We are just experimenting over here!

That's it-
we are just experimenting over here!

I mean, my daughter and I went out to the greenhouse a few days ago just to check things out.  Clean out some of the garden beds, feed the fish, water the fig tree, see what's going on in there.  We found it to be pretty cozy warm- at least much warmer than it was in the outside frigid but sunny day.  And we also spent sometime studying the microgreen sprouts.  Part of me has a dream to grow microgreens with such consistency that I can grow more than we need and we can sell it to other people and maybe even restaurants.  Our greenhouse needs significant set-up improvement before that sort of process would be functional in there, nonetheless, we are potentially in the infantile phase currently of microgreen growing.

So, Rosemary and I - sitting out there -her head just about the height of the cooler that acts as a grow bed connected to the aquaponic system, and we were picking little yellow flowers of brassicas that had gone to flower.  It was a tasty treat.  And an interesting note of the experimentation element.
What I mean is that we don't have a heater in the greenhouse (and we don't have thermometers in there yet either!  Which is silly!), so we don't know where the temperatures are maintaining at (though with these warm & cold day mixes, it's all over the place).  Yet, I am curious as to how these temperatures are effecting the germination and growth of these different microgreens.  Because the yellow flowered brassica (maybe it was broccoli?  or collards?) had grown much faster than the others- with the kale growing taller slowly bit by bit- so slow it seems to almost have stopped - which maybe it has.

The only conclusion I could make as we were out there was that - 'geez, we are only experimenting out here!'  Which is true.   And frankly, we aren't doing a terrible job of observing our experimentation!  Which means, the amount we can potentially learn from our experimentation is less than if were really on top of keeping track of the data (air temperature, species, weather patterns, water temp, germination rates & length of growth periods).  I find that having a baby surely does slow me down quite a bit!  And so does our family's budget (it's not so easy to just run out to the store and buy all the materials we need to make the system different).

Nonetheless, this, too, is a part of the experiment!  And I am surely learning a lot!  Especially about what I need to get this system really going!  An extra person to work with me.  A little financial assistance wouldn't hurt!  And discipline & diligence to stay aware, and consistent with my observations.  This is all the asides for the more practical, logistical things that would help this aquaponic system & potential micro-green mini-business get off the ground- like:
-more shelving for seed trays to go on
-ventilation
-painting the interior white to increase sun reflection
-removal of a few of the aquaponic growbeds to make room for a transplanting/potting table
-bins of soil (filled with worms from our vermiculture) for seeding new microgreen trays
-groundcover plants planted on the floor of the greenhouse
-re-routing of aquaponic system pipes to make it easier to work in
-grating over the open section of the water tank
-thermometers hanging in the greenhouse & inside the fish tank
-edible fish crop for the Spring
-a digital camera! so I can document what I'm doing and so I can post about it here
-and the list goes on....!


SO!  For now!  That's it.  Just thoughts.  Endless thoughts of all the things that need doing.
And all in all- we're just experimenting over here!  That's for sure!

For now, I take the opportunity of the snow-melted ground clearing day to remember again the soil, it's curves and flows- watch where the snow still sits in it's cold little micro climate- and plan for what's to come- what's to come!