This site is dedicated to Greenhouse design, Aquaculture, Aquaponics, Aeroponics systems and general plant/animal husbandry when grown in a sustainable organic manner.
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.
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.
Here's where my system is at going into mid May, I just got finished placing some of my left over expanded shale into the area around the pump house and barrel filters. I placed some above ground plastic edging at the boarder of the ground tarps over to the greenhouse , and then used about 3 wheelbarrow's full of shale to fill it in about 2" inches deep. I was in jeopardy of losing the weed block as it was beginning to deteriorate from the sun.
It turned out rather nice and provided good drainage for any rain water coming off the greenhouse.
I have also included a few pics of the raft system plants to show some of the growth that is going on.
I have five varieties of lettuce, which include Romain, and bibb. Just wish I had more growing.
I also have squash and cucumber plants in the raft systems which seem to being doing "Just OK", but really haven't taken off yet.
Here is a quick overview video of the entire greenhouse setup, inlcuding the DWC Raft and new nursery plant rafts.
OK...so I'm a little late on planting my seedlings due to other domestic obligations ...anyway, I have picked up some seedling trays from Amazon that are being used to start my seedlings. I tried using white grow cubes on my bell peppers in the past, which sprouted fine, but did not allow for enough oxygen to the roots and too much water causing rot. This time around I'm using peat moss. I have to pack each seed cell in the tray with peat moss, which should provide a good foundation for the roots. I am using a combination of rain water and FT water to sprout the seeds. Hopefully, the greenhouse will provide enough light for stronger growing plants. I am growing two varieties of cucumbers, three different types of tomatoes, some heirloom, along with kale, lettuce, squash, etc. etc. etc. Once the sprouts are large enough, tomatoes will be placed in the media grow beds, along with the cucumbers while most of the rest will go into the DWC rafts once completed.
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.
