Aquaponics setup - 75% done!

I probably have just one more weekend of fiddling before my aquaponics setup is fully functional. The continuous flow half is up and running and I started my lettuce yesterday. I also inoculated the flood and drain grow beds with some vermicastings and worms in the hopes I've introduced necessary nitrifying bacteria. The pipe fittings are not glued yet as I'm still tweaking the system. I've yet to connect the fish tank pump and of course, I still need to get some fish! Almost there!

Edited: Cement mixing tubs, while not obviously made for other purposes, should be vetted for fish and food safety before using. The brand I purchased is fish safe and materials it is made of suggests it is food safe as well.

Rules of Daily Conduct

Words I *try* to live by:

1. Be grateful to all beings in the whole universe.
2. Always be your natural self.
3. Be sincere in all things.
4. Have deep consideration for all people and all things.
5. Look on the bright side of people and things and not their dark side.
6. Destroy your selfish attitude.
7. Believe your life to be God life and move forward with faith in certain victory.
8. Practice prayerful meditation at least once a day to enlighten yourself.

Aquaponics! Getting there!

I'm so excited to get the media into the bins today! The two black tubs are my biofilters, which will accept the water directly from the fish tank. One is filled with 3 bags of black cinder and the other is filled with a 50-liter bag of hydroton. It could probably use another 10 liters tho'. Before filling the tubs, I sifted the black cinder with a screen of 0.25 inch hardware cloth and washed it. I just washed the hydroton.

So, generally, my setup operates in two integrated parts, in theory:

Part I, Ebb and Flow: Water runs from fish tank via 500 GPH water pump => 2 biofilter grow beds => through bell siphon (CTAHR-style) => sump => overflow returns to fish tank.

Part II: Continuous Flow: Water runs from sump via 250 GPH water pump => 2 white floating rafts grow beds => overflow from grow beds returns to sump => overflow from sump returns to fish tank. Note: the fish tank is not shown. It's located in the slightly sunken basement, behind the brown laths of the house.

Goodness, I really hope this works.

Afternoon harvest, 10/14/10

Walking around the house after work and gathering fruits and veggies from my garden and coop is such a relaxing afternoon treat. BTW, the tangerines are the Okinawan variety. Each of the section of the fruit is more like a packet of sweet juice than a typical tangerine wedge. If you come to visit, you'll have to try some!

A Good Day

I believe that gratefulness is the basis for appreciating the beauty of our planet and all of its occupants. I am thankful ...

*love*

"A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help." ~ Albert Schweitzer

Little Tulip

Tulip is a bantam silkie pullet and already 5.5 months old! She's gotten quite a bit fluffier in the past couple months.

Backyard aquaponics ... the adventure

On to my new project ... AQUAPONICS! Aquaponics is the cross between hydroponics (growing plants in a water medium) and aquaculture (growing fish for food). It's a rather ingenious idea, actually, and is really catching on by those who want to grow their own food and to remain sustainable. Basically, one grows vegetables using fish poo, which is high in nitrogen. The fish water is piped to vegetable growing beds where bacteria break down the ammonia to nitrites and then nitrates, which is a form plants can take up. In doing so, the plants clean the water, which is then circulated back to the fish!

I've started building my three grow bed benches and have already finished the table for my 100-gallon fish tank. Thanks to Donna and Tracy, the Vierra's, and donations from church, I have enough recycled wood for my construction projects. And bless you Dennis for cutting the 2x4s to length for 2 tables! It helped tremendously!

Oh, did I tell you that I am running all of this on solar power? The generator is purchased and ready to install! I'm so excited! More pics soon!

Home grown

I love the recruits from my worm bin! This papaya started sprouting in my flower bed after applying my worm compost to the soil. Just like my other crops that have come before, they were from kitchen scraps that I had thrown into my worm bin. After a year of doing nothing but watching the tree grow, I finally got to enjoy the "fruits" of its labor for breakfast this morning! :D Yum ... strawberry papayas are the best!

I'm really enjoying being able to eat the things I've grown myself. I know for a fact that I have not used any pesticides, are picked at the peak of ripeness, and well, I know I can share them to feed the people I love. There's a lot of satisfaction in that. :)

Plastics: They find a way into these birds

Young Laysan albatross birds, Kauai, Hawaii. (Photo by Pauline Sato)

Regurgitated bolus from Laysan albatross chicks on Kauai. (Photo by Pauline Sato)

For more information, check out this article in Albatross Biology and Conservation. More soon.

Edit: A new partnership that allows people on Oahu to recycle their bottle caps will help to keep plastics out of the ocean.

I got to thinking ...

I got to thinking and sometimes that's not a good thing but I think it is this time.

Ever notice how accustomed we've become to having one carefully labelled, sealed package of basil leaves grown on the mainland that's available at your grocery store at all times? I got to thinking about that. So this is what I figure ... it took someone to farm the land it grew on; someone had to make the fertilizer they put on it; maybe even someone to make the herbicide they used, which probably took chemists and engineers to create; then the machinery to till the soil; apply the fertilizers; and harvest the crop. Someone had to make the plastic bags, right? And that took chemical plants, petroleum from underground and the wells to dredge it up, and places to make the bags and not to mention the resources and people it took to make the plastic bag sealers. Then, the labels: Ink (I'm sure that took a lot of people) ... paper, which meant trees were cut down, sticky stuff on the backs of stickers. Not to mention what it took to truck the produce around and fly or ship the produce to Hawaii (more fuel, cargo staff, jets, truck builders, etc.) and the people who sell it to us and all the accountants, packers, delivery persons, lawyers, and the list goes on. Dang, that must be, like, over 2000 people and not to mention the fuel and resources!

I never thought about that before. It got me kinda sick, to tell you the truth. So the question is, did I create this machine? I guess I have, because I support it.

So, I figured the least I could do is grow my own locally started basil ... and my own oregano, green onions, mint, kaffir lime, dill, etc. And yeah, this is Brown Thumb Joan talking so it's no easy task but if I'm successful, I'll save the seed for the next crop or to share with others. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a saint and you'll prolly catch me at the grocery store buying ingredients I could have grown myself but this gets you thinking, huh? I mean, it's not to put anyone out of business or anything. This just represents my vote that produce ought to be grown locally, if possible. So that's my thought.

Creating change one tomato at a time

I am so excited! My yard guy just dropped off this tomato at my house. He had grown it from seed that he had gotten from my tomatoes and fertilized his plants with worm castings! He was so excited about his huge tomatoes and brought this one over just for me! He even asked if I might share my vermicomposting worms with him cuz he wants to start a bin as well! It's so exciting to make a change in this world, one person at a time.

Egg to riches

From this ...

... to this.

The Experiment: Raise chickens from hatching eggs (i.e., purchased fertile eggs), sell them, apply funds toward feed and supplies needed to raise 2 hens for eggs. Goal: net input = net output.

The Result: Utter and dismal failure ... sort of.

The Analysis: I ended up adoring (*love*) my three silkie chickies as pets rather than commodities and the idea of selling them became very distressing and yes, there were many tears. I should have known. Already, 2 have crowed (roosters *gulp*) and had to be reluctantly rehomed. Buttercup has already been rehomed to a ranch in Kona and Camellia will follow this weekend. Sell them? God forbid! I gave them to a family with 13 kids that I know will give them a good life and love `em up and that was a good feeling.

The Lesson: I am not cut out to be a chicken farmer. Maybe having many will offset their uncanny ability to tug at my heartstrings but then, of course, naming them was the first big red flag. I guess I'll just have to admit my little silkies are my pets and I should just relish the fact that my pets provide me eggs for breakfast. Will I be hatching chicks again any time soon? Heck no! Well, maybe not.

13 weeks old

Camellia is looking awfully rooster-ish!
The gang ... Tulip, the splash one in the middle of the picture is a lot smaller than the others but she's the sweetest.
Buttercup is just plain beautiful! The white and blue (i.e., black) ones are my adult hens, Lily and Daisy.