Tilapia Breeding Tank

July 26, 2013 I had an indoor aquaponics system that got overrun by aphids so I shut it down prior to sourcing fish in the system (the fish are relatively expensive). Our new outdoor aquaponics system is now completed but more water tests are still being conducted before plants and fish will be added to…

Urban Chickens for Egg Production

June 11, 2013 This is me hanging out with General Tso…Chickens have several functions, egg laying being a major one. There are three breeds of chicks here which are known to be hardy egg layers; Barred Rock, Rhode Island Red, and Buff Orpington.I had specific breeds that I wanted and couldn’t find them locally so…

Aquaponics Greenhouse

June 10, 2013 This is my Dad and I after we assembled the new greenhouse. I’m hoping to have the aquaponics up and running by next month. I’ll be sourcing the tilapia from an online distributor. If anyone is interested in doing this as well and wants to split shipping on the fish order and…

How to Make Chicken Feeders / Waterers

June 9, 2013 Why buy a feeder or waterer when you can make them for free?! For the feeder cut a slit in the side of a milk jug, then press it inward with a screwdriver while blowing it with a heat gun to melt it into place. Then fill with chick feed and you’re…

Bee Hive Hug

April 8, 2013 My brother is officially a beekeeper with his own hive! We just installed 2 new packages of bees this week. Here he is starting off their relationship with a warm hug. Thanks for reading my blog! For the latest projects and updates please subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow along as…

Melting Down Beeswax to Make Candles

These are candles we made from scratch. They are made of honey bee wax that was poured into beer bottle halves. Thanks for reading my blog! For the latest projects and updates please subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow along as I set up a sustainable homestead with my tiny house 🙂

Indoor Aquaponics: The War on Bugs

January 13, 2013 Have you ever seen the movie Starship Troopers? That is my life right now. I am at war with the bugs. Not one week after getting my aquaponics system fully functional the bugs have taken over (as shown by the small photo in the upper right). Luckily we found an organic pesticide…

Growing Duckweed to Feed Tilapia

December 30, 2012 Phase 2 of Aquaponics – Growing Fish Food “Duckweed” Aquaponics wouldn’t be very sustainable if we had to purchase fish food, so we are growing our own. “Duckweed” is a plant that grows on the surface of water that is extremely high in protein, doubles every few days, and tilapia love to…

Indoor Aquaponics System

Date Completed: December 23, 2012 My dream finally took shape yesterday when I had water running through the new aquaponics system. I have wanted to do this project for about 2 years now so to see it coming together was awesome. What is Aquaponics? Aquaponics is a closed loop system that grows fish and plants…

Hydroponic Strawberries

December 10, 2012 I’m attempting to grow strawberry starters hydroponically using floating Styrofoam rafts. Eventually these plants will end up in an indoor aquaponics system which is currently in the process of being built. The strawberry plants are runners that would have died off this winter so I plugged them through some Styrofoam and floated…