My house renovation is finally finished, and I have a For Sale board outside.
It's true that future projects, and in particular my aquaponics project, depend on finding a buyer, but I am closer to that point than before, with no further obstacles to a sale - and though I say so myself, it is a very pleasant little property!
Now that the hard work is done, I have time to continue researching. If all goes well, I am planning a trip to Australia and New Zealand to visit family and friends before I start building my system, so construction of insulated polytunnel (Keder house), and installation of heated fish tank and growbeds will not start before 2013. Meanwhile, as I follow the activities of practising aquaponics people in America and Australia, my thoughts and ideas continue to mature. (Impatient as I am to get started, until I can move house nothing else can happen!)
Thus it was that I started to look into the possibility of growing mushrooms as part of the project. I spotted a video clip of Will Allen growing mushrooms in his greenhouses, so it is clearly possible - but it is a matter of finding the most appropriate method for my situation which is cost effective and productive in the long term. (A single flush of mushrooms lasting a week or two is no good to me!)
For the moment, though, it is a frustrating waiting game, waiting for that enthusiastic house buyer to knock at my door!
Here is a link to my selling agent's details
Aquaponics, Food for a Hungry World
Monday, 28 May 2012
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Birthday Present for Myself!
I had my birthday on Sunday. Some family members made more of a fuss than I thought was warranted but it was very enjoyable - I was given a very useful digital SLR camera - something I always assumed that I would never be able to afford - and a pleasant lunch and a delicious supper.
But for myself, I bought two books. One was a recipe book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall called River Cottage Veg Every Day and consists of recipes which do not include either fish or meat. It is not written specifically for vegetarians; it is simply an attempt to get people eating more vegetables. I can see it becoming my cooking bible once my aquaponic unit is up and running.
The other book I bought was one I pre-ordered months ago: Aquaponic Gardening by Sylvia Bernstein. This has only just come onto the market, and I would consider it essential for anyone interested in the subject but particularly the beginner. It is written in an easy-to-read and entertaining style, which is not in the least patronising, and as far as I can tell so far, covers every aspect of setting up an aquaponic system making due allowance for different climates and for those of us used to working with metric measurements.
Although I don't expect to get started with my set-up until next year, I am finding this book interesting and instructive, and as a result of reading it I expect to be better equipped to get going as soon as I have the premises!
But for myself, I bought two books. One was a recipe book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall called River Cottage Veg Every Day and consists of recipes which do not include either fish or meat. It is not written specifically for vegetarians; it is simply an attempt to get people eating more vegetables. I can see it becoming my cooking bible once my aquaponic unit is up and running.
The other book I bought was one I pre-ordered months ago: Aquaponic Gardening by Sylvia Bernstein. This has only just come onto the market, and I would consider it essential for anyone interested in the subject but particularly the beginner. It is written in an easy-to-read and entertaining style, which is not in the least patronising, and as far as I can tell so far, covers every aspect of setting up an aquaponic system making due allowance for different climates and for those of us used to working with metric measurements.
Although I don't expect to get started with my set-up until next year, I am finding this book interesting and instructive, and as a result of reading it I expect to be better equipped to get going as soon as I have the premises!
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Spreading the word
As you might expect, I have been talking about my plans with some enthusiasm to anyone prepared to listen. My son has had an offer accepted on the house he currently rents, and so we have discussed how to turn the garage into an annex for me to live in, complete with an outside area, where I hope to put up my 4M x 3M Keder greenhouse. There is a slight conflict at the moment because he is hoping to build an extension which could encroach on the greenhouse area - but I hope this can be resolved.
However, assuming that problem can be resolved, the situation looks promising and the deal can go ahead as soon as I have finished renovating my house so it can be sold.
Meanwhile, I went to a conference on renewable energy the other day. There were many presentations, most of which I had heard before, and there were a quantity of exhibition stands, which dealt with wind turbines and PV panels for the most part, with a smattering of solar thermal and biomass products. I saw nothing on wave or tidal energy, which in Cornwall, with sea on three sides, is disappointing. I was interviewed briefly by a couple of 'media' students who were being paid for by the sponsors (the local authority) to gather feedback, and was happy to say that I thought the conference was very worthwhile if only for the opportunity it presented for spreading the word about environmental matters and green energy.
On the matter of spreading the word, I was mentioning my aquaponics plans to a friend and her colleague, who suggested that I should share my ideas with the local Transition group. She and her colleague are both active in the Transition movement, and seemed unconcerned that I have, as yet, no practical experience whatsoever! But I am quite capable of talking about aquaponics at length, and can intersperse my chat with various video clips, so I will be happy to accept the challenge!
However, assuming that problem can be resolved, the situation looks promising and the deal can go ahead as soon as I have finished renovating my house so it can be sold.
Meanwhile, I went to a conference on renewable energy the other day. There were many presentations, most of which I had heard before, and there were a quantity of exhibition stands, which dealt with wind turbines and PV panels for the most part, with a smattering of solar thermal and biomass products. I saw nothing on wave or tidal energy, which in Cornwall, with sea on three sides, is disappointing. I was interviewed briefly by a couple of 'media' students who were being paid for by the sponsors (the local authority) to gather feedback, and was happy to say that I thought the conference was very worthwhile if only for the opportunity it presented for spreading the word about environmental matters and green energy.
On the matter of spreading the word, I was mentioning my aquaponics plans to a friend and her colleague, who suggested that I should share my ideas with the local Transition group. She and her colleague are both active in the Transition movement, and seemed unconcerned that I have, as yet, no practical experience whatsoever! But I am quite capable of talking about aquaponics at length, and can intersperse my chat with various video clips, so I will be happy to accept the challenge!
Sunday, 17 July 2011
IBC tanks
I have spent a bit of time on line, particularly Ebay, looking for a source for IBCs at a reasonable price, reasonably close by my home, and not contaminated with something nasty. I am planning to build my system on a shoe string, as well as looking for the best use of space in a 4M x 3M Keder house, and I reckon I can use an IBC for the fish tank, a plastic water tank for the sump (planted in the ground and packed in insulation sheets) and five second-hand bath tubs for grow-beds. The sump will be covered so that it can be walked on, thus saving space.
But as for the IBCs, I got sick of looking! I was talking to a friend of mine who processes organic food, and mentioned my frustration - whereupon he said that he gets them all the time, and that his have only been used for sunflower oil. And they are only 5 miles away!
I spoke to my son about all this, and he told me that our local all-purpose hardware store also stocks them, quite cheap!
We are inclined, these days, to assume that the internet provides us with all the answers. Perhaps if we looked closer to home at the outset, fewer small businesses would be going out of business!
But as for the IBCs, I got sick of looking! I was talking to a friend of mine who processes organic food, and mentioned my frustration - whereupon he said that he gets them all the time, and that his have only been used for sunflower oil. And they are only 5 miles away!
I spoke to my son about all this, and he told me that our local all-purpose hardware store also stocks them, quite cheap!
We are inclined, these days, to assume that the internet provides us with all the answers. Perhaps if we looked closer to home at the outset, fewer small businesses would be going out of business!
Sunday, 26 June 2011
Breeder Colonies
I have been reading about a breeder colony: in other words a separate tank in which to breed new fish. The website where I found the information, Tilapia Farming At Home, is a US based website, and the suggestion is that by producing hybrids from a male O. Hornorum and about half a dozen O. Mossambica females, you produce 98% male offspring, thus avoiding the problem of over-breeding in the fish tank. In this website, photographs indicate that the offspring are a reasonable size and shape!
I need to get a second and third opinion about this, as well as checking availability of these varieties of Tilapia - but it sounds like a plan!
I need to get a second and third opinion about this, as well as checking availability of these varieties of Tilapia - but it sounds like a plan!
Monday, 20 June 2011
System Design
I've been thinking a lot about how to design a system in a 4m x 3M Keder house. I am coming around to the idea from Murray Hallam, that perhaps a sump is a good idea, mainly from the point of view of relative levels. The fish tank could sit on the ground, and the grow beds could be fairly low (which I would prefer, for access to climbing plants) especially if the sump was sunk into the ground. It could be completely insulated to help maintain temperature, and the growbeds could be insulated too. Another plus is that much of the pipework could be run underground, which, especially if lagged, would also help to retain temperature.
I needed to find out how big the sump needs to be, so I asked Charlie Price about the medium/water ratio in a grow bed. (He said it's about 2/3 to 1/3) I have worked out that if I have five bath-tub growbeds, I would need a sump with a capacity of around 450 litres.
I have asked Murray Hallam if I would be able to use the sump as a breeder tank - which could solve the fish stock problems. I read that you can have a breeder tank for Tilapia, and if you have a male of one type (specified) and I think five females of a different type (specified), the offspring are 98% male, and it occurred to me that these could live in the sump!
Now I have to find a source for a 500 litre tank of the right shape, preferably without buying two IBCs!
I needed to find out how big the sump needs to be, so I asked Charlie Price about the medium/water ratio in a grow bed. (He said it's about 2/3 to 1/3) I have worked out that if I have five bath-tub growbeds, I would need a sump with a capacity of around 450 litres.
I have asked Murray Hallam if I would be able to use the sump as a breeder tank - which could solve the fish stock problems. I read that you can have a breeder tank for Tilapia, and if you have a male of one type (specified) and I think five females of a different type (specified), the offspring are 98% male, and it occurred to me that these could live in the sump!
Now I have to find a source for a 500 litre tank of the right shape, preferably without buying two IBCs!
Thursday, 16 June 2011
How Safe is Aquaponics?
The recent e-coli scare in Europe (the scare, but not the infection, has spread to the USA) has pointed up the question of safety in vegetables.
Over a couple of years, in the States, a comparison between green vegetables purchased in grocery stores, and those grown aquaponically, showed that the latter were pathogen free – in other words, the aquaponically grown vegetables were 100% safe.
However, ironically, again in the USA, aquaponically grown food cannot qualify for a Food Safety Certificate. The reason for this is the book of rules, and specifically two parameters which cannot be complied with. The disqualifications arise because of the presence, first, of animals in the growing area, and second, of untreated manure in the growing area. The book of rules does not take into account the fact that manure from cold blooded animals cannot transmit these diseases.
In the UK we have the Soil Association, and here we come across a similar contradiction – food cannot be considered organic if it is not grown directly in, and harvested from, the soil. And yet most of us are aware of organic farmers who would not eat their own produce, because of the pesticides they are allowed to use, and which would certainly kill the fish!
Is it time to re-evaluate? Well, I guess that’s up to the Soil Association. But I confess to feeling that the current definition of ‘organic’ is out of date and therefore lacks credibility. If you are growing in soil, you can gain organic certification without improving the nutritional value of your produce, depending on how you treat your soil; and of course it does not preclude the possibility that the produce could transmit e-coli. If you are growing aquaponically, you cannot do anything which might damage your fish, and if the fish survive, I reckon I will too!
So I feel enthusiastic about the proposed Aquaponics Association in the USA, whose purpose will be to 'preach the gospel' of aquaponics and perhaps persuade the certification bodies to adjust their criteria. Of course, the US, particularly Hawaii, and Australia, are way ahead of the British in the field of aquaponics - but we must do our best to catch up.
Over a couple of years, in the States, a comparison between green vegetables purchased in grocery stores, and those grown aquaponically, showed that the latter were pathogen free – in other words, the aquaponically grown vegetables were 100% safe.
However, ironically, again in the USA, aquaponically grown food cannot qualify for a Food Safety Certificate. The reason for this is the book of rules, and specifically two parameters which cannot be complied with. The disqualifications arise because of the presence, first, of animals in the growing area, and second, of untreated manure in the growing area. The book of rules does not take into account the fact that manure from cold blooded animals cannot transmit these diseases.
In the UK we have the Soil Association, and here we come across a similar contradiction – food cannot be considered organic if it is not grown directly in, and harvested from, the soil. And yet most of us are aware of organic farmers who would not eat their own produce, because of the pesticides they are allowed to use, and which would certainly kill the fish!
Is it time to re-evaluate? Well, I guess that’s up to the Soil Association. But I confess to feeling that the current definition of ‘organic’ is out of date and therefore lacks credibility. If you are growing in soil, you can gain organic certification without improving the nutritional value of your produce, depending on how you treat your soil; and of course it does not preclude the possibility that the produce could transmit e-coli. If you are growing aquaponically, you cannot do anything which might damage your fish, and if the fish survive, I reckon I will too!
So I feel enthusiastic about the proposed Aquaponics Association in the USA, whose purpose will be to 'preach the gospel' of aquaponics and perhaps persuade the certification bodies to adjust their criteria. Of course, the US, particularly Hawaii, and Australia, are way ahead of the British in the field of aquaponics - but we must do our best to catch up.
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