Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

permaculture - Re: [permaculture] pc aquaponics

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: venaurafarm <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] pc aquaponics
  • Date: Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:29:15 -0400

On 10/8/2012 1:52 PM, Rob Crook wrote:
Does anyone have any funding sources to whom I could write a research
proposal too and investigate the performance of my floating wetlands?
I have talked to several researchers who feel that this is a viable
approach but I need to put numbers to this concept.

Lawrence thanks for the observation. I too think that this is like a
chinampas from Mexico City. I would also like to build islands and
actually use the sediment that is in the body of water to cover the
island with to grow crops, improve water quality, and increase
fishery productivity. All of that could be achieved without the
addition of nutrients from outside the loop since it would already be
in the lake sediment.

First and foremost, unless you have some other idea for accomplishing this, would be to get one of those sediment/slurry submersible pumps that Elaine Ingham described to use to pull nutrient rich but anaerobic solids from the bottoms of farm manure lagoons to to be aerated at the surface then feed the lagoon arrays of beneficial microorganisms to help digest and recycle the nutrients in those solids, maybe even AACT or some other form of compost tea. A fine sand pump could also bring sediment to the surface to be used as soil for cropping on the chinampas or floating island gardens. The previous process probably should be performed first though to process the sludge so you won't pump putrified material onto the chinampa; treating it there in that condition would be a big job and inefficient. It goes without saying that you would not want to bring to the surface any toxic material or pollutants of any kind, i.e. pcb, pesticide residues, heavy metals (like lead from engine exhaust accumulated along roadsides and carried to lakes and ponds in storm runoff).


We could do a project like this in Lake Jordan. A large floating farm
that increases the quality of the fishery and improves water quality.
It would be pretty cool.

That would be a fascinating project to work on. There are many great possibilities. Would Dr. House at NCSU or other researchers there be interested in such a project. House and others developed many cutting edge artificial wetland sewage treatment "living systems", like the popular reedbeds and the demo projects created by John Todd.

LL




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page