Aquaponics Projects

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Aquaponics Projects

Hawaii Aquaponics Workforce Maui

Nelson and Pade, Inc has been contracted to build multiple aquaponics systems, provide training and support for a workforce development project at the University of Hawaii, Maui and other locations. John and Rebecca travelled to Maui in September to intiate the project and start the training. The systems will be built and shipped during the fall of 2011.

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Aquaponics in a Survival Condo

Nelson and Pade, Inc. has been contracted to design the aquaponic system for a surviival condo in a missile silo. www.survivalcondo.com  We visited the faclity and met project manager, Larry Hall, in October.  During this visit, we took part in the filming of a documentary on the project for National Geographic Channel.

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Las Lomas, Trinidad, Eco-Resort and Aquaponics

Nelson and Pade, Inc. is has designed and is building an aquaponic system for the Las Lomas Legacy Project in the island country of Trinidad, sponsored by the First Church of the Open Bible. The project, located on 72 beautiful acres,  will be an eco-resort, featuring the heritage of various Caribbean islands. The aquaponic system will be the first component to be installed.

Sian and Orville, from Trinidad, and Richard, from Jamaica, are currently doing training at Nelson and Pade, Inc. for this project. The greenhouse and Clear Flow Aquaponic System will be shipped to Trinidad in October. Nelson and Pade, Inc. will continue to provide tech support and periodic onsite training.

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H.O.P.E, Pueblo Tribe, New Mexico

Nelson and Pade, Inc. is assisting H.O.P.E. (Honor Our Pueblo Existence), a Pueblo organization in New Mexico, in the planning of an aquaponic project for the Santa Clara Pueblo.  The initial project will be for the purpose of demonstrating aquaponic technology to the tribal community. The long term goal is to use aquaponics to provide fresh fish and vegetables to the community as well as be a profitable venture.  The Santa Clara tribe lives in the shadow of the Las Alamos nuclear lab and waterways, soil and irrigations systems have been contaminated.  Aquaponics will allow them to grow fresh fish and vegetables without relying on the soil.

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New Aquaponics Demonstration Greenhouse

 Nelson and Pade, Inc. has competed the construction of their new 5,000 square foot aquaponics greenhouse.  The new research and demonstration facility showcases the latest in Clear Flow Aquaponic Systems^TM and controlled environment agriculture.    

A variety of crops ranging from fancy lettuces and herbs to tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are grown in aquaponics, where the fish waste provides the fertilizer for the plants. 

The greenhouse demonstrates energy efficiency, natural ventilation, a variety of heating techniques, greenhouse coverings and grow lights.   

The new greenhouse provides the backdrop for Nelson Pade, Inc.’s successful aquaponics training workshops, a new tour program and an on-site farm stand.

Tour info:  https://www.aquaponics.com/see/tourourfacility.php
Workshop Info:  https://www.aquaponics.com/workshops.php

Kansas City Aquaponics Project

Kansas City’s Green Acres Community Garden has partnered with the City, the school district and other organizations to put this plan into action. The project will utilize abandoned (but very nice) greenhouses at East High School to launch an aquaponics program and initiative that will provide fresh food to the community, education and hands-on learning for students and jobs and job training for local youth.
Nelson and Pade, Inc. is supplying the systems, training, technology curriculum and support.
Through common goals, partnerships and innovative thinking, Ms. Coe and all involved in this effort are chipping away at the problems of urban food desserts, compromised educational systems, crime and a lack of jobs. This project will feed people while nurturing the soul through a new connection to food, agriculture and aquaponics. I applaud this group for their foresight and motivation!

Aquaponics Goes to Hollywood

Nelson and Pade, Inc. is working with a group of young celebrities to bring aquaponics and fresh nutritious food to Hollywood.
This project will include aquaponic food production in a controlled environment greenhouse, plus a retail, education and agri-tourism center.
This facility will be a destination to purchase fresh fish and veggies and learn about aquaponics, all in a 1/2 acre aquaponic greenhouse.
More details to come.

"Living Food BankTM" Aquaponic System in Haiti

Nelson and Pade, Inc. has begun construction on a Living Food BankTM aquaponic system at the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. The system is complete with a tropical greenhouse and stand-alone energy system. The aquaponic system is designed to grow tilapia, a fresh water fish and a variety of vegetables. This is the first phase of a large-scale project. The Phase One system is intended to demonstrate the technology and allow NWHCM staff and volunteers to get familiar with the daily operation of an aquaponic system. The aquaponic system will be housed in a tropical greenhouse for crop protection. The Phase One greenhouse will cover approximately 4144 sq. ft. and is capable of annually producing 3500 lbs of fish and 27,500 heads of lettuce. Other vegetables crops, such and beans, peas and tomatoes can be grown in the system as well.
Phase Two will be on a much larger scale and is intended to provide fresh fish and vegetables to thousands of people in North West Haiti.
John Pade and Rebecca Nelson travelled to Haiti October, 2010 to assist with the installation and training.

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Greens & Gills, LLC.

Nelson and Pade, Inc. is working on the design and project plan for Greens & Gills, LLC, an innovative new aquaponics company that plans to build a 2 acre aquaponic facility in the Chicago area. David Ellis, CEO, shares, “Green & Gills, LLC is focused on positively impacting our food system by providing affordable, locally grown, herbicide-free and pesticide-free produce and also naturally raised fish to large urban markets across the United States.
Stay tuned at www.greensandgills.com

KP Simply Fresh 5000 sq. ft Aquaponic Greenhouse near Baraboo, Wisconsin

Nelson and Pade, Inc. assisted the Meunier Family of KP Simply Fresh on the establishment of their new aquaponic greenhouse. Nelson and Pade, Inc. provided the technology and equipment and continues to provide ongoing support and guidance. Located near Baraboo, Wisconsin, the Meunier’s are raising fancy lettuce and tilapia in their new aquaponic greenhouse. KP Simply Fresh has established accounts for their beautiful lettuces and fresh tilapia.
Consumers in the Baraboo area are encouraged to seek out fresh produce and fish from KP Simply Fresh. The Meunier’s are sustainably growing safe, fresh, nutritious food. Wisconsinites, be sure to “buy local” and support KP Simply Fresh. You will be happy you did.
See more photos at:  https://www.aquaponics.com/see/aquaponicsinaction.php

Installation of Aquaponic System at University of the Virgin Islands

In March, 2009, Nelson and Pade, Inc installed their 4-250-2-8x22 Raft Aquaponic System at the Agriculture Experiment Station at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI). It will be used for demonstration and crop trials by Dr. James Rakocy and the research scientists at UVI.
Information and updates will be published in the Aquaponics Journal.
In the photo on the right, from left to right: Don Bailey, Jason Danaher, R Charlie Shultz, Frankie, John Pade, Rebecca Nelson and Dr. James Rakocy.
The system is located just outside the UVI Farm store so visitors, islanders and UVI students can learn about aquaponics and see a system in action.

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Notes from Paul Stamets Talk in Philadelphia on May 2nd

Paul Stamets

The Wagner Free Science Institute

2 May 2014

Paul’s Hat

• Fomes fomentarius (a Hoof Polypore mushroom) aka Tinder mushroom – used to make Amadou (a spongy, flammable substance)
• Critical to our survival – used to carry fire
• Boil the Mushroom, it delaminates and is very flamable
• Hypocrates used as a medicine - A styptic (also spelled stiptic) is a specific type of antihemorrhagic agent that works by contracting tissue to seal injured blood vessels. Styptic pencils containastringents.

Article – They’re All Part Fungus - http://www.phschool.com/science/science_news/articles/they_part_fungus.html

Mycorrhizal Symbiosis book - http://www.amazon.com/Mycorrhizal-Symbiosis-Third-Edition-Sally/dp/0123705266

“Habitats have immune systems and mycelium is essential to communication.” (Paraphrazed)

Convince timber industry to chop and mulch rather than burn

• Produces faster growing trees
• Stores carbon rather than releasing it

Mushroom cultivation variables

• CO2 exposure determines length of stem
• Light exposure determines width of the cap

A Human foot covers ~ 300 miles of mycelium (may be inaccurate, I didn’t catch the number)

Small voids between strands of mycelium hold water.  As the voids lose water, micro communities of bacteria grow in the voids and help mushrooms.

Ratio of bacteria cells to human cells in the body:  100 to 1

Epigenesis – the ability to adapt with a network design

Japanese Slime mold experiment – Atsushi Tero et al. 2010

• Subway design optimization using slime mold

“Pairing with fungi during extinction events increases chances of survival.” (Paraphrazed)

Prototaxites – 30 foot tall giant mushroom that towered over all vegetation on earth in a time when no vegetation reached above ~2 feet.  Fossil of prototaxites was found in Saudi Arabia?  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5frPV58tY#t=362)

Honey Mushroom - Armillaria

• parasitic, kills trees
• can create huge swirl patterns in trees

Mycellium is the immune system of the mushroom

Network structure creates resiliency

Enokitake Mushrooms

• Farmers growing these mushrooms showed significantly lower cancer rates

 Slide taken from Pauls presentation

Lion’s Mane Mushroom - Hericium erinaceus

• Contain Nerve Growth Factors that promote nerve cell growth
• Improving effects of the mushroom Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus) on mild cognitive impairment: a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.
• By Mori K1, Inatomi S, Ouchi K, Azumi Y, Tuchida T.
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18844328
• Effects of Hericium erinaceus on amyloid ?(25-35) peptide-induced learning and memory deficits in mice.
• By Mori K1, Obara Y, Moriya T, Inatomi S, Nakahata N.
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21383512
• Mice given amyloid plaque causing polypeptide
• Control mice react to new object, mice with amyloid plaques lose curiosity and problem-solving ability (navigating a maze)
• After ~21 days eating Lion’s Mane, the mice regained curiosity and maze-solving ability

Shiitake - Lentinula edodes

• Drying shiitake produces Vitamin D in mushroom
• UVB exposure skyrockets Vitamin D
• Dried Shiitake can produce Vitamin D and store it for years
• Control: 40 IU/mg
• Sunlight 10 hours: 46000 IU/mg
• UVB 14 hours: 267000 IU/mg

Stropharia - Wine Cap Mushroom - Garden Giant Mushroom

• Grows slowly in lab, quickly in soil / wood chips
• Inoculated swales with garden giant mushrooms
• Reduced e. coli in soil / water
• Mycofiltration / Mycoremediation
• Mycototoes – Woodchips, straw, water in large bin (with cracks for drainage)
• Ferment for 2 weeks (stinky, anaerobic)
• Drain
• Oxygen sterilizes anaerobic bacteria
• Mushrooms grow super fast
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSKQyMFw8GM
• 500 lb mycelium produces 100 lbs of mushrooms
• Mycototes make huge mushrooms
• Rain garden design to filter e. coli water with stropharia
• http://www.fungi.com/blog/items/mycofiltration-for-urban-storm-water-treatment-receives-epa-research-and-development-funding.html
• Oregon street cleaning project to clean storm water

Mycoremediation of oil spills

• Hemp bags, filled with grasses, fermented in salt water will grow mushrooms
• Used to corral oil slicks and break down hydrocarbons

Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) – Dangerous to environment when harvested commercially

Stamets model for permaculture – in “Growing Gourmet” book by Paul stamets

Agarikon - Laricifomes officinalis - endorheic mycorrhizal fungi - Nicknamed “elixir of life”

• Contains compounds effective against various flu/pox virus strains
• Doesn’t Rot, rather petrifies the supporting tree branch with calcium oxalate
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5frPV58tY#t=691
• Anti-tuberculosis / anti-microbial properties
• Google: “Small Pox Stamets”

73% of Anti-cancer drugs come from natural sources

Worst Cancer – Merkel Cell Carcinoma

• “Nghiem Hypothesis”  - Dr. Paul Nghiem MD, PhD

Turkey Tail Mushroom (Trametes versicolor)

• Effective in studies against Breast Cancer
• Seem to de-cloak tumor cells from the body’s immune system

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Home and Garden Projects update 6 22

I recently fenced in my garden area to keep the neighborhood cats out. I ran out of straw, but luckily a local tree removal device is going to drop off 2 cubic yards of wood chips this week for free. I have some Stropharia (aka Wine Cap, aka Garden Giant, aka Portabello) mushroom spawn to mix into the wood chips. Im also getting 2 bales of straw next weekend for a couple straw bale gardens I want to play with.

Hey, put me down, Im not done eating!

Exploding with life!

So far Ive harvested:

Swiss Chard, Lettuce, Lambs Quarter, Radishes, and Beets

Some yard mushrooms.

Burdock in the yard.

Orange spots on the backyard apple tree. My landlord hasnt taken good care of it, so Im hoping to do some trimming and try to bring it back to health. Branches crossing, its a mess. Already, there are lots of apples forming, though!

Heres a short video showing the IBC Tote Aquaponic System that Im contructing at my parents house in Delaware.  Its finally just about ready for fish and plants.

While at work, I realized that the trees outside the cafeteria are Juneberries! They were ripe and delicious.

I got about 3.5 cups of Juneberries (aka Service berry, aka Shadbush, aka Shadberry.

My girlfriend baked them into a Juneberry crisp dessert for my family reunion.

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Weekend Gardening Projects

An Herb Spiral in Germany

This weekend was beautiful here in New Jersey and Delaware.  I finally had the opportunity to start work on my garden projects.  I recently bought a Big Bag Bed raised bed, inspired by this youtube video from John from GrowingYourGreens.com.  It’s a pre-made raised bed made from durable cloth, which allows greater drainage than a normal raised bed, and induces air pruning of the roots, which should help growth.  I also convinced my landlord, who lives on the first floor, to buy 2 of these Big Bag Beds and let me help him with his own garden.  I was hoping to fill the beds on Saturday, but I couldn’t find coco coir anywhere around me.  I tried Home Depot, Lowes, and two local garden centers, and called a bunch more.  Everyone had peat moss, but no one had coco coir.  Peat moss is extremely harmful to the environment to harvest and is very unsustainable.  I refuse to use it if at all possible. 

So, I ordered some coco coir and Azomite Rock Dust on Amazon, which should arrive tomorrow, and then I’ll fill the beds.  I also need to get either seeds or plants to put in the bed.

My Plan is to loosely follow this design.

On Sunday, I went to Delaware to work on some projects at my parent’s house.  I’m building an herb spiral with a small pond, according to the plans here:

Herb spiral in progress.  Itll have a sprinkler system to water the garden from the water in the little pond.

My dad and girlfriend helped out, and we got the pond hole dug, and some decorative bricks laid down to mark out the garden.  We also started filling it in, but we’ll need more stones to complete the garden on a future weekend.

The coldframe

My dad had saved an old window that he got through his work, and build a cold frame.  Since it’s not that cold out now, I was planning to use this to start some seeds, for now.

Starting some seeds

I asked my girlfriend to start some seeds that I had with some of our kitchen compost and garden soil mix, and we seeded some tomatoes, lettuce, kale, spinach, strawberries, basil, and arugula.  I’m not sure if it’s too early or late to start seeds, or if I’m doing it right, but I’m just going to go for it.

Im starting with just the IBC tote, and once its running well Ill add the 50 gallon stock tank as an additional grow bed.

IBC Tote aquaponic garden

The last thing that we worked on was the IBC tote aquaponic setup that I obtained last Fall.  It’ll sit in a small dirt patch and in the winter we’ll build a thin but tall greenhouse frame from PVC to shelter the setup.  I still need a threaded PVC connector and to set up the bell siphon before it’s ready, but most of the plumbing and the pump are ready.  I’m also getting an inline hose water filter tomorrow so that I can filter the water that I fill it with.  Hopefully within the next month this will be pumping water and holding fish!

It was a busy day, but the beautiful weather kept everyone’s spirits high.  Happy Easter!

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My Permaculture Journey so far

I first learned about Permaculture in late Fall of 2013.  I had been interested in aquaponics before then, but didnt know what permaculture was.  I had seen the term permaculture mentioned on posts in reddit.com/r/aquaponics but didnt know what it was all about.  I read a little, and watched some youtube videos, and more and more, it just felt right.

In my garden

During college, I didnt have much of an opinion on politics or activism, and I had no interest in gardening or ecology.  Dont get me wrong, Ive always loved nature, and camping, and wildlife.  But in my youthful ignorance, I felt that the worlds problems could wait until after I finished engineering school (and in all fairness, they did wait).  I didnt have the sense of urgency to action that I feel these days.

Toward the end of school, my friends started composting, and eating healthier, and I noticed, but didnt change my own habits for a good while.  But eventually, I started feeling bad when I didnt recycle in front of them, or if I used excess paper towels.  And eventually I learned more about the world, and I wanted to use my skills and education to make it better, because frankly, the future seems pretty bleak at times.  I started recycling, and turning off the lights more often.  I had grown edible mushrooms in my college years using waste coffee grounds from a coffeehouse near my apartment, and was already very fascinated with fungi.  Then I learned about aquaponics, and that fascinated my engineer mind.

My first aquaponics project

Earthship in North Philly

Id read about earthships online, and even got the opportunity to help build one on an abandonded lot in North Philly.  It was that day working on the earthship that I met a guy who told me was into Permaculture.  I went home and looked up this Permaculture thing, and it was all downhill from there (in the best-possible way, like riding your bike downhill).

At Burning Man in 2013

I had been building art (a friends projects at first, then my own) at the Burning Man Art festival since 2010, and adopted the idea of radical self-reliance (encouraging the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources) and leaving-no-trace.  So, I had already entertained the idea of a possible homestead in my future.  Over the 2013/2014 Winter, I listened to countless podcasts, watched video after video on youtube, and read books and articles all about permaculture.  I had a 3 hour commute every day to listen to podcasts and an hour lunch to read books and articles.  Thats around 4 hours a day studying Permaculture for about 3 months.  I was amassing a good knowledge base, but had little experience outside of my aquaponics projects and my mushroom cultivation years prior.

My apartments windowfarm herb garden made from recycled materials

Rosemary in the Windowfarm

Oyster mushrooms in my kitchen

Lions Mane mushrooms in a homemade fruiting chamber

In Spring 2014, I started a garden in my landlords yard, and convinced him to pay for 2/3rds the initial cost for half the produce in return.  The garden is now supplementing our diets, and giving me fresh ingredients to learn about canning and preserving.  I signed up for a 7-month, one-day-per-month Intensive Organic Gardening class with Ben Weiss, a local Permaculture instructor.  Ive learned a ton, and this has really made me look forward to being able to take a Permaculture Design Certification Course (PDC) in the future.  Ive used much of what Ive learned in the class in my own garden.  I tried composting in a bucket.  Then I heard about my friend composting with worms, and had to try that out.  Now Ive got tons of worm castings for the straw bale gardens I just set up.  The straw came from a local farm.  I got a load of mulch from a local tree service.

Learning to use a broadfork for a no-till garden in Ben Weisss 2014 Intensive Organic Gardening Class

Serviceberries (Juneberries) foraged from outside my works office building.  They made a delicious dessert for my family reunion thanks to my girlfriend!

Ive taken wild plant foraging classes with local teachers, and have realized a more symbiotic relationship with nature.  Ive found that my landlords property is filled with edible and medicinal plants like Woodsorrel, Bitter Dock, Lambs Quarter, Feverfew, Violets, Ladys Thumb, Dandelions, Clover, Purslane, and Plantain.  Ive even gotten my landlord to start eating the weeds!  It turns out, the property used to be a chicken farm, and when my landlord moved in, it was covered in grape vines, and berry bushes, and different fruiting trees.  It sounded like a permies wet dream!  He cut everything down except one apple tree, and paved over a large portion of the yard.  Since Ive moved in and started gardening, weve had many conversations about organic gardening and permaculture, and I think he regrets having "cleaned up" the yard all those years ago.  Now, were working to re-create a productive landscape on his property.

Scott Kellogg and Stacey Pettigrews amazing urban farm in Albany, NY

I took a Regenerative Urban Sustainability class at Scott Kellogg and Stacey Pettigrews urban farm in Albany, NY, which was amazing to see all the interconnected, regenerative farm systems.  They were growing mushrooms, keeping chickens, ducks, and rabbits, gardening organically, maintaining large aquaponic systems, composting, and utilizing many other permaculture systems.  From that workshop, I brought home some Stropharia (Garden Giant) mushroom spawn to introduce to my woodchips in the garden.  Im nearly finished the second herb spiral Ive built, and I have two more planned for community gardens that I volunteer at.

My first herb spiral, at my parents house in Delaware

My second herb spiral, it just needs plants!

The point of this post isnt to brag about how much fun Im having learning and practicing permaculture.  The point is that, you dont need to be in an ideal situation to make your situation work for you while reducing your footprint, and increasing your handprint.  Large changes require small steps.  I try one or two new things out at a time.  This allows me to focus on getting it right, without taking up excess energy and time and becoming a chore.  Ive done my best to cut out distractions like mindless TV and video games.  I try to keep track of my projects and keep notes as a citizen scientist.  I dont have any formal schooling in permaculture or ecology, but experience is the best teacher, and I believe that with dedication, anyone can teach themself to become an expert at almost anything.

My most recent garden update

Ive got a number of things working against me right now.  I dont own land, I rent.  I have a 3 hour commute every day.  I dont know that much about gardening.  I dont have all the skills that I want.  But, Im using permaculture design and ideas in my every day life, regardless of my situation.  I have friends who do container gardens on their balconies, and they compost, and thats all that they can do at the moment, but thats better than nothing.  My first aquaponic system wouldnt even fit in my apartment, so I asked a friend if I could put it in his bedroom.  My next aquaponic system was in my second floor apartment with a WindowFarm and a 5 gallon water cooler tank as the fish resevoir.  When I moved to Trenton, NJ, I volunteered at a community garden and met some new artist friends with a studio and space for my next aquaponic system (currently under construction).  Through working with these new friends, Ive potentially got a space and all the supplies needed for a large-scale, multiple IBC tank system that weve just begun to work on.  Ive also helped out with their community improvement efforts through guerilla gardening on Saturday mornings.

Guerilla Gardening in Trenton, NJ

My largest, system to date is a single IBC-tank system in Delaware at my parents house.  Space is a huge limitation for me, but Ive used my network of friends and family to find space to practice my passion.

My IBC Aquaponics in Delaware

One of the most important lessons Ive learned in life is to never limit yourself.  There are enough circumstances in life to hold you back, dont let your own fears and insecurities prevent you from following your dreams.  The more you explore and learn about how to live a more harmoneous and regenerative life, the more you can create the world you want.  Prioritize the things that make you happy and fulfilled.  Focus on whats important to you, and cut out the excess.  If I can do it, so can you.  One step at a time.

Advice from one of my heros

This post was inspired by the 7 July 2014 episode of The Permaculture Podcast with Scott Mann.

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