Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi! My name is Lori and I am super excited about building an aquaponics system. I have "deadly" soil (this is what my soil test came back as) that has proven to be true for the last 3 years, so I really want to do an aquaponics system. I have no idea what I am doing and I am super overwhelmed from all the research I have been doing over the last few weeks. I wish someone could read my thoughts, look at my land, and just build a system for me. I feel a little better finding this website and forum and definitely will make use of it! Thank you for all the information available!

Welcome to the group, Lori!

Could you let us know why you have "deadly" soil? Is it super-acidic or super-alkaline, or something else? Of course that's immaterial as far as setting up an aquaponics system, but I'm very curious because I have relatives in Nashville. In fact (mysterious clue here) you've very likely seen my relatives (most people in Nashville seem to have) without knowing it, because they run a very public-facing business that like most businesses just doesn't trumpet their names.

They have also been somewhat interested in setting up an aquaponics system there (I think their interest is growing), and a few weeks ago I almost gave my sister an IBC tote to take with her back to Nashville, before we both realized it would probably cost her more in lost gas mileage on the trip having that thing strapped to the top of her SUV than it would to just buy one there.

OMG! I can't believe I missed this post! Sorry. I can't remember why it was considered deadly and I just searched for my old soil test and I can't find it. I'm sure I tossed it when I decided to do aquaponics or I just plain lost it (which is more likely the case). I do know that weeds and onion grass have no problems growing. lol. We live on old farm land so I just assumed it would be good soil in the pasture, but I guess not.

Anyway, I'm sure I've never seen or heard of your relatives. I don't read newspapers and we don't have television and I absolutely hate politics and have no interest in famous people and we live an hour south of Nashville so unless someone famous is in my local Kroger and doing cartwheels in front of me; I probably haven't seen them. lol. I am the most unobservant person on Earth.

Wow, this post makes me sound really boring. Just for the record, we have lots of tvs, just no service.

How boring does that make me sound, I have lots of TV service, but rarely watch live tv.

Well, I cut it off 2 summers ago so that my girls wouldn't watch so much during the summer and go out on the farm and play. It was just supposed to be for the summer and I just never got it hooked back up. The only time I wish I had it was when tornados are rolling through and I can't see what's going on with radar. Don't get me wrong though, the girls have Grandmas password to Netflix if they get desperate and there is the occasional redbox for them and internet.

The hardest thing I have done is gone off facebook. It's been 1 month since I deactivated my account and apparently everyone's world is crumbling without me on there , but I'm resisting the urge to go back.

Well, now you are part of a community that actually does something.

Oh no problem - they're not famous. And you wouldn't know it was "them" just by looking. No, it is their business that people notice, if the opportunity rolls by (that's a bad pun, by the way - you'll see why).

Last I checked, they've still got the only big red London-style double-decker bus in Nashville, which they've converted into a rolling nightclub. They also have several other busses and trollies. Since I've departed from the thread topic, let me just throw a plug their direction and let it go at that. They're the "Friends Against Drunk Drivers" group at http://nashvillepartybus.com/.

Back to "Aquaponics"... I'm not sure what their soil is like, other than hilly and rocky, but they've got some spare land where they store and service all their vehicles, upon which an aquaponics system might work great, which (as you might imagine) is why we've been discussing the idea.

Best of luck to you and please keep us posted!

I love your "cut off the TV" move! I'd miss "Doctor Who", but the silence might be worth it.

I can attest that just such a vehicle is routinely visible on my lunchtime walks around downtown.

Cool, Jake! Glad to hear it.

Connections - no matter how tenuous - are connections...