Friday, May 15, 2015

Finally, a moment to update!
 
Life has been more than a bit crazy lately, but the great fish and plant experiment continues apace.  I actually managed to get a few pic to show you all what's been happening.
 
For those of you new here, my husband and I decided to try out a vertical aquaponics system to grow some veggies and herbs. If you'd like more details, check out the blog entry just before this one. 
 
This is our blank slate, with all the supplies in one place. (Ignore the ladder. We had to find a new place to store it.)

 





















 This is the 50 gallon tub that became the fish tank. It wasn't strong enough to maintain its shape on its own once it was filled with water, so I ended up building a simple wooden frame for it. (You'll see it in a later photo.



 We decided to use red lava rock as our growing media. 
 
 
 



 Here's the lid of the tub with the holes marked to create screens to allow air in but keep leaves, etc out. I cut one hole smaller than the other, then used the larger piece that was cut out to make a frame to attach to the screen. This piece sits over the smaller hole, giving me a removable lid for feeding, adding fish, etc.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This is the active worksite. :-) You can see the wooden strips that the gutters will be attached to. You can also see the wooden frame I built around the fish tub. And all the way to the right, you can see who really is doing all the build work. Hubby Tom! :-)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And here's the semi-finished project. Once we set it all in motion, it seemed our pump was too weak, not filling the gutters even halfway before spilling over into the next gutter. We debated getting a stronger pump, but worried that the flow would be too strong. Then it dawned on us: reduce the slope of each gutter, slowing the flow and allowing them to fill more fully before draining.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Once we had everything up and running, it was time to add fish and seeds. I ended up with 10 goldfish of various types (they don't really photograph well in the tub. I'll try again on a sunnier day.) A couple of years ago I was given a bunch of free veggie seeds, so we decided to go with those to see if this worked. Provided, of course, they would germinate. I soaked lettuce, spinach, carrot, beet, oregano, broccoli, and swiss chard seeds indoors for 48 hours to give them the best possible chance of germinating. And amazingly enough, some of them are actually doing just that! I even saw a few tiny sprouts today!
 
So here's the system in its current state. The plants you see are organic starters that I picked up today at Whole Foods: Thyme, Spearmint, Peppermint, and Oregano. I also picked up two different cucumbers, 4 different tomatoes, one pepper, basil, butternut squash and broccoli plants. But it needs to be warmer before I plant those.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And, as a bonus, here's a short video of the system in action. It's a tad shaky, but hopefully you can get a good idea of how it all works. (Hopefully the video works. I'm still new to all this!)
 
 
 
 
Shadow did get cast as "Cheeky" in Cross Community Players production of "Anything Goes". We had our first rehearsal this week. Plus I'm currently working 6 days a week. I'm hoping that things will settle down soon, and I'll be able to keep this blog a tad more current!


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