How to do worm composting in your house is our main topic. Rick has almost zero waste in his house by using worms to compost his kitchen scraps. Rick tell us how to make your own worm composting bins and where to get composting worms, aka red wigglers. You can also use night crawlers for worm composting.
Rick shreds paper, be it junkmail or newspapers for bedding material and mixes this with the food scraps from the kitchen into his worm composter. He tells about how to make your own worm composter and where to locate the composter in your home. And how to aerate your worm compost bin with a home made rig.
Fruit flies are easily controlled with the shredded paper and keeping the worm bin not too wet.
How to build an aquaponics system is next, Rick tell us how to make your own aquaponics or aquaculture system. If you have an aquarium, you have half the the parts to an aquaponics system. Balancing the pH of the system of a challenge. Right now Rick is using goldfish to fine tune his system, he is growing tomatoes, lettuce, peppers with his aquaculture system.
You can read some of Ricks aquaponics how-to posts here.
‘Being pregnant, that will knock you out’ is how Eric describes pregnancy. Hamburgers with eggs and peanut butter is on Mike’s to do list at his favorite pancake place. Mike is enjoying his Zombie Bait shirt.
Rick updates us on his DIY aquaculture and hyrdroponics project. Aquaculture is like organic gardening in a closed system using fish and the waste water from the fish feeding the plants, and the filtered water is then returned back to the fish tank. If you already have a goldfish pond, you are that much closer to having an aquaculutre system. What kind of fish to use, what is the difference between hyrdoponics and aquaculture, and how you can build an inexpensive hydroponics system using 5 gallon buckets and PVC pipe. Mike’s friend Eric has a site about aquaponics here.
Aquaponics and Aquaculture How-to has been taking up a lot of Rick’s time. Below Rick tells us what he has learned about how to build an aquaponics system. Eric
The backbone of the inner tunnel is just 1" ID PVC for ribs
I haven’t been around the Gardenfork site very much, been busy in the greenhouse. But for the last few days rain and, particularly, mud has kept me away from the greenhouse, so I thought I’d update you on my progress on the aquaponics project.
Of course, everything is harder and takes way more time than you think it will, so I have not made as much progress as I though I would by now.
4 mil plastic from the Blue Store comes in 20 ft widths on 100 ft rolls, just what I needed.
Last time I wrote that I wasn’t going to build the inner tunnel inside the greenhouse because the winter was so mild here in Tidewater, but I changed my mind.
I’ve got 40 tomato seedlings just sprouting in the spare bedroom at our house, snuggled in and just getting a start in life. And I am already 2 weeks behind in getting the seeds sprouted, so any more setbacks would be devastating.
Clamp-On PVC over tubing to hold plastic to frame and tension the skin. 4 clamps, two per end.
That’s because, as I mentioned previously, this project has to pay. So if this crop craps out, I’m losing much more than 40 seeds; I’ll lose the early crop.
Not only do the tomatoes have to “make,” but they have to be early enough in the spring to demand a higher price at the Farmers Market. Early local tomatoes are worth gold. Late July tomatoes are nearly giveaways. So we decided that it would be pound foolish to not go ahead with the inner tunnel.
inside the inner cover (that's the Dutch Bucket system in the back left, waiting for the tomato sprouts)
I’ll be growing the tomatoes in Dutch Buckets. (I’m working up another post soon explaining how Dutch Buckets work.)
Dutch Buckets (also called Bato Buckets) are something you can do in your house, as long as you have enough light and enough warmth, particularly for tomatoes and peppers.
It’s a flimsy, wobbly affair. It won’t stand a gust and in even moderate heat the ribs will sag. But it’s quick and cheap. I’m using all 1-inch ID PVC in my plumbing, so as the temperature goes up and the inner cover comes down, I’ll be repurposing the PVC to the irrigation system as I expand.
What’s Aquaponics without fish?
The Fish Tank, is another matter all together. Here’s my first try at the platform:
first try at platform
The problem is that I didn’t show this design to anyone before I built it. She, who must be obeyed, took one look at it and said, “why not have the 4x4s tall, to help contain the tank?”
–Doh…
Fortunately, I put it all together with screws so –after another run to the Blue Store– I had some 5 ft long 4x4s for along the outside edges. I also added more of the cement blocks, so that no span is unsupported for more than two feet.
Redone…with the 5 ft supports all around.
Temperature control is important in Aquaponics. And it’s easier…it says here…to warm up a tank than to cool it off. So temperature control of the tank is important. That’s so your fish are comfortable, but most importantly, that so because the bacteria must be comfortable as well.
The key to Aquaponics is the bacteria. You can have all the fish you want and all the plants you want, but they’ll both DIE if the proper kinds of bacteria do not colonize your system or if the bacteria are unhappy.
If it dries off enough so that I can get back there with a truck this week, I’ll deliver the –damn heavy!– 4 x 8 ‘ sheets of 3/4-inch treated plywood for the sides. I’ll put sheets of interior insulation and a fish-safe pond liner inside the tank so it’s water proof. I’ll also band the top, middle and bottom of the tank around the outside of the 4 x 4s.
The finished Fish Tank will be 8 x 8 x 3 ft or 192 cubic feet. That’s about 14,000 gallons of water, which is 5.8 tons of water. Once I finish the fish tank, I’ll start on the grow beds. I’m hoping four 4 x 8 foot to begin with.
Read Meg Stouts excellent blog 3'x5' Aquaponics, on how to build a backyard aquaponics system
My greenhouse aquaponics project (OMG What Have I Done?) has come up in some soon-to-be-published interviews with Eric, so I thought I’d report on my progress…or lack of progress. First of all, the old commercial greenhouse (100 ft by 30 ft by 30 ft high) has been sealed (added side curtains, repaired the fire damage, put up some canvas flap doors on each end (contact local sign and advertising companies for used banners they are throwing away: heavy, hemmed, UV-resistant. Good stuff for temporary fixes.)
I’ve begun seedlings at home under a grow light, mostly tomatoes. I’ve set up a Dutch Bucket hydroponics system (video forthcoming). I’ve given up on the idea of building an inner greenhouse inside the greenhouse (see the writings of Eliot Coleman on winter greenhouse gardening without heat) and instead will drape plastic over existing plants if needed.
Aquaponics – aka aquaculture.
The learning curve is steep, but not daunting. Thanks to GardenFork listener
@CCorbiere who’s offered his considerable experience in fish wrangling and pond design. His knowledge and experience is going to be more than helpful as I get started on the fish side of the equation.
My Bible: Sylvia Bernstein's Aquaponic Gardening: A Step-By-Step Guide to Raising Vegetables and Fish Together
My biggest hurdle seems to be settling on some systems issues, a breed of fish, and –most importantly– trying to start the biologic process in the winter, which is the reason I launched a hydroponics Dutch Bucket system first. Hydroponics is even more “fiddly-fidgety” than aquaponics, but at least you don’t have to try to start bacteria colonies in the cold. I’ll be documenting this process as I go along.
If you need a brief primer on aquaponics you can’t do better than the Flash animations (click the red button to make them work) from EcoFilms Australia: How an Aquaponics System Works. The system demonstrated is the CHOP system (constant height, one pump), which is what I’ll be doing. There is also an excellent animation on the same page about how a Bell Siphon works. (BTW: the Austrailains are way, way ahead of us in aquaculture.)
from Meg Stout's 3×5 Aquaponics & 365 Aquaponics Blogs, excellent how-to building videos
If you are not familiar with aquaponics, here’s a brief description. Think: Closed Loop Agriculture.
You feed the fish (organic feed, if you wish)
the fish poop
you pump the fish water with the poop to the grow beds (what is called a flood and drain system)
the medium (usually gravel, but can be other things) hosts bacteria that convert the ammonia in the poop to nitrites and then another bacteria converts the nitrites to nitrates (plant nitrogen)
plants in the grow beds pick up the nitrogen from the water when the bed floods
the bell siphon (see video link above) drains the bed after a “dwell” time
the draining of the bed draws oxygen down into the beds and the root zone for the plants
the drained water splashes down to the sump, re-oxygenating the water for the fish
the sump water is pumped back to the fish tank with as much splashing as possible to add more oxygen to the fish tank
Repeat
eventually you get a lot of solids built up in your grow bed
so you add compost worms to the beds (which can breath air and water) to reduce the solids to castings, which become compost tea for the plants
Your only input is fish food and water (to top off the tanks).
Of course there is more to it than this, but that’s the gist of it, a closed-loop, sustainable, agriculture system.
Eric and Mike start off their new years day show with Chris Brogan and his 3 words for 2012, Eric suggests not going to Times Square for New Years Eve, you probably wont like it, its very crowded.
Fireplace safety comes up next, Eric suggests everyone have glass doors or a wire screen over their wood burning fireplaces.
Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors have an effective life of 8-10 years, according to FEMA, and don’t cheap out when buying new ones, you get what you pay for. Its also important to follow the installation instructions you get with the detectors, smoke detector placement is very important.
Eric tells of his visit to a green home supplier that sells kitchen cabinets from deconstructed renovations. One of the projects will involve creating an opening between two rooms by cutting an opening a load bearing wall, which will be a future GardenFork video.
Sauerkraut fermentation times are discussed again, with more comments on Eric’s How to make sauerkraut video. Eric knows that yes, he did not let the cabbage ferment long enough.
Viewer mail takes up a lot of the show.
Eric talks about how to grow mushrooms and inoculate wood plugs with mushroom spore, and inoculating logs with mushroom plugs and spore. All about mushroom spawn.
Rick will be back on the show to talk about aquaponics and aquaculture , and Eric of chicago writes us about his tires being cupped.
Eric still plans on having breakfast with executive coach Rich Gee, and Radio Rick thinks it was the best interview we’ve done.
Eric talks about building his portable wood fired pizza oven, which will be a how-to pizza oven video for the show.
How to start an aquaculture farm starts GF Radio today, as Rick has decided to grow vegetables using aquaponics and hydroponics. Aquaculture is a system which uses fish in tanks and plants in trays. Listen as Rick tell us how to start a low cost aquaculture system, aquaponics systems, and aquaponic gardening. The plan is to grow tomatoes in winter with this fish and plant sytem, using available materials.
Rick also tells about a Texas turkey hunt, and why not all wild turkeys taste great. Eric talks about his deer hunting trip to the Catskills in New York State, hunting on NYC watershed land, and why you should have all your permits in order when hunting.
We then move on to highway safety, a recurring subject on GF Radio. Driving too fast or too slow can cause accidents.
If you have an aquaponic garden or an aquaculture setup , we’d like to hear from you, please leave a comment below or email us, always interested in hearing from you all.
How not to sand a wood floor is just part of this week’s GardenFork Radio. We also talk about hydroponics, aquaponics, composting, chainsaw safety, and some new viewer mail! Call our Listener Voicemail 860-740-6938
Mike and Eric talk about Mike’s Ford Bronco from the mid 80s, and then Eric joins us to talk about aquaponics, which is a pretty cool system for growing food and fish. His aquaponics blog is here.
You can listen to Rick talk about how to set up an aquaculture farm here on this GF Radio show. Rick has rented a large greenhouse and starting up an aquaponics greenhouse.
Then we move to viewer mail about being prepared for disasters , eric’s idea for floating houses, and the listener call in line. neat. call us 860-740-6938
Rick updates us on his DIY aquaculture and hyrdroponics project. Aquaculture is like organic gardening in a closed system using fish and the waste water from the fish feeding the plants, and the filtered water is then returned back to the fish tank. If you already have a goldfish pond, you are that much closer to having an aquaculutre system. What kind of fish to use, what is the difference between hyrdoponics and aquaculture, and how you can build an inexpensive hydroponics system using 5 gallon buckets and PVC pipe. Mike’s friend Eric has a site about 
. Rick talks bout several of the projects, Deek is a brilliant designer.
