Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Looks great Ryan . This time of year I get jealous of that semi-tropical weather (not so much in the Summer though). Your greenhouse has really come along well, might be time for another, this one looks full .

Okay, so secrets that can be gleaned from those posts: give your lettuce the thumbs up, and there might be something with sharks judging from the shark teeth...

Ryan, thanks for the reply. Any tips for the average backyard guy to succeed as you did in your backyard setup. I don't need to know specifics of your commercial setup. Just what made you successful in your backyard. I just learned that hydroponics existed a couple years ago then last year learned about aquaponics and built a system a few months later (Feb '14). Fast forward to today, herbs grow enough to pick every day for us only. Tomatoes, eh....maybe 1 or 2 a week when and if they flower. Bibb lettuce has been trying to grow for a couple months now but are soft and a light green but tasty though. New seedling sprouted of more Bibb lettuces but look stunted... Green onions do very well.

Enough of my rambling. Are you able to pass on some of your wisdom to help us family backyard aquaponic heads?

I looked over your back porch setup. Did anything change from the posted pictures of the initial setup?

If you remove the solids, where does the nutrients come from? I thought the whole point of the media beds was to contain the solids, and break the solds up with bacteria, worms to release the nutrients. But if you remove them, don't you loose all that potential future nutrient releas? I understand you remove the solids to control nitrates, but again, doesn't that wipe out the future nutrient release? Or does the water have enough dissolved nutrients to go around till the fish poop more?

Obviously I'm still learning Ryan. It's people with successes like you that I try to learn from since you probably started right where I am. I'd hate to have to go through 10 years and tens of thousands of dollars of trial and error to get a satisfying outcome in trying to feed my family from my backyard. I'd rather just go to your farm 2 hours away and buy directly from you than go through the heartaches. We currently buy our non GMO organic produce through a local food share club. We would rather pick it from my back yard though.

Any how... Will you be giving classes for the average backyard aquaponic head?

Sorry for the ramble...just frustrated some times with AP. Thanks

Ps any readings you recommend?

Iceman does this look similar to your eyes? It did to me, but I'm much less veg-savvy
They are the most gorgeous variety of lettuce I've ever grown. I think I'm going to use them as seasonal borders in any garden bed forever! Green Mignonette Lettuce.
The more mature heads bunch up in the middle which makes them look more like the ones Ryan has shown. The leaves look identical. I'll try get a pic of the latest ones that are now fully grown when I get home to PM you, but have a google and see what you think.

Does anyone know what kind of variety those black tomatoes are? They do look awesome!

Ryan does of course. I think it's probably Indigo Rose or related from Oregon States breeding program. It has tons of tomatoes and they can be very black like this. The black coloration is strongest on the side toward the sun and sometimes is over the entire fruit. Very heavy producer, I had between 130 and 140 tomatoes on the plant at one point. It can be a bit challenging to tell when the fruit is ripe because of the color. Usually the side away from the sun will give you some indication though. More of a problem if you're looking down from above at the tomatoes. Firmness will give a good indication.

I didn't like the taste but I may have to give it another try since others do and it's very high in Antioxidants/Anthocyanins which fight cancer.

http://www.odditycentral.com/foods/these-jet-black-tomatoes-may-look-weird-but-theyre-great-for-your-health.html

Truly AP porn! Awesome! Great Job Ryan!
And are those teeth out of your AP fish?

Scotty- thanks bud! Im ready for it!
Ron- Thumbs up AND you have to spin the teeth 2x a day for good luck!
Kat- I've grown those over here and they are pretty much identical to what I posted!
Perp- Scotty was right, indigo rose. Very slow to ripen!
Squatch- thanks man! Yes, we have ressurected the almighty Megaladon and are raising them in ponds! (shhhhhh)

any tips? Build a system that is proven to work until you understand the fundamentals well enough to alter the system specifications to fit your specific production goals

thats exactly what I've been doing on this site for several years. I even provided free detailed step by step instructions to a backyard system that worked flawlessly for years.


Nothing changed. I unfortunately do not have time to give an Aquaponics 101 course but that's where you're in luck, this entire site is called "Backyard Aquaponics" and is full of facts including the ibc's of aquaponucs and countless member threads that have beautiful successful backyard aquaponic systems! Read through the forum and you will answer 95% of your questions.

Unfortunately not at this time. There seems to be a ton of people giving backyardesque type courses throughout the US (many touting them as commercial trainings)so I am focusing my training course on engineering and design of coupled and de-coupled commercial aquaponic production systems. Like I said, for the backyard read around this site and you will get it all for free.

SRAC articles online, UVI info.

The system is still kicking butt and the greenhouse is full! I picked 182lbs of tomatoes this week and I've got the Indigos starting to ripen so should be in the 250lb range next week. Selling every single one of those puppies... Well, except for a few pounds that we are making into a holiday bloody Mary mix that we are gifting to friends and family

I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving holiday!!

Sounds delicious! I might have to try something similar

Congrats on the sales. It's so great to have been able to watch the progress of your commercial set up and see that you're being so successful in moving that immaculate produce too.

Hey Ryan,

AWESOME - all of it! Definitely copying all I can (...and apply it locally).

Question - just to confirm:

Looking through your home system [ http://www.chattersonfarms.com/index.ph ... ponics-diy ] - it seems you do NOT use any liners in your raft tubes!!

Is it correct, that you only used 2x4s, and ply wood, stained all of it and painted the inside (water side) with fish-save epoxy only? - no liner or fibre glass or ....??!

If so - would you be able to name the brand/type of that epoxy coating/paint....?

Thanks!

thjakits

Thanks for the tip.

Thanks Kat! If you like bloodys and haven't made your own before you're in for a treat! Also thanks for the kind words, it hasn't been the easiest year and I think My hair started going grey but it feels awesome to look out my window and see where we are today. Hey, if starting a biz was easy everyone would do it right?

Thja- correct, I used sweet water 2 part epoxy paint. They will last a few years and are pretty but I still think a liner is a better option. After several years they began to absorb water.

Heading out on a fossil hunt today, hoping for good things

If I recall, liners end up being more cost effective in the long run, that is why most people go that route. Not that I am going to second guess anything Ryan is doing, just why most people end up using liner. That being said, I am thinking about an upgrade for my indoor system, and contemplating a plywood fishtank. I would go with a fish safe epoxy paint for that for sure.