Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi there guys,

As we're growing in a polytunnel I thought I'd try and make the best use of this high-cost space by growing plants under the growbeds too. We have pretty good soil so it seemed a good idea to use the 20x3 ft two-feet-high space under the growbeds for some conventional growing.

Now I'm just looking at plants and things, and was wondering if anyone else had tried any double-decker growing? and if so, what you'd tried to grow?

Thanks

Andrew

Mushrooms?
I'd be worried about sufficient light under there.

Hi Andrew,

Myself and a few mates are toying with the idea, of bantom chickens and maybe quail, living under the tables. If done right, we could have a rabbit run aswell.

Now we are wondering how hard bush turkeys would be to rear.

Need a bigger block to live on

Yabbies, water chestnuts, tadpole/frogs, duckweed.

I'm thinking of moving my quail an bunnies under there too, bug I currently have no gbs on stands. A minor setback.

I had wondered about mushrooms - there are two beds, one on the south-facing wall of the polytunnel (so should be well lit), and one on the north side - which will be pretty shady. Mushrooms might be good for the shady spot I think? Has anyone tried them?



I'm thinking of water chestnuts, duckweed, taro? and possibly freshwater mussels for the three sump tanks we have under the growbeds - it's the "dry" areas I'm focussing on now. Maybe I shouldn't have any dry areas What type of water chestnuts have you been growing? And how much light do they need?



Good Idea jessy - ages ago I'd been wondering about using the under-tank space for part of a "Chicken Greenhouse" idea to help keep the temp up in the polytunnel. Might have to have a good think about that.

Great ideas guys!

Maybe just do some shade loving plants in GB's situated under your main GB's

Organise so that the understory beds take a little overflow drain from the top growbeds..

ie. divert a little water from the top beds to lower shaded ones and grow full-shade and semi-shade plants as an understorey...,

I think you are on a winner!

Very clever!

Could do, but to keep the lower growbeds draining by gravity into the sumps I'd have to drop the sumps another 30-40cm, which is possible, but the large sump is already down 90cm and I've just hit the clay!

Aloe likes shade and is very easy to care for. Maybe even pineapple though they start getting big eventually, perhaps just starting the tops rooting under there.

The brighter spot might be good for seed starting too and perhaps lettuce though I think I would prefer growing the lettuce in the AP system.

House plants tend to like less sun so under the grow beds might be a good place for growing them but probably only really useful if you want to sell them or give them away. (I don't know what's involved in selling plants there but here in FL the laws are pretty strict.)

I often use the under bed space for storing things like buckets spare plumbing, weights for the plastic when I cover things for freeze nights etc. But now, I've swapped a grow bed over to two 100 gallon rubbermaid tubs and there really is not under bed space since these tanks are 25 inches tall, so there is no stand, just some blocks for them to sit on.

I would really like to arrange to go duckweed under grow beds but I'm finding that the duckweed seems to want dirtier water to grow really fast so under bed growing might be better suited to muscles and crayfish with only a cover of duckweed.

Would water cress grow well in the shade?

I've got 2 half barrels, cut so there still round, under mine (well, have yet to plumb them both in) and am currently using one to help filter the water (its all red from the gravel ). I'm planning on using them to 1) Increase my gb to ft ratio
2) Gonna use them to grow some vines ie. watermelon, rockmelon, pumpkin maybe some passionfruit etc (they're at the end of my gb's and will have room to trail thru the dirt garden, atleast for the time being anyway )
3) Maybe use the one that will get atleast some direct sunlight on the gravel maybe some strawberries or lettuce, something low growing tho.