Any local businees like this?

[StillHope]

http://eartheasy.com/shop/gardening_raised_beds.html

And a "side question" - how much soil do I need for 4'x12' raised bed?

I'd appreciate the information.

[janeadams]

StillHope,

Earlier on this forum, there was an announcement of a seminar at Rozette's about raised beds. Rozette's is great about this stuff, and you'll learn much. Do try to attend... Donna and John (owners) really have their ear to the ground when it comes to growing things in Puna.

Jane
White Cloud Nursery

[mikewj]

Stillhope:

If you want the soil to be about 18" deep, you would need 72 cubic feet of dirt. (4 X 12 X 1.5)

[Monty]

Aquaponics seems to be the latest thing especially in Australia. Grow seafood and vegetables in one integrated system. I was wondering if it would be a worthwhile community project for the big island. It might be also a great idea to expose school children to a sustainable way of life.
I can get us wholesale prices from this company based out of Atlanta, Georgia. Or we could improvise using their concepts

http://www.earthsolutions.com/Farm-in-Bo...c_214.html

"Anyone can accomplish a lot, if they don't care, who gets the credit"

[Rob Tucker]

There are some folks doing some extensive Aquaponics in the Honoka`a area.

[StillHope]

Thank you,everyone for the responses.
So looks like a local business might find it difficult to survive due to the high prices.

[mdd7000]

Since things grow real well in both the red and black lava rock (cinders) you don't have to have all soil.

[StillHope]

I meant cinder mix.Cinder is good too,but they deliver only by a truck load.

[Rob Tucker]

Perhaps you can find some neighbors who would join in on sharing at truckload of cinder/soil mix. It is likely others are in your near neighborhood with similar needs.

Recently I saw some raised bed table made from used pallets. You take two pallets and cut one in half. Those two parts become the table legs. The other full pallet is the table top and is attched upside down so that there are two shallow troughs which are lined with plastic, punched to drain and filled with soil/cinder. The veggies in the one I saw were growing nicely at a convenient working height. The assembly was very inexpensive if not nearly free and required less soil/cinder.

Just a suggestion.

[StillHope]

I tried that (sharing).No luck so far.
One would think that it might be even profitable to sell by a smaller amount if cheaper than buying bags in a store.
But may be it's not worth trouble for the cinder delivery businesses.

Pallet thing - sounds good .Thank you.