Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hi all,
Just wanted to start a thread now as we are getting stuff done to buy a farm to start aquaponics and organic veggie production. It's been a while since i've been active here, but in the meantime i've changed job and am now pay the dole (which is not bad here) and other state helps for business creators. BYAP has done a fairly good change in our lives here, pretty well found a way to be my own boss and follow my convictions of the change in the environement management. This thread is not commercial yet, the day i'll get the farm i'll probably will start a new one, this is mainly to discuss of ideas of the members on how they see a new zero impact fish and plant producing farm.

A question i ask myself is:
The farm is on a 8ha block of land, 5ha are very good peat soil between two rivers flowing all year long and the rest of land is more clay and higher of 5 meters, would you foresee aquaponics for all the land or only a part of it ? What kind of produce would you do in aquaponics and in soil? Sorry the picture is pretty bad but you see the two streams and the land. What do you think of digging small ditches between patches of land to produce goldfish and carp and pump as fertirrigation? How do you think a simple aquaponic unit should be, aka TC's system or synaptoman's?

I've been thinking of doing fruiting plants with red fin perch in greenhouse aquaponic systems and other plants outside. A part from that the farm has two houses perfect as we are two associates, a old stone windmill (energy production going to be done hopefully), a spring and all the equipment for a traditionnal soil veggie grower. It costs 300 000€ or around half a millions AU$, but who doesn't try doesn't know.

Any suggestions are welcome as we are working on the project. Thanks for the inputs

Anyway thanks to all of you for the perpetual interest i have at coming here!

pics

SATELLITE IMAGE HERE

the land goes from the pointy spot on the top to just past the road and behind the house on the side of the road

I don't see a picture but you might want to reserve some of the good peat soil area for dirt gardening though perhaps using some AP water for intermittent fertigation.

In the future for my own system, I definitely want to switch to CHIFT PIST if I can figure out how to manage an in ground sump here where we get heavy rain regularly. I'm still working on the idea that I can perhaps have a growbed/sump combination and the growbed being full of gravel will keep the liner from floating up out of the ground during a heavy rain event. Tweeking the water levels just right to make such a thing work well might be the biggest challenge. Only real drawback I'm seeing to going CHIFT PIST is that I loose some of my tank in ground temperature moderation benefit (our warm ground temperatures have greatly helped my water temperatures compared to another nearby member with above ground tanks.) In any case, I wouldn't model after my system as it has been kinda growing as it goes and starting from a blank slate, I would do things differently. I probably would be doing more on the ground or in the ground lined grow beds and the tank up out of the ground more for CHIFT PIST and the only grow beds up on supports would probably be more like DWC or troughs that would be fed post growbed/sump water. But I'm still working on ideas for the future anyway.

Much of your location and site concerns will depend on the temperature preferences of the fish you choose. The plants you wish to grow. The ground temps and climate of your area. Etc.

Oh, now you got the pics up, will have to look more closely but nice!

There are many plants out there that might be able to grow in AP but are really easy to grow in ground if you have the right soil/climate. Research what grows really really well in that good soil you mentioned (keeping in mind the pH, sun, moisture, local pests, diseases) and grow those things in that soil reserving the AP for the things that don't grow as well in said soil or need the greenhouse to support them.

Good Luck, ya got a lot of research to do. I wish I had enough agricultural land to go big, but we are doing pretty good here.

You got the pics up while I was typing that last bit.

Nice land! Good luck on your research!

Other pics

In the corn the land goes to the trees

this the back of the house and all the farm looks a lot more messy

This corn is grown from seed and without any irrigation, it measure around 3 meters high and has mainly three cobs per stem, just to show how rich the land is.

If we were going to get a loan for this farm we would include changing the roofs and including solar PV pannels and a windmill pump and use the height differential to produce energy from waterfall when needed.

I have one greenhouse actually at my dads place and we are thinking of how to include it to the system, probably cages in a big tank with main channel and doors to grade and move the fish. Behind the growbeds would be long and narrow to produce climbing and fruiting crops.

The motivation for this project is to create at least three jobs, have houses and show the farmers that it is possible to produce and sell local on markets and at farm gate, by organic means and aquaponics, recycle everything specially all organic materials with insects, produce most or all of the fish food, sell prepared food sauces, fresh or smoked fish fillets, grow green walls for houses, get an organic snack van to feed students in front of schools instead of their usual bad food. All that with a zero emission process...

It is all been things discussed here and as we are young enough to not have anything to loose then we better try. Thanks all for input and all comments welcome.

Thanks TC your system has been an inspiration for my dreams to become a farmer.

Actually it is cold here in winter, would have to heat the greenhouses to start planting indoor crops like tomatoes from march.
I'm not as good at gardening as at fish keeping, but fish farming has no future here in France unless you go real big and do pretty bad quality fish.
The land has been used for veggie production for the last 50 years, good old continent going on retirement open's a lot of doors and possibilities. specially than retired people are the best consumers for organic produce as they can pay for it contrary to most of us young ones.

Fair bit of work to do, have done a lot too. I'll keep this going to follow the progress of the project. I really hope to have a place to have all you ap'ers come on AP holidays in france one day.

Man what a great start good luck

I have to convince the bank first! anyway thanks

But i think that with changes in the world and a good business plan it could be done. maybe taking his kids as hostages
I'd like to try to do a cooling trench like yours, does it change the temperature of water now that your outside temps are rising faster than the land temps?

Dont realy know fishtank 16 deg this morning atm we are having nice days and realy cool nights and with the tanks underground temp is stable

Welcome back AF!!!

Love the pictures!

I read a book by a local farmer last year that detailed their whole homesteading process - the guy had a lot of time at different jobs that gave good experience that was helpful when he finally got his own farm. I was surprised at how detailed he was about soil condition, slopes, prevailing wind, sun coverage, drainage, etc. Also looking at every difference in microclimate on their small lot, like to figure out where frost would occur, etc.

It is encouraging that the land looks like it has been farmland for a long while.