Growing Dome Aquaponics release 3.5

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Like the rest of the North East, this week was particularly cold at the farm. It felt like October weather. This made it pleasant to work around the farm, but also a lot more pleasant to work in our Growing Dome.

For those following our travails in the Dome, we have now addressed Algae issues and contained the Duckweed. We now faced more "structural" issues.

Our hydroponic tables have been supported by large wooden frames. In some cases, we did not provide lateral support to these large plastic containers. Once filled to capacity (some 70 litres), some of these tables would bulge and begin to deform. The net result has been leaking water and more critically warping of the wooden support structure. This further aggravated the situation.

Our support structures have started to deform.

It was time to rethink our design and begin work on some new structures.

Last year, our first attempt was based on a "homemade" wooden table with plastic liners; our second attempt was using what we call "deck technology". This time (release 3.0), we decided to have steel angles support the hydroponic tables.

Replacing wooden supports with steel angles.

We also took the opportunity to rid ourselves of the flexible tubing linking the hydroponic tables to the main water tank. The original tubing (hoses) flexed much too much and in some cases prevented a clear flow of water back to the tank.

We ended up using conventional plastic plumbing pipes. The result is a neater, cleaner looking system with an unobstructed water flow.

Installing new water pipes

We thought this would solve everything...we were wrong. A little bit of engineering would have shown that once the hydroponic tables were filled with water even our steel angles would bend (a matter of insufficient metal cross-sections).

So it was back to the drawing board and what we now call release 3.5. This time, we decided to bring everything down and use "saw horse" technology.

For what amounts to 140 kg of water, the system really required 3 supports longitudinally. So we built 3  pairs of saw horse legs to support our 2x4 beams. This also gave us the opportunity to lower our hydroponic tables somewhat.

The result looks quite strong and should hopefully address all our problems.

Release 3.5: the new hydroponic support structure

In fact, the Dome is starting to look quite green (although we've not yet started many plants).

So what is working now:

1. Our Rock Bass (Sunfish) are doing quite well. The Duckweed is under control and the fish seem to love feeding on this plant. If they thrive, we will probably switch to a more edible species next Spring.

2. Our hydroponic tables are supporting growth of Kale, Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Peppers (both sweet and hot).

Hot peppers are performing well on our hydroponic tables.

The Tomatoes and Cucumbers will likely have to be brought down into "Dutch buckets", as their vines are becoming rather large.

What has not worked is the Wax Beans. These have done extremely well outside, but on the tables it seems that either they are not getting the right nutrients or somehow we may have damaged their roots (too much moving around?).

The Wax Beans are thus far a failure.

The beans are also proving extremely difficult to pollinate (we use our fingers and a small brush).

3. The "Dutch buckets" using the Kratky method are performing very well. Here we have both Tomatoes and Cucumbers. The Tomatoes are flowering while we're now patiently waiting to pick second Cucumber.

Tomatoes n "Kratky buckets"

Meanwhile the Dome has been a great place to complete our propagation experiments. Our Gojiberry cuttings are fruiting, our Baco Noir Grapes are very healthy and we are starting to see some budding on our old Black Currant cuttings.

Healthy Baco Noir Grape cuttings.

 It will now be time to start planting new things to further test our entire system.

As we have been working inside the Growing Dome, we have also noticed something quite peculiar: we are creating a new ecosystem. Trying to minimize energy use (limiting ourselves to a couple of solar panels), we cannot control tings that are entering the Dome. For example the passively activated louvers that control temperature on top of the Dome expose us to the outside world.

The result: we are finding quite a few mosquito larvae both in our main water tank and our hydroponic tables.

The most surprising "guest" however is a population of small water snails. We find these throughout the main water tank, as well as some of the hydroponic tables. The most problematic aspect of these snails is that they are finding their way into our bilge pumps (hampering the proper functioning of the impellers). An easy fix is the use of filters.

Snails hampering the proper functioning of our bilge pump

We're really not certain how bad this problem will be in the long run. Certainly, we currently have no long term solution for this right now.

Based on our past failures (the asphyxiation of our Large Mouth Bass), we've learned how catastrophic things can get when the fish have an inadequate supply of oxygen.

To protect us from this, we decided to upgrade our electrical supply to the aeration pump. We actually changed our 40W panel to a 100W panel in order to recharge a battery as well as operate a pump. The battery provides us with additional power during long overcast days.

Our new 100W solar panel

 

Battery back-up for the aeration pump

The whole thing is controlled with a manual switch. Eventually, we will probably implement a timer or some sort of automation to the process.

Finally, elsewhere around the farm, the Purple Raspberries are done for the year, but red, yellow and black Raspberries are rapidly coming on line, so are the Blackberries.

One surprise has been the Chestnut trees. Most of them have been harmed by Deer so we have not been expecting much. It turns out however that nor only have they flowered, but one was certainly properly pollinated and we have Chestnuts!

Edible Chestnuts!

 From a foraging standpoint, we need to let everyone know it is time to harvest the Elderberries. 

The Elderberries are ready for picking.

We'll conclude this week with a new finding at the old Victorian Manor.

We are currently landscaping and clearing the back of the house for a new courtyard. In the process, we noticed the mark of an old arch in one of our exterior brick walls. This arch did not make any sense. It was at ground level and not aligned with our cellars (so not the top of a cellar exit).

We decided to dig....and we found the remnants of what looks like a cistern/well.

A new find in the back of the house.

While we ponder how and in which period this may have been used, we're now trying to determine how we can use this as an exposed architectural detail within the courtyard.