After nearly five years - An Update!

I decided that it was time to get this blog out of mothballs, blow off the dust and bring it up to date.  The fact is that regarding my aquaponics project, which I first started planning seven or eight years ago, that inevitable obstacle of funding delayed any practical moves towards realization.  Hence the sale of my house.

First the refurbishment.

Then the ‘For Sale’ sign.

Then, after a considerable wait, the sale – which rather inconveniently occurred during a long planned visit to Tasmania and New Zealand to visit friends and family.  My visit took place between November 2013 and January 2014, with the house sale being completed in January. Thus, much needed funds were liberated!

Keeping it brief, I was able to come to an agreement with second son, which helped him to buy a large enough property to provide space for me to live, and develop the aquaponics – although the funds necessary to get started were still not immediately available.  There is, however, a large garden, a section of which became mine to deal with – completely overgrown with bramble, nettle, buddleia and convolvulus.  We all took over the property in September 2014.

Next steps:

We refurbished the old static caravan for my accommodation.  New floor, some walls, rebuilt inside to my specification,

and cut back top growth in garden plot (about 35m x 15m).

I couldn’t yet afford the planned insulated greenhouse for the aquaponic system, so work began to get stuff growing in the garden. We cut down some trees, and shifted some earth about with a digger. 

I laid out some beds, using our cardboard removal boxes for weed suppression. Imported about three tonnes of compost from local authority recycled garden waste.  Put up a small greenhouse I brought from the last place.

I refurbished an old cedar greenhouse which had been left derelict for 10 or 15 years – stripping the ivy from inside and out, having new roof vents made, replacing glass which the ivy had broken, and digging out a sycamore tree which had self seeded in front of the door. Total cost for an excellent 8ft x 12ft cedar greenhouse, £600!

I started serious food growing in a small way in 2015, while continuing to break in what was effectively virgin ground (although it had once been a fine productive garden).  It soon became clear that rabbits would be a problem, so rabbit fencing had to be installed round all beds. Rats became very interested in my compost bins!

By spring 2016, I had a proper garden, although brambles, docks and nettles continued to be a nuisance.  Constant strimming of the areas between the beds allowed grass to take over from docks, nettles and brambles. 

 Then came the next step towards the aquaponic project.

I was at last able to release enough money to purchase an 8m x 6m insulated Keder greenhouse. Before its arrival, I had built a sunken sump tank with concrete blocks, setting them on a concrete base about 1m below ground level. 

Then with ongoing help from second son and a hired digger, we prepared the site for the arrival of the installation team.  The greenhouse was installed in a couple of days, at a cost approaching £7000. (You can see why I had to sell my house!)

The greenhouse arrived partly on a pallet, and partly on the roof of the fitters' truck.

It was difficult to envisage a 8m x 6m greenhouse emerging from this lot!

Meanwhile I needed to stay on top of the gardening outside and in the two small greenhouses, and as winter approached and the weather worsened (the site proving pretty windy) I found my desire to continue with outside activities somewhat diminished!

Entering summer 2017, my garden is in reasonable shape.  I am forced to admit that I am no longer able physically to achieve what I might have done even 10 years ago.  

However, the sump tank is insulated, lined with board, and fibre-glassed (this by an expert).  

The fish tank, which used to be the water tank in the roof space of a demolished school, is in place, after some manhandling through the 2m wide entrance.

 It is glass fibre and insulated. It has been filled and tested for leaks, as has the sump tank.  The fish tank will hold in excess of 2000litres of water, and the sump tank more than 1000litres.

I have laid the first of two 3m x 1.2m concrete pads which will be the bases for the grow beds.  I have purchased some IBCs which will be cannibalized to make the grow beds.  I have also purchased six ready-made auto-syphons, for the flood and drain system in the grow beds.

Meanwhile, so that the big greenhouse is starting to earn its keep, I have made a raised bed down one side, where I am growing cherry tomatoes, roccoto chillies, cape gooseberries and Lord Nelson sweet peas (because I like them and they will attract pollinators!)  I also have tubs with more tomatoes, carrots, spring onions, lettuces, parsley and coriander, as well as three citrus fruit trees. Next I must lay the second concrete pad, and build the block piers to support the grow beds.  

Soon I must have second son install mains electricity, and to follow, a heating system for the fish tank, using partially mains supply and partially a solar thermal panel.  The mains supply will eventually be supported by solar PV panels which currently connect to the main house.

I have yet to buy the pump, the heart of the system, and the air pump for the fish tank.

Just to be clear; if this was to be a commercial exercise I would be building a different system which would be designed to produce a large quantity of a few profitable plants – salad leaves and herbs. But I have different goals.  I want to provide a wide variety of food for the family in as sustainable way as possible, and also, perhaps, to demonstrate the possibilities for the system as a community project, as climate change tightens its grip, with an inevitable impact on food production and cost.

So far so good!  I hope to have the system running this year, but without fish while I cycle up the system, developing the bacteria in the grow beds (which convert fish waste, i.e. ammonia, into nitrates which the plants can use) and balancing the pH in the water.  I will be growing plants during this phase and would hope to order fish next year: I will be growing Tilapia, which is the reason for heating the fish tank.  I am hoping that the fish tank and sump totalling about 3000 litres of warm water (about 25 degrees C) in the insulated greenhouse will help me to a longer growing season, particularly if in winter I supplement the natural light with some grow lights.

That’s it – up to date for the moment. More to follow as and when.

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!

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!

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.