Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Not if your Texan! Texas is the last stop before heaven! But then again after the current administration steam rolls it's socialist agenda through, you might be able to convice me otherwise.

Mark

Time to get the cool loving plants going in the greenhouse I expect. Broccoli, kale, turnips, etc.

I have a couple of broccoli going too. The lack of light is really slowing down the growing. I also think that the bacteria growth has come to a standstill at these cold temps. I haven't checked the water quality in a few weeks. The goldies are just sitting in the bottom of their tank and I've stopped feeding them.

I still rather live here in New England.....I've been to Austin TX for business in the summer...It's like living in a furnace! I don't know how you guy can grow anything in that heat!

Most likely I'll just kick the heater down to around 35 and risk freezing the plants, but keep the water from freezing....

Rob, I want to install 3 IBC's in a HFGH long ways along the two 12' walls The IBC's are just under 48" each. Do you think I can make them fit?

I don't know if broccoli likes it as cold as that but I know my broccoli plants last winter here had ice frozen on them some mornings and they seems to like that! I expect some of your plants can survive the cold but they probably won't do much more than the fish with the low light levels.

During the summers here it can get really oppressive, that time of year few people bother doing much gardening. Things that seem to like that heat include sweet potatoes, Okra, cow peas, peanuts, and of course tropicals. Texas can be far hotter than here in the summer though.

and down right dry! Probably the biggest killer of a garden here in TX.

You're going to be fairly close squeezing them in. That 12' is the outside length, so you loose a couple of inches for the studs, etc. I guess you could put them in there as an "L" shape - 2 on the long wall, and 1 more on the back wall. Don't forget about the crappy doors. If you put a tank near the door, you'll basically block it so you always have to use the other door. I'm still a fan of replacing the sliders anyway, but you're in the south so you don't really have to worry much about the freezing shut.

I would measure the inside diameter of my GH for you, but right now we're going through a really cold spell an my doors are frozen shut again.


You're spot-on with not much growing. The broccoli is alive, but not doing much keeping it at 36 degrees and little natural light. The only thing that is somewhat growing is the lettuce and radish. The tank water is 39 degrees today so the plants don't even get to warm their toes.

I'm now debating putting a tank in my basement and moving the fish in there for the winter....and setting up some grow lights for the plants. I'm sure it would be far cheaper to run the lights all day long down there than it would be to run 2400 watts of power to heat it 12+ hours a night!

Just consider humidity in the basement because you might need to run a dehumidifier if you put much of an AP system in the basement.

noted. We already have to run a humidifier during the winter so I thought this may be able to replace it. During the summer I would move the fish back outside and shut it down. It just a thought right now anyway.....still have to get the wife's approval.

I've created a new video of my greenhouse in the winter. I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_3o9EbtvX8

Nice video....

I will have to get outside and take one of my winter AP GH....

might do that tomorrow.....

supposed to be a balmy 40 degrees (4.4 c)

jT

Love the video! It's surprisingly not too depressing despite the temps, lots of plants still alive and waiting for a little more warmth. The carrots are nice! (was paging through the Harbor Freight catalog tonight going hmmm, hmmm, a lot.)

It looks like only two sides and half the top get the only sun in the winter. Have you considered foam board on the other sides to try and retain some heat? Perhaps cover them all at night?

Nice video and along with your other one, they have helped me form my plans!

Mark

The depressing part is seeing the electric bill for the heaters. It's going to cost a couple hundred dollars to heat it this winter. That makes each carrot I picked around $100 each! I still look through the HF catalog....hoping to get a second GH.



I already have some 1-1/2" mylar coated foam board on the north wall and ceiling area which helps a bit. (you can catch a peek of it at around 0:50 in the video) The metal foundation and under it also has some 1" foam. On top of that is about 6" of gravel and brick pavers. I was hoping it would act as a heat sink...it does, but not enough to make a real difference. I think the polycarb panels have an R value of around 1.5....that's close to heating just the open air!

Came home from work yesterday to find my fish in about 2 inches of water. The sump pump in my greenhouse system failed yesterday. No casualties! As the GB's drained, the sump just overflowed instead of refilling the fish tank. We've had a ton of rain this past week and lot's of flooding all over the tri-state area. NOBODY around has any in stock right now so I had to get creative with a Iwaki MD-70 pump.

Pumps is mounted to a board which also has a light switch. The switch has a post attached to it with a float. As the water rises/falls in the sump, it turns the switch on/off.

Obviously I need to install some safety switches to shut down the system so it doesn't happen again...

It isn't pretty, but it will save my plants & fish!