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The cat tails will be fermented to produce alcohol for a generator and the car. The left over hi quality protein will be fed to worms, fish, and cows.
Hi DDM. Like your thinking....
I have very much the same idea. I will be using Sweet Sorghum for alcohol distillation. Very high in sugar but grown in temperate climates. By-products besides the ethanol are methane, carbon dioxide, fodder and cereal. Methane digested for cooking... not a priority but on the list.... CO2 to be pumped into the greenhouse for enrichment.... supposed to enhance rapid growth.... just don't visit the plants at the same time... good for plants and not good for people.... still wondering how this might affect the fish in an AP system....
probably not good.....leftovers make excellent fodder.... as you said. Or return to the soil. I am always looking for ways to return stuff to the soil. Even cut bush grasses... rather than fight hot fires in winter... and lay it as mulch on the "field" we are preparing for the Sorghum ... among other things. I shred reeds etc. Most important that I get a good source of manure going. Including vermicompost.
Talking of grasses I am trying to find out how to learn to thatch grass. I want to thatch the roof of my henhouse. I love the challenge of using what I find at hand. Might be the most important skill in the for-seeable future....
Mulberry trees. I have many just springing up on my farm. Leaves - crude protein of between 15-25% in young leaves - and fruit - excellent for fish ... and even humans (leaves) in extreme conditions... berries excellent for health and so easily grown....... can also be given to hens... eggs. My fish take mulberry very readily. I have chopped some branches of saplings the are growing where I don't want them and they love swimming in between and feast on the leaves.... gone in a few days. They even eat the bark. I have one branch that seems to keep producing more leaves even as it lies in the pond! Has been interesting to watch so I have left it to see. I have both the black(nigra) and the white(alba) mulberries. The black are the tastiest berries but the white is what the Chinese built their silk industry on. I am also interested in producing mulberry wine. Have found a recipe.....
This is the article that first got me interested in mulberries as fodder...
http://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0009sp2.htmThe prickly pear also grows here easily. Excellent for burn victims too... the gel works like aloe vera gel in soothing and initiating more rapid healing of the skin... plus fodder. I have a number of trees on the farm that provide fodder for wild game and with research I have discovered many uses. One favourite is the white stinkwood... but enough of that... I could go on for hours
Livestock and poultry manure are good organic fertilizers for fish farming ..... combined with mulberry cultivation, where silkworms can be raised.... there are some forums discussing this..... allows silkworm pupae to be used as fish feed. Silk speciality products.
Rabbits. Excellent fibres on angoras. My preference is the French angora. Meat rabbits breed rapidly and so excellent source of protein. Droppings easily fed to fish. Pelts - But in no hurry to do this to be honest.
I get teased about killing my fish one day... not very practical...
Hungry children would "ruk me reg" I am sure....
Karakul sheep - very hardy breed. Kept for milking, meat, pelts, and wool. These are a fat-tailed sheep breed. Another breed I am interested in is the Damara. And then the well-known Merino for quality wool that is easily spun. Good yard from a mix of these. Also Angora goats.
Jersey cows. Easily managed and high butter fat. Raw milk in non-allergenic. But TB threat makes this difficult to market. Value added product with long-life storage as cheeses. Excellent yoghurt too. Mulberry yoghurt...
Herbs. Lavender grows very easily here. Distillation of lavender oils. Have resourced the equipment but not invested yet. Too much else going on.
Wind power.... this is an excellent South African site... Shows how can make one or even buy the parts to DIY.
http://windpower.org.za/Solar power.... this is the latest... most interested in this technology... from this site
http://www.iol.co.za/?set_id=1&click_id ... 138C184427Quote:
The South African solar panels consist of a thin layer of a unique metal alloy that converts light into energy. The photo-responsive alloy can operate on virtually all flexible surfaces, which means it could in future find a host of other applications.
Alberts said the new panels are approximately five microns thick (a human hair is 20 microns thick) while the older silicon panels are 350 microns thick. the cost of the South African technology is a fraction of the less effective silicone solar panels.
Water power.... I am on river frontage. Ram pumps interest me. As do horizontal waterwheels that float on top. But we get sudden downpours and the river has been known to rise 10meters overnight. I lost one of my walls down at the river this way. Would hate to lose the water wheel.
Better stop there... already written a book!
Nice thread.
Backyard Aquaponics
