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  1. #1
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    Oct 2012
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    Kearney, Missouri
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    Hello from Kearney MO

    My name is Tom and my family and I live in Kearney (sounds like "car knee") Missouri. We live in town, in a subdivision, on a large lot (.48 acre) and are trying to practice a form of urban agriculture. My wife and I are both educators and we have been growing fruits and vegetables for many years. I would not call myself a "prepper" as we have been gardening and canning our whole lives. A more appropriate term would be perpetual food storage. We have been studying aquaponics for a few years and have taken great leaps into it this year. In march we bought our first fry of blue tilapia with the intent of them becoming our brood stock. Over the summer my sons and I built a 16x32 greenhouse, grow beds for our ap system in the greenhouse, and a stand alone system which is now operating in the garage. Here are a few pics of the greenhouse:







    Here is a pic of our grow beds:


    We used barrels because we were able to get them free. We built three tables like this to go along the south side and then will hook into a raft system along the west side and north side.

    I don't have pics of our stand alone system yet, but will get some on later. I am sure we will have a ton of questions as we go along. We are looking forward to meeting you all.

  2. #2
    Members bcotton's Avatar
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    dallas, tx
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    Re: Hello from Kearney MO

    living the dream, dude.


    brian

  3. #3
    Moderator davidstcldfl's Avatar
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    Re: Hello from Kearney MO

    Hi Tom, welcome to the forum...
    Nice looking green house...so are the raised beds...
    "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." - President Ronald Reagan

  4. #4
    Moderator urbanfarmer's Avatar
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    Re: Hello from Kearney MO

    Quote Originally Posted by bcotton
    living the dream, dude.


    brian
    My sentiments exactly!

  5. #5
    Members Lordshandyman's Avatar
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    Apr 2012
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    Naples, FL USA
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    Re: Hello from Kearney MO

    I love your greenhouse and your raised beds look wonderful.

    Welcome to the forum. People here sure are friendly about answering questions so ask away.

    Your growbeds look very well designed and sturdy.

    I am in Naples Florida, and am raising blue tilapia as well. We hardly ever get a freeze and my system is just sitting outside... but I found out that I do need to heat it a little bit for the tilapia. They don't like it when the water gets below 50 degrees... actually I noticed they quit eating good when the water temps dropped below 70 degrees. This created an unexpected problem for me. The winter in Florida is the prime growing season... and my fertilizer machines (aka: fish) are practically hibernating. In the summer, they are eating and pooping machines, but I don't have too many veggies I can grow successfully then. So... I am beginning to wonder if tilapia is the right choice after all... I did however discover that Okra is excellent stir fried (used to only eat it deep fried smothered in batter, but have changed my ways recently so had no use for it until now), and that it loves the hot days and tolerates hot water on its roots, so now between sweet potatoes and okra, I will have good summer filtration. Anyone living with nematodes in their soil and have had trouble trying to grow okra should do so in an aquaponics system... the okra grows phenomenally this way.

    Of course, in Missouri, your prime growing time would coincide with the high tilapia activity, so if you are willing to heat the water to keep them alive during the winter, then they should work out for you ok during the summers. I suppose if you heat the greenhouse and the water during the winter, then you could grow year round.... but the cost would be great!

    Look forward to seeing more pictures.
    Trust God, after all, only He knows what He is doing.

    Random Thoughts: There is some truth in every newspaper and magazine, you just need to know where to look....
    For instance: The name, price, date, and page numbers are usually always true!

  6. #6
    Members
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    Kearney, Missouri
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    Re: Hello from Kearney MO

    I will not have the ap system running in the greenhouse this winter. My thought was to have two sets of fish for winter and summer. I would use a solar heater for the water in the winter to allow me to get the tilapia out in march/april and grow out until end of november. Bring larger brood stock into garage system for breeding and maybe a hot finishing tank for the ones to slaughter. I would then move my catfish/bluegill from my outdoor ponds to the greenhouse and keep only greens growing as long as possible. I did not want to heat the greenhouse, but just extend our growing season in there. Too much $$$ to heat it. Any thoughts or ideas? I am learning that there is a learning curve to ap and sometimes you just have experiment as each situation is different.

    The fish tanks aren't set up yet. My plan was to have a sump tank (about 7x7x3) sunk into the ground with a deck built over it with 4 IBC totes (possibly) to use as fish tanks in different stages of growth or varieties. Right now I have a free 300 gallon cone shaped tank and stand and 55 gallon drums to use. I was hoping to invest my tax returns if we have any this spring into plumbing and tanks. This is a debt free project that I build as I can afford. This winter, I am planning on getting the rain gutters/water storage system set up and power run out there.

    Thanks, for the "living the dream" comments, but sometimes it seems more like "slave to the dream" or "living the workin' my butt off" LOL

  7. #7
    Moderator davidstcldfl's Avatar
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    Re: Hello from Kearney MO

    Quote Originally Posted by misterguppy
    Thanks, for the "living the dream" comments, but sometimes it seems more like "slave to the dream" or "living the workin' my butt off" LOL
    ....
    "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." - President Ronald Reagan

  8. #8
    Moderator JCO's Avatar
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    Re: Hello from Kearney MO

    Welcome and don't be a stranger...more photos please
    JCO
    Irish eyes are always smiling but
    • "In the eyes of the world, you are only as good as your last success"
    so never forget
    • "MAN IS ONLY LIMITED BY HIS IMAGINATION"

  9. #9
    Members bcotton's Avatar
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    dallas, tx
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    Re: Hello from Kearney MO

    The water will act as a thermal mass and may help keep the inside of the greenhouse warm longer than you think. The water will continue to store heat on sunny days and release the heat at night. The more water you have the better. I doubt you can keep year round tilapia but year round growing seasons is on the table.

    Can also use composting as a cheap/free heat source.


    brian

  10. #10
    Members
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    Apr 2012
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    S.E. Georgia, USA
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    Re: Hello from Kearney MO

    And the water doesn't have to be part of the AP system. I've got a couple of 55 gal drums full of water that are completely separate from anything else. They just get hot in the day and radiate the warmth during the night.
    Scott
    Jesup (S.E.), Georgia, USA

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