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View Full Version : Hi from Prescott, AZ



Kim
10-16-2011, 03:57 PM
Hi, everyone, I'm Kim, and I've been a food addict for...well, for my whole life. I just can't seem to stop eating cold turkey...wait, bad choice of words. Cold turkey sounds good. So does tilapia.

Yes. I'm posting after only having received 4 hours of sleep (I'm a sleep addict too), so forgive me if I'm a little silly, please.

I've been very interested in aquaponics, ever since I first heard about the concept about a year ago. Been looking into it, I know the basics but not clear on all the particulars so I'm happy to have found you guys now that hubby and I are seriously talking about this. I find the whole concept of it intriguing...there's a symmetry to aquaponics, that just kind of clicks with me.

We have 2 acres, and are planning on building a walipini (basically an underground greenhouse...thermal mass conserves heat, plastic sheeting is cheaper than glass, and being mostly underground protects from the wind, which is a problem here). At first we were going to keep it as a 'normal' greenhouse, but now we're looking into what we can do with aquaponics. Hopefully we can keep black soldier flies/grubs there as well.

We already have a miniature jersey calf, 4 goats, 9 chickens, 5 ducks (3 are destined for the freezer...and more when the others lay more eggs), 2 pigs (breeding pair, once the male gets old enough), a turkey, and a turtle that pokes his head out of the pond now & then, as well as the more traditional dog & cat. We're set for milk, money/meat (depending on whether we can sell what we breed....goat is yummy, as is pig, but I'd rather sell babies than raise & eat them), but our garden is insufficient to our needs. Not to mention, I'd love to get something set up to make food for our animals. I've been looking at grow systems, wondering if I could adapt aquaponics to do something similar.

Anyway, I ramble. I look forward to browsing around here, and getting to know you guys :mrgreen:

davidstcldfl
10-17-2011, 03:31 AM
Hi Kim... and tell 'hubby' I said 'hi'... :D. Welcome to the forum !
Hang out 'here'...and you'll also be an aquaponics addict.... :lol:

We have a fellow member here...'bsfman'...he wrote the following...in regards to 'where' black soldier flys are located......
They are only native to the warmer climates in the US (and worldwide). North of Kentucky, it's unlikely you will have a native population. They don't do well at high altitudes either - unlikely you will find them much above 2500 feet above sea level.

bsfman
10-17-2011, 04:51 AM
Hi Kim... and tell 'hubby' I said 'hi'... :D. Welcome to the forum !
Hang out 'here'...and you'll also be an aquaponics addict.... :lol:

We have a fellow member here...'bsfman'...he wrote the following...in regards to 'where' black soldier flys are located......
They are only native to the warmer climates in the US (and worldwide). North of Kentucky, it's unlikely you will have a native population. They don't do well at high altitudes either - unlikely you will find them much above 2500 feet above sea level.

Actually it's true that native BSF populations are not typically found above 2500 feet. Whether or not a captive "walpini"-greenhouse population could be maintained at the 5,000 foot plus elevations of Prescott would be an interesting experiment. I would thing the stable temps and humidity of the walpini housing an aquaponics system might create an acceptable micro-environment. It certainly sounds like Kim will have a continuous food source for BSF - given all the critters they are keeping! :)

Kim
10-21-2011, 01:58 PM
Thanks for the replies :)

bsfman, I'd actually seen some of your stuff before elsewhere (if you're the same guy I'm remembering...), and had been planning on asking you about whether keeping them in a greenhouse would work. Go figure, you would answer my question before I asked it! lol.

Definitely have plenty to feed them, yep, even just between the cow & pigs.

Although thinking of the duck poo has given me another idea to possibly include in my/our plans. Oh joy, haha, that sounds so lovely. I think I'll find the appropriate section to bring it up in, as a different post, rather than the welcoming one.

Debbi
11-08-2011, 07:33 PM
Hi Kim,
My name is Debbi & I am looking for someone to buy fresh Goat Milk from. I, also live in Prescott. Please let me know & if you do have any, how much it would be.

Thank you so much, Debbi

Larry Dietz
11-10-2011, 11:59 AM
Kim,

Your walipini comment intriqued me, and I have been doing some research. This looks like something that I may consider as well, being in an area that gets pretty cold in the winter.

Let me know how yours turns out, and if you run into any tips or tricks on construction.

-Larry

Kim
11-30-2011, 10:21 AM
Debbi, once my goats are breeding and in milk again I'll let you know and we can discuss it :). Just waiting for our boy to notice that girls smell good. We're also planning on breeding our beautiful calf Cleo when she gets old enough, and apparently her mom gave 3 gallons a day...I'm dreaming of butter and ice cream and cheese, oh my!

I got the kindle version of Sylvia Bernstein's Aquaponics book, and then got my husband's phone hooked up to my kindle account....heh now he's so eager to do it he doesn't want to wait til we can build the walipini. With our oldest all but moved out, we have a room that we can use for it, and we've been discussing options.

Though my nefarious plan is to get the bedroom turned into an aquaponics paradise, and then build the walipini too. If we're going to have a breeder colony like we want, we won't have any shortage of fish to supply both.

urbanfarmer
12-02-2011, 08:03 PM
Greetings Earthling, and welcome to the addiction! :mrgreen: