Aquaponics. The wonderfully sustainable combination of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (growing plants in a soil-less water medium). What a brilliant idea! We are looking into this as our next sustainable agriculture adventure in the upcoming year.
Check out this cool video:
But why hydroponics? We haven't had a lot of experience with this type of growing, but from what I have learned recently, there is a big future in hydroponics. For one, it uses 10% of the water that conventional (soil-based) agriculture does, so that right there is a huge savings, particularly as we progress into an era when water conservation is going to become a top priority. Also, conventional, and especially big corporate-based, agriculture is costing us to lose precious top soil at an alarming rate. A soil-less growing method that requires no top soil is going to be so important as many of the world's growing regions become depleted and others become arid. Finally, hydroponically-raised plants grow faster, because you can so directly control the nutrients being fed to the plant, and because the plants have constant, direct access to those nutrients.
And aquaculture? Well, think about. Raising fish creates an inevitable byproduct: fish poop. That fish poop just happens to be an excellent, perfect, organic plant fertilizer. In a properly balance aquaponics system, the hydroponic plants would require NO other fertilizers other than the fish poop being siphoned from the fish tank to the plants. Amazing!
Some of the more common aquaponics systems use goldfish, which are incredibly hardy and can survive the extremes of temperature that are inherent in northern climates, even within a sheltered greenhouse. We are most interested in a system that would raise tilapia, which you could then eat!! We are talking a whole-survival system here, providing protein (fish) and all of your veggie needs. In fact, many developing countries are implementing these systems because of the incredible results and the small amount of input needed. The most expensive part would actually just be the start-up.
Aquaponics is catching on around the country. Though it certainly is not new, this national spotlight is. It's the perfect melding of time and opportunity: people are interested in sustainability because it presents a chance at self-sufficiency and affordability in uncertain times. What is sustainable is often not only healthier, but also cheaper. And aquaponics, excluding the initial start-up costs, is a cost-effective way to grow your own healthy, organic food.
The NY Times just recently ran an article on aquaponics:
Check out this cool website about how to build a basic backyard aquaponics system within a small greenhouse:
"Aquaponics, An Ecocircle in Action"
And here are some links to more articles and blogs to learn more about aquaponics:
"Aquaponics: The Urban Food Revolution"
"Aquaponics Raises Fish & Vegetables Sustainably"
"NY City's First Hydroonic Rootop Garden to Produce 30 Tons of Food Annually"
Finally, if you search "aquaponics" on YouTube.com, you will find all sorts of great how-to videos. Good luck!
I had never heard much of hydroponics, this is a great article and great information. The fact that it uses 10% of the water of normal soil based agriculture jumps right off the page.
Posted by: Al and Stainless Steel Water Bottles | March 30, 2010 at 06:42 PM
Maslow's hierarchy of needs of survival, you can not be self reliant without hope and personal motivation. Air, clothing to shelter you from the elements, potable water, reliable food source and so on. Comfort begins with water and on that a well. Digging a modern cased well without power and pumping without power is the holy grail of self reliance. Here is the answer for digging a well without power, means manual labor, this is the sight that will teach you how to drill a well and build the pump. http://vimeo.com/channels/emas#8356556 http://emas.blip.tv/ Another problem is how to get water out of a modern 4” or 6” well without power on the move. The solution is a toe valve bucket baler http://www.hydromissions.com/products.htm. Another good well drilling method but requires a trash pump and an air-compressor but will drill through rock. Also a method of lifting water using air. http://howtodrillawell.com/index.php?ref=1&affiliate_banner_id=2.
Next is food if you are not looking at aquaponics which can feed 100% nutritional needs for a family of 6 in a 10'x10' area in an efficient system or a commercial system that can feed 1000 people per acre. A good starting point is the barrelponicks system http://www.aces.edu/dept/fisheries/education/documents/barrel-ponics.pdf
The system is inefficient but a good starting point. To make the aquaponics more effective add black solgier flies larva (phoenix worms) and vermaculture (worms). If you take the compost from the black soldier flies larva composer and put it in the worm beds. The soil of the combined composting is the best you can get. If you use duckweed to cover the surface of the water fish can eat it, you can eat it like any other green, most any thing that eats green plans can eat duckweed, and duckweed will slow the evaporation. Between the duckweed, phoenix worms and worms you will have no need of outside source for fish and chicken food.
The most efficient meat sources first apple snails second is rabbits. Rabbits because you can eat the bunny as they are weened. A doe can produce a lot of meat in a year that is in a convenient size that does not need to be stored or refrigerated. Apple snails can out produce rabbit and the harvest of apple snails is about a .75 to 1.5 LBS of meat.
Housing is becoming unaffordable and some alternative building are either to labor incentive or also expensive. Starting with the book The $50 and up house as a classic but good for only alternative or emergency housing. Better options are paper-create and sandbag domes. Here is a link to the sand-bag homes http://calearth.org/ .
Here are some up and coming technology that need to be watched. First is the high density farming technique http://easiestgarden.com/index.php and growing algae as food and fuel including spirulina http://www.alcoholcanbeagas.com/welcome http://www.growing-algae.com/3-algae-books.html . Alga is one of the most complete food there is. A one years food supply can be grown 10'x5'x8' area in less than one month using a photo reactor. Also alga (spirulina) is the food that vegetarians use to balance there protein and other things that are missing from there diet. Spirulina can be made into bio-diesel with a 40% vegetable oil content. The remainder can be made into ethanol with the left over from the ethanol can be used as high quality animal feed or fertilizer.
If someone is looking for alternative reliable practical, cost effective and long term off grid power is beast of burden. A burro can pull 30KW. A simple way to make a power-plant is take an axle out of a rear wheel drive vehicle turn it vertical, build a base to hold the axle and ST generator head. Attach the ST generator head by belt to the pinon working out the proper rotation speed. Attaching a pole to the upper break drum and yoking the animal to the pole, when the lower brake is released the generator will stop turning. 4 burros can work in a 8hrs on rotation and 24hrs off rotation for over 25 years or longer. Also taking one out of rotation can be used for local transportation needs or for working the land. In third world countries burros are worked much harder than that this and longer duty cycles.
Posted by: Tim Grede | August 07, 2010 at 05:05 PM