of top industry positions at the forefront of the molecular biology revolution. In addition to serving as Director of Bioengineering at GenWay, Mr. Mendez was also associate director of Exploratory Research at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. There he established a new department that focused on novel platforms for over-expression, purification, and crystallization of membrane proteins.

Jackie Savitz, Oceana Read full bio

Jackie Savitz is Campaign Director and Senior Scientist for Oceana’s Pollution Campaigns. She has shaped and led campaigns and projects dealing with global warming pollution from ships, mercury contamination of fish, and cruise ship pollution among other issues. Savitz has a background in marine biology and environmental toxicology combined with more than fifteen years of policy analysis experience.

Jim Geringer, ESRI Read full bio

Jim Geringer was elected as Wyoming’s 30th governor in 1994 and completed his second term in January 2003. His advocacy for technology in government has centered on the end result of using technology to enhance citizen services. That advocacy has led Jim to join in a full-time capacity with Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) the top provider of geographic information systems software.

Lisa Margonelli, New America Foundation Read full bio

Lisa Margonelli writes about the global culture and economy of energy. Her book about the oil supply chain, Oil On the Brain: Petroleum’s Long Strange Trip to Your Tank, was published by Nan Talese/Doubleday in 2007. Recognized as one of the 25 Notable Books of 2007 by the American Library Association, Oil On the Brain also won a 2008 Northern California Book Award for general nonfiction.

Mike Tidwell, Chesapeake Climate Action Network Read full bio

Mike Tidwell is founder and director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in Maryland, Virginia, and DC. He is also an author and filmmaker. Tidwell received the Audubon Naturalist Society’s prestigious “Conservation Award.”

Casey DeMoss Roberts, Gulf Restoration Network Read full bio

Casey DeMoss Roberts works to develop and implement water resource campaigns and advance GRN public policy positions through public education and mobilization, including organizing outreach events and workshops. Casey has worked on climate and energy related issues for several years with both national and regional groups.

Diarmuid O’Connell, Tesla Motors Read full bio

Diarmuid joined Tesla in 2006, and currently serves as the Vice President of Business Development in which capacity he manages commercial relationships and all aspects of government affairs. Before joining Tesla, Diarmuid served as Chief of Staff for Political Military Affairs at the US State Department, where he was involved in policy and operational support to the U.S military in various theaters of operation.

Klaus Lackner, Columbia University Read full bio

Klaus Lackner is the Ewing Worzel Professor of Geophysics at Columbia University, where he is also the Director of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy, the Chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, and a member of the Earth Institute faculty.
.

David Johnson, Institute of Maritime History Read full bio

David Johnson is a professor at American University, former director and board member of the Institute of Maritime History, a non-profit dedicated to the preservation and documentation of archaeological remains related to maritime history. The IMH is currently working in the Gulf on mitigating the effects of the disaster on submerged cultural resources, namely underwater archaeological sites and historical shipwrecks.

Christen Lien, Violist and Composer Read full bio

Using guitar effects and a looping machine, classically trained violist Christen Lien performs original compositions on viola. Spontaneously creating then incorporating layers of live effects, Lien paints music with guitar effect pedals, live looping, melodic mixing and expressive performance. For TEDxOilSpill, Lien will debut a song inspired by her recent trip to the Gulf Coast, in response to the oil spill.

Elizabeth Coffman, Ted Hardin,
Long Distance Productions Read full bio

Elizabeth Coffman and Ted Hardin are filmmakers who have recorded the environmental crisis in southern Louisiana for the last seven years. Working with Louisiana poet Martha Serpas, their documentary, “Veins in the Gulf,” highlights the community of scientists, engineers and artists trying to save the productive bayou region.

Leroy Stick, @BPGlobalPR Read full bio

Leroy Stick is the pseudonymous humorist behind @BPGlobalPR, the Twitter account that has satirized BP’s statements to the public and in the process, given a way for those frustrated by the oil spill to vent their anger with humor. He has over 160,000 followers on Twitter and continues to spread satire in order to raise awareness to the actions of BP and those responding to the spill.

 Do you care? 

Join the conversation. 

Write your vision.

CCRES 

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Apartment Aquaponic System disassembled

The 105 gallon system set up in my friends apartment in Philly was disassembled yesterday.  Well be moving most of the components to the greenhouse that were building in Wilmington, Delaware.  We already have a 330 gallon IBC tank waiting, and were going to be building a PVC hoop house.  Well be attaching the grow bed from the apartment system to the IBC system as well.  Also, I have obtained some old windows to make some coldframes at the same location.  Lots of excitement coming this Spring, but it was a little sad to take apart the system that I had worked so hard and long on.  We did harvest about 2 supermarket bags full of kale, and I filetd the tilapia we had living in the apartment system.  Im sure Ill have tons of updates and photos from the Wilmington garden this Spring.

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South South Knowledge Exchange

South-South knowledge exchange is a powerful way of transferring, replicating, and scaling up "what works" in development. South-South knowledge exchange is just-in-time sharing of information and experiences among development practitioners and leaders. It can include debates about options for policy reform, topic-specific field visits between developing countries, or dialogues among various stakeholders as a way of building consensus and coalitions for reform. The World Bank Institute helps countries to learn from each other through South-South Knowledge Exchange. This video animation explains the concept of South-South knowledge exchange in a simple way.

CCRES AQUAPONICS 

project of 

Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES)

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