Aquaponic vs. Hydroponic vs. Soil

This is an experiment at the Lyle Center comparing an aquaponic system (tilapia in the water tanks, whose poop fertilizes the vegetable plants), hydroponic system (using only water and complete fertilizer), and good old-fashioned plants growing in the dirt fertilized with compost.  A few days in to the project, the soil seems to be winning...

Stay tuned!

Juan's going to make a drum out of this huge gourd!!

Same Old Stuff, New Coast

We have about 15 hives here at the Lyle Center

Jim harvesting dragon fruit/pitaya, my first job here in SoCal

Dragon fruit flower with a very happy bee

Amonix solar panels

The foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, right next to Mt. Baldy

I'm up to my same ol' stone wall tricks, but this time with broken up concrete

I'm used to field stones and river rocks--it's much easier when there's a flat edge!

Broccoli, lettuce, mizuna, tat soi, etc. in my little concrete raised bed

a few weeks later

The TJ house, or Tijuana House, is a prototype for the hillside barrios surrounding Tijuana built with pallets, paper-based concrete, a green roof, solar panels, and other low-tech green techniques

This one was pretty heavy

That one's not going anywhere!

A group of community gardeners checking out the Aquaponics project using tilapia