Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I want a little feed back from the peanut gallery on width of grow beds. At what point are growbeds to wide to work easily? I am planning out my system and don't want to waste space. I am thinking 4 feet would be best but thats just a guess.

Depends on how tall you are EG and how far you can lean over the bed?

It's no use having a 6 foot bed if you can only reach the fist 2 foot on either side

I am thinking that 2 grow beds 4 ft by 8 ft is about what I'll end up with...

i prefer macadamias than peanuts- much more tasty

4 feet is pretty good imho

+1 maccas and cashews for me...
4 x 8 is near to what we have

I think 4ft is good if this is with access from both sides. G06 is right. The variable is your height and reach.

My beds are mostly less than 3 foot wide. For the most part, I would not want them any wider because once they are full of plants, it gets even harder to reach through them.

I do have one bed that is 4' wide. I use it as a nursery bed. The plants are generally small and this width is ok since it also works for two flats to sit end to end across the bed.

One reason why 4' is used so much is because construction materials come in that length. If you can only reach from the one side then 2', double-wide 4', walkways in between, maybe 2' wide?

(for example 4' x 8' beds are common because plywood comes in that size)

If building liner beds, check into the widths the liner you are planning to get comes in. It is definitely cheaper to get it in the stock widths. The firestone pond guard liner (the really heavy tough rubber stuff) comes starting at 5.5 foot wide for the narrow rolls, this is about perfect for a 3' wide by foot deep bed. I used that width for my 4' wide nursery bed but that one is only 6 1/2 inches deep.

I had four foot beds containing soil running down each side of my glass house, I foundthat they ere a bit wide to reach from one side and it made it harder to work with the plants and soil prep at the back over the stuff at the front. I opted for 900 GB so that i may locate them to be accessed from one side only. If working from both sides is an option a bit wider would be fine I think

My Growbeds are 1m along the sides (access from one side only) and 2m in the middle (access from both sides).

Why is there not a 2m option?

Whats wrong with you people?

Oh, thats right your all short.

A tomato 1m in and 2m high would be rather ammusing to tie up SC

When I get one I'll post it in the funny pictures section

Most of the 2m bed will actually be a nft table with mostly leafy greens.

As the growbeds are patially bug in to the ground I should beable to manage the rampant tom if it is at the up end of the GH.

I think grow bed width is dependent on the type of plants you want to grow and of your orientation:
if it's for salad, you can go wide if access from both sides: salads will not shade each other
if it's for cucumbers and beans and tomatoes that is totally different.

So I decided to compromise and adapt my grow surfaces to the width of the IBC's I'm using (max. 1.2 m wide) and my orientation.

I now have four IBC's lined up south to north, inter spaced with 80 cm wide corridors for easy access.
The IBC's are short sides south to north, long sides east to west.
Let's call them IBC production lines for better understanding.
The most southern and the most northern IBC production lines are only accessible from one side, the middle ones from both sides.

I have divided growing space in stages: on the foreground (south) a (self made 100 wide x 100 mm high) NFT channel, east to west direction (top side 80 cm from the ground) for salads and the likes which serves also as the water distribution pipe for the growbeds.
Salads should not cause too much roots cluttering problems with solids as they are harvested regularly.

in the middle the growbeds (top side 80 cm from the ground) with whatever in them, still keeping the lower plants on the foreground south side

below the first NFT channel a second identical NFT channel (top side 40 cm from the ground) which also serves as the drain from the growbeds to the sump, again for low plants like salads and spinach and herbs like basil.

and on the background (north) a third NFT channel high up (top side 130 cm from the ground, bottom = top level of the IBC's) which serves also as the water return pipe from the sump to the fish tank, again for low plants, so as to shade the next IBC production line the least possible.

As this is conceived as a pilot project, I plan to have different systems in each IBC production row:
south to north:
row 1 floating raft on ground level
row 2 all growbeds on working level
row 3 growbeds + NFT combined on working level
row 4 all NFT on working level

This way I hope to have easy access at everything, have good light spreading and avoid shading as much as and wherever possible.
as well as the possibility of explaining each system to visitors

Rows 3 and 4 are nearly finished.

greetings

Frank