CCRES AQUAPONICS CROATIA

 

  

HRVATSKI CENTAR OBNOVLJIVIH IZVORA ENERGIJE

predstavlja Vam 

 Projekt

CCRES AQUAPONICS

Više informacija o Projektu CCRES AQUAPONICS na :

http://ccresaquaponics.yolasite.com/

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

Za sve dodatne informacije slobodno nas kontaktirajte.

HRVATSKI CENTAR OBNOVLJIVIH IZVORA ENERGIJE (HCOIE)

Read more

The Life of Algae

This video from Sapphire Energy tracks the cultivation of algae from their San Diego lab in microscopic images, to petri dishes, to flasks, and then outside in their Las Cruces, NM facility and into 14?, 40?, 100? and half-acre ponds. This is the path that many thousands of strains have taken as Sapphire refines their library of commercial strains that will be used in their Green Crude Farm or Integrated Algal BioRefinery (IABR) now under construction in Columbus, NM. At the Green Crude Farm, the world’s first commercial demonstration scale algae-to-energy facility, algae will be cultivated in ponds over 2 acres in size.

CCRES SPIRULINA

 part of 

Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES)

Read more

Various Minerals and Their Roles in Plants Life

Today’s article is about various minerals which we keep mentioning in plant growth. These minerals some times required in huge quantity while some times they need only in small quantity by the plants. But never the less lack of these minerals can cause disaster as far as your gardening is concerned.

Depending upon their required amount, all the elements can be classified in two groups:

1.    Macro-nutrients:

Nitrogen (N):

Generally nitrogen is available in the soil in the form of ammonium or nitrate salts. Nitrogen plays an important role in formation of the chlorophyll in plants. It is an essential part of protein formation as all the protein which the plants synthesis will not be possible without the availability of nitrogen. Nitrogen also promotes rapid growth. You can easily trace the deficiency of nitrogen if the plant shows light green leaves, short and woody stalk and start to die.

Phosphorous (P):

Phosphorous are present in the soil in the form of phosphate salts. Phosphorous is very important for the growth of the roots in the early stages of a plant’s life. In the later stages it helps in flowering and forming seeds. Deficiency of phosphorous leads to dark pigmented leaves. If the deficiency is in the later stages of a plants life it slows down fruiting process.

Potassium (K):

Potassium is abundant in the soil in the form of different potassium salts. Like the above two this is also a very important element in plant growth. It increases the strength of the stalk and improves the quality of grain. Potassium also improves resistance capacity of the plants in hostile conditions. Lack of potassium causes dried leaves (especially at the borders), slender stalk, and leads to lesser grains in maturity.

These 3 molecules are required in large quantity compared to the other molecules and lack of these three is the major cause for inappropriate growth in most of the plant. These are generally referred to as NPK and they are also called the PRIMARY MACRO-NUTRIENTS.

Here we have not included Carbon (C), Oxygen (O2) and Hydrogen (H2) which required by the plants in large quantity but they get these from the air and water. We have focused on all the elements which the plants get from the soil.

Calcium (Ca):

Though not as highly recommended as NPK, calcium is also plays an important role in plant growth. It improves root formation in plants and plays a major role in cell division. Many diseases in plants occur in seedling stages due to lack of calcium.  Many places normally have calcium reach soil. Incase your place is not among them you can add lime to increase the calcium content of the soil. Apart from lime you can also add egg shells to increase calcium content of the soil.  

Magnesium (Mg):

Magnesium helps in chlorophyll formation of the plant. It also increases the intake of other elements from the soil and particularly helps in phosphate absorption. Lack of magnesium severely affects chlorophyll formation and results in Chlorosis. Adding dolomite can solve the Problem of magnesium deficiency.

Sulfur (S):

Sulfur plays an important role in amino acid formation. Different vitamin requires sulfur for their absorption. Sulfur can be found in the soil in the form of sulfate (So4) ions. Deficiency can cause pale green leaves and lesser growth in plants. In most of the cases, sulfur is deposited in the soil with rain water (SO2 in the air get mixed with rain).

Ca, Mg, and S though required by the plants in large quantity though the amounts are not as large as NPK. These elements are called SECONDARY MACRO-NUTRIENTS.

2.    Micro-nutrients/trace elements:

The following elements are required by the plants but in very small quantity. These are called micro-nutrients or trace elements. Though their required quantity is very small, deficiency of these can cause various problems and hinder proper development in plants.

Zinc (Zn): It plays an important role in activation of Auxin (major growth hormone) hormone and various enzymes.

Chlorine (Cl2): Have some role in phosphorous intake.

Boron (B): Plays an important role in cell division process. It also helps in transportation of carbohydrates in plants.

Molybdenum (Mo):It helps in nitrogen fixation for the plants.

Iron (Fe): Plays important role in chlorophyll formation.

Manganese (Mn): Plays an important role in germination of seeds and helps in activating different enzymes.

We will discuss every element in detail later. But I hope this has given you a basic idea on all the elements which we generally discuss in plants nutrition.

Read more

Tuesday Hours Change

Weve changed our on-farm hours for Tuesdays- were now open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays

*If this doesnt work well for you, fret not! Were still available by appointment, as always- just give us a call or send us an email and wed be more than happy to find a different time to have you stop out at the farm for some tasty produce or tilapia!

**Though it seems absolutely crazy to write this, the last 8 1/2 months have flown by (no pun intended) and there may be additional, last minute changes to our hours based on the upcoming arrival of our own "Little Duck." Unless you are a CSA customer (in which case, youll receive your own update/instructions), please check this blog or our Facebook page before stopping out at the farm in the next few weeks- we may be (very excitedly) unavailable during our normal hours!

Read more

Miracles of Life including Swiss Chard

This is only our second post, but I have to say, wow, guys! Since we officially went “live” two weeks ago, we’ve had over 900 views! That’s a bit more than I was expecting! So thank you (!!) for the huge outpouring of interest and support!

These past weeks have been busy here at the farm. We’ve had the arrival of some unexpected lambs, Matt spent a weekend at the Home, Garden, and Leisure show (did any of you meet him there?), we’ve added a few more on-farm customers, and we’re busy preparing for spring! I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to air out the house, clean out the barn, and see some of those early spring flowers (we’ve been planting up a storm of seedlings to reintroduce some native perennials). It just seems like spring around here- at least in the greenhouse. Yes, we are determinedly ignoring all of that white stuff surrounding our warm oasis of green.

 

(One of last years inherited crocuses, in case youve forgotten what spring looks like)

 

As for what Lone Duck Farm has to offer this week, we’ve got some beautiful red and green leaf lettuce bouquets, plenty of bright, crisp Bibbs, and our Romaine lettuces are definitely big and tasty. All of the lettuces are between $2.50-$4 a head, depending on kind and size.

 

 

If you’re looking for some additional color in your life right now, our Swiss Chard is big, bright, and beautiful.

Not sure how to prepare this sorta sweet surprise? Oh, I could count the ways! But here’s just one recipe (it was our “beginner” recipe), from the book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver:

 

Eggs in a Nest

2 cups uncooked brown rice

Cook rice with 4 cups water in a covered pot while the other ingredients are being prepared.

A few tablespoons of olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped, and garlic to taste

            Sauté onions and garlic in the olive oil in a wide skillet until lightly golden.

Carrots, chopped (we usually use one or two medium carrots, but they can also be omitted)

½ cup dried tomatoes (we usually omit the tomatoes, but I hear it’s tasty even with them!)

            Add carrots and tomatoes (if using) and sauté them with the onions and garlic.

1 or 2 large bunches of Swiss chard, coarsely chopped (include the stems, but keep those pieces a bit smaller)

            Mix with other vegetables in the skillet and cover the pan for a few minutes; uncover, stir the ingredients all up, and then use the back of the spoon to make 8 depressions in the vegetables (like the depressions were numbers on a clock).

8 eggs

            Break an egg into each depression, and then recover the pan, allowing the eggs to poach for 3-5 minutes. Then remove from heat and serve over the brown rice.

 

This recipe serves 4, but can be modified pretty easily.

 

 

(OK, food stylists we are not- but I promise, its delicious!)

 

P.S.- If you haven’t read “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” yet, you should really pick it up!

Read more