Aquaponics Digest - Tue 02/17/98
Message 1: Chemicals & Powders
from crystal
Message 2: Re: Hydroponic wheat
from crystal
Message 3: Re: Hydroponic wheat
from crystal
Message 4: Land Transportation
from crystal
Message 5: minimums
from "Devon Williams"
Message 6: RE: minimums
from PeterJTheisen@eaton.com
Message 7: Re: Chemicals & Powders/Re: Hydroponic wheat/Land
Transportation
from S & S Aqua Farm
Message 8: re: Re: Chemicals & Powders/Re: Hydroponic wheat/Land Transport
from jmsutton@atl.bna.boeing.com
Message 9: Mail group deletions
from S & S Aqua Farm
Message 10: Re: Hydroponic wheat
from crystal
Message 11: Re: Chemicals & Powders/Re: Hydroponic wheat/Land Transportation
from crystal
Message 12: Re: minimums
from Gordon Watkins
Message 13: Re: system component ratios
from "Ted Ground"
Message 14: Winter crops/low light
from S & S Aqua Farm
Message 15: re:re:minimums
from PeterJTheisen@eaton.com
Message 16: Outdoors?
from Donna Fezler
Message 17: Re: Conventional wheat yields
from Chad Kruger
Message 18: Lobsters
from Brian Gracia
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| Message 1 |
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Subject: Chemicals & Powders
From: crystal
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 14:11:45 -0800
xxx wrote:
> Does any body know,what is chemical nutrient ingeredients,their portion
> and its production process.
I'm interested too. The differences between chemical and powder
production and what equipment are needed. More likely similiar to
industrial chemical production, but in smaller quantities - perhaps in
cylindrical storage tanks connected by pipes to mixers and all.
Please post the answers here.
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| Message 2 |
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Subject: Re: Hydroponic wheat
From: crystal
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 14:41:38 -0800
> xxx wrote:
> > Can and will hydro(ponics) produce 80-100 bushel of wheat per acre??
> > That is the question.
>
> Give me some interesting answers. :)
>
> Isn't yields for hydroponics measured in metres square? How big is a
> bushel of wheat? Okay, I know China is experimenting on rice grains.
zzz wrote:
One bushel of wheat - one bushel is 8 US gallons ( dry measure ( 37
Bu to the metric tonne), an acre ( the only sensible way to measure
area!) is 2/5 hecatare or 43600 square foot.
So the yield quoted is 5.4 - 6.7 tonne per hectate which comes out at
0.54 - 0.67Kg per square metre. Seems plausible - I'm sure that's not
far off the yield you'd get in the field - anyone know what average
yields are.
The real question is whether hydroponics could possibly produce grain
on a scale large enough to compete with conventional farming.
Wouldn't a 100acre NFT system just be too big to manage? and you
can't exactly drive a combine harvester over the gullys.
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| Message 3 |
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Subject: Re: Hydroponic wheat
From: crystal
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 14:42:37 -0800
xxx wrote:
> Can and will hydro(ponics) produce 80-100 bushel of wheat per acre??
rrr wrote:
> So the yield quoted is 5.4 - 6.7 tonne per hectate which comes out at
> 0.54 - 0.67Kg per square metre. Seems plausible
What are the requirements for wheat? Besides the usual sunlight
(lighting), CO2 ppm, beneficial insects/chemicals; what nutrients can be
used?
Can the usual nutrient solutions be applied to wheat? Do different
plants require different mixes of nutrients? Sounds silly - but are all
soil fertilizers the same?
rrr wrote:
> Wouldn't a 100acre NFT system just be too big to manage? and you can't
> exactly drive a combine harvester over the gullys.
Perhaps the growth cycle can be shorten, by special nutrient mix...etc.
That way, we save on land area, and increase relative yields.
Actually, the combine harvester roots out the wheat from the soil and
separates the grains from the stalks. I am sure there are stand-alone
machines that does the latter function - just dump it into a collection
bin or something.
Anyone knows this, or anything about farming machinery?
If I'm not wrong, some third world farms just have a tractor to pull a
trailer-mounted reaper/harvester. These are small scale farms compared
to the US MNCs cooperatives. The collected wheat is carried by pickup
trucks. And destalk + dehusk at a nearby warehouse, with some small
capacity machinery. After that the grains are possibly washed, and
stored in metal silos (w/ humidity and temp controls?) and put into
sacks when needed (is there a machine for this too?).
Mabye the hydroponic equivalent would be actuator arms that sweeps along
the gullys (on parallel grooves?). The more practical way is to place
the pots on wire-mesh/cover. So when the mesh/cover is lifted, a whole
section can be removed. Okay...
Best Regards,
Crystal.
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Subject: Land Transportation
From: crystal
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 15:36:37 -0800
Besides the usual dump and pickup trucks, whether 2 or 4-wheel drive,
there are other specialized vehicles that some delivery companies use
pertaining to perishibles (fish/veg/meat).
Here is a brief summary of vehicles types available for transporting
produce from farm/warehouse to place of destination (port/dealer).
* Prime Mover
* Trailer (comes w/ prime mover)
* Container
(Freezer/Standard)
* Freezer Truck
Best Regards,
Crystal.
<< DESCRIPTIONS >>
Prime Movers:
A prime mover can have up to 50 metric tons (50000kg) gross cargo weight
(GCW). this is important as there are limits to the wights modern roads
can take. Depending on the country, there may be legislation limiting
the max payload of an imported prime mover.
Trailer:
The trailer is the long attachment that is mounted behind the prime
mover. It is designed to support a 20/40-feet-long container. The
container is hoisted up by a heavy-duty crane at the storage site onto
the trailer.
Crane:
Usu. the crane can be rented on an hourly basis. Here, its US$120-140
per 4 hours. A typical crane can weigh 20 tons, which allows it to hoist
a 6-7 ton load.
Container:
The containers are usu. rented from firms. Simply bcos, you have to find
a parking space for them, when not in use. Usu. they are mounted on
trailers and seldom removed, unless you store them in a 'container
storage facility'. Container lengths can be 20/40 footers. Heights range
from 8, 8.5, 9 feet. Widths range from 4 to 12 feet.
Approx 2nd hand prices:
Standard container
LxWxH (ft) US$ Wt(tons)
20x8x8.5 1000 2-3
40x8x? 1600 4-5
Freezer container
LxWxH (ft) US$ Wt(tons)
20x8x? 3-4k ?
40x8x? ? ?
Storage Facility:
These can be a simple open-air space, where the containers are stacked
up to 10 units high. A daily rental fee is charged and the client
receives an id tag placed on the box. Typical installations are near
sea-ports, container ports and/or airports. (Aircargo containers are
different sizes and come in various standard forms.)
Some facilities in more developed countries have a structural
scarfolding that house the containers. Power lifts and hoists carry
these in/out of these pigeon holes. Automated roboric controls can
certainly manage these installations.
As per specific facilty, there may/not be sheltered eg: in a warehouse.
Freezer Container:
Powered by an compressor-condensor unit (air-con), about 400 volts.
There must be an electrical outlet at parking lots that cater specially
to these. (Eg: at cargo complexes at ports) The air-con/chiller unit has
controls on the outside and is powered by the batteries on the prime
mover.
The air-con compressor brand can range from MNCs (eg: Daikin, Carrier)
to more generic brands (eg: from China). Older models using ozone-non-
friendly refrigerants (eg: FREON 22) compared to ozone-friendly (eg:R11/
R22) are actually more expensive in certain countries with taxes on
these compounds. It is possible to buy a 2nd hand model and replace the
compressor models with newer ones.
They can be rented from freight forwarders for their clients. A shipping
company also rents these out (usu. to freight forwarders). A shipping
company, can own a few ships. (About 5-15 for a family-owned merchantile
biz to 100/200 for an international MNC.) Ok, depending on the country,
containers can be manufactured/rented from specialized companies.
Standard Container:
Similiar to freezer container, minus the compressor-condensor unit.
Standard containers can also be modified and refurbished into cabins.
These are located commnly on construction sites in the form of: site
offices/workers' quarters/toilet cabins/kitchen cabins/Guard house
cabins. Eith sold or rented out by private contractor companies.
Freezer Truck (or Vans) :
With a GVW from 5000-7000kg, a 14-footer can hold a payload of 2500-
4000kg. A refrigeration 'box' is bolted to the back chassis that can be
customized from the same/different truck company.
Eg: Mitsibishi Cantor truck models
GVW(kg) Payload(kg) cc
FE639ET0RDE 4900 2630 3907
FE639E6RDE 6700 4225 3907
Diesel engine.
There are variations on these. Most notably the twin/double cabs models,
w/airconditioning.
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Subject: minimums
From: "Devon Williams"
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 08:09:55 -0500
Hi All!
I am a Technology Education instructor in Georgia, and I am fairly new to
this whole idea of aquaponics. I am trying to get funding from my school
administration to begin a small classroom system. One of the things I am
unsure of is some of the minimums needed for beginning a small system. So,
I pose these questions to anyone who is working on a small scale:
1. I was thinking about beginning with a growing area approximately
4' x 6' (or maybe 8'). Is this too small, or not worth the effort?
2. If the above is an o.k. size, what size should the fish tank be?
Is there an equation that I could use to figure it out????
Thanks for any input.
Devon Williams
Technology Education Instructor
J.P. McConnell Middle School
Loganville, GA
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| Message 6 |
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Subject: RE: minimums
From: PeterJTheisen@eaton.com
Date: 17 Feb 98 08:20:14 EST
You Sent:
I am a Technology Education instructor in Georgia, and I am fairly new to
this whole idea of aquaponics. I am trying to get funding from my school
administration to begin a small classroom system. One of the things I am
unsure of is some of the minimums needed for beginning a small system. So,
I pose these questions to anyone who is working on a small scale:
1. I was thinking about beginning with a growing area approximately
4' x 6' (or maybe 8'). Is this too small, or not worth the effort?
2. If the above is an o.k. size, what size should the fish tank be?
Is there an equation that I could use to figure it out????
My system is quite small, inexpensive and simple, I hope it helps you in
thinking out a way to start.
I have a small system running at the present time in my basement. It is
made up of a 40 gallon tank (the bottom 2/3 of a 55 gallon barrel) and a
2ft. times 2ft growing bed filled with pea gravel (a single plastic laundry
tub). The system is controlled by electronic timers. A pump in the tank
goes on about every 15 to 20 minutes to distribute water over the top of
the gravel bed, it pumps for about 6 minutes. In the 6 minutes the gravel
bed is filled with fish water. It does not actually fill, we have an float
switch that shuts off the pump and keeps the water level in the gravel bed
to a maximum of .5 inches below the top of the gravel. This keeps the top
of the gravel dry and keeps the algae growth down. The water drains from
the gravel bed to the fish tank through a 1.5 inch drain pipe and
ultimately through an end cap drilled with a series of holes. This spray
of water is aimed in such a fashion to aerate the water in the fish tank
and to cause the water to flow in a circular fashion around the tank. This
circular flow keeps the tank clean and moves the fish waste and excess food
to the pump to allow it to be delivered to the gravel bed. This means that
the gravel bed is alternately filled with water and then filled with air.
The result is that when the water fills the gravel bed it forces out the
carbon dioxide that is the result of bacterial action and when the water
drains out, the gravel bed is filled with air and therefore oxygen which is
necessary for the bacteria to do their thing. A thin film of water remains
on the gravel to facilitate the bacteria action and to provide the plant
roots with the water necessary to not dry out. The water is held at 82
degrees, the optimum for the growth of the tilapia, using a submersible
heater.
Above the gravel bed I have a 250 watt HID metal halide lamp. This
provides 1000 to 2500 lumens over the surface of the gravel bed. This is
sufficient for growth of most plants. I am primarily growing a variety of
lettuces.
I originally started raising Rocky Mountain White Tilapia that I purchased
from the Sperano's. My system is very much like theirs, in principle. At
present I am also raising some of the all male tilapia hybrids.
The system works well and I am planning to expand into a larger system. My
main concern about my present system is that I really should have made a
larger plant growing bed. the present one is too small to take care of all
the fish waste. This limits the amount of food I can feed my fish.
Pete T.
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| Message 7 |
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Subject: Re: Chemicals & Powders/Re: Hydroponic wheat/Land
Transportation
From: S & S Aqua Farm
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 08:27:32 -0600
At 02:11 PM 2/17/98 -0800, Crystal wrote:
>xxx wrote:
>> Does any body know,what is chemical nutrient ingeredients,their portion
>> and its production process.
>
>I'm interested too. The differences between chemical and powder
>production and what equipment are needed. More likely similiar to
>industrial chemical production, but in smaller quantities - perhaps in
>cylindrical storage tanks connected by pipes to mixers and all.
-----------------------
Re: Hydroponic wheat
rrr wrote:
> So the yield quoted is 5.4 - 6.7 tonne per hectate which comes out at
> 0.54 - 0.67Kg per square metre. Seems plausible
What are the requirements for wheat? Besides the usual sunlight
(lighting), CO2 ppm, beneficial insects/chemicals; what nutrients can be
used?
Can the usual nutrient solutions be applied to wheat? Do different
plants require different mixes of nutrients? Sounds silly - but are all
soil fertilizers the same?
If I'm not wrong, some third world farms just have a tractor to pull a
trailer-mounted reaper/harvester. These are small scale farms compared
to the US MNCs cooperatives. The collected wheat is carried by pickup
trucks. And destalk + dehusk at a nearby warehouse, with some small
capacity machinery. After that the grains are possibly washed, and
stored in metal silos (w/ humidity and temp controls?) and put into
sacks when needed (is there a machine for this too?).
Mabye the hydroponic equivalent would be actuator arms that sweeps along
the gullys (on parallel grooves?). The more practical way is to place
the pots on wire-mesh/cover. So when the mesh/cover is lifted, a whole
section can be removed. Okay...
------------------------------
Re:Land Transportation
Besides the usual dump and pickup trucks, whether 2 or 4-wheel drive,
there are other specialized vehicles that some delivery companies use
pertaining to perishibles (fish/veg/meat).
Here is a brief summary of vehicles types available for transporting
produce from farm/warehouse to place of destination (port/dealer).
* Prime Mover
* Trailer (comes w/ prime mover)
* Container
(Freezer/Standard)
* Freezer Truck
------------------------------
Crystal - Have seen your posts on the hydroponics list as well as our
aquaponics list. I'm not certain of the purpose(s) behind some of this
information. Could you give us an idea of your system/plans/background so
that we have some basis for evaluation of the info you're sending?
Or, am I the only one not connecting to these threads?
Paula Speraneo
S&S Aqua Farm, 8386 County Road 8820, West Plains, MO 65775 417-256-5124
Web page http://www.townsqr.com/snsaqua/
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| Message 8 |
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Subject: re: Re: Chemicals & Powders/Re: Hydroponic wheat/Land Transport
From: jmsutton@atl.bna.boeing.com
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 98 3:37:12 EST
I was wondering myself...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Original Message - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
At 02:11 PM 2/17/98 -0800, Crystal wrote:
>xxx wrote:
>> Does any body know,what is chemical nutrient ingeredients,their portion
>> and its production process.
>
>I'm interested too. The differences between chemical and powder
>production and what equipment are needed. More likely similiar to
>industrial chemical production, but in smaller quantities - perhaps in
>cylindrical storage tanks connected by pipes to mixers and all.
-----------------------
Re: Hydroponic wheat
rrr wrote:
> So the yield quoted is 5.4 - 6.7 tonne per hectate which comes out at
> 0.54 - 0.67Kg per square metre. Seems plausible
What are the requirements for wheat? Besides the usual sunlight
(lighting), CO2 ppm, beneficial insects/chemicals; what nutrients can be
used?
Can the usual nutrient solutions be applied to wheat? Do different
plants require different mixes of nutrients? Sounds silly - but are all
soil fertilizers the same?
If I'm not wrong, some third world farms just have a tractor to pull a
trailer-mounted reaper/harvester. These are small scale farms compared
to the US MNCs cooperatives. The collected wheat is carried by pickup
trucks. And destalk + dehusk at a nearby warehouse, with some small
capacity machinery. After that the grains are possibly washed, and
stored in metal silos (w/ humidity and temp controls?) and put into
sacks when needed (is there a machine for this too?).
Mabye the hydroponic equivalent would be actuator arms that sweeps along
the gullys (on parallel grooves?). The more practical way is to place
the pots on wire-mesh/cover. So when the mesh/cover is lifted, a whole
section can be removed. Okay...
------------------------------
Re:Land Transportation
Besides the usual dump and pickup trucks, whether 2 or 4-wheel drive,
there are other specialized vehicles that some delivery companies use
pertaining to perishibles (fish/veg/meat).
Here is a brief summary of vehicles types available for transporting
produce from farm/warehouse to place of destination (port/dealer).
* Prime Mover
* Trailer (comes w/ prime mover)
* Container
(Freezer/Standard)
* Freezer Truck
------------------------------
Crystal - Have seen your posts on the hydroponics list as well as our
aquaponics list. I'm not certain of the purpose(s) behind some of this
information. Could you give us an idea of your system/plans/background so
that we have some basis for evaluation of the info you're sending?
Or, am I the only one not connecting to these threads?
Paula Speraneo
S&S Aqua Farm, 8386 County Road 8820, West Plains, MO 65775 417-256-5124
Web page http://www.townsqr.com/snsaqua/
- - - - - - - - - - - - End of Original Message - - - - - - - - - - - -
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| Message 9 |
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Subject: Mail group deletions
From: S & S Aqua Farm
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 08:38:01 -0600
To the list - If you receive this message but have not seen anything from
the list recently, it's probably because of one or more error messages I've
been receiving from various addresses. In about an hour, I will have to
delete all those that have bounced (and continue to bounce every time one of
you sends a message), just to free up space for necessary items.
If you feel you've been dropped but wish to resubscribe, please send mail to
me privately and I'll repost your address. Here's a sample of the error
messages. If any seem to pertain to your ISP/local service, please follow
with your provider.
553 5.7.1 Unauthorised relay: heupermana@salty.agvic.gov.au
Message could not be delivered after 8 hours
Unable to deliver to destination domain
Failed to deliver to domain ncatark.uark.edu after 111 tries.
And the newest one from this morning - too many bounces
Paula
S&S Aqua Farm, 8386 County Road 8820, West Plains, MO 65775 417-256-5124
Web page http://www.townsqr.com/snsaqua/
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| Message 10 |
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Subject: Re: Hydroponic wheat
From: crystal
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 22:29:46 -0800
qqq wrote:
> Can and will hydro(ponics) produce 80-100 bushel of wheat per acre??
> That is the question.
eee wrote:
> So the yield quoted is 5.4 - 6.7 tonne per hectate which comes out at
> 0.54 - 0.67Kg per square metre.
ddd wrote:
> This may be close enough to hydroponics; In the early eighties I was
> growing springwheat cv Ocho Rijos in Saudi Arabia,on the highlands
> between Hail and Buraida. The soils were sandy and poor as a
> consequence maximum amounts of NPK and trace elements were applied,
> with center pivot irrigation systems.
> Average yields of 10 tons per ha were not uncommon, extrapolating these
> yields between below and above average, the maximum yield on particular
> acreages may have yielded 13-15 tons/ha.
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| Message 11 |
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Subject: Re: Chemicals & Powders/Re: Hydroponic wheat/Land Transportation
From: crystal
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 23:04:28 -0800
Paula Speraneo wrote:
> Have seen your posts on the hydroponics list as well as our aquaponics
> list. I'm not certain of the purpose(s) behind some of this
> information. Could you give us an idea of your system/plans/background
> so that we have some basis for evaluation of the info you're sending?
You forgot the one about the fish boxes, dry-ice making machines and CO2
gas cylinders and generators. :)
I cross post to get the maximum feedback, as I do not think everyone
subscribes to both lists.
A possible system of manufacturing your own nutrients, hydro/fish
farming, storing and transporting your produce off-site - locally or
overseas.
What wrong with that?
In a 3rd world setting: what are the components needed for complete
start-to-end production (for self-sufficiency), assuming natural sources
of raw material for the nutrients are owned and exploited (eg: mines).
Disregarding capital costs, let's assume this is a matter of
establishing an entire industry and related technologies for the local
production (economics) or national survival (population).
Now if you could answer some of my questions, it would be helpful. :)
Best Regards,
Crystal.
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| Message 12 |
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Subject: Re: minimums
From: Gordon Watkins
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 09:38:17 -0600
Hello Devon,
As a general rule of thumb, I use a 1:1 volume ratio between water
volume and gravel volume. This figure is based on research done at NC
State with tilapia and tomatoes. However, besides this study, not much
work has been done in the area of component ratios and I know others on
this list have mentioned ratios as high as 1:4 and perhaps even higher.
A lot depends on the type of system (ie:raft vs. gravel), turnover
rates, fish species, plant species and densities, whether you are
optimizing for fish or plant production, etc, but I think a 1:1 ratio is
a safe place to start.
Good luck,
Gordon
Devon Williams wrote:
>
> Hi All!
>
> I am a Technology Education instructor in Georgia, and I am fairly new to
> this whole idea of aquaponics. I am trying to get funding from my school
> administration to begin a small classroom system. One of the things I am
> unsure of is some of the minimums needed for beginning a small system. So,
> I pose these questions to anyone who is working on a small scale:
>
> 1. I was thinking about beginning with a growing area approximately
> 4' x 6' (or maybe 8'). Is this too small, or not worth the effort?
>
> 2. If the above is an o.k. size, what size should the fish tank be?
> Is there an equation that I could use to figure it out????
>
> Thanks for any input.
>
> Devon Williams
> Technology Education Instructor
> J.P. McConnell Middle School
> Loganville, GA
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| Message 13 |
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Subject: Re: system component ratios
From: "Ted Ground"
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 10:46:39 -0600
James Rakocy did a comparative review of aquaponics systems reported in the
primary literature, in which system component ratios were tabularized.
Everybodys from McMurtry to Sutton, Rakocy, Wren, Baum, and others systems
reported from the primary scientific literature. Find that paper in
"Techniques for Modern Aquaculture, Proceedings of an Aquacultural
Engineering Conference, 21-23 June 1993 Spokane Washington." Published by
Amer. Soc. of Ag Engineers, Ed by Jaw-Kai Wang. Get it at your local
college library or ask for an interlibrary loan or photocopy
Right James?
Ted Ground
----------
> From: Gordon Watkins
> To: aquaponics@townsqr.com
> Subject: Re: minimums
> Date: Tuesday, February 17, 1998 9:38 AM
>
> Hello Devon,
> As a general rule of thumb, I use a 1:1 volume ratio between water
> volume and gravel volume. This figure is based on research done at NC
> State with tilapia and tomatoes. However, besides this study, not much
> work has been done in the area of component ratios and I know others on
> this list have mentioned ratios as high as 1:4 and perhaps even higher.
> A lot depends on the type of system (ie:raft vs. gravel), turnover
> rates, fish species, plant species and densities, whether you are
> optimizing for fish or plant production, etc, but I think a 1:1 ratio is
> a safe place to start.
> Good luck,
> Gordon
>
> Devon Williams wrote:
> >
> > Hi All!
> >
> > I am a Technology Education instructor in Georgia, and I am fairly new
to
> > this whole idea of aquaponics. I am trying to get funding from my
school
> > administration to begin a small classroom system. One of the things I
am
> > unsure of is some of the minimums needed for beginning a small system.
So,
> > I pose these questions to anyone who is working on a small scale:
> >
> > 1. I was thinking about beginning with a growing area
approximately
> > 4' x 6' (or maybe 8'). Is this too small, or not worth the effort?
> >
> > 2. If the above is an o.k. size, what size should the fish tank
be?
> > Is there an equation that I could use to figure it out????
> >
> > Thanks for any input.
> >
> > Devon Williams
> > Technology Education Instructor
> > J.P. McConnell Middle School
> > Loganville, GA
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| Message 14 |
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Subject: Winter crops/low light
From: S & S Aqua Farm
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 14:15:11 -0600
At 02:48 PM 2/13/98 -0600, Mike Hirschfield wrote:
>
We do not have a lot of sunny days during the Winter months here, to guess,
>a low light variety of herb or vegetable would be appropriate. Any
>suggestions?
Mike - we don't get much sun through the winter months, either, but here's a
short list of varieties we've grown successfully through the "cloudy" times.
(I'm sure I could add more if I could just find that mind I left somewhere
around here.)
Lettuces:
Anunue (Hawaiian variety - grows similar to a buttercrunch)
Salad Bowl - available many places
Black seeded Simpson - light green, very popular
Redina - grows its darkest red through the winter months - much lighter
during the summer
Romaines - Sweet Gem - smoother leaf than standard romaine - good producer
Greens:
Swiss chard - very happy during cooler times - cut leaves when small for
best salads (although when large, makes a great "under entree" green.
Mustard (yellow seed) - small leaves for salads (quite a kick to them) and
larger for cooked greens
Seven Top Turnip - grown for greens only - I don't know that they ever
produce a turnip, but purpletop, white globe will produce well for both crops.
Watercress - always a natural for an aquaponics system
Tomatoes:
Early Cascade - great producer of salad/sauce tomatoes
Prudens Purple - large, dark red, heavy beefsteak type
Varieties from the University of Hawaii - We've grown our Hawaiian variety
from cuttings/suckers for so long that I've lost track of which variety this
is, but we've had very good results with seeds originally purchased from the
University of Hawaii seed program (I know I have an e-mail address for them
somewhere). When we started, we bought the seeds thinking the plants would
do well in our extra-humid environment. When they produced so well through
the winter, we also discovered that Hawaii is considered a low-light state.
Hope this helps some.
Best of luck.
Paula
S&S Aqua Farm, 8386 County Road 8820, West Plains, MO 65775 417-256-5124
Web page http://www.townsqr.com/snsaqua/
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| Message 15 |
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Subject: re:re:minimums
From: PeterJTheisen@eaton.com
Date: 17 Feb 98 14:38:34 EST
Don Settles wrote:
I thought that they were too small to work
well. It seems that I hear of most people using 500+ gallon tanks. Have
you grown fish to a useful size in the barrel? What density of fish will
work in your system? Do you have to thin the fish numbers as they grow,
or do you start out with a low total fish mass, and just let it increase
with the increasing mass of plants?
Don: as to the size of a 55 gal tank. I understand that a fish will grow
as long as the following conditions are met.
clean water
sufficient food
sufficient oxygen in the water
the ability to move the water through their gills to get the oxygen,
probably by swimming and the flow of water.
As a result of this the 35 to 40 gallon part of a 55 gallon tank has been
able to provide me with 1 to 1.5 pound fish just fine. Which means I have
had only a few fish at times. In my 35 gallon system I have never had more
than 15 pounds of fish, I have heard that I should be able to go to 1/2
pounds of fish per gallon with added air stone oxygenation. 15 pounds of
fish is still a good fish fry.
As to thinning fish as they grow. This is exactly the problem I have had
to deal with. I started with some 75 fish a while back and when they got
to an average of .2 lb or so I started to perceive a problem. I have since
added an 80 gallon tank to my system. This tank is about 32 inches high
and 27 inches in diameter. This tank is directly coupled to the 35 gallon
tank by means of a bulkhead fitting. I then use a large aquarium filter (a
sponge type) to pump the water from the 80 gallon tank to the 35 gallon
tank, it then returns through the bulkhead fitting. This allows me to
remove most of the solid waste from the fish growing tank, the rest of the
waste is removed in the gravel bed (I use the waste from the filter to
water house plants). The water to my 2'*2' gravel bed is still pumped from
the 35 gallon tank. I have 3 airstones powered by a higher end aquarium
pump in the 80 gallon tank to keep my fish oxygenated and happy. These
fish are now as big as 1.5 pounds down to .5 pounds. I will be eating
soon.
My long term answer is to go to a larger growing bed. I have obtained some
plastic containers that are 4'*3'*3' that I plan to cut down to provide a
3'*4'*1' gravel bed, maybe even two of them. This will happen when about
10 other jobs are done around the house. So, it will be a while.
As to ratios of fish tank volume to gravel bed volume. I would lean to a
1to2 or a 1to3 ratio. It seems that I have more than enough fish waste for
my plants.
Have fun
Pete T.
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| Message 16 |
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Subject: Outdoors?
From: Donna Fezler
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 18:26:08 +0000
Can the systems be started outdoors, without shelter, in the spring in the
midwest?
Does rain disrupt the system?
Donna Fezler
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| Message 17 |
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Subject: Re: Conventional wheat yields
From: Chad Kruger
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 18:00:29 -0800
Crystal wrote:
>So the yield quoted is 5.4 - 6.7 tonne per hectate which comes out at
0.54 - 0.67Kg per square metre. Seems plausible - I'm sure that's not
far off the yield you'd get in the field - anyone know what average
yields are.
--
Conventional farming of wheat yields can vary greatly. My uncle is a
dryland farmer from Eastern Washington who gets an average yield of
about 30 bushels/acre. In my home town of Othello it is irrigated and
the yields average about 85 bushels/acre. In the mighty Pallouse Valley
(near Pullman and Washington State Univ.) dryland farmers have seen
yields as high as 110+ bushels/acre. These three areas are within a
radius of 90 miles and have "relatively" similar soils, but drastically
different weather. So, you see, conventional wheat yields are totally
dependent upon region and climate. In a controlled environment, such as
aquaponics, yields should be much more stable.
As far as a harvester for the hydroponic wheat, someone stands to make a
lot of money.
Chad Kruger
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| Message 18 |
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Subject: Lobsters
From: Brian Gracia
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 21:14:13 -0600
Hello,
I am new to this list. I would like to start raising lobsters. I live
Louisiana where the weather is warm.
I had thought about raising rock or spiny lobsters. Any info would be
welcome.
Brian
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