Thursday

Teacher Orientation
Phew! What a busy last couple of weeks it has been. Teacher orientation consisted of two weeks of regular work topped up with many hours of required classroom sitting. I did learn quite a bit or useful information like how ot respond to an emergency situation when you are four hours away from a hospital. The medical simulation was exhilarating and fun even though it would have been a very serious situation in real life. The simulation basically went something like this: Andy and I rode our bikes in to Deep Creek like we were usiong our free time to go get some icecream at V&H's. Once we got to town we ran into Chelsea who was running towards the school. She started out of breath so once we stabaized that situation we find out there was a swimming accident at the blue hole and thats why she was running. I stayed with her to calm her down since she was hysterical (she did a scarry good job at playing a hysterical student by the way). We had to borrow one of the short wave radios in town since our hand held wasnt working (real life problem not planned). Down at the blue hole David had jumped in and possibly broke his neck. Andy had to get him out of the water unconscious by himself. By the time I got there there were two vans and people form the Middle School and the Island School on the scene with some medical equipment. We had to get David on the backboard and get him strapped in. Very interesting stuff and enough to convince me no never go into the paramedic profession.

In the Facility
So the aquaponics system is starting to come around and work again even though the heat still hits the low 90's every day. I am beginning to theorize that the decline in production has more to do with cutting schedule and technique as well as plant age rotation. I have been working at getting the grow beds staggered in age so that some are young, medium, and old. This combined with regular cutting once a week has increased yields back to what they were prior. I am currentlygetting roughly 4-6 pounds of lettue per bed (24 sq ft)

I have aslo discovered that the root zone of the plants is infested with freshwater shrimp (amphipods) called Gammarus. They seem to be feeding on the detruiteus from the fish that makes its way into the beds as well as on the roots of my lettuce. I have also found many small tilapia in the grow beds when I clean them out, these will also eat the roots. Overall I have a problem with root growth that I still have not figured out a solution to.

On the Farm Lately
Not much time has been spent in the orchard and nursury lately. When my time gets short this is apparently where it comes out of. I guess permaculture and tree pruning is not as sexy as a technology rich aquaponics system. I did discover that I apparently have an excess of calcium (the soil is made of mostly calcium carbonate afterall) which is causing magnesium deficiencies and stunted growth in many of the plants. Unfortunately there is no easy solution to this dilema except more organic matter or I could try adding elemental sulfur. The only drawback to elemental sulfur is that microbes decompose it into sulfuric acid (good for lowering soil pH) but bad for any living plants or micobes already there. Compost it is then! I just need the biogas digester to come online so I can have a continuous supply of organic matter. . .

The students are here!!!! Yay!!!