Get Involved In The Future

Over the past 2 years the ASC Magazine has been delivering a monthly magazine to readers from all over the world. The magazine has grown to the point where we need more help from industry leaders, business owners and the public. 

We have been publishing stories from backyard growers, commercial growers and gardening fanatics. The magazine has also become more interested in publishing white papers and studies from universities, educators and people with experience in aquaponics, aquaculture, agriculture and permaculture. This is something our readers have asked us for so we are giving them what they want. 

We are also including more stories and advertisements from greenhouse manufacturers, lighting specialists, solar panel companies, aquaculture suppliers, suppliers of all kinds of growing equipment and other similar companies. 

The magazine has reached a point where we are now sharing some of what we do with other interested people who want to help us spread the word and make some money on the side. 

We are inviting commercial growers, business owners and interested parties to become an affiliate for the ASC Magazine. 

The ASC Magazine is now offering the following incentives for Lifetime Conversions: 

• The magazine affiliate program will be offered through Clickbank ( a 3rd party verification company.  

• Your percentage of selling the magazine will be sent to you in the form of a check or direct deposit, directly from this company. They will let you know the options available to you.

• We will provide the banners and other tools (if need be) which will enable you to make money.

• The ASC Magazine will make up the pre-made E-Mails if you need help with that.

• The Minimum payout will be $20.00 per conversion of the Lifetime Subscription.

If you would like to learn more please E-Mail Us for more details:  Click Here 

This is a great opportunity to make money and help us spread the word to others. The ASC Magazine is going to keep on reporting the changes, advancements and industry leaders because Aquaponics is set to be one the futuristic businesses by the year 2030 according to Business Insider.

"Aquaponic fish farmer: In 2030, populations of wild fish are disappearing — so new production methods like aquaponics will step in to replace fish that we can no longer catch in the wild. Aquaponics combines fish farming with gardening, where plants grow over water to cover its surface, while fish live below. The plants return oxygen to the water, and the fish produce waste that provides fertilizer for the plants."

Happy Gardening Everyone

Victoria Kelley 

ASC Magazine Editor 

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I decided to change the pipes out, again.  Yes, this is the second time.  I used 1/2" PVC in my first build.  Then I upgraded to a 1" o.d. irrigation pipe (3/4" i.d.) to increase the flow.  That was a huge improvement, but it was nothing compared to the latest upgrade to a 1-1/2" i.d. pipe.  Thats a big pipe, and the flow rate is awesome!  The pump manufacturer for the pump (its a Danner mag-drive "12") recommends 1-1/2" as a minimum to achieve the flow rates they publish, which is why I decided on this size.  I do not know the exact formula, but I am fairly certain that flow rates are proportional to the square of the radius of the pipe, so going from 3/4" to 1-1/2" should result in about 4X the flow, all else being equal (which it probably isnt). 

In any case, the increased flow rate keeps the fish tank water much much cleaner.  That also means there are a whole lot more particles making it to my gravel grow beds, where they can be mineralized, rather than staying floating around my tank, where I am not so sure what happens to them biologically and chemically speaking. 

Heres a vid describing the change-out where you can also see the puurdy new pipes and fittings, and appreciate the super-duper water flow(!):

Also new this week are 5,000 (could be 1,500 or 10,000 or 8,000 - I really couldnt say) new workers and they all fit in the picture below.  This is the latest addition of our amazing friends, eisenia Fetida.  I had added red worms to the system a few weeks (month?) ago, but I also set up some Red Composting Worm bins at home and at the farm with the same batch, so I was a little short with what I added to the beds.  Also, upon reading that they take 60 days to double in population, and being as impatient as I am, I decided to add more the easy way - buying more. 

These were added at night simply by placing them on top of the gravel beds. They moved in and under the gravel fairly quickly.  From what I have read about these worms, aquaponics gravel grow beds should provide near-ideal conditions for these organisms. 

The purpose of adding these to AP systems is so they assist in breaking down organic solids left in the beds.  This mostly consists of undissolved fish waste particles? but there are also plant roots, dead leaves and ocassionally fruit that falls off and does not get picked up.  The gut of these worms contains several times more bacteria per volume than their surrounding environment (I read somewhere 13X more) and those bacteria are able to digest a myriad of organic components, some of which we may not even know of or yet understand.  Their metabolization of these compounds releases simpler compounds or elements back into the system - many of which can then be used by the plants.  Red Worm compost and Red Worm compost tea are valuable fertilizers and there is actually a market for them where farmers pay good money for them.  These worms will be producing the same compost and tea right in the grow beds, 24X7 in what is probably very close to an ideal environment for them.  I recently also read that Will Allen at Growing Power, uses red worms in huge quanitities in their systems. 

Finally, as mentioned in the video above, I began to set up two vertical grow towers above one of the gravel grow beds.  These take great advantage of vertical space and my goal is to grow strawberries with these systems.  That in fact was one of the main reasons for changing the pipes out.  I got the towers built, and if you want to see how they are put together, see the video below.  Unfortunately, I still cannot get water up to the top of the towers!  That was a slight dissapointment, and Ill have to figure out a solution.  The towers are nice though, and I cant wait to get them working!

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Membership For Professionals

Over the last two years the ASC Magazine has put out content that has been targeted towards aquaponics, soil science, sustainability and other methods of healthy growing.

We believe that aquaponics is just one solution where people can get involved more in backyard growing, community gardens and school education. We also believe there is room for agriculture and Universities to promote their white papers, thesis and other education related to growing food.

The magazine has decided that for the benefit of everyone we have broadened our horizons and we now encourage people from all walks of life to become involved in the home-grown and organic movement towards food.

If you are a professional who would like to have your papers published, then contact us. We would like to hear from you. We also want to hear from other associations and community growing clubs who are experimenting or just have some really great ideas to share with other people.

We encourage EVERYONE to join our Professional Trade Membership and receive a FREE COPY of the ASC MAGAZINE.

http://aquaponics-how-to-guide.info/professional-membership/

If you are a science junkie we try to deliver different types of university studies to cater to people who need more answers. We also have a team of great writers who give the readers information they may not have. Some of the articles are simply written and others are filled with great resources with more involved information . 

Here are just a couple of comments we see a lot from happy and satisfied readers 

"The magazines are highly informative." -John Valsan 

"Thanks for a great magazine." -Kerry Bill

So if you would like to read some great information about growing food then why not sign yourself up on the Professional Trade Membership List?

If we dont have a lot of what you want to read more of, then contact us and let us know. We often send out surveys where we involve the readers in the type of content they want to see more of. We will listen and do our best to provide YOU the reader more of what you want to see. 

Happy Growing Everyone! 

Victoria Kelley

ASC Magazine Editor 

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Got out to the farm and AP set up Thursday. Earlier in the week, I tested gravel samples from four different quarries for their effects on PH. I just put some gravel in a small container and added tap water. I tested the PH of the tap water before adding it to the rocks, and a few hours after adding it. All samples caused the PH to rise. This could be do to residues left on the rocks and may not necessarily mean they actually contain limestone. In order to determine whether the PH effect was due to residues or to the rocks themselves, I brought the PH in all samples down to 6.0 by squeezing a little lemon in each container. Then I waited a day t see what happened. Two of the samples held at 6.0 and the other two rose back to above 8.0. Counting the gravel Id already used in the system, that means 2 out of 5 quarries produce rocks that wont raise my PH.

Unfortunately, this means I have to haul gravel from the city all the way out to the farm, in my truck. I took 300 kilos out yesterday and am sending a truck with the rest tomorrow.

The plants are doing remarkably well considering theyre living in the PH equivalent of Mars. Alright, I know they dont look good, but I am just surprised they are standing at all. The squash (lower right) has about doubled since Sunday. The other have grown a bit, though I havent taken actual measurements.

The plants in this bed arent doing as well. They are the ones that suffered through the siphon-failure last week. In any case, Im happy theyre even standing!

Since I have to change my gravel anyway, Ive also decided to make a major, but I think worthwhile change to the system. Right now, my beds are higher than my tank, and they drain into the tank. This is OK, but the beds are pretty high up. The tables they sit on are 70cm high, and the top of the beds are another 40 cm high. Thats well above my waist and will make picking tomatoes or cucumbers later a bit of a chore. You can probably appreciate the height issue in this picture I posted earlier.

What Im going to do is cut the legs of my beds down so the beds are 40cm off the ground. I am then going to sink a barrel into the ground near the fish tank and drain the beds into there. I will move my fish tank pump into this sump and use it to pump water into the tank and into the grow beds. The tank will be fitted with an overflow tube that drains into the sump. This system has been tested and featured by Murray Hallam out of Australia. Its called "CHOP", for Constant Height, One Pump. The "constant height" refers to the fish tank water remaining at a constant height, as it overflows into the sump, and no longer raises and falls with the filling and draining of the grow beds.

Yesterday, we cut one of the tables down, put a new grow bed on top, and filled it with new gravel. Unfortunately, the 300 kilos of gravel were not enough to fill the bed, so I could not get it hooked up to the system yet (or transplant my plants to it).

Tomorrow, Im getting 900 kilos more delivered and will fill the rest of this bed, one more large black bed, and the bath tub. I also plan on getting the barrel sunk and the pump placed in it so the system is fully working in the new configuration. Will post lots of picks with the new set up after its all done, if Im still standing!

Almost forgot: One of my fish has delivered dozens (maybe 100?) of fish tadpoles! I knew this would happen eventually, but was very pleased and excited to see it happen. Maybe I wont need to buy any more fish. Will try t get some pics taken, but they are so tiny, I dont know if theyll show up.

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What Kind of Greenhouse Do You Want To Build?

There are all kinds of different styled greenhouses people can build to house their aquaponics systems and grow healthy foods. Winter can be a challenging time for many people who live in the Northern Hemisphere. We have to deal with maintaining a good water temperature, heating the greenhouse and keeping the cold out to grow food. 

Our family live at 8000 feet in the Colorado mountains. That means freezing temperatures and high winds during winter. In our area we need a greenhouse that can take the winds and believe me it can get pretty rough here at times. Our family already tried the hoop house build (below) and the wind tore it to shreds after a few months. 

Maintaining natural heat throughout the greenhouse is also important. I want to have a greenhouse that will not break the bank but allow me to grow throughout the year. The picture below shows the winter sun position in our area. As you can see the sun is fairly low in the sky on a southerly aspect. We took this picture in January when the lake was totally frozen over.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere growers will need a Southerly aspect for their greenhouse position to maintain the best heating. The longest side of the greenhouse should get the most exposure. For anyone living in the Southern Hemisphere, you will want to place the greenhouse towards the North. 

The graphic image above gives people a good idea of the suns position during winter months in the Northern Hemisphere. 

Walipinis And Earth Sheltered Greenhouses

Walipini means place of warmth and these types of natural earth style Greenhouses have been built in South America where people were growing bananas at 14,000 feet. Thats quite an amazing achievement when you think about it. 

A Walipini is build inside the earth and you may need to hire someone to excavate the long trench. Walipinis are usually built 6 to 8 feet down into the ground and can be as long or short as you need them to be. You can re-use the excavated dirt to create earthbags to reinforce the side walls if you want a secure bunker style.

If you build your walipini correctly it should maintain a healthy temperature of approximately 70 degrees even on those cold wintery days. If you live in an area where space is not a problem check the position of the sun first, then build the length of the Walipini facing the winter sun. The more sun exposure the better it will be for heating purposes. 

Will your Walipini have a plastic or polycarbonate roof? Plastic is obviously cheaper but it will not last as long, so do you put most of your money into a good roof and framework or wait a few years to change it out? I guess that will depend on you and the amount of money you have to spend. I know of a family who used Dura-skrim as a cover for their roofing materials.

In my area of CO, I would much rather go for the secure roof materials (polycarbonate) and framework rather than have a disaster happen and lose plants due to flooding or a cave in.  

Placing a walipini on sloped land is a better idea because it will allow for any rainfall to run away from the walipini instead of flooding it out. Walipinis are ideal builds for people who live in Semi-arid desert conditions like Texas, Utah, New Mexico, California and Colorado. Lower rainfall areas work better because too much water can be a problem. If you live in Florida a walipini is probably not going to work for you. 

I have some plans here for you to keep which will teach you to build a Walipini: 

http://www.the-meal.net/graph/manuel_walipina_benson.pdf

ALSO

Take a look at this great PDF created by the University of Minnesota Extension Service 

On cold climate greenhouses: 

http://www.extension.umn.edu/rsdp/community-and-local-food/production-resources/docs/cold-climate-greenhouse-resource.pdf

Passive Solar Heated Design Greenhouse

Saving money on heating any greenhouse throughout the winter is crucial especially when millions of people are financially strapped for cash. Having a reliable greenhouse to grow food during the cold months is even more important. I would like to offer people the below plans which comes with building materials needed for the above passive solar heated greenhouse design. 

It was put together by the Bradford Research Center College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and I love this design because black water barrels are used to heat this particular greenhouse. 

This type of greenhouse is ideal for people who cannot dig down to build a Walipini but want a passive solar greenhouse. Check out the below link for the plans: 

http://bradford.cafnr.org/passive-solar-greenhouse/

Having an energy efficient greenhouse to grow food can be a lifesaver for a family who wants a more sustainable lifestyle. It can house your AP System, grow smaller tropical plants you normally couldnt grow in the North and even offer a warm shelter for animals.

Warmest Regards

Victoria

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