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[Viking <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Lynn, check out these links for homemade food..

http://www.dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/Food.html

Bev

Lynn Wigglesworth wrote:

> From: "Viking" <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>
>
> > I have probably mentioned this before, sorry if I have, but I also have
> > an aquarium, and when I do a water change in my aquarium, I feed the old
> > water to the plants...basic aquaponics principle in that the fish waste
> > and nitrates fertilizes the plants.
> > Speaking of aquaponics....two questions:
> > Lynn Wigglesworth, are you still doing this?
> > Where is Paula Speraneo of S&S Aqua?
>
>
> Yes, I'm still doing it. I have a 2000 gallon tank in my greenhouse. I
> still have goldfish and koi in the tank, since I can't really figure out
> what kind of fish I want. The fish are about 3 years old now and large.
> The water in the tank is pumped into 3 4'x8'x12" gravel beds with plants
> (there's one more gravel bed that I have to finish). The plant roots and
> gravel clean the water and the fish waste feeds the plants; the water
> drained back into the tank. I also have a smaller tank and 2 beds in my
> small greenhouse.
>
> I'm always amazed at how well plants grow in aquaponic beds. They grow
> faster and cleaner and have less disease. I grow everything I can
> vertically, tied to strings going up to the rafters; plants will get slimy
> and rot if they sit on the surface of the gravel. And I do nothing but
> feed the fish and train the plants up the strings.
>
> I've experimented with lots of types of plants; right now I have
> cucumbers, tomatoes, melons, peppers, florence fennel, strawberries, lemon
> grass, and other herbs. Tomatoes and cucumbers do especially well. Pak
> Choy does well, too, but the greenhouse gets too hot by about May, so I
> have to time the Pak Choy for cooler seasons.
>
> I have a PEX coil running from an old water heater  through the
> tank, so I can heat the fishtank. I can keep the plants producing until
> about December by just heating the fishtank to about 60 degrees. If I can
> get them through the winter, they will start producing again in March.
>
> Lynn Wigglesworth
> Peasant Farmer
> Tioga County, PA
>
>
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--
erthnsky AT bellsouth.net  BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm      NW Georgia USDA Zone 7
34.498N 85.076W