The Greenhouse Winter & Beyond

With the heavy, puffy gray clouds rolling along the horizon, we meet spitting rain and gusty winds.  Fall is upon us and whispering away about Winter.   I wonder if it will be one filled with snow.  We shall see.  But for now, we are readying things for Winter.  With that we turn to the aquaponics greenhouse.

The greenhouse at the end of the summer, prior to winterization.

The greenhouse just got a new coat- a plastic sheet covering coat, that is, and is fully weatherized (save one crack).  We cleaned out extra grow bed pebbles, and some plants that were about done, and are making plans for next year.  This Winter in the greenhouse will be the inaugural year of outdoor aquaponics for us, and we plan to observe accordingly.  Currently, we have the fish tank filled with goldfish, and we will be monitoring the water temperature, and also the temperature inside the greenhouse.  We plan to put some black plastic over the tank, as well, to help hold thermal heat and keep the water warm.  As it stands now, with one water tank nested underground, the water should be able to stay above freezing (or at least, it has a longer and better chance at it).  Since it is running water- every 15 minutes it is pumped from the fish tank through the grow beds- it will also increase less freezing possibilities.  We can also up the pumping frequency, to keep the water from freezing, if it gets so cold that it starts to freeze in between pumping sessions.  There is only one real pump that is a freezing concern- as if the water does freeze, that pipe will bust and water will spill out onto the ground and flood the grow beds.  There are worse things- but another to watch for.  The goldfish very well will go dormant, and so would the bacteria if things get too cold- which means also that the plants will stop growing, and potentially die.  At last resort, we may heat the greenhouse if we commit to growing all our fresh winter greens out there.  We are playing it by ear.

The plan for the Spring, though is to start with Tilapia.  Because the fish tank takes up such a large space in the greenhouse- it seems quite silly to be using that space just for pet goldfish.  So, that will begin that process!  I may add in another grow bed, perhaps even a raised bed with soil that I can plant some heat loving plants in and just water with water from the fish tank (they will like this, as well)!  Just trying out lots of different techniques- mix and match- see what works best.

Noah had set up two systems initially in the greenhouse- one with four grow beds connected through the fish tank and the tank underground- and a second made out of three fence posts with holes in them ideal for strawberries or lettuce patches.  The latter went through the bottom tank, and worked on a syphoning system & gravity (I look to Noah to explain the mechanics the best here).  This system, however, we've deemed to abandoned in this set-up, as it doesn't seem to optimally use the space, it was aesthetically pleasing, and seemed to be lacking- perhaps in proper function?  So, onto the next phase of experimentation!

Some discoloration in the calendula petals & lettuce
made it clear the system is lacking in nutrients.

Another addition that I am extremely excited about- is our new worm bin!  I feel this worm bin will be the key ingredient to making the aquaponic system complete!  As things grew this past season, it became clear that the system lacked certain nutrients (granted, this was the first season of it up and running and it takes time for all the bacteria and system to get fully-established).  We could observe this with chlorosis (yellowing of the leaves), and also some of the vegetables that came out didn't taste like much (lacking nutrients).  SO!  A great and quick way to remedy this is to sprinkle some of the magic substance of WORM CASTINGS!!  Hurray for worms!  The worm bin is just getting established, and once it is really kicking, we will be sending castings on their way to the greenhouse.  Also, the beautiful thing about the worm bin is that worm eat, poop and reproduce- which means more worms!   And these worms are also incredibly valuable to the aquaponic system with grow beds.  We will just place some of these worms into the beds, and watch them do help to create a living food web inside the grow beds.

So many plans for the greenhouse!  More fish-and edible ones at that, more nutrients which means more tasty and healthy plants, a worm party, more fully used space, and continued experimentation and observation.  Also, for next summer, thinking about the potentially to really cook in there if we keep the plastic on the top, we are talking about the possibility of growing a living, edible shade cover- like hops, or groundnut, or grapevines, or hardy kiwi, or maypop (though I think I'm inclined to leave maypop's territory in the front of the house, since it likes to spread so vigorously).  So many exciting things to look forward to!  Hurray hurray hurray for feedback from this living system!  When you listen, it is always a conversation!