Im building an aquaponic hoophouse

[spuds]

Putting it to bed for winter.Cleaning out beds,all trimmings going to birds.







Chives were a hit,do more of those



Bed 4 really getting cleared out,need to get celery and Napa cabbage in to keep the bed running over winter



Fish slowing down,hard to bribe with food for pics.Their digestion stops at 51 degrees and we stop feeding,they arent very hungry now.Best I could do on pics,they look about the same as sept 14 pics.
Tank 1/2.....



Isnt he pretty? One of the calmer ones...

[spuds]

Cleaned up the tomato vines today.Getting pretty bare in there.Fish don't surface now,guess they've gone into 'hibernation' mode,see em in April I reckon.
Interesting some of the peppers still hanging in,would be nice if they overwintered,but 32F coldest its been so far.

[Smokin Don]

Nice Spuds!!! I was looking at the birds and thinking good choice for a Thanksgiving meal!  Don

[spuds]

Nice Spuds!!! I was looking at the birds and thinking good choice for a Thanksgiving meal!  Don

LOL.If I ever get a whizbang chicken plucker meat birds are an option.Those girls are now pets,chickens on year 7,think ducks 3 year olds now,1 even older,the brown one,ducks still making eggs,chickens retired years ago.

[CDN Smoker]

Glad you had a great summer and can enjoy the fruits of your labor. It been fun watching your progress.

Have a great winter Carl

[spuds]

Thanks Drew,and back atcha!

[spuds]

Its been cold.This is February weather in December.Been as cold as 24F.Have had tank 1/2 freeze over but kept bubbling but wasnt pumping,tank 3/4 frozen over with no air action.Thawed,now 3/4 is pumping and frozen on top,1/2 tank frozen and no air action going on.





Tank 1/2,broke up ice about 1/4 inch thick.No floating fish so reckon they are doing the hibernation thing.


Bed 1,in the middle is Napa Cabbage,some celery,and the leafy thing thats green with red veins is Rumex,a very hardy lettuce.This bed is frozen solid on top anyhow,not sure below.I pour water on plants to keep em fed and wetted.


Bed 4,also Rumex with a sorry looking celery and in the farthest corner a night blooming jasmine cutting doing surprisingly well


Chives in bed 3,go figure,they look very good yet


Bed 2,strawberries struggling,but thyme and oregano both holding up


Now this is downright weird,I decided not to baby the citrus.Covered half with trashcans and half exposed,no extra heat.The covered have been like that 3 weeks,no sun at all and look GREAT,only one of the exposed is shriveled and dying Im guessing,rest look pretty dang good.Days on end of freezing temps,and as low as 24F,and lots of snow,this is unexpected pleasure for sure

[spuds]

This is cool,vertical  farming,robot labor,should go a long way to keeping us fed maybe?

http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/mikeshedlock/2016/01/29/worlds-first-robotrun-lettuce-farm-to-produce-30000-heads-daily-tipping-point-for-workerless-agriculture-n2111611

[spuds]

oops

[spuds]

Have had up to 4 inches ice in the tanks,pumps have stopped for a couple weeks at one point.Today its 63F,have rumex lettuce,a struggling bit celery,thyme,some green onions in pots.So hope the converted bacteria is alive and well.No sign of fish,they are in suspended animation.

[spuds]

Making it thru the winter....bed 2 thyme and strawberries doing well



Bed 1 celery,snap dragon and Rumex lettuce.I need another very hardy lettuce and I can get salad in winter,



Rumex bed 1



Rumex bed 2



Green onion in soil,need to investigate getting these into winter bed



Flower bulbs and Garlics

[spuds]

Took out my Rumex plants and divided them in half.They have a bulb like structure with roots,sliced it in half,hopefully that was the right thing to do.

Topped off the water tanks and woke up fish,my but have they grown! No food and grew,how did they do that?

Tank 2 even came up and ate a few pellets,tank 1 they were looking around but arent eating today.Looks like they had a great rest and looking good!

[spuds]

Got temps taken,pretty cold for fish yet...

Ambient temp


Hoophouse temp


Rumex divided up


water temp


bed temp


plant temp


dog temp

[spuds]

Hmmmm.... a little about Rumex

http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/zesty-sorrel.aspx?PageId=2
Blood Sorrel (Rumex sanguineus)

Blood sorrel is a wild sorrel found in many parts of Eurasia. It is valued for its pointed and bright lime-green leaves with dark red veins, and now is used extensively in Europe as an accent plant in ornamental landscaping.

For culinary uses, the plant must be harvested young. It tastes a little like lettuce, so the baby spring leaves are ideal for salad mixes. When the plant begins to toughen and mature, the leaves can be cooked like spinach or used in stir-fries. Because of its low-growing habit (about 12 inches tall), blood sorrel makes a nice border plant or garden accent. It is a noninvasive perennial, so once it’s established you will have it for a long time.

[spuds]

Well,dividing the rumex went well,so I did it some more.Started with 4 plants.Got 6 here


Got 8 here,with the celery that had 5 separate plants growing from the root,divided them into plants also.4 here,one in other bed




Divided the Yarrow into 2



This is pretty amazing stuff,I have more info now on not only what can take a deep freeze,but also makes more plants in the spring.Also have lots of worms,and unfortunately baby slugs too,will have to go after them right away.