Aquaponic Systems, Are they for you?

Posted by & filed under Permaculture.

Are Aquaponic systems right for your house or farm?

What is Aquaponics?

As stated by Earth Solutions below, This is the definition for you for Aquaponics.  I could not agree more.

Aquaponics is an innovative production method that does not require the fertilizers, costs or labor associated with in-ground gardening. Farm in a Box Aquaponics tells this story by re-creating natural ecosystems between plants, plants and friendly bacteria to produce delicious organic vegetables and fish.

Aquaponics

Indoor and outdoor Aquaponic Systems:

  • Fish waste from the fish tank is transported up to a plant bed (the bog) where plants are housed in rocks, rather than soil.
  • Plants and friendly bacteria, living on the rocks, make this happen and simultaneously purify the water by removing ammonia.
  • Naturally cleansed water then filters back down into the tank, making it unnecessary to change the water or use a filter.
  • The cycle repeats itself every 1-2 hours on a timer.

 

Aquaponics is the merging of hydroponics (growing plants without soil) and aquaculture (the farming of fish and/or shell fish);and because one systems waste may be anothers sustenance, putting the two together creates a permaculture relationship. Permaculture is a permanent agriculture system that relies on renewable resources, and is molded after natural ecosystems working together. Aquaponics provide sustainability because:

 

  • When Aquaponics transports fish waste to the plant bed(s), chemical fertilizers are replaced with organic fish waste.
  • The nitrogen and water of the fish tank are no longer thrown away, instead they feed the plants.
  • Likewise, the friendly bacteria that naturally colonize in the rocks in the plant bed, neutralize the ammonia from the fish waste, purifying the water naturally.

Overall combining hydroponics and aquaculture into Aquaponics conserves water, re-uses ammonia and nitrogen, and eliminates the need to chemical fertilizers.

Listeria, Is your Food as Safe as you thought?

Posted by & filed under Food Safety.

LISTERIA

ARE YOU SURE THAT YOUR FOOD IS SAFE?

Medicine.net explains what Listeria is, how you get it and the treatment for it.  The best cure, is again being pro-active and preventing  the possibility of contracting the disease.  People with risk factors such as an altered or depressed immune response (for example, pregnant females and their fetus or newborn, cancer patients, AIDS patients) are at higher risk for getting the disease and some are more likely to have more severe disease.

How do you know that you may have Listeria?  Listeriosis is usually diagnosed by discovering that a person was associated with an outbreak of Listeria-contaminated food or fluid, or identified as a person associated with the source of a known listeriosis outbreak. Definitive diagnosis is done when Listeria bacteria are isolated from the patient’s blood, cerebral spinal fluid, or other body fluid, according to Medicine.net.

They also go on to explain that most normal people spontaneously clear the infection and require no treatment. In contrast, people with risk factors should be treated quickly with IV antibiotics.

Listeria bacteria are widespread throughout the world and are frequently associated with farm animals that infrequently show no signs of infection. Research shows that many animals are uninfected carriers; in addition, they suggest that about 5%-10% of all humans carry these organisms as part of the human bowel flora. About 2,500 infections are diagnosed per year in the U.S. with about 500 deaths per year. Except for pregnant females and their fetus or newborn, there is no direct transfer of Listeria from human to human.  The most common listeria treatment is a combination of ampicilan and gentamicin, two antibiotics which can kill the bacteria responsible for a listeria infection. In addition to antibiotic treatment, the patient will usually be monitored for signs of complications. The success of the treatment depends on when it is provided, and the patient’s health.

Ecological Gardening and caretaking or your environment is the best way to minimize your risks of getting these types of diseases.

Turning Your Dreams into the Life of Your Dreams

Chris Downs, the Caretaker

Founder hisfarm.org and Ambassador of Natural News and Sustainable Living on How to Live on Purpose.com

Permanent Agriculture

Posted by & filed under Permaculture.

Permaculture or Permanent Agriculture is a systematic method for designing agricultural systems and communities  Modeled after what has been created by God in natural ecology by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren and their associates during the 1970s in a series of publications. 

Permanent culture has been added as the main meaning for Permaculture, due to the fact that All Aspects of our society have always been and will continue to be a driving integral part of any sustainable system.

Permaculture is actually a sustainable land use design.  As a farm hand growing up to helping with small container gardens when I was in the military, I have had the opportunity to learn and test many types of sustainable “Lifestyle and Cultural Gardening”.  

We look to  nature to maximize effect while minimizing wasted energy.  We  aim to create stable, productive systems that provide for your families needs,  while organically  integrating the land with its caretakers. The ecological processes of plants, animals, their nutrient cycles, climatic factors and weather cycles are all part of the picture.

Caretakers needs are provided for by utilizing best management of the environment, using organic solutions  for food, energy, shelter and housing.  Everything used in that community/environment is considered, ensuring that we remember what comes from upstream and where it goes downstream.

All of the elements used in a Permaculture system are considered and weighed. Waste becomes a resource for productivity and yields fruit. Environments are restored. Permaculture principles can be applied to any environment, at any scale from dense urban settlements to individual homes, from farms to entire regions.

By taking training, you can learn to implement an implementable set of design principles, that helps you to design your own environments and build increasingly self sufficient  Estates/Farms and Homes.

So, what does Permaculture mean to you and why should you care? 

Just as you choose the car you drive or the schools that you go to to get the most for your investment, Your environment is THE most important investment of your life.  You can check HIS Farm Facebook page for comments and other information.  You have the control to ask questions and have us answer them,  let us know what YOU want!

Your family, friends, health and enjoyment are all integrated into your environment. In the Bible, God gave man dominion over all the Earth.  Air, Land, Animals and Water.  With the proper plan and implementation, your home on earth can become self-sufficient and profitable!

Please feel free to contact Chris for a free private consultation.

Turning Your Dreams into the Life of Your Dreams

Chris Downs, the Caretaker

Founder hisfarm.org and Ambassador of Natural News and Sustainable Living on How to Live on Purpose.com

ASSUMPTIONS

Posted by & filed under Permaculture.

ASSUMING THE BEST ABOUT YOURSELF

I hope that you have positive assumptions about yourself. I assume that you believe that we are created by God for HIS purposes.  Which means that YOU ARE totally Awesome and you just can not help it because you Are created in HIS Image!

But what does that mean to you and me? 

 

You are unique,  there is no one exactly like you.  You have Talents, Passions and drives to do and accomplish things that no one else here on earth has!

  • Do you know what they are?
  • Do you want to find out what it is you are and are not gifted at?

I have found many of the talents that I am not good at or don’t excel at but I have also been blessed to find out and know what some of my passions are.

I also am blessed by being surrounded by Godly men and women who keep me accountable and focused on Christ!  Men and women who continually amaze me with their passion, drive and determination to not only know Gods’ will for their lives but also to step up to the challenges when help is needed to do things that they are not good at because no one else would.

 

What do I assume about you? 

That God has a purpose for you,  that YOU are here to make a difference where you are at right now, and that HE is calling you to grow and prosper!

 

I pray that GOD will bless you Greatly,  Physically, Financially, Emotionally and Spiritually.  May the Holy Spirit  fill you and guide you in your walk with Christ!  I also pray that you are one of the many workers needed, for the fields are ripe for harvest, but the workers are few.

May you hear the voice of God, see what HE is doing around you right where you are and may join HIM in HIS Plan for your life.  I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen

Turning Your Dreams into the Life of Your Dreams

Chris Downs, the Caretaker

Founder hisfarm.org and Ambassador of Natural News and Sustainable Living on How to Live on Purpose.com