From Aquaponics

From Aquaponics

Rest are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/swanberg/Aquaponics# at the bottom.

I have so much to report, but I"ve been so busy doing stuff I haven't had time to post.

But I wanted to report that I just got back from a talk that Will Allen (Growing Power) gave here in town, at Little Earth here in South Minneapolis. The talk was put on by the Women's Environmental Institute, and Will gave an overview of GP and all the wonderful work they're doing.

There, I met the manager of the midtown Global Market, who wants to talk aquaponics, and WEI is also going to set up a system. Possibilities...

A few weeks ago, I also met another couple here in Minnesota doing aquaponics.

Don't have time to post more now, but things are moving on the greenhouse, and I've eaten some of my tilapia!

Black soldier flies are flies that interact very rarely with humans, and so mostly go under the radar. However, in the aquaponics, reptile and chicken communities they're starting to get a really good name.

Their larvae, also sometimes known as phoenix worms, are great food for fish, reptiles and chickens. This chart gets tossed around a lot:


(from Mulberry Farms)

They're great nutrition, fish, chooks and reptiles love them, they're a great way to bio-remediate "putrescent" waste, and you can raise them for free. Well, for the cost of food scraps.

Problem is, most of the sources say something along the lines of "[they] can be found in many parts of the United States." or "Black soldier flies are common in tropical and subtropical regions, but their range extends to the most northern states of the continental U.S."

But does that include us here in the famously frigid Minnesota? No one seems to know. I've scoured the web, asked local entomologists, and bugged local gardening groups. No luck. The closest BSF setup I've found is at Growing Power in Milwaukee.

If you build it...
So, the best way to find out is to try it. I set up a bucket full of BSF food, and we'll see if they come. Click on the images to enbiggen.

Kitchen scraps mixed with some old, stale fishpellets (light brown).

From Aquaponics

Kitchen scraps (from my office).

From Aquaponics

Cardboard on top to give the females a place to lay eggs, and to let the larvae crawl up if they want (unlikely any will get old enough in this setup).

From Aquaponics

The setup is inside the compost bin on the right. Hopefully this will provide enough protection against the local raccoons etc.

From Aquaponics

If none come, I'll buy some "phoenix worms" on-line and add them to the bin. The larvae give off a pheromone that attracts mom. Phoenix worms is the fancy name they're sold under to hobbyests to justify the ridiculous price...

If I get them in the bin, next step will be to see if I can raise them in the greenhouse...

More BSF resources:
The black soldier fly blog
Bio-Conversion of Putrescent Waste
Black Soldier Fly project on Pondboss.com
The biopod, a commercially available gadget to raise BSF in. A bit pricey though.

A few weeks ago I pulled all of the fish out of my kitchen AP setup, because I had an infestation of slugs. I then poured boiling water over the growbed, which I think killed them all. Alas, it also killed the red worms I had put in the bed, and I'm sure it killed the bacteria, which of course are the engine of AP.

But I had left the fish tank and sump tank untouched, and covered in the usual biofilm, so the bacteria could recolonize quickly. After it had cycled a bit, I put back the pleco and the crayfish, who was having a tough time fighting off the tilapia in the front porch system.

On June 28th, I replanted the bed.

One of the most amazing things about AP (to me) is how dang quickly things sprout! It's 3 days later, and look!

Asian greens, From Aquaponics

These three pics aren't as good, but the same stuff going on:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zZfNB4jlB2YVtWFwTwpd3g?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rDw4y04iuT0mp5qvA2eejg?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MfeDliHQwBRESfaQii8TXg?feat=directlink

Here:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/07/01/urban_farming/

Alas, the sound file is a .swf file. I'll see what I can do about getting it in a more compatible format from MPR.

The interivew with MPR on urban farming will be broadcast today, June 30th, during a regional segment of All Things Considered at either 4:50, 5:20 or 5:50 pm this afternoon and on the Web at minnesotapublicradio.org.

I'll put a direct link to the interview when I get it.

I just got back from being interviewed by Minnesota Public Radio (in the person of Dan Olson) about aquaponics and Backyard Harvest - Urban Farming is the topic. This will be a human interest story in their regional section of "Morning Edition," or possibly "All Things Considered."

It'll be a 4-5 minute piece, and Dan is interviewing 3-4 other people about various aspects of urban farming, so it's not like I'm soon to be a star or anything =) but I had a great time. I'm getting surprisingly good at the Aquaponics patter, especially after giving the presentation at at the Resource Fair awhile back. And I remembered to talk slowly and I even controlled my stutter a bit.

After, we went down to the corner pub and had a beer, and talked about all sorts of things. SInce I come from a Minnesota Olson line, we had a lot to talk about, and we covered everything from Peak Oil to "Angels and Demons" (which, oddly, he thinks I would like.)

The story will probably be broadcast next Wed or Thurs (July 1st or 2nd) and I'll link to the podcast when it goes online.

I had a really good time! I was kinda dreading this. Dan Olson is a true gentleman, and was very good at putting me at my ease.

I feel more than a tad guilty that I was the one being interviewed, when there are so many more worthy people who have been in this movement longer. But I pointed Dan to some of the other sources, and I think the aquaponics caught his ear (AFAIK, I'm the only active APer in Minnesota right now, although that won't be true for long).

He was careful to emphasise that I was only one voice in a multiple voice story, and that 4 minutes isn't that long, but as I told him, I listen to MPR all the dang time, I knew what I was getting in to!

And now I have the hiccups, Jones is passed out next to me, and it's time for sleep.

From Dirt Garden

From Aquaponics

Spring has sprung, and that means I've fired up my front porch aquaponics setup! I've been fiddling with it for a week or so now, but I finally got all the equipment I needed (specifically, a checkvalve) and got the loop siphons working reliably. Now it's cycling, and after a few days (and after the nights warm up just a tad more) I'll start adding fish from my inside tanks.

From Aquaponics

(clicking on the "from Aquaponics" link just above will take you to the Aquaponics album on Picasaweb, where there are more pics)

Some of the tilapia are getting pretty big! The largest are 8-10 inches long now, I think. In the album is a pic of one that committed suicide (jumped out of the tank) with a ruler for scale.

From Aquaponics

My backyard harvest farmer planted yesterday! Carrots, radishes, beets, leeks, (green?) onions, cauliflower and cabbage, I think.

From Dirt Garden

From Dirt Garden

Backyard harvest now has a blog over at Wordpress, and I'll be posting more details there. But when I do, I'll put a link here so anyone (?) following this project can keep up. My first post over there hasn't been approved yet, but in a few days, this link should work.

In other news, life continues...

Here's a brilliant idea:

Using Veggie Trader is free and easy. It works like classified advertising. You post a listing describing the excess produce you have and what you'd like in return, and then you wait for a response...

Or, if you're looking for local produce, you simply enter your zip code and see what your neighbors have available. You can also post specific produce you’re looking for in our Wanted section and see which of your neighbors answers your request.

I've signed up, and it looks like I'm the first with active listings from the Twin Cities. This site is brand new, I think it's only been up a week or so. It's run out of California, and while they're working on Canada, right now it's only the USA.

(Veggie Trader via Homegrown Evolution)

Just a reminder, I'll be presenting "Aquaponics 101" this Saturday at the community garden Spring Resource Fair. At the Unity Church in St. Paul. (map)

The fair starts at 9:30, and I present at 1:00pm.

1:00 Workshops
• Breaching Barriers to Just Food
• Preserving Food Safely – Suzanne Driessen
• Organic Soil Building – Organic Bob
• Aquaponics 101 – Karen Swanberg


$3 person at door, free parking
Lunch available for purchase from Black Cat Cafe.

Woohoo!

Saturday afternoon, hungermtngirl and I went to a growing in winter greenhouses presentation put on by the Land Stewardship Project and Carol Ford and Chuck Waibel, Garden Goddess CSA. They run a winter CSA out of their greenhouse in western Minnesota, providing fresh greens for 18 families all through the winter.

Oh, wow! We came out of the session so enthused. So many ideas! And I introduced hungermtngirl to one of her neighbors. =) They put their heads together and came up with some great ideas on local food in Powderhorn Park.

Interestingly enough, I knew most of the physical details for building a 4-season greenhouse, but there were some great tips from those who have gone before. The second part of the presentation was about the business, and local farming in general. There I learned a lot, and really, for the first time, thought that I might be able to make a run at an AP business. Especially in winter.

It was a wonderful day. I got in a plug for aquaponics, and more than a few people were interested in the idea, and so I told them (and now I'm telling you) that

I'm presenting Aquaponics 101 at the
2009 Community Garden Spring Resource Fair.
On March 28th, 2009.

The presentation time is 75 minutes, and I'll show pics of systems around the world (if we get a screen/projector), have a small working AP system to demo, and answer any questions I can.

This is going to be a great fair. There will be presentations on composting, uban chickens (and goats?) and many other things I don't even know about yet. I think the keynote is going to be by one of the organizers of Backyard Harvest, about which I posted the other day.

It's all coming together...

From "Why Cityfarming? Because It’s Fair"

The last decade has seen sustainability principles begin to redefine the way we do business - as the success of Somerton Tanks proves, even growing food in the city can be profitable.
...
No doubt, the inner city could use a farm or two. Gentrification may have transformed much of the urban landscape into a sea of Starbucks and lofts, but many neighborhoods remain ignored by creative-class types and municipal services alike. In these areas, decades-long patterns of disinvestment have led to the creation of “food deserts”: where the only sustenance around comes from overpriced corner stores and unhealthy fast-food chains."

Plans within plans within plans...

Enjoying an AP salad:

tatsoi
kale
miner's lettuce (claytonia)
butterhead lettuce (just a bit, it's not coming in very well)
water cress (going crazy!)
basil
cilantro

yum!
I don't have enough for a salad a day, but I'm close.

I had a good weekend. After buying the greenhouse, malachitefer and I went to the local irish pub to meet up with some of the scottish dancers, and had dinner, drinks and many laughs. That's such a good group of people, I should hang with them more.

Sunday, I had lunch and a wonderfully relaxing afternoon with porphyrin, said 'hi' to the little ones and the hubby, and met Morgan, their new dog. Wonderful dog. Great dog. Gets along well with Jones, so approval all around.

We talked a lot about urban homesteading, urban foraging, eating organic and similar stuff, which got me re-charged up about AP. I planted a bunch of winter greens in my kitchen setup, since the ornamentals that I planted in there originally are pretty much dying off.

Today for lunch I had the leftovers of a wonderful frittata that Porphyrin and I had for lunch on Sunday (I'll be making that again!), along with a green salad made 100% from my AP - mostly kale and cilantro, but also tatsoi, basil, miner's lettuce and a touch of water cress. With some Newman's Own balsamic vinaigrette, oh baby!
'course, I had cereal for dinner, so it all evens out eventually...

As I sit here, the ferrets are going spastic around my feet, thump thump thump! They make me smile so much, but I have to admit, the ferrets and the dog are a bit much. The fish and the worms don't add much maintenance, but the ferrets are maintenance heavy. It's a good thing they're so damn cute...

On-call tonight. Yuck. And our offices move (to a basement, double-yuck) in two weeks, so work is all sorts of fun right now.

(can you read the text in my user icon in this post?)

My inside AP systems are doing well! The basement barrelponics system is going strong:
( pics! (relatively small) )

I still love aquaponics with all the love. Add on permaculture, urban homesteading and I turn into a regular Laura Ingalls. Who would have thought?

So I just went and bought a greenhouse:


(click through for a larger size pic)

I had been planning on building my own greenhouse, but pricing everything out it really wasn't reasonable. This greenhouse has double-walled polycarb panels, and while the greenhouse itself isn't all that sturdy, it can be made so for a few hundred bucks. And since it cost me less than $600, and the material, solexx or some similar polycarb, alone would have cost that much had I bought it elsewhere, I think it's a good deal.

I've heard really good things about this greenhouse (suitably hardened) from other norhern gardeners and aquaponicists. And while it's not hard at all to put up some plastic over a cattle panel or PVC frame, I want a greenhouse I can use for most, if not the whole, year.

How the heck am I going to do that in Minnesota? Well, I'm learning a few things.
First, I'm going to make it a pit greenhouse. Dig down 4 feet or so, to get some thermal mass advantage. I'll also build a solar water heater (they work even in winter), and hopefully bury a bunch of tubes all around my yard to make a poor-man's geothermal heat pump. Also, compost, and chicken/ducks give off heat..

Check out this guy who grows citrus all winter long in Nebraska.

Bringing the greehouse home:

From Aquaponics

From Aquaponics

Obviously building it will have to wait until spring...

An open letter to the next Farmer in Chief

This article in the New York Times Magazine (NYT registration required) is a great editorial from Michael Pollen, the author of "“In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto.”

It talks about how changing our food chain is critical to oil independence, national security and national health. It's long, but well worth the read.

[EDIT]
Obama mentions this article in an interview:
Obama interview by Joe Klein

"I was just reading an article in the New York Times by Michael Pollen about food and the fact that our entire agricultural system is built on cheap oil. As a consequence, our agriculture sector actually is contributing more greenhouse gases than our transportation sector. And in the mean time, it's creating monocultures that are vulnerable to national security threats, are now vulnerable to sky-high food prices or crashes in food prices, huge swings in commodity prices, and are partly responsible for the explosion in our healthcare costs because they're contributing to type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease, obesity, all the things that are driving our huge explosion in healthcare costs. That's just one sector of the economy. You think about the same thing is true on transportation. The same thing is true on how we construct our buildings. The same is true across the board."

I love my president-elect...

dlandon pointed out a few weeks ago, at mmerriam's Dreamhaven reading, that I hadn't actually posted content to this journal in a Very Long Time. Sorry 'bout that. Looking back, it looks like the last real content I put up here was back in early June. Wow...

So what have I been doing? Aquaponics. And gardening. And basically doing research on going more green. You can tell by looking at what I've bought at Amazon recently:

Four-Season Harvest
Food Not Lawns
The Urban Homestead
Toolbox for Sustainable City Living
*cough* Getting Out: Your Guide to Leaving America *cough*
How to Build Your Own Greenhouse
All New Square Foot Gardening
Cubed Foot Gardening
Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
Introduction to Permaculture

I'm sensing a theme...

( Fish, gardens and crawdads )

An update on my aquaponics stuff -
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3768
and a little bit on dirt gardening. Also a pic or two of Jones.

up on the backyardaquaponics forum, but no new pics:

clicky to avoid typing all this twice