A Green Project Challenge

The intent of this project is to see if being more green is viable given the cost of materials vs. the Return On Investment (ROI) for operating my own greenhouse aquaponics/aeroponics system in our backyard. The challenge is whether I can design, build and operate an aquaponics/aeroponics based greenhouse system in a sustainable manner with a small carbon footprint while providing food for the table at a reasonable cost over conventional methods such as purchasing fish/vegetables at the local grocery. Join me on this journey of discovery while I forge a new chapter in my quest for a better tomorrow.
Showing posts with label Basil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Basil. Show all posts

Monday, March 4, 2013

Late post of last years Aquaponics activities

Sorry for the late post. This was at the end of the season last year towards the end of September 2012. I moved positions within my company at my day job...you know the one that truly pays the bills, and didn't have much time to dedicate to my Aqauponic adventures. I'm hopefully back on track and can post more as time allows.  This post is related to the phenomenal growth of my tomato and Basil plants in the fall. The tomato plants along with the basil, actually choked out all the other growth in the beds by late November. I harvested the Basil, drying some and making the rest into homemade pesto which I froze.

Mainly Tomato and Basil plants


I also had several types of Lettuce and Kale growing in the sprouting rafts



Some of the final product, Dried Basil and Pesto.



Here's an Overview of the September 2012 Growth in the Greenhouse.



Until Next Time....Enjoy!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The sewing of Romaine Lettuce and Collard Greens

Aquaponics is amazing....after sowing several dozen Romaine lettuce seeds of various varieties. I was surprised to find that after 3 days most of the seeds had sprouted. This is truly amazing considering that normal germination for these seeds type is 7-10 days. I also did the same with a pack of Collard Green seeds and unexpectedly these also sprouted in 3 days while normal germination is 10-21 days. I have included a few photos to show the new babies.


 You can see the new lettuce sprouts next to the new Bell Pepper plants in the pic above.
 A closer view, I'm going to have to cull a few of these as they get bigger.
And yet more....

Here is a shot of the collard sprouts.



I also had a Basil harvest this past weekend due to the fact that the plants were starting to get lengthy and falling over. I cut these back and dried the leaves. I still have quite a few younger plants for fresh cut leaves when needed.


Next post  to follow will provide an overview the new solar hot water panel I put together to heat the fish tank water.