Rebuilding the system

It has been several months since my failure to rebuild by system in the place where my family temporarily relocated. Now I understand how critical it is to have good sunlight for the plants to thrive. I have been out of the aquaponic world for quite a while and I am desperate to have a new setup. I noticed that we now have more folks here in PH setting up more systems and some are even starting to build commercial setups, just in a matter of months of being out of the picture.

Here are some sites where one can read more about Aquaponics:

http://aquaponicsphilippines.com/

http://www.philippineaquaphonics.info/

http://www.mixph.com/2010/03/what-is-aquaponics-technology.html

One of my main issues is the lack of space to put up a new system here in Malabon. Unlike in Pasig, where I had an entire backyard blessed with a good position to get sunlight. Until I find a place where I can build a new setup, I’ll have to stick to reading and envy my fellow countrymen get their hands dirty in Aquaponics. 🙂

 

 

Backyard Chicken Farming: First Batch

Project has finally started a few weeks ago. Added a nesting box inside the shelter. I currently have a “trio” of chickens for starters. My plan is 20-25 chickens for this backyard.

Happy farming!

 

Aquaponics: Tomato fruits

I had been unsuccessful in growing tomatoes but surprisingly, lone tomato plant managed to survive in one of my growbeds and it is now bearing fruits. Last time I counted, it has at least 2 dozens of young, unripe tomato fruits. This revived my passion for Aquaponics which has been stagnant for a few months

Happy farming!

 

Aquaponics: Duckweed!

Some photos of the AP system showing the duckweed I tried reproducing after seeing them from a nearby canal. They multiply so quickly!

 

Backyard Chicken Farming – House Complete

Well, almost complete. I still have to add more supporting wood to make it withstand future typhoons. We get that a lot yearly where I’m from. I spent around 800 pesos for the bamboo, which is a bit pricey since I could have just gotten it for free had I been more patient.

Time now to construct the nesting boxes inside.

Happy farming!

 

Backyard Chicken Farming – A New Journey

Chickens, being one of the cheapest source of protein (not to mention the eggs), have always been part of Filipino diet whether in the sprawling cities or far away
provinces. No surprise that it’s not unusual to see a household with a few chickens.

One day, I suddenly thought “why can’t I have some as well?” We have a small vacant lot with walls and gates already and my Aquaponics setup doesn’t really take much space.

Last week, I started drafting a plan for my project: a mini barn! My goal is simple, 1. Help cut down food cost by producing meat and eggs. 2. Learn the basics of organic chicken farming for larger ventures in the future. 3. To sell excess meat and eggs. Now, this, I’m totally sure if there would be something to call excess. But I’m going to try.

First thing I need would be a house for the chicken. To get me started, I bought 2 hens and a rooster just to motivate myself to pursue this project. With the help of my stepdad, I was able to begin setting up a simple chicken house. Most of the materials were just salvaged from a nearby construction site. The plastic roof are just recycled from my previous greenhouse that was destroyed by a typhoon several months ago.

I chose to go for native, free-range type of chickens since they peck for some of their food like plants and insects, and they’re much more resistant to diseases. I also like the idea of seeing chickens walking around, instead of white chickens confined in cages, being fed with antibiotics and all sorts of drugs.

If the info I got from the net is accurate, a hen would lay at least 40 eggs in a year under the natural method. Meaning, you let the hen do their thing with less intervention from humans. So if there are 20 hens and 4 roosters, I am to expect 800 eggs in a year or 66.67 eggs in a month. And I don’t think we’ll be eating that much eggs. Not bad for a chicken house made up of recycled materials. I know this will be a new journey for me, but I am going to welcome learning and new experiences.

Happy farming!

 

Aquaponics: A new look, same system

It’s been quite a while since my last post. I just want to share some updates with my two little systems.

A view of both of my Aquaponic systems

One day I just realized that I wasn’t getting enough growth for all of the plants and the yellowish color from the leaves are clearly signs of lack of nutrients. If I’m not mistaken, mostly due to lack of iron.

Underneath the small raft

I’ve read from DIYAquaponics that adding a filter in the system would really help a lot in maximizing the dissolved nutrients be fed to the plants since we are reducing the amount of solids in the growbeds which clog up the roots. So I’ve decided to add my own filter! I used recycled plastic containers and some wool and scotchbrite for the renovation.

A top view for the second system showing the home-made filter box

I also painted the outsides of the beds black to minimize the algae that steals away nutrients that should be for our vegetables

Fish tank full of Tilapia

Adding filters on each of the two mini systems and minimizing algae growth have improved the quality of the plants by making sure that they get more nutrients. Leaves looked healthier and the Okra fruits have been almost unstoppable.

As of the moment, the system needs a lot of tweaking since I haven’t done much maintenance lately and I am also planning on setting up a much more ambitious and productive system. Raft is most likely the choice.

 

 

 

My second Aquaponics system, blunders and some future plans

It’s been a few months since my second attempt to put up a new Aquaponics setup. After seeing my first grow some nice looking plants, I knew in myself that I won’t settle for just a little one. I’m noticing that more and more people here in the Philippines are starting to appreciate Aquaponics and some are successful in starting their own setups. Here are some photos of my second system. I used three plastic containers for the grow beds. Two are for the ebb and flow type and the one in the middle, I tried putting up a raft. Recycled coco lumber serves as the frame for the grow beds.

My second attempt with Aquaponics

The raft planted with sitao, basil, pechay and mustard - limited growth due to the shallow bed

After a month of setting this up, the system looked promising. Pechay, Basil, Ampalaya, Sitao and Mustard grew quickly. The goldfish and carp seemed healthy. However, I made a big mistake of over-crowding the grow bed on the left. I also noticed that as the vine plants grow, they shaded the rest of the system

Over-crowded pechay

from sunlight, thus deterring the growth of the other plants. My system was placed beside two trees. Unfortunately, some of their branches grew too long as to deny sunlight as well. I had to cut some of them eventually in order to provide some sunlight. While the raft helped in ensuring a constant flow of water back to the fish tank, I finally accepted the truth that the bed is too shallow to support further root growth.

Nevertheless, I learned a lot from my experience with the second setup. I learned the right flow of water for each grow bed for consistent flooding and draining. I haven’t had any real problems aside from overcrowding and lack of sunlight exposure. The grow bed on the right demonstrated a much better growth of plants since it receives the most sunlight.

Let’s visit the very first system we’ve started. Okra, Corn and Basil have grown quite well. I kept all of their seeds for future planting since they have been grown purely organic. If it will make any difference, I’m yet to find out. This same system also suffered from my Ube plant overwhelming the rest of the grow bed. Now, only my Okra and Ube have survived. I’m going to post some pictures next time and I’m planning to restart the entire grow bed. Definitely no vine-plants, will probably have some leafy greens or herbs.

Healthy okra will serve as mother of all my future Okra plants

Corn: didn't grow as much, but provided some good purely organic seeds for future planting

Mustasa (Mustard) plant

 

Happy planting!

 

Time-out: Hiking Mt. Timbak in Atok, Benguet

While waiting for my plants to grow, (now on their 3rd week)I was fortunate enough to have joined climbing Mt. Timbak last Sunday, Feb 20. Mr. Ronald Fabon, our group’s president and leader invited me to a “climb-for-beginners”. Being another first for me, I decided to sign up. Roughly 4 hours from Baguio, we finally arrived at Timbak Elementary school. Good thing we were welcomed to stay in the school as long as we keep the place clean and quiet, therefore we didn’t have to bring tents. The view of the sunset was already a treat even without climbing the summit. The following morning, we woke up early, around 3:30 am, had an early breakfast and prepared for assaulting the peak of Mt. Timbak. We were a large group of almost 20+ heads and Ronald decided to divide the group into 2, each team taking 2 different trails on the way up – the summit. The other group was led by Mr. Jay Z Jorge. The hike was considered to be for beginners but one still has to fight the cold and the thin air, but everything got easier as we went up and got our bodies warmer. we found ourselves walking alongside vegetable crops, careful not to damage any of the plants that is a source of livelihood for most people living in the area.

After 30 minutes, we reached the peak of Mt. Timbak, just right before sunrise. I am a self-proclaimed water-person, but it was then at the top that I realized why people enjoy climbing mountains, why Ron and he the team have made it a point to climb as much as they could, why I was there and what the place has got to do with me. I deeply enjoyed the seeing the sea of clouds becoming more visible as the sun shows up. My little camera was not good enough to capture the wonderful sight, and even if I did have a better cam, I don’t
believe it would be enough to capture the state of awe I was in while enjoying the view. After endless picture-taking, we decided to go down, much less organized than we were on our way up. I met some locals and unsurprisingly, they spoke good english when they greeted us and they were exceptionally kind. I certainly hope that irresponsible climbing and television won’t destroy their rich culture. Our next destination was the mummies of Timbak. Our other companion, Xavier Capul, was kind enough to enrich our trip with his knowledge and experience with the different tribes of the Cordillera region. After a long hike and an almost never-ending descent on a stone stairway, I was intrigued to see the mummies of Timbak. was a pity I didn’t bother to equip myself with some reading about our destination, but Xavier told us that the mummies were sacred to the people who protect them and that we should be careful not to use flash when taking pictures because it may affect the preservation of the mummies. Though I appreciated viewing seeing the 100+ year old mummy Xavier showed me (he knew because one particular mummy was encased in wood without the use of nails), it was very unfortunate that we missed seeing the mummy of Apo Anno which was supposed to be the highlight of the trip. Apo Anno is a legend to the Ibaloi tribe, he was a legendary warrior who is believed to be a son of a mortal man and a goddess. I was told that his mummy was lost and even found its way to a museum in a foreign land. The Timbak mummies are included in the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the World according to Monument Watch, a non-profit organization aiming for the preservation of important sites in the world. It’s also included in the World Monuments Preservation List of the American Express Foundation in 1998. I’m glad that the Apo Anno found his way back home. I hope that he will always be protected for future generations.

People in Timbak (Atok and Kabayan municipalities) are genuinely kind. They don’t expect monetary gifts for their kindness (and one shouldn’t even attempt to offer them money) and meeting them is such a breath of fresh air. The simplicity of their way of life reminds me that happiness and peace can truly be achieved even without the cultural and technological “advancement” people in the cities are very much proud of. At some point, I actually envy them knowing that they’re far from pollution, stress and all other ugly things that living in a crowded city could offer. Though some of them may not realize it, but living a simple life in the mountains and growing your own food is more appealing to me than dying young and sick in a place far from the healing energies of nature. Going to Mt Timbak, I can say, has brought me much closer to my mother planet and further encouraged me to continue my quest in making our planet greener, one fish at a time.

*** On a side note, I’m currently in the stage of building my 2nd Aquaponic system, almost 5 times larger than the first. I am going to use the CHOP (Constant Height One Pump) system since I wanted to make use of the unused 550-gallon plastic drum as a fish tank and an old, broken refrigerator as a growbed. I am hoping to be able to finish the project by tomorrow before I got back to work. Peace.