Home Coming…

We had our closing yesterday afternoon so once again we are officially Pennsylvania land owners. The land passed from mother to daughter and spouse so on goes the tradition of growing things. We have a long range plan for the farm, all in accordance with the core tenets of Permaculture, so we hope to have the first phase done by the time snow flies. The first phase involves getting the barn and greenhouse built.

We broke ground last week for the barn/greenhouse site. The well-insulated barn will house hook-ups for our motorhome so we can park our rig in there. The greenhouse will share a wall with the barn, which will provide a passive means of heating the barn in the winter. I guess I should clarify what I mean by “barn” since I know this could be misinterpreted. It will be built, using pole barn style of construction, with insulation in it so that the RV won’t freeze up. More like a storage barn, not a hay or animal barn. At least for now….

The greenhouse is a Friendly Aquaponics Chinese-style greenhouse and the plants will be grown in deep water rafts. The rafts are sheets of expanded polystyrene (food grade) and by cutting holes in the sheets, you can insert a 2” net pot. Depending on what you are planting, the densities can be anywhere from 55 holes per 4’ x 8’ sheet or less. The seeds are started in a coconut coir (shaved coconut fiber) and vermiculite blend, in a seed tray; then after about 2 weeks of growth, each individual plant is moved into a 2” net pot, at which time the growth of the plants explodes. We have visited several aquaponic farms, who are using the Friendly Aquaponics systems and they have all reported that the vegetables grow in about 1/2 the time that it would take in soil. Since each plant has nutrient-rich water saturating their roots constantly, in a warm growing environment, it makes for the perfect place to get accelerated growth.

 Each plant develops a massive root system, that extends down through the slits in the net pot.

One of the big differences in this greenhouse, from typical greenhouses is that it’s not a massive energy hog. No supplemental systems, fueled by oil or gas. The big thing to keep in mind, with an aquaponics system is that it’s not about the air temperature in the greenhouse. It’s all about keeping the water temperature in an acceptable range, based on the type of fish you are using in your system.  Since water is a form of thermal mass, it helps to maintain the temperatures in your greenhouse. For those living in extreme summer or winter climates, systems have been created using geothermal cooling or solar heating to maintain the temps in a system. As a result of this engineering, this system is very efficient to operate and is way more efficient than the old-style greenhouses.

Here is the Friendly greenhouse, on a cold morning in Tennessee. It was 24 degrees outside, but inside the air temp was 74 degrees and the water temperature (in the troughs) was 72 degrees. That’s the power of thermal mass !

Some of you might be wondering why a flood and drain style of system isn’t used. In a flood and drain system, you plant into a gravel bed or volcanic type of rock. The water is on a timed cycle and comes into and out of the system (that’s why it’s called flood and drain). There are several problems with these types of systems. One is that the roots get entangled in the rocks and is a real mess to clean out and in the case of a produce item that grows underground, you have to be really careful digging them out of the gravel without damaging them. Another issue is that every time the water “drains” from the bed,  you lose the thermal mass affect and cold air rushes in to chill the stones. With chilled stones, now comes the “flood” cycle and your water cools down. It doesn’t allow for a consistent temperature of your water, which all has to return to where the fish are housed. If the fish aren’t happy, you need to make them happy. No fish poop…. no growth of your vegetables. That’s why flood and drain systems aren’t the way to go. Lots of stuff to worry about. I don’t know about you but I like systems that are well thought out and don’t give me a lot of headaches to run. That’s why I chose the Friendly Aquaponics style of system. Maximum output….minimum input.

For those newbie farmers out there, wondering how to acquire the tools and things you might need on your farm, watch out for local auctions. We bid on and won a bunch of things that will be really useful to us on the farm. The site to check out is Proxi-Bid. Without leaving the comfort of your home, you can check out local items for sale that might have come about due to someone passing away (estate auction) or other types of sales. We purchased a portable generator for $80 that is like brand new, a chipper/shredder for $150 (again like new and would normally sell for $750) a Toyota Rav 4 and a bunch of other items. Each auction will have a preview time when you can go and look over all the items and see what you want to bid on. You can even buy real estate using Proxi-bid ! It’s a great resource to keep your eye on if you’re in the market for something.

After several days and several inches of rain, I hope that things dry out enough, by the first of the week, that the excavator can get started again. We are anxious to get things underway. Stay tuned…..lots more to come.

LiveJournal Tags: Proxi-bid,aquaponics,tools,farmer,Friendly Aquaponics,flood and drain,coconut coir,vermiculite,Chinese-style greenhouse,solar greenhouse,expanded polystyrene