Progress on our Aquaponics

We’ve been a bit silent on progress on the Aquaponics recently. Not because stuff isn’t happening – quite the reverse! We’ve been so busy digging holes for the sumps and designing the growbed stands that we haven’t had a chance to tell you about it.

Here’s the hole for the large sump. It was only supposed to be 500mm deep but at the soil is so good and “easy” to dig I decided to take it down lower – to nearly 900mm. This should allow us to grow plants in the sumps as they’ll all get a bit more light.

And here’s the sump in place:

Having got a little over-keen on the digging for the main sump I then had to drop the other two shallow sumps to the same level. The’re not as deep though, so only about 400mm of digging for these ones:

And here they are, both in place:

Now I just have to connect the three sumps together and we’ll be ready for the growbed stands.

Looking back on it, digging these has been a labour of love. In a lot of ways I’d have been better off designing the system to have them all above ground. However my aim with this system is to get the most use as possible out of the space – so we’ll be trying to grow duckweed, water chestnuts, and possibly taro or wild rice in the sumps to give us true multi-level growing.

Maybe I should have just hired a little digger for the day. Or some Navvies!

Developing our Aquaponics system

As we’re getting close to having all the parts of our system in place I thought it’d be fun to have a look back at how our plans have turned into reality. It’s quite an interesting story in images:

We started off with the first plans for our large Aquaponics system

These went through lots of refinements to maximize the use of space and got to the current “final design” for our Aquaponic system

Then we got into the Eco-House and could finally start measuring up for the polytunnel

And then after one great weekend the frame of our Aquaponic polytunnel was up:

And then, after a weekend away and a bit of dithering, the Aquaponic fish tanks and Growbeds arrived at it started to look a lot like the Large Aquaponic System Plans.

Getting pretty close now! Just got to get the stands and plumbing done!

Aquaponic Fish Tanks & Growbeds are here!

The aquaponics system is all coming together – the tanks and growbeds arrived yesterday. Here they are laid out in their final positions in the polytunnel, and luckily thay all fit! Now I just have to do a little bit of digging to sink the sump (the mid-size tank at the top), get the stands made that’ll support the growbeds, and do the plumbing!

Progress on the Polytunnel

We had pretty good weather on the weekend for the polytunnel and got it about as far as I’d hoped. All the metal work is up – on Sunday we added the corner reinforcement, door bars and the crop bars (those horizontal bars that we’ll hang tomatoes, cucumbers and squash from).

It’s looking quite impressive now – can’t wait to get the growbeds and fishtanks in!

And the gravel has just arrived – 5 cu. metres – that’ll be fun to shift in our wheelbarrow!

Follow our journey with Aquaponics here

Putting up our Aquaponic Polytunnel

Blimey, what a day. Been hard at it since about 8.30 this morning (OK, we knocked off at 3.30 to go to the park). And we stopped for lunch. And a few drink breaks in there too.

But all that aside, it’s been a hard day’s hot work here in sunny Sale. Luckily we roped in a friend to help, otherwise I’d still be digging holes! So here’s how the day went:

This is what we started with. 18 Packages, 200kg of flat-packed polytunnel, delivered promptly by First Tunnels.

Here’s where it’s going to go – note the 1m-diameter Pampas grass I’ve got to remove first (back -left corner)

By 10.30 the Pampas grass was out, and the posts for the polytunnel hoops were all in the right places.

By lunctime we had all-but-one of the posts buried in the ground, ready for the hoops. Look at that glorious sunny day!

By 2.40 we had all the hoops up – this was a lot easier than digging the holes for the posts!

And then, one teabreak later, at 3.30 we had the ridgepole up too.

Not bad for a first day’s effort. Would have been a nightmare on my own, but we have made good progress. If the weather hold there should be some good pics tomorrow too.

Preparing the ground for the aquaponic polytunnel

Now that First Tunnels are on the case it’s really time to get serious. So I’ve been out most evenings measuring up and have now laid anti-weed fabric over the polytunnel’s area in a token attempt to kill the grass before the polytunnel arrives on Friday. It gives a pretty clear idea of where the polytunnel will be and how big it is. The wheelbarrow gives you a sense of scale:

I’ve also ordered the growbeds now – 12 little ones, three large, plus the three sump tanks and the fish tank. And the gravel is on order – four tonnes of it. I can foresee some interesting weekends coming up!

Follow this link for more posts on our Aquaponics project.

Have ordered the polytunnel

OK, there’s no going back now – we’ve ordered the polytunnel – 14′ x 28′ of growing space for the aquaponics. Now I have to get my act together and order all the other bits!

We’re getting our polytunnel through First Tunnels – they’ve been great, really helpful, a good price, and a really easy-to-use website. Plus they’re relatively local (Lancashire).

It could be here by Friday, so I’ve been busy marking out where it’s going to go – very exciting!

In case you’ve forgotten what it’s going to look like - here’s the latest design for the interior!

Why Aquaponics?

That’s a question we’re often asked at the moment, so maybe it’s worth taking a moment to think about it.

First off, I don’t any great desire to be a fish-keeper. We don’t have an aquarium full of tropical fish, or even a pond full of Koi. Let’s be clear about this, we’re going to eat these fish. They won’t have names and they will end up on plates.

In 1988 we hit “Peak Fish“, the largest catch of wild fish in the world, at 78 million tonnes. Fish are really good for you – great protein, and the right healthy fats. If we lose them then we have to depend even more on the other protein sources, which for most people means more meat – more cows, sheep, pigs and chicken. All the environmental considerations say we should be trying to eat less meat not more, and the ever-increasing price of oil will continue to increase the cost of raising livestock.

So how are we going to ensure that we – and especially our growing kids – get access to the best possible nutrients? We’re going to grow them ourselves.

With Aquaponics we can ensure that we have year-round access to fresh fish, plus it’ll help us grow the majority of our fresh veg requirements.

Ways to cook our Aquaponic Trout

Today’s Guardian has an extract from the new book “Economy Gastronomy”. They’re looking at delicious frugal food, from great ingredients. The four recipes they have all use Salmon, but I bet they’d all be great with the Rainbow Trout we’re going to use in our Aquaponics system. The recipes are: Warm poached salmon and never-fail hollandaise, Home-made gravadlax, Salmon and horseradish fishcakes with creme fraiche tartare, and an unusual one – Salmon and corn chowder.

Once we’re harvesting our fish I’ll give some of these a go!

Marking out the site for the polytunnel

OK, we’re finally in our new house, and the first thing to go in – even before all the boxes are unpacked – is the new Aquaponics system.

Having been planning it for a while, now the reality starts. And the first step is marking out how much of the garden it’ll take up. So here it is – with a nice colourful post at each corner. The photo is taken facing due west, along the long axis of the polytunnel, which is 14′x28′ (or about 4.2m x 8.5m).

Now I know it’ll fit I just need to bite the bullet and order it!