Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

Impressive, and of course raises questions. Do you have an online source on 
your pumping system? What do you feed the fish? What kind of wind turbine is 
it? And I've often wondered, how do you keep steel shipping containers cool 
in summe sun?

paul tradingpost@lobo.net


*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 6/29/2010 at 1:02 PM paul@oneseedling.com wrote:

>Here at Reliance Community Farms we chose from the start to create
>sustainable systems based on the lowest technology possible. Here in
>central Texas we are blessed will two elements necessary in that quest,
>wind and sunlight.
>We chose to use aquaponics as the basis for most of our growing systems.
>Currently we use a small 110V fountain pump to move water through the
>system. These pumps use about the same energy as a childs night light
>(bulb type). Even though this is cheap to run we have also instituted a
>12V system powered by a 300W wind generator for emergency. The past six
>months have proved that this system will stand alone.
>Our next step is to utilize a mechanical wind pump of our own design (one
>currently in operation) to move the water in each system. We have utilized
>a blade system simular to the Gavaotes/Fergerson design and an inexpensive
>Pump built from PVC pipe parts. We have successfully used this design to
>supply water to the house for the past year. A total of 8 will be built
>and attached to the house to supply water for the house and 7 aquaponic
>units capable of raising enough food each for four people. We are
>currently able to build each wind/water pumper for around $100.
>Additionaly, even though we have a wind powered well to supply water to
>the house we will increasingly depend on rain water. To that end we are
>able to collect water from 3,100 sq ft of roof, store it in a 3,800 gal
>rain water tank which overflows to two 800 gal secondary tank, one which
>is also used as a fish tank.
>Thus we are going to be able to raise enough food for 28 people within the
>confines of a 40X40 courtyard surrounded by a 4,000 sq ft house built from
>40 ft shipping containers with zero energy output from electricity. Not
>there yet but closer each day. Even the washing machine will be mechanical
>wind power.
>Outside the house we raise goats, ducks, geese, guineas, chickens and
>rabbits. Not quite to the sustainable phase with the animals but close.
>This will happen during the next growing season.
>
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