Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

saw on good morning america this morning... an AP system...

it was a 10 gallon tank with a small GB on top (very small) had a submersible pump which
pumped up and dumped water all over the surface of the GB

its made by earth solutions... they call it a farm in a box...

looks like they have a copper pipe coming up from the pump....

video is here... its near the end

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=7987329&page=1

JT

They were mentioned elsewhere JT... totally un-impressive kits at ridiculous prices...

Another band-wagon jumping entrepenaur, without any real AP experience, or interest .. IMO...

From memory, their main line of business was perfumes, or "health" products...

Because I'm a realist- I have 2 acres, which is still mostly vertical and three people to feed- my AP system is still not up and running, my chickens have not started laying eggs, we haven't butchered the roosters yet, the catfish are too small still, the current geese and ducks are for production, won't eat the horse, the cats or the dogs (at least not unless we're starving and no other options) and we still need to eat....something. So the best that I can do right now, is to make the best informed decisions (which is near impossible now with hidden GMO's, ingredients you can't pronounce, let alone know what they'll do to you) on what to feed my family. We rarely eat out now, I make most of my meals from scratch, with the exception of breads, pastas, basic ingredients like spices, levenings, flour, sugar, and I still use some canned goods.
When the AP system kicks in, most of the canned goods/ store bought goods will go and I do know how to make my own breads and pastas but it is time consuming and must be incorporated into my current lifestyle and also the use of a solar oven is being considered.
Believe me, I'm working on a self-sustaining food web cycle that will feed me and mine.

Angie, I'm with you, I'm working on become more food self sufficient on my little ¾ acre. I hunt and fish also but not at all cost effective but it is natural. I really enjoy cooking and eating! So even if the grocery store produce didn’t have all the chemicals and GM changes it just doesn’t have the flavor that home grown heirloom produce has. And as far as land goes I am not even close to utilizing the land to its potential. My oldest daughter won’t eat any thing that doesn’t come out of a McDonald’s bag, or doesn’t come with fries. She suffers with her stomach but all she eats if Fried foods. I can get her to eat beans and rice and a few other things. But it is that simple eat right and live healthy.

Just as a note, the local farm supply was giving away the little rooster chicks while the pullets were almost $2 each. I started to get me some but they are just too noisy for me with neighbors on all sides. But it is a thought for someone who didn't have that problem. Wish I had a few acres of unzoned property. I would take those kinds of deals as well as the $50/$100 dairy calves....Minimum of 9 more years to retirement age

Well, the issue on the food front certainly won't get better. That and the fact that corporations, even governments, are snapping up ag land across the world as an exponetial rate is very worrisome, even areas of the U.S. not associated with the big grain crops, are not immune to corporate cornering. It getting down to the five basic needs real fast- water, food, shelter, security and family- which are the lowest rungs of human survivability.

Food Prices: Myths vs. Reality
....While the U.S. economy remains in recession, the price of major commodities related to food production has rebounded sharply over the past 3-6 months. The price of corn, a key feed ingredient for livestock producers, has risen by 26 percent since December and is about 60 percent above historic norms. Soy, oil and wheat prices have rebounded by 20 percent and 10 percent respectively. The price of beef trimmings (used to make hamburgers) and chicken has risen by over 20 percent.
I believe there are several reasons why we have experienced sharp increases in prices and why I believe they will be sustained:
1. Reduced availability of corn: Based upon Agriculture Department estimates released on May 12, corn supplies will decline to the lowest level (relative to usage) in 14 years. This largely reflects a 35 percent increase in the use of corn for the production of ethanol over the past two years.
2. Battle for acreage: As more corn is needed to meet ethanol demand, acreage devoted to other crops, such as wheat and soybeans, is reduced, leading to higher prices for those crops as well. A hiccup in weather this summer could drive prices significantly higher for corn, wheat or soybeans.
3. Reduced meat supplies: Livestock producers — beef, pork and poultry — have been losing money for most of the past year. As a result, production of livestock and poultry is forecast by the USDA to decline by 3 percent during 2009 (the largest decline since 1982). The decline in meat availability will more than offset any drag in demand caused by a slower economy, and ultimately will lead to higher wholesale and retail prices for beef, pork and chicken.
The vagaries of weather, as well as changes in the value of the dollar and crude oil prices, will dictate price direction for many commodities and ultimately food input prices. However, the underlying drivers of prices suggest food inflation is likely to remain at elevated levels in the coming months.
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/ ... s-reality/

Betting the farm
As world population expands, the demand for arable land should soar. At least that's what George Soros, Lord Rothschild, and other investors believe.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/08/retirem ... m.fortune/

Here is another report (26 pages long) on the current land grab but with undertones that what it might be in some cases, really a water grab in disguise.


A Thirst for Distant Lands: Foreign investment in agricultural land and water
...Yet, access to land without water is pointless for agricultural investments. In essence, what are often described now as land grabs are really water grabs: the purchase or long-term lease of land in order to obtain the water rights that come with the land under domestic law or with the investment contract itself.
http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2009/thirst_for ... _lands.pdf

Yep and all the while the nurseries down the road pump millions of gallons from large wells and spray it over their plants where most of it runs down the street. All to make flowers and trees for homes with perfect green lawns watered twice daily. What a waste!

Finally, something positive about natural selection genetics- the old fashioned cross breeding the best to make even better. The scientists are still using an arsenal of high tech science but it is not modifing the original DNA- much more sustainable and safer.

A Truce in the Crop Wars
....Europe, much of Asia and parts of Africa fiercely resist filling the larder with genetically modified groceries, and many in agribusiness despair that they always will. So instead, they're trying to woo them with distinctly non-GM varieties. Crop scientists, seed companies and clever farmers are using the most advanced tools of science to reinvent native breeding—the age-old technique of selecting the best crops and then painstakingly breeding and crossbreeding them to make more and better food. These discoveries are remaking the world's farms by boosting productivity, creating more-nutritious food and steeling harvests against diseases and inclement weather. And yet because the new methods do not require gene splicing, they circumvent the conflict between Big Biotech and the Cassandras of food that has roiled for decades. In part, this is also a recognition that early claims for the coming genetically modified utopia were overstated.
Don't call it retro farming. Behind the revival of "traditional" farming techniques are many of the same breakthroughs in genetics, computerization and plant physiology that have driven the biotech revolution. The difference is, instead of food fashioned in the laboratory by lifting DNA from one species to another, scientists are working to unlock the secrets bundled inside each plant itself.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/204234

Climate change- the biggest "what if" we all face- how much has it changed the weather patterns, how bad can it get and can we reverse it or or has that ship already sailed.
Like every disaster, it's the poor who suffer the most and unfortunately, the poor also include a majority of children.

Climate change report: 'Seasons have changed'
...The report, "Suffering the Science," tells the stories of people who are discovering to their detriment that long-held truths about seasons and rainfall no longer apply.
"I travel a lot and people are always saying to me, 'the seasons have changed,'"Oxfam chief executive Barbara Stocking told CNN.
"I think there's a real sense of uncertainty. People have lost confidence. They have a very close relationship with the Earth, nature and climate and suddenly they're finding that it doesn't work anymore."
People such as Florence Madamu from western Uganda. "The sun is prolonged until the end of September," she told Oxfam. "And whenever it rains it rains so heavily it destroys all our crops in the fields. You can plant a whole acre or two and come out with nothing."
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/07 ... index.html

I remember my grandpa saying the weather has changed.. Nature takes LONG cycles.

The last "warming" co-incided with the industrial revolution ,, man made great advances in many areas. Maybe we need to burn more fossil fuels? <<<<<< Attack here:)

I wish we would stop talking about "climate change"...

It muddies the water, allows for all sorts of mis-information and/or conflicting information and view points...

Lets just concentrate on the cause... pollution ... and address the cause and the mindset that perpertrates the cause...

If we did then all the discussion about climate change could be put into it's proper perspective... how are natural systems adapting to human pressure, and how long might it take to restore (what we have come to know as) a normal balance...

The concept that we approach the problem by licensing industries to continue to pollute... and charge the average person to pay for the licenses is completely bizzare...

But that is the net affect of most proposed carbon trading schemes...

My solution is just fine/tax the companies involved until they either clean up their game or go bust....

And yep... I know the gutless bastards will attempt to pass the costs on to us consumers anyway... but hit them hard and fast... and we'll minimise the cost to ourselves...

And to all those that might bleat... industry has been reaping the profits of blatant environmental disregard and vandalism for decades... time for THEM to pay...

Nice idea EXCEPT it would cause instant chaos ,, industry would grind to a stand-still and within weeks hundreds of millions of people would be starving and then rioting,,, and WW3.
A steady approach is needed , change takes time ,, I do agree that the world do's need to speed up the change.
But getting China,India the USA and Europe to agree on something is nay on impossible.

BUT if we get everyone doing Aquaponics that would be a great step in the right direction:)

Ahhh... I hate it when you come back all reasonable Chappo....