Been pretty busy here lately
Trying to get gardens planted, protect from cold, wind, bunnies and whatever other critter thinks our plants look good. I lost a beautifully shaped tomateo plant to the cold and I had it covered too. Having problems with sweet potatoes also. Guess we were not meant to grow them outside. I have some pics taken today of the AP system and the inside of the green house that has been rearranged to accomadate the AP system and an NFT frame. We are still trying to figure out a heating method for the winter so I can keep the system up all year and have fresh veggies over the winter.
Ok here come the pictures!
Squash plant
- Brocolli doin great also
My tiny jalapeno still hanging in there
Three tomatoes so far and a couple more buds
Proposed addition to system
There are a lot of other plants hidden in the forrest, but will get them posted later.
Take care for now.
Cindy
New IBC System
Well,,,I made the jump from the pretty blue barrelponics system to a larger IBC system (Intermediate Bulk Container) Right now, I could only afford one IBC. Eventually I will get another and add to this base system, and the barrelponics system will be integrated into this system also. Below is a picture of the system getting ready to be filled with river pebble in the grow bed for plants.
The blue barrel is only there till it gets moved. Not integrated with system yet. IBC’s are pretty fimsy in themselves. The metal cage is great and can be used in a few different ways, The 2x4s were added to give extra strength to the sides where anyone would lean to look things over.
Fish will go into the bottom part of the tank, and plants in the top.
The day we started this project we discovered that the tank as a whole item would not go thru the door of the greenhouse. humm not good.
OK we can cut it outside and then move it inside, no problem. We mark area to be cut, and get it all cut to our satisfaction and start to move it inside. OH OH, bottom still will not go thru the door. This isn’t good and I am starting to get upset. This system was not meant to be an outside unit. OK, time to look at taking the bottom fork lift frame off. Great idea, got a torque driver the right size? NOOO? Aww crap. This is not turning out the way it was supposed to cause the manual says it’s a simple process. So what if they are setting theirs outside, who cares?
OK back to task at hand, and go look in the tool kits and see what we have that would fit these wierd screws. I found one, I found one, Yaa. Alright now to take the metal forklift frame off.
Wow, still a tight fit thru the door. Wiggle it your way, ok, wait, watch the door frame, ok wiggle a little more, ok EASY, watch that plastic, E A S Y, wiggle it just a tad more. OK there it’s thru the door. Phew! and didn’t even cut the plastic greenhouse cover. Man what a project and it isn’t even really started yet.
The media is river pebbles. It is very dirty and dusty as you can see. The stone has already been rinced numerous times before being added to the growbed. The grow bed will be filled to the top with media and then rinced inside the tank. The dirty water will be flushed out from the bottom till water coming out of top is fairly clear.
Stay tuned for another post tomorrow on progress.
Cindy
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Finished system
The picture is of my first Aquaponics system, a Barrelponics system. I found after I got it operational that a lot of ppl use this as a model and learning system. I thought it was a little pricey for a first system and a little complicated for someone that knew or knows little to nothing. We had the poor salesman running ragged while we tried to gather all the pieces parts that would eventually look like something.
After looking into and a lot of research, I found a few forums about the subject and was immediatly drawn into the concept. These systems are only limited by imagination. Unfortunatly, I must have been out to lunch when imaginations were being handed out. I have very little to none, sigh.
Do a search on Aquaponics and see all the information there is. There are a couple darn good forums about the subject also. There is a slight learning curve, but it is helped along by these forums and ppl that have been there and tried that and are more than willing to help a newbie get both feet wet in this fantastic hobby.
Cindy
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Weather and growing medium slows backyard aquaponics project
It’s late March, and it’s snowing! That means it’s not possible to begin installing the backyard aquaponics system. We’re still looking for the proper growing medium (the stuff that goes into the barrels for the plant roots to grow into). That has turned into quite a project.
The instructions call for “pea gravel”. Of course, there are few standards for pea gravel. We found it at Home Depot, where it looked more like filings from granite… sharp edges and dust.
We’ve also seen some stuff at Walmart. We may need as much as 24 bags, and that’s a lot of money.
Cindy found a product called “Hydrotron” which is perfect. Only we’d have to drive to Las Vegas, and the cost is prohibitive.
I want to check a local company in Cedar City. They may have it in bulk, and that would be much cheaper, even if we do have to shovel it out of the truck. Perhaps we could pay as little as $30 a yard. I think we’ll need about a cubic yard if we buy bulk.
Of course, we’re also still waiting on parts to complete the greenhouse remodel, so in all… let it snow!
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Making room for the backyard aquaponics project
Step one of making room for the backyard aquaponics system was to clean out the greenhouse and relocate one of the raised boxes. It took us a couple of mornings, but step one is now complete.
Step two was to bring the framework upstairs and get it coated with a protective stain. That framework won’t have any contact with either the water or the plants, so we’re still inside the organic regulations. The blue barrels will sit on this framework.
The barrels have been cut and Cindy is now working on the plumbing. There’s a ton of connections to be made and many pieces of PVC to be cut and glued. Once these have been “test fitted”, the barrels and plumbing will be brought to the greenhouse for installation.
Cindy also connected with the right Department of Natural Resources person , who cleared our confusion regarding any need for an aquaculture permit. As long as the fish are either turned into fertilizer at the end of their life, of in the case of trout, for our use only, we have no permitting requirements.
To start, we’ll use common goldfish as we’re moving into warmer weather. According to all the experts, many of these fish will also sacrifice themselves as learn to balance the system. By next fall, we will locate a company within Utah that raises sterile trout for winter use.
Stay tuned as we will begin hooking everything up in a week or two. Part of the delay will be the arrival of the greenhouse covers. Also finding the right morning (no wind, and well above freezing) and gathering a crew from amongst our neighbors determines the installation date.
