Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

nah. I usually slice one up and have it with my sandwich for lunch. A little salad dressing and I'm all set. Healthier than potato chips!

Yep, loved the video

Today marks the end of the season for the “sustainable” greenhouse. Last night was the first night the heaters needed to run to keep the plants from freezing. (The heaters are programmed to turn on at 36F). My outdoor growing season ended just shy of 2 months ago so I’m still quite pleased with the extended growing season!



My definition of “sustainable” for this project is not having to add extra heat or lighting for the plants to grow, The other electricity for the pumps and automation is an integrated part of the greenhouse Aquaponics system and I classify that as part of the normal functions.



I still have peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce growing which should survive for the winter. Of course the cost to keep these plants alive will now skyrocket in electricity costs, but it’s still a nice treat to get a few fresh veggies during the winter. These peppers I picked today and have a few more on the way.

Already looking forward for spring!

In a tragic turn of events, my winter season is over. The circuit breaker for the greenhouse tripped and it went through the night with no heat.

The outside temps went down to 21F (-6.1C) last night while the inside temps went to 27F (-2.8C). Everything got frosted except a few lettuce plants. Tank water is at 38F (3.3C)...goldfish are conserving energy by sitting at the bottom of the tank. They'll be perfectly fine this way until spring.

Sorry to hear this. Any idea what caused the tripped the circuit breaker?

Yup. Running the sump pump, regular pump, controller & computer, fan, and 2-1500 watt heaters!

Yep, that'll do it! Well you still have the lettuce farm option and think of all the dead bugs .

18" of snow...we'll get a few more before the storm is over. It's nice to see all that money I spend on heat goes right through the roof and melts it! (sigh)

Maybe you need to "cover your lights" like the in the French Intensive method?

A little mishap happened with our last snow storm. The north facing roof buckled on the greenhouse from the snow. From the photo, you can see that the 4 “rafter” pieces have all bent in. The rigid foam insulation that I had installed on the inside has also pushed in.

Luckily, when I assembled the greenhouse, I had added some extra bracing inside. This prevented it from totally caving in so it’s not a total loss. The plants and fish are still alive! This spring, I should be able to dismantle this section and bend the pieces back into shape….and add some additional braces inside.



There’s a link to my blog that displays the original bracing I installed a few years ago. http://web4deb.blogspot.com/2008/08/structural-modifications.html

Spring can’t come fast enough!

Just as well you put the extra bracing in...

There's a guy in the neighboring town that built the same kit this past fall. He did it with no modifications. Totally caved in. He never even got a chance to use it!

Glad yours didn't cave in! Shame about the neighbor...

What was the spacing on the rafters?

Yeah, it's been a long winter & it's only February!