www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpK5XGfAXV4

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhMvn2G3Zuk

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfcGFis0uWQ

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Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNVwqV9f2GY

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This video series will trace the aquaponics system over the next 10-12 weeks as I bring onboard a number of new elements such as new grow beds (including deep water culture) and improved fish tank designs. It will also demonstrate the amazing growth potential that aquaponics seems to be displaying no that the weather is warming up.

So without further ado, here is week ones installment.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9YmFK8S04g

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The biggest issue I have had with the system was an abundance of light making it’s way through the clear IBC’s leading to massive algal growth in the water. The water turned a bright green making it impossible to see the fish. This has been corrected by shading the sump tank, and painting the raft tank.

The ‘cost’ of destroying the algae, was that the dissolved oxygen (DO) of the system dropped rapidly leading to the death of a number of trout. As you might be aware, trout have a very high DO requirement and the rapid drop of DO due to decomposing algae was enough to cause some difficulties.There are still quite a few trout in the system, but approx 40ish were lost.

However, on the positive side, the bacteria in the system (which are the true work horses) have ‘cycled’ and are currently maintaining the ammonia and nitrite levels at very close to zero. Nitrate has been climbing, currently at approx 80ppm, though this isn’t too concerning at this stage. In fact, the plants have visibly grown in the past week demonstrating that they are enjoying the extra nutrient that is available. Today the beds were planted with some dwarf pea plants, and in the next few days another batch of lettuce will be planted into the raft tank.

I’ll keep updating you on the progress… both the highs & the lows.

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Basic Aquaponics Cycle

The reason that have always wanted to try this system is because I feel that it can offer a lot of opportunities to the small-holder, or even householder, as one can grow a lot of food in a relatively small area.

The test system that I am starting out with is a variation of the ‘toteponics’ system which is becoming justly famous. The toteponics system that I am building requires 3 x 1000L IBC’s (individual bulk containers), which will be cut up to create our fish tank and grow beds. There will be 4 grow beds attached to the tank, 3 with gravel substrate and one operating as a deep water culture (DWC) raft system (see below).

Fish tank and DWC Raft Grow Bed

In the above picture you can see the initial set-up which consists of the fish tank, and the DWC raft system. The fish tank was created by cutting the top off an IBC, and then filling it with 900L of water. The water had a some pond water added to it, to introduce the right sorts of bacteria, and a little seaweed concentrate to give them a little something to begin growing on.

The DWC raft grow bed is designed to achieve two purposes. The first purpose is to aerate the water of the fish tank, which it does through the action of the water spilling over the stand pipe (see photo below), and cascading into the tank. As the water cascades it’s fall is broken by the pipework of the fish tank surround, scattering the water in all directions and making one hell of a splash.

DWC Grow Bed Stand Pipe

Fish Tank Aeration

The second purpose is to grow sensitive salad greens and herbs, primarily lettuce, in a raft system. A raft system is essentially a Styrofoam raft with a series of holes cut in it to accommodate hydroponic net pots. The seedlings are planted into the pots and then float in the grow tank supported by the Styrofoam rafts. Their roots grow into the water below, drawing nutrient out and cleaning the water.

Below is a video of the the test system in operation. Admittadly I still need to add the additional grow beds, nonetheless it’s in operation… fish to come soon.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvnS1wBXCDM

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As was previously noted, I lost a few crowns when the irrigation system failed, but since re-jigging the system I haven’t had any issues. As you can see from the photo’s, the remaining crowns are doing really well.

The one change that I would like to make to the system would be to add a fertiliser ‘injector’ into the system which would make adding liquid fertiliser much easier. At the moment I periodically stand on a ladder to pour a seaweed fertiliser into the tubes. This isn’t the end of the world but it would be easier!

The other option is to perhaps integrate the system with the proposed aquaponics system, but we’ll see how that pans out as the season progresses.

Update (4/12/10) – After a week of almost solid rain another ‘problem’ has become apparent… slugs! Today when harvesting some fruit I noticed some slug damage. I think they are getting to the plants via the mint beneath which has gone beserk, and grown taller than the bottom of the tower. I think the slugs are then just bridging the gap. However there is nowhere for them to hide, so picking them off and eliminating the bridge should do the job nicely.

Photo Updates

Strawberry Tower on 7 November

Strawberry Tower on 20 November 2010

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Every weekend I set myself a task to complete around TSH that keeps the vision moving in the right direction. Sometimes this task is large, such as fencing a new paddock, but at other times it can be quite small such as improving an existing system. This weekend, my task was to build a new vege garden using the wicking bed system.

A wicking bed is a marvellously efficient garden design in which you water from below. It is basically a giant self-watering pot in which you water via a filling tube. The water creates a reservoir under the soil of the bed, and the water then ‘wicks’ up to water the plants. The major advantage of the system is that there is no free water on the surface, so evaporation is minimal.

At TSH we have two beds, both located on the back verandah, which have been designated to be wicking beds. And this weekend I created one of the beds. The location of the beds was chosen so as to allow year round growing (it’s under the eaves so shouldn’t be too effected by frost) as well as to be close to the kitchen (virtually in zone 0, if you are permaculturally inclined). It should also help reduce the amount of reflected sunlight into the entertaining area during summer which should help make this area feel much more comfortable.

And let’s not forget… produce a mass of picking greens, herbs and other vegetables for the kitchen.

A video-essay of the building of this bed can be found on Green Phoenix Permaculture.

I’ll post an update in a few weeks around how it is going. Below are some time staged photos… click on them to zoom.

Wicking Bed (Week 1)

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For example, over the 20th century, the US Department of Agriculture’s seed storage bank reduced the varieties of fruits and vegetables held. For example 544 varieties of cabbage became just 28; 287 varieties of carrot was reduced to 21; and most staggeringly of all, 2,683 varieties of pear was reduced to approx 300.

Of course the practical upshot of these losses is the fact that the majority of our food crops, both in agriculture & the home garden, are genetically narrow.

What is the risk of sameness??

Well the most publicized risk is the fact that many of our pests and diseases may find ‘chinks’ in the armour of these crops leading to massive losses. This, due to the lack of genetic diversity, then leads the need to apply prodigious amounts of fertilisers and ‘cides (herbicides & pesticides) to keep production up. Of course, as we apply more of the ‘cides, the pest species (which are genetically diverse) begin to adapt making themselves resistant. This creates a feedback loop requiring more ‘cides, creating stronger bugs, more ‘cides, stronger bugs, more ‘cides… etc.

The alternative, which according to Darwinian theory worked for almost all of earth’s history, is to utilize genetic diversity to beat the bugs. This works because not all plants in the population will have the same chink that the bugs find. Those that do are destroyed/damaged, but those that don’t survive. The survivors then become the forefathers of the new generation, and in time the bugs ability to exploit the chink is lessened.

Of course as all this is going on the bugs are also evolving and trying to outwit the plants.

This is evolution at work!!

For this positive feedback loop to work, evolution only needs a single tool… diversity!

Which leads us back to the concerns around the increasing lack of diversity amongst our food crops.

What can we do?

Well the simpliest thing we can do, whether we are a farmer or a gardener, is to encourage genetic diversity. For example, instead of planting only ‘Derwent Globe’ beetroots in our gardens this year we might plant Derwent Globe, Chioogga, Bulls Blood, and Burpees Golden. In this way we have increased the genetic diversity in our gardens by 4, as well as making for much more interesting salads due to colour, taste and texture.

As we do this we are also encouraging the seed houses to hold more varieties, and the growers to grow the seeds.

For the home gardener there are a number of really good suppliers of heritage seeds (see the links page) but for the farmer things are a little more difficult.

Things are more difficult for the farmer as most of the seeds that can be purchased in bulk are not available in a ‘wide range’ of varieties. In fact, the established agricultural systems discourage planting a range of varieties, and encourage the planting of vast monocultures.

However even farmers can make a difference. You could for example;

• encourage your seed supplier to provide you with greater diversity
• encourage more cross pollination on the farm, and save seed wherever possible
• encourage weeds and other endemic species (tricky one due to laws around weed control)

The key point is that we need to start considering the genetic diversity of our food crops, and doing whatever we can to increase that diversity.

Our future depends on it!!

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