Myquaponica

What if situations and their relatives. a site about modern farming methods

[collinshydroponics-deactivated2]

This is without a doubt the most useful graphic I’ve come across

[mattonious]

Reblog the Money Pachimari to ensure that substantial wealth and fortune will be bestowed upon you!

[narwhalsrnasty]

The American farming revolution

The average American farm, according to the USDA in a 2012 study, is 434 acres. The way that this becomes a plausible feat is due to our use of monocropping and machinization. Each of these farms often only produces a very limited selection of crops, which often are all cut for shipment in one haul. This method of farming is the way in which many large farms in America runs with seed being planted, maintained, and harvested in large sweeping motions by large sweeping machines. A clear perspective on the shear magnitude of this farming system is shown by placing it side by side with another first world countrie: Japan . In Japan , the average size of a farm is less than an acre (economist, 2013). At only 3 hectares, the size of the farms aren't even comparable to that of American's. For many American farmers, there is no real justification to running a farm so small. Because of the system that they operate within, the profit margin would be to small to create a living wage for their quality of life. What Americans needs to decide in the coming years is which system they wish to follow. As the previous generation of farmers begins to age out of the field, the opportunity rises to modify the system to better suit the people who have to deal with it, i.e. everyone. in short heres a list of things to keep in mind. I plan to later go in depth of each of these topics. Monocultures means bees are shipped from farm to farm, which leads to an increased risk of death Patented seed varieties create a more expensive farming system by forcing farmers to buy new seed every year instead of raising some crops to seed each season. Globalized food systems create hunger problems in developing countries Curtis Stone proved that its possible to make $100,000 on half an acre. Monocultures lead to larger pest risks Large tracts of farming land don't have homes for local pest controllers such as birds and other insects. In the words of Nick Offerman "Exalt the farmer". With a growing world population that seems like something more must learn to do

[narwhalsrnasty]

Philly Urban Creators impact.

Though not all growth in the area of the city can claim this farm as the cause, the timelines line-up suprisingly well. When Philly Urban Creators was first started in 2010, the population that had little to no access to healthy food numbered at 30,075, all of which lived in areas of high poverty, as the whole area was categorized as such, meaning that all 95,777 people were well below the poverty line.

Two years later in 2012, the total or type of population hadn’t changed, but those with low to no access decreased to 17,820. The decrease of over 12 thousand, is impressive, but what makes it impressive is that it was a decrease of over 40%.

The impact of urban farms such as this is not only impressive, but actually has a life changing impact on so many peoples lives.

Data from (phila.gov) for the 2035

[narwhalsrnasty]

A couple saturdays ago i volunteered with the philly garden group philly urban creators. In partnership with worldtown citizen music group, the farm hosted 80+ volunteers to upgrade parts of the farm and maintain others. This local farn creates produce for the neighborhood which they sell at farmers markets and events.

The inner city of philadelphia is rampant with food deserts and gentrification. Philadelphia has the highest prevalence of you and adult obesity of America’s top 10 cities. 307,000 philadelphians live with high poverty and low access to healthy food options. Philly Urban Creators is one of 62 farmers markets that the city has to offer(phila.gov)

[hydroempire-blog]

Water conservation counts! Try switching to hydroponics or aquaponics for your garden needs.

[narwhalsrnasty]

To keep your pump running clean as long as possible it is important to protect it from clogging. A cage container around it gives plenty of alternative routes to avoid blockages once waste builda up as well as offering a breeding ground for good bacteria to process waste. For me, a full tank would have 2 or 3 of these containers. One would be on the pump at all times, but the other two would be submerged to allow for them to be cleaned

[narwhalsrnasty]

Myquaponics. Part 1

Myquaponics is a word that I have come up for, for creating a newer better form of the modern farming method aquaponics. Instead of relying on bacteria to break down the fish waste, myquaponics relys on mushrooms and their mycelium to break down the fish waste. The reason for this decision is the failure of my aquaponics tower. As the fish grew bigger, they generated more and more waste. Their production outgrew the growbeds leading to blockups of the ebb and drain system as well as the pump. Because of this i started looking into other options for ways to handle the material such as reverse osmosis filters for pulling it out of the system and later mycofiltration, or the use of mycelium filled materials as a filter for water.

[narwhalsrnasty]

Nutrients in aquaponics

The three main nutrients that plantss require are nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (commonly seen as NPK or #-#-#). While other nutrients and compounds are required for plant growth, the main things that plants need are these three nutrients, water, air, and sunlight.

Each of these three nutrients has a specific benefit for plant growth. Nitrogen is a main component in chlorophyll, potassium is the basis for root growth, while the potasium is nescessary for budding and fruiting (SFGate).

Fish waste breaks down into amonia and then into nitrites and nitrates (NO3 and NO2). At this point they become plant food, providing the plants nitrogen. The other two main nutrients arent provided by fish waste and must be sourced from other materials such as oyster shells.

The breakdown of nutrients makes the use of aquaponics very biased towards leafy greens. Lettuces and spinaches dont need deep root growth since the nutrients are provided to them easily in liquid form. Other plants however may have a harder time. Fruiting plants preffer a different breakdown of nutrients as well as clear access to sunlight and pollinators. In the case of my system, because it was built indoors, the flowers went untouched.

While it is a difficult process to subsidize nutrient additives for aquaponics, it may be a better process to supplement a nutrient rich garden bed with nutrients for greater leaf growth.

[narwhalsrnasty]

Out of balance aquaponic solution.

One common problem with systems that i have seen and personally experienced is that the dream of the system isn't quite what it was thought to be. The problem that mine had was that the grow beds did not contain enough space to hold the waste buildup, throwing off ebb and drain system. Had there been periods of break for the system or a diverted line,where no more waste was cycled, it most likely could have caught up and opperated closer to as intended. The solution for this system is a reverse osmosis filter, commonly called an RO filter. These are the filters that are used in all kinds of water cleaning plants from desalinization to waste water. By forcing the water through a spiraling membrane, the filter creates two streams of water, one clean the other filthy. By cycling the clean back into the tank, the overall water quality for the fish increases while also creating a stream of liquid fertilizer for other plant beds.

[narwhalsrnasty]

This is the aquaponic tower i built. Each tank is 5'x3'x3' and the top height is 8 ft over ground level. The water leaves the top tank via a swirl filter that has a pipe which decides the water height in the tank. It then empties through 4 ebb and drain beds before cycling into the sump tank and being recycled through the system. the drawback of this system As the fish grew there was not enough space in the media beds and they eventually jammed up. The height in the shelving unit was not enough to put the intended LED strip lights in the base of the one above. Because it was built indoors, no pollinators wanted to get to the flowers. I later broke the tower down and made it into an ascending staircase near thr window to allow the plants to get more natural light and have access to a pair of grow lights hung from the top. There are more shortcomings that ill post in the coming weeks to explain the shortcomings of the system and ways to work around them

[agritecture]

Now this is interesting news: in Winston-Salem, Caterpillar Inc. has struck a deal to convert a warehouse that is losing money into a vertical farm as a means to keep jobs in the town. Little information is offered on the details of the planned vertical farm but this news demonstrates that the reuse strategy could have nationwide applications should the operation be successful. 

Caterpillar Inc. Plans to Convert Factory Into Vertical Farm

Winston-Salem panel OK’s incentives for Caterpillar, hydroponics farm

A revised incentives deal for Caterpillar Inc. and a proposal to help move a hydroponic farming operation forward won approval during Monday’s meeting of the Winston-Salem City Council’s finance committee meeting.

The Caterpillar deal, which comes to the full Winston-Salem City Council on Monday, is designed to encourage the company to keep its Winston-Salem plant here open in the face of what’s been described as a global slump in the market for axles now manufactured here.

Under the deal, Caterpillar can cut its workforce to as low as 100 workers and not be considered by the incentives agreement to have essentially closed its plant — and could thus avoid having to pay back financial incentives.

Keep reading

[narwhalsrnasty]

[theaquaponicsource]

[sunlitrevolution]

12 Stunning zigzag homes hide behind Australia’s longest rammed earth wall

Rammed earth construction is an ancient building technique that has seen a revival in recent years as people seek more local, energy-efficient and affordable materials. In addition to being sustainable, this natural building method is also frequently aesthetically stunning as Luigi Roselli’s ‘Great Wall of Western Australia demonstrates. Designed to provide accommodation for seasonal workers on a cattle ranch during mustering season, these 12 zigzag homes are crafted from iron rich, sandy clay that keeps the sun out and naturally cools the interiors.

Read more.

[sunlitrevolution]

Google’s Project Sunroof shows your home’s solar potential for free

Google has long focused on recognizing opportunities and seizing them. In its latest venture,Project Sunroof, the mega tech giant is helping homeowners see and take advantage of thepotential for solar power generation on their own rooftops. Project Sunroof allows users to punch in their address and get real (and rather sophisticated) illustrations of how many solar panels can be installed on their home and how much savings could be realized by taking the solar plunge.

Read more.

[bestgardengadgets1]

Into Aquaponics yet? Read about UK’s first solar Aquaponic Greenhouse