Hey ya’ll, I’m Jess from Roots & Refuge Farm
Welcome to a place that feels like home. A small farm with a big family. We hope you’ll pull up a chair, grab some coffee and visit awhile.
There was a time that all I wanted in the world was a little farm where I could raise my family and grow our food. Now, that is exactly what exists outside my door. In watching it unfold, a new dream was formed in my heart – to share this beautiful life with others and teach them the lessons we’ve learned along the way. Welcome to our journey, friend. I am so glad you’re here.
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– Our Website: https://rootsandrefuge.com
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– Email Us: rootsandrefuge@yahoo.com
– To drop us a line:
PO Box 4239
Leesville SC 29070
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44 Comments
Fish that eat mosquitoe eggs. Brilliant.
Thank you for researching the fish. They are very, very invasive and prolific. The only thing I would suggest is to watch if troughs and fountains overflow because of heavy rains. The fish can get washed out into your pond or nearby creeks. They can be devastating to other species. Mollies and guppies are different fish species.
yes guppies
I used to keep fish, and there is a net box that you can hang on the inside of the tank to keep the small fry in. That way, they're in the same water and you don't have to have a separate tank.
Please, for the love of all things holy STOP putting fish in uncycled tanks :(. Mollys will jump, especially if there is excess ammonia, which there will be because the tank is uncycled.
Lower thr water so they can't jump out .. add and internal submerged filter …. I would all a backing and sides to two you can get colored plastic back grounds to stick on so the sun doesn't get into many sides and just cause so much algea it will be rediculas fast other wise … but having the tank will be OK if the water is lowered and a way to stop the algea
“Like I need one more thing to do”, as we proceed to do the thing 😂 I so relate ❤
The garden around the greenhouse looks like paradise.❤
Love your mosquito fish. They would starve here as we do not have any mosquitoes. Love ya. ❤️
Too hot for fish in that green house,just my opinion
I love having fish! I have a tank in my house to water seedlings, and a pond (a galvanized trough) in the garden. I just use feeder goldfish in it, and there are no mosquito larvae! They totally eat them. Our local vector control offers mosquito fish to the community for free, but I haven't taken advantage of them yet. Excited to see how yours do. What fun! ❤
Bwahahahahaha, a gardeners famous last word…….”i need to get more plants for this”
I keep gold fish in my rain barrels and they do an excellent job keeping mosquito larvae down
I found the health benefits of making water kefir at home and have had a blast this spring trying out basils, mints and other garden flavors of kefir. OMG, it's becoming the perfect summertime beverage!
This is perfect timing🙌🏻 I’m adding a mini gold fish pond to my garden. We have a reservoir for our development behind our house with a protected wooded area. The wooded area has a small stream in it that isn’t accessible now. The HOA told me I could put some mosquito pucks out🤦♀️🤦♀️ Because I really want to maintain them for our entire development 🧐😂🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
Yes. Guppies! ❤ we had them when I was a kid. 😊
We've had at least 2 inches of rain every week this month and part of last month. The mosquitoes are ridiculous this year.
Being in that much light, the algae is going to explode. I used to keep Betas. Light was an issue LOL
Careful algae will go crazy with to much light
If there is a Mosquito Abatement in your area, they often give away these fish for free.
A mess screen lid that is big enough for mosquitos might work . Water lettuce in the fountains will keep the water cooler for the babies to hide in. I think if light comes in the greenhouse from the back side you could create/buy a back drop so they have shade from the sun and cooler water that might not get too hot.
In 1960 when I was 8, I lost my 18 year old brother and I was hysterical and had nightmares. Our old fashioned regular Doctor, told my mom to get a fish tank for my bedroom to watch and calm me. It worked. I had fish all my life to calm me till I retired 6 yrs ago to senior housing. For the fountain, get Miah to problem solve a large resivoir of water, so it does not go dry. Maybe a stock tank (which you can put more fish in as well), just outside your perennial garden that he can trench a drip hose, for water demands. P.S. get a tank scraper (with a razor blade) to keep up with the algae on the glass from the sun.
Super interesting! You taught me new stuff today!
Do you and your husband film do clips on your coffee shop? Be wonderful to see
Read about keeping fish in an aquarium, especially the type of fish you have. Do put the aquarium lid as the fish can / will jump. This is a small aquarium so the parents will eat the babies. Best option is to go to a pet store or Amazon and get a hatchery net for the tiny babies. Babies will need very fine food to eat or baby brine shrimp (this requires some work on your part). You certainly need a fine net to scoop babies from tank and into hatchery.
Be careful the greenhouse where you are keeping the fish doesn’t get extremely hot as you have a small aquarium which leaves very little room for mistake as to water parameters.
Do buy fish food for adults as you don’t have any mosquitoes as of yet. Also, mosquitoes don’t like moving water or filters, so you might be lacking mosquitoes in this aquarium. Water temperature is of outmost importance when keeping aquarium fish.
If you will put a filter then this will suck in the babies apart from adults eating them, hence the hatchery net.
Water is very important, chlorine and chloramine are very bad for your fish. Ideally water should settle and go through a cycle period before adding too many fish (nitrogen cycle). Fish with their waste will produce ammonia and start the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia turns into nitrogen and this turns into nitrates. By the way plants love nitrates.
Do not overcrowd the small aquarium (20 gal or so) with fish as ammonia buildup is lethal to fish (read about nitrogen cycle). In the winter months you will need an aquarium heater.
Very good information online. In reality you should of done some homework before getting the fish.
Good luck on a very rewarding and interesting hobby!
A local coffee shop has a lavender mocha coffee that I am in love with and now that it is getting warmer they have a honey lavender green tea too.
SIM UM AQUÁRIO PARA OS PEIXINHOS 👏🏻 UMA EXCELENTE SEMANA PARA VOCÊ JÉSSICA 👏🏻
Great minds think alike. I just bought some goldfish for my rain barrels and my water feature. The rain barrels were full of mosquitoes and their larvae. In a day and a half all the mosquitoes and larvae were gone. I can set in my yard and not have to worry about mosquitoes. No extra effort needed on my part. And I enjoy seeing them.
I didn’t realize we could grow lavender in the south. I’ll add it to my to do list. Hope you all are staying cool(ish) in this heat!
Great idea! Beware, you will get algea on the sides a lot. Unfortunately I have my 30 gal by my grow lights and I have to clean the sides regularly
VALEU
I make lavender cookies. They are so yummy.
We keep goldfish in a stock tank and use the water to water our plants.
We allow alfae to frow to feed and oxygenate the fish. Plus, between the natural growth and fish poop, the plants grow really well from this water. The water refreshes from the rain.
About once per year, we scoop out debris that's settled on the bottom.
It’s amazing that you introduce mosquito fish to your farm. Just two weeks ago, I introduced goldfish to our homestead. We have rain barrels placed throughout the homestead. One is by our herb garden, others are next to fruit trees. During the summer, we have very little rain. When they are almost empty, we fill them up so we can take a watering can & water our plants. It works well. The mosquito larvae was a big issue. The goldfish took care of them in just a few days. The goldfish have two jobs: eating the bugs & provide fertilized water for the plants. One warning, if you have a cat, it may go fishing. We put wire cloth with heavy rocks over the top of the barrel so our cat don’t accidentally go swimming.
Yaayyy!! So cool, I love fish and they are such a great addition to a gardening operation. Those are Guppies you have there and definitely some pregnant ones 😊
I cant wait for an update 😄
Don't mosquitoes only lay eggs in Stillwater that's why farmers fountains in their ponds
Fun! God bless you too❤
You will still be scrubbing that fish tank at least weekly, along with a partial water change. The greenhouse will help it grow WAY more algae than one that lives indoors. Ours with the heater stays at about 72 degrees which is good for tropical fish. The greenhouse will heat that tank up far more than that, and I'm guessing those type of fish are more of a cooler water fish (?).
Gambusia Affinis. Similar to a guppy.
Those are very similar to the guppy fish…not at showy .. though their shape is the same and they will reproduce quickly….Fun creatures..
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The ant pile wasn't bad. Oh, I thought you knew I'd sat in one earlier. LOL (Yes, my butt itches!) I enjoyed our fish tank, but when we moved from GA to TN it broke. Not had one since because I worked 50 hours a week for years. Thanks for sharing. Hope you get loads of little ones for your farm. Stay safe.
Another ingredient for the swamp water barrels! Hope your family in Arkansas is okay after the tornados, Jess.