What is new om the Zombie Farm

Hi everyone,

Been a bit since I posted anything about the growing and hot sauce, but that doesn't mean something is not going on.  First we added a second bed.  I had a request to grow some sweet grass for basket making so after a few hours of thinking I realized I had a 6 foot long PVC fence post cover, I was originally going to use it to make a vertical tower for strawberries but said what the heck, so over a weekend I cut it open, plumbed it and filled it with some media.  I had to change out the valves and still trying to work out kinks in the drain but it is filling with tank water now, getting the bacteria  in there to make those nutrients for the plants.  Diane has located a distributor for the seeds so we need to get those ordered.

Spent one day looking for worms.  Yes worms in the house.  I know most of you are going ewwww, but they are needed for the grow beds to eat the solids and break them down for the plants.  We have not been able to locate any other than online and they only sell them in pounds not smaller, and they need to be vermicomposting worms, red worms.  No room for night crawlers and they don't like water anyways.  Either way I need to get some ordered.

As for what is growing, we have cherry tomatoes sprouting, celery growing, some habanero seeds have sprouted as well.  The basil is not looking well although the roots are doing great.  All the lettuce has died but I did not think it would stay since I did not plant em that deep.  The original jalapeno's are starting to sprout new growth as are the Portuguese Chili's.  The bush beans were slow but now are starting to get additional growth on them so all in all the bed looks great.  The fish are also doing well.  We started with ten and are down to four, and they are getting bigger.  They are up to 2 feedings a day even though the nitrites are high I am going to keep feeding them, unless the ammonia levels come back up, and we now have nitrates showing up in the water, that is a great thing.

Thanks to everyone who is following us on this journey, and remember we are only weeks away from starting the hot sauce bottling!

Jalapeno Slow Cooker Recipie

Jalapeno Corn Pudding


--2 cups of frozen or fresh corn kernels
--2 T unsalted butter, melted
--1 cup milk (2% or lower)
--2 eggs
--2 T white sugar
--2 T flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
--1 tsp baking powder
--1/2 tsp Kosher salt
--2 T jalapeno pepper slices, chopped
--1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Use a 4 quart round crockpot for this recipe.

Spray the inside of your crockpot with cooking spray. Melt the butter in the microwave and put it in. Add milk, eggs, salt, sugar, flour, and baking powder. Whisk the ingredients together. Stir in the corn kernels, cheese, and chopped jalapenos.

Cover and cook on low for 3-5 hours. This is cooked through when the edges brown and begin to pull from the sides and the center is set. Take the lid off for 20-30 minutes when set and continue to cook on low to get rid of the added condensation.

Cook for exactly 4 hours on low, then let it cook for another 20 with the lid off.

Chowder Month - Recipie

JALAPEÑO BISQUE

1 T grape seed oil
6 to 8 jalapenos, minced
1 cup finely chopped red onion (about 1/2 onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups raw cashews
3 cups water
1 avocado, peeled and diced
2 cups diced tomatoes (about 2)
1 bunch cilantro, stemmed and chopped
1 T Himalayan sea salt*
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 red jalapeno, sliced in rounds (for garnish)

In a 4 quart saucepan, heat the grape seed oil over medium heat and add the jalapenos and onions stirring until the vegetables are almost soft. Add the garlic and saute an additional minute. Place the cashews in a  blender with the water. Blend on the whole juice setting until completely smooth (about a minute). Add the cashew mixture to the jalapeno mixture. Stir in the remaining ingredients and gently heat to blend flavors. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with additional cilantro and red jalapeno, top with an avocado slice and quesadillas. Serves 8.

Could be heading for a disaster

So I think I am headed for a disaster, any thoughts or advice on the below situation would be appreciated.
 - We are at week 7
 - Fish are in tank
 - Plants are in the bed (cuttings and seeds)
Over the weekend I noticed brown spots on one of the fish.  It appears to be ammonia burns that are healing.
I have had the following chem readings

Ammonia 4 / pH 8 / Nitrite 2 / Nitrate 0 Temp 73

I checked again this morning and had this

Ammonia 4 / pH 8 / Nitrite 4 / Nitrate 2 Temp 74

The ammonia has been consistent at 4 and does not drop, ph the same.  Got this double Nitrite count but now getting Nitrates.  Vet says the brown is good in the fact the fish is healing but can not explain why no other fish is showing signs of Ammonia/Nitrite burns (apparently the condition is the same).  Coming from an aquaculture back ground we would just change 50% of the water and chem test the filter.

Well I have technically changed all the water over the past 3 days and everything stayed the same.  Now that I possibly could have slowed anything going on in the bed, I am at a loss as to what to do.

 - Should I remove the fish and let it run while the fish have r&r session in another tank, till everything drops, or let it cycle out as is?

Tank is 20 Gallon with 3 mid size comets and one small comet.
10 Gallon Growbed
475 Gph pump
Have not fed fish in over a week.  Need more info?  Plant cuttings are rooting and seeds are sprouting.  HELP.