I’m a bit emotional right now. But in the bad way to be fair.
I just got stung by a wasp without any reason, after having to take a extensive shower before because my body was totally itchy from all the mites and whatnot. UGH! 😫
I’ve been pretty proud in the beginning of this experiment, because there were lots of wild bees, beetles and other cool critters around here. It’s basically like being in nature.
But I forgot that nature sucks… 🥲
For example, imagine laying in the grass and just chilling.
Beautiful for the first 5 seconds, but then, you begin getting stung in the asscreek by a dozen ants and get everything ruined.
Nature is basically dead in my area, so only the asshole bugs survive here.
The whole balcony is swarmed by aphids/ mites as well as ant colonies that protect those suckers from ladybugs and other beneficial predatory insects.
The aphids droop honeydew everywhere, which attracts lots of yellow jacket wasps, which in return could kill my girlfriend in minutes because she’s highly allergic.
I didn’t even realise that asshole (the wasp, lol) is there until I got stung just by existing.
I’m right about to pull the trigger and get my pesticides (neem oil/ pyrethrum extract) out.
Also, I began to hate soil even more than before.
I have to hunt for slugs every evening, because they’re everywhere, and I can barely stand a chance against them.
There are gnats living in it too, as well as other unwanted guests.
The plants in soil are starting to spread diseases and pests to my otherwise healthy plants in hydroponics. I will for example harvest my weed soon, and there are bugs sticking in the buds like in a glue trap. I have no idea how I should get them out of them, it’s just disgusting.
I also largely prefer hydro compared to soil, not only because there are less pests, but also because due to the much lower water demand and control it gives me.
The soil is guzzling water like crazy and still the plants are looking way less healthy.
Spraying neem oil on my hydro plants and just not using soil anymore seems to be the way better choice right now.
Sorry for the rant. It had to be.
What should I do?
But do you want to fight against nature or reproduce it? It’s really difficult to grow food on a balcony. I always do balcony gardening when I have no other option, but without any big expectations. There will be aphids and other pests. Plants will look sickly if I can’t arrange containers big enough to contain their roots. Some just don’t like the shape of their pot and don’t grow no matter what. It’s impossible to recreate healthy nature on a tiny spot and have plenty of stuff to eat. I usually pick my few leaves of aromatic herbs and the one sad tomato, wave at the aphids and just try to be content to have created a little bit of green where there was none before.
As soon as I arrange some garden space I will raise my expectations again (a little - because nature means sharing space!) Might sound crazy, but I had the best success managing ants in the garden when I first shifted my perspective and remembered they were there before me - it’s me invading their garden, not the other way round! And then I asked them to treat my plants with respect and leave some food for me. They were more polite after that.
If I want to fight nature, I can pretty much only loose. So, I tried to recreate it a bit to attract pollinators and other beneficial insects to give them a small place to live.
For my productive crops, I use [email protected]. Huge yield for the volumes I use
As soon as I have some indoor grow space again I’d love to learn more about hydroponics. I guess the difference is the very controlled and shielded environment of hydroponics vs the open environment of balcony plants in soil? On the balcony you recreate a small, but incomplete ecosystem - I would imagine that a better balance might be created after some years. However the ecosystem itself will not care about whether we feel it’s agreeable for ourselves. I wonder if there is one week of the year when they start turning aggressive - I remember leaving their nests alone because they would be peaceful during the spring months, and then at some point in summer I’d get stung. This year I’ve witnessed quite a few people within one week getting stung by wasps - in different countries, so that’s quite interesting. I’m a real fan of undesired non-humans, so figuring out how to co-inhabit spaces with wasps, ants, rats, mice etc. without resorting to genocide is one of my favourite topics!
Hydroponics only means that I don’t use soil, only nutrient solution and maybe a medium like clay balls.
Many pests (e.g. fungus gnats, thrips, etc.) are soilborne and can’t complete their reproductive cycle in “hostile” media like mine.
Also, I have more control. I can always check the nutrient strength and pH for example in seconds, and then adjust it or flush the media.
That way, I can often see problems arising before they show, which allows for better growth and more robust plants.
And then, the growing conditions are pretty much constantly perfect. I don’t have to worry about waterlogged soil for example, because the roots are constantly moist, but still perfectly aerated.
If you did hydro once, you’ll understand how much aeration matters, in soil just as much, if not even more!
Is it possible that they are photoperiodic and sense that winter is coming?
Same! That’s why I did this balcony project. Everything around me is dead. Concrete, pesticides, monocultures, and so on.
My grandma visited me a while ago and said that this is one of the most living places she has seen since years.
I even arranged myself with the ants. They were super annoying in the beginning, but now, we respect each others boundaries. They are actually useful by being my personal cleaning crew, who dispose all dead bodies.
My only annoyance is that they’ve learnt how to exploid the aphids tho…
Oh, thanks for the detailed write-up! I’ve always dismissed hydroponics as ‘too much tech, can’t be arsed to bother’, but it does sound interesting, especially the part about soil-based pests. Not sure I understand how the roots are in water yet get aerated? How do you use clay balls? How do you test for nutrient strength? Sorry, so many questions. I miss growing the good weed, but at the moment I’m not really settled anywhere.
Funny enough today was my day of getting stung - visiting a farm I’m hoping to move to, where I’ll have space for a garden. Nice welcome, got me straight in the eye and I learned that plantain (Spitzwegerich) gives immediate relief and prevents too much swelling (in the past I’ve used onion as well with good success). They seem to have settled in every hollow space they could find. Photosensitivity seems a likely explanation. I’ve always assumed they get more aggressive as their nests grow larger with brood to protect, but it doesn’t explain how they seem to start stinging at the same time in different places in Europe.
How sweet of your grandma to notice how you created an island of life! Seeing everything dead is really tough to witness - I find it strange how most people seem to be okay with it, but then how okay are they really? Just creating a place for life is probably worth more than any harvest and brings plenty of good karma!
I made this post a while ago about “Semi-Hydro”, a very simple, yet extremely effective technique.
In S/H and the Kratky method for example, which are both passive, only a part of the roots is submerged, while the rest is only kept moist, but freely in the air. This allows for extreme well gas exchange.
Other techniques often require air stones with pumps and electricity, but even those have their own strengths and weaknesses.
I do that by measuring the electric conductivity (EC). Fertilizer = salts; more salts = higher EC. The device itself costs less than 20 bucks.
There are charts available for pretty much every type of crop.
You can even notice if a plant will suffer from a deficiency soon, because the EC will then drop, or if it will get nutrient burn when the EC rises to a certain level. That’s super useful, especially when growing outdoors, because sometimes the transpiration is much higher than the nutrient demand.
You can even measure the pH, which will tell you a lot about the nutrient absorption and availability.
For example, I noticed the pH drifting upwards when the plant is in bloom, because of the high phosphorus demands.
All of that is pretty much impossible with soil based methods of growing