Skye Pierce: Squash! Kale!

Fishes!

Big things in the aquaponics this week. First, we filled our last tank with 300 more adorable little tilapia! Salomon and I went together to purchase the fish from Operation Blessing in Port-au-Prince. These little babies, called fingerlings, are only about an inch long but will grow to be 1 lb. by October, at which point we will harvest them. They were transported to their new home at Grace Village, tank 15, in a large plastic bag and after getting adjusted to the new water temperature, were released. I tried to take pictures of this glorious event but they're too small and uninteresting to look at, so I'll leave you with this illustration...

Shade Cloth

Last Sunday, a Healing Haiti team helped install a shade cloth over 3 of our 6 troughs. Not only does it cut down on 50% of direct sunlight, it helps control the wind. So far, it's proven extremely beneficial. In just one week, plants that were struggling have really shown improvement and increased in size dramatically. Plus, it helps to hide under when I'm starting to feel too warm!

So shady.

Squash and Kale!

We harvested a small amount of yellow summer squash and lot of kale! Salomon, Andre and I each were able to test them out, but the majority of the crops were given to the cooks to test out in meals for the children. The kale and squash were cooked together and served with veggie burgers. Like most kids, vegetables aren't the highlight of the meal...but the Grace Village kids are curious about these new foods, most are willing to try them, and some even want seconds. I'd say so far, so good.

We planted 700 more seeds this past week including more kale, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes. We need to add as many plants as possible to absorb the extra nutrients from the additional fish. By planting what we know grows well, along with things that grow fast, we can balance the system quickly.