Aquaponics progress - building the greenhouse

I mentioned ages ago that we were thinking about setting up an aquaponics system. We ordered it back in September and the kit was delivered to Kingaroy in December last year. We unloaded it from the ute and left it stored safely in the shed while we thought about where/how to build our greenhouse.

Aquaponics is a system that combines hydroponics and aquaculture. The water cycles between the fish tank and hydroponic vegetable grow beds. The fish produce nutrients that are consumed by the vegetables, and in turn, the vegetables removing those nutrients cleans the water for the fish. We just need to feed the fish. The system needs to be in a water proof greenhouse so that rainwater doesn't dilute the process water, and needs access to electricity to run the pumps, so we needed to build a greenhouse.

After much deliberation and assessment of possible locations, taking into account access to electricity, the limited number of flat spots on our property, sun and shade available, and the boggyness that we experienced just about everywhere during the floods last year, we finally decided to build an extension on our existing shed. I forgot to take "before" photos, so this is a progress update after one weekend working on the greenhouse, in case you all thought we'd given up on the aquaponics idea!

Our next step is to order poly sheeting for the roof and greenhouse fabric (solarweave) for the sides. As well as additional guttering, ridge capping and down spouting to finish off the shed. Our goal is to finish the greenhouse before the first frost so my chillies have somewhere warm to live through winter.

building the greenhouse shed extension

all the joins are welded rather than bolted

more joins

view from the other side with the concrete that we mixed by hand

more concreting

more welded joints

(And that's as far as we got because then we bought another property and we're going to move there once we build a house! So the extension is my seed-raising area, and we'll set up the aquaponics when we move.... eventually!)

Have you used an aquaponics system? Any tips?

Farm update - August 2017

Its been cold this month, and very nice to have the fire going every night. Here's a photo of my boy in his cape, great for late night woofing at things. Most of July we were either preparing for the butcher to come or putting meat away. Its always a big job, but its only once a year, and its all done now. My lovely neighbour came over to help, so it was fun to have the company and work together. Taz was a champion once again as she helped us to move cattle in the yards ready to load for the market. Gus is not at that level yet and had to stay home (he cries when he gets left behind, but he just gets in the way and scatters the cattle). We have had a few sprinkles of rain here and there, but also plenty of cold nights, so the grass is mostly dead and dry, waiting for the warmer weather to revive our summer-active pasture. Gus in his cape Taz after she helped to move cattle Food and cooking It was all about beef in July and we are v...

Cooking and eating beans

When I was growing up, my family never ate many dried beans, they just weren't something that was used much in NZ cuisine. If I did eat beans, it was always from a can (and most likely baked beans). And until recently I was still using beans from a can, but it can be difficult to get organic beans, and to find cans not lined with BPA. Then I had an opportunity to buy some organic dry goods in bulk, so I bought 5kg of kidney beans, 5kg of adzuki beans and 5kg of chickpea (garbanzo beans). I know, that is a lot of beans. And then I didn't really know what to do with them! Not just what dishes to put them in, but how to prepare them, I just didn't know what method to use. So I decided it was time to learn how to use all these beans that I bought, here's what I found out. I started with an excellent ebook called The Everything Beans Book , from Katie at Kitchen Stewardship, which has lots of bean recipes, but more importantly, an explanation of h...

Guest post: Is there a place for power tools in the garden?

One of my regular readers and commenters offered to write a guest post about a horticulture course, its quite a funny read, with some serious insights into our technology obsession. If you'd like to submit a guest post, email me at eight.acres.liz {at} gmail.com. While I am always happy to share links back to your blog or website, this contributor preferred to remain anonymous. I hope you enjoy their story.... -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- -**- Just a few days ago our daily horticulture classes were interrupted by an invitation to review some new gardening gadgets. The idea was to open half a dozen of electric hand trimmers , test them and fill in some review about their goods and bads. As nothing is more dear to a student – even a “hort “ one - to escape routine and mess around till lunchtime, we opened the boxes and got down to business. What did we...

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