What are those bags on top of my crop?
I'm going to tell you everything in this video why I use those bags.
Are they efficient?
And how to use them properly?
Welcome in this video.
I am Jonathan and my aim is to help you to build your own aquaponics system and to grow
some food in your own backyard, food that is sustainable, healthy, and tasty for you
and your family.
So if you watched my videos during the last month, you may have noticed those type of
bags on top of my crops.
So here for example, we got tomatoes and I got the tomatoes that are in nets like those
ones.
I thought it was quite obvious why I use those bags, but I received many questions about
why do you have your tomatoes in bags?
So here is a little video to explain to you why I use those bags and also if they are
efficient.
And the third point that is very important is there is something to take care of when
you put the bags around the crop.
So the first thing is why I use those bags is because obviously, we got some predators.
So I am based in Melbourne in Australia in the south of Australia, and here we got some
animals that are going everywhere during the night, looking for food.
Those animals, they are called possums and they are like crazy because they eat everything.
They are everywhere and if you leave the fruits without nets, they just disappear.
So during the first years, when I arrived in Australia, I started to grow plants.
I started to grow tomatoes because a tomato is really a plant that is growing well here
and that is very enjoyable.
Fresh tomatoes are amazing to eat, and unfortunately, I was not able to harvest a lot of them because
those lovely little possums were eating all the tomatoes.
So I really love the possums.
I'm not going to kill any possum.
I’m going to trap them, but I try to protect the crop.
So the best way is to basically put the crop in some nets.
I tried many things before.
I tried to put a net over the whole setup, but they were able to go through and to finally
access to the tomato and to eat them.
And very often, they don't even eat the whole thing.
They eat a bit and then the tomato is on the floor, so it's really a waste, while here
with those little nets, the tomato is still inside protected and generally speaking, they
are not able to steal the tomato.
Now, is it efficient?
Well, to be very honest with you, it's partially efficient.
I use those nets for the possums but also for the birds, right?
It protects it from the birds, but unfortunately, some of the bags have holes inside.
The possums were able to go through and sometimes they just smash the tomato through the bag.
So it's partially efficient.
Yes, I was able to preserve probably 90% of the crop, while before, I was only harvesting
20% of the crops.
So I think that's great.
I really like those bags.
Obviously, they don't look the best.
It looks a bit artificial, but look, that's the best way to deal with the predators that
are around.
We have the possums that are here.
They are living in the environment.
I'm coming here so I try to adapt myself.
I try to adapt my crop to this environment.
So it’s in the principle of permaculture, again, where -- when instead of going and
trying to trap the possum and kill them and whatever, you know, putting some pesticides,
or I don't know what.
You know, I just adapt and I just try to work with the environment.
So I use those nets.
They don't look the best but at least they help me to harvest something from my garden.
And now, the third thing that is quite important is that when you put your net around the tomatoes,
just watch out and be careful that they are not flowers that need to be fertilized.
You know, the flowers, it needs very often, the insects, to be fertilized and if you put
a net around, unfortunately, the insects are not going to be able to come and fertilize
the flower and therefore, you may not have fruit.
So for tomatoes, just wind is enough to fertilize the flowers, but depending on the species
of plants you have, a net may not always be good.
So just wait to see the fruit, the little fruit before putting the net.
If you put the net on top of the flower, you may not have the fruit.
So if you haven't done it yet, you can have access to the free aquaponics training from
the description of this video just below.
It's a step-by-step training to help you to build your own aquaponics system in the best
condition and to grow some healthy, sustainable, and tasty food at home.
In this training, you will find some limits that are really critical to succeed in aquaponics.
I'm talking about for example, the ratio between the quantity of fish and the volume of the
grow bed.
I'm talking about the design of the aquaponics system so all those types of very important
information, you're going to have access to it in the free aquaponics training.
It's completely free.
I spent a bit of time to put it together.
So please use it.
If you are new to this channel, I will recommend you to subscribe because you're going to have
access to one free video every week, and it's always a tip to help you to manage your system
in the best conditions.
And I hope you enjoyed this specific video.
If it's the case, please give it a like.
You can put a comment below the video, if you can give me an advice on those nets, or
if you're going to share your point of view.
And I’ll see you in the next one.
Bye-bye.
Don't forget to get your free gift from this screen.
You can also leave me a comment below the video.
Subscribe to the channel and see my last video.
I really hope to see you soon, and I wish you a fantastic success with aquaponics. have
a good crop!