Integrated Backyard Food Production

[GaryD]

Hi,

My interest in Aquaponics is an extension of a 30 year old commitment to Integrated Agri/Aquaculture......the fore-runner of Aquaponics.

I am working on the development of an Integrated Backyard Food Production concept which will eventually see all viable elements of backyard food production working in harmony with each other.

The core principle is that (as far as practical) all waste products become feedstock for other elements or processes. In essence, there is no such thing as waste - everything that is produced by any of the system elements is recycled.

So far, we have freshwater fish, vegetables, herbs, laying chickens, meat chickens, duckweed and black soldier flies. We usually have Japanese quail (for meat and eggs) but we are currently waiting on some new breeding stock.

Future integrations will include muscovies, bantams of various breeds, more worms, dwarf fruit trees and vines, water gardening, freshwater crayfish, snails, Azolla and native bees.

We'd include meat rabbits but for the fact that Queensland law forbids it. We originally came from another state where we bred them so rabbits will also form part of our concept.....for the purposes of discussion.

To give you an idea of how it all works......our kitchen s****s and vegetable plant residues go into a compost bin where we encourage Black Soldiers to lay eggs which become larvae. We feed the larvae to our fish and the BSF castings become soil conditioner or worm bedding.

Of course, the waste products from our fish contribute the food for our plants. When we start to process the fish for our kitchen, all of the parts that we don't eat will be boiled up and added to the compost bin.

Our laying and meat chickens are housed in night quarters which are lined with shredded paper that I bring home from my office. Periodically, the manure-laden paper becomes worm bedding. The worms become fish food and the worm castings and worm tea are used on our gardens.

Everything that comes from the chickens finds a use. We eat the eggs and the chicken meat and the BSF larvae and worms get almost everything else. Egg shells are crushed and are given back to our layers as a calcium supplement.

The duckweed helps to remove nutrients from our fish water and ends up as fish food.

......and so on.

There's nothing new about most of what we do.......it's simply mixed farming (in an Asian context). What makes my concept a little different to similar systems elsewhere is that it is designed around backyard food production.

Gary

[Quietly]

Hi Gary,
The Integrated Backyard Food Production (IBFP) is the principal idea through which I discovered Aquaponics earlier this year. I have been thinking about all of the components and what to do for about 20 years now. I have just never quite been in the position to implement it all.
I am curious as to whether you are doing your research on the "How much can I grow in a set area" idea or "how much do I need to grow to sustain say 2 people" idea.
I often spend bits of idle time (like 3am can't sleep too cold to get up) drawing up floor plans of IBFP systems based purely on size 15m x 15m, 20m x 20m etc etc. Therapy tells me if it's not dangerous to other its OK. It just an obsession.
On other relevant matters, whilst totally understandable it is a shame we can't also have rabbits here in Queensland. Its almost worth living just the other side of the border for.
Now that we have had a bit of rain I will be doing a search for some suitable snails for my next project. "The Snail House".
I have to check with the council about the chooks but that is nearly ready if I get the OK.
So much information, only just enough time and no where near enough money.
Quietly

[GaryD]

Hi Quietly,

I approach the design of IBFP systems from a variety of perspectives.

Like you, I'll sometimes design for a given number of people or a given yield.....like a rabbit buck and five does for a meal a week....or I'll focus on fitting a quail farm into a three square metre footprint.

On other occasions, I'll work on various integrations......like quail, worms and vegetables.....tiered within the same unit.

The inspiration for my efforts had its origins in the work of the New Alchemists back in the 1970's. In one particular integration that I can recall, they integrated fish, vegetables, worms, rabbits and chickens within the one system.......all housed within a large greenhouse.

I agree with you.....it is a shame we can't keep farmed rabbits in Queensland. If I move, it will be to a place where I can farm rabbits.

Snails are also on my 'To Do' list. Take a look at Sonia Begg's site at http://www.snailfarming.net/index.php and here's another one that sells kits that could be scaled down for home production.... http://www.snails.com.au/kit.html

I agree with you about the time and money, however, the challenge (and the opportunity) that attends backyard food production is to be able to scale it down to what you need to feed yourself and your family. This generally means that cost is less of an issue than if you were trying to set up a commercial operation.

Think of IBFP as a journey rather than a destination......and enjoy the trip.

Gary

[damien little]

Quietly, some councils have pretty funny ideas about what we can and can't have in our backyards. I had a 400m2 backyard once and rang the council to ask if I could have a sheep. The answer was a resounding no! But when asked about chickens, I was told I could have one chicken per .4 sqare metres of backyard space, so 1000 chookies in my backyard. Someone please explain to me how 1000 chooks could be less disturbing or nuisance in a urban setting than one sheep? Personally, now I just don't ask if I don't know. I just do what I want and if someone complains, deal with it then, otherwise, red tape will control everything we do and any attemps at sustainability will be thwarted by ****heads in government. rant over.

[Murray]

Well said Damien.... I have adopted the same set of rules. I have 10 acres which is zoned rural/residential ....but if you read all the council rules about what you can and cannot do you would go mad.
The big rule is to get on well with your neighbours. It pays big time to be nice.
The interesting thing is the list of fees attached to anything you seek permission to do. In my council, if you want to put up a greenhouse of more that a few sq m. you have to apply and the fee is in the order of 900.00
And now their latest trick is to say that one is not permitted to have a garden that is more than 200 sq m. Can you believe that !!
Local councils can ruin your life. They are not there to help that is for sure.

[Macca]

Can hares be grown in Queensland?

[GaryD]

Hi Macca,

Last time I checked (a long time ago) there were very few examples of successful captive hare breeding.

I just Googled the subject and it appears that it may still be a very hard thing to achieve.......something to do with the extreme wildness of the animal.

Gary

[Jim Bedford]

Hi Gary,
You've mentioned BSF larvae as integral to your system. How do you seperate them from their bedding material? Do you need to purge the insects you use as food? Have you used mice as food for the fish?
Cheers,
Jim

[GaryD]

Hi Jim,

You've mentioned BSF larvae as integral to your system. How do you seperate them from their bedding material? Do you need to purge the insects you use as food?

If you look through the BSF thread, you will see various types of harvesting arrangements that I used prior to buying a Bio-Pod which is has the growing chamber and harvesting arrangement designed into a single unit.

Have you used mice as food for the fish?

No.

Gary

[GaryD]

Hi Jeremy,

You raised some interesting matters in the following post. I moved it here because this thread already responds to some of your ideas.

I have been doing some investigation into the viability of growing crops on a semi-commercial scale. What with transport/fuel costs and the choke-hold that Coles and Woolies seem to have on the growers, its a very 'iffy' proposition at the moment.

The answer is to eliminate the likes of the large supermarkets from the equation. Forge a relationship directly with the consumers. There are several ways to do that including Farmer's markets, Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) and food buying cooperatives.

Nevertheless, one step at a time. In 'Phase 1' we are simply going to be producing enough for ourselves and to those in need. I really feel for those who are struggling with these food prices at the moment. Cost of living is a real problem for many families.

This is the best way to start. I am committed to the idea that, if you can't run a small system, you won't be able to run a large one.

I love the idea of what Gary has termed 'integrated backyard aquaponics'. We are going to be pushing ahead with this concept on a large scale ourselves. We have quite a list of vegies/fruit/grains/herbs/vines that we think are viable to grow... now just to figure out how to pull it all together with the animals we need. We are considering goats/sheep,chickens,ducks and a milking cow. Quite a list but we need some good poop-producers!

With some of the issues that are confronting us right now (water shortages, fuel prices, food quality, etc), the whole arena of Integrated Backyard Aquaculture is timely.

The reality is I have absolutely no clue how to pull it all together. While I have always loved the idea of this I have not been exposed to the realities of it before. No doubt I am going to be doing a lot of reading and talking to the experts over the next 6 months... Gary beware!

Keep asking questions.

I guess our idealistic aim is to become as self-sufficient as possible... I wonder how far you can go with it?

We think of food self-sufficiency as a journey rather than a destination. That way, you don't get overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task. Every step you take is in your own interests and those of the planet.

From a commercial 'Phase 3' point of view I feel that the path of least risk would be to grow a mixed salad of produce for restaurants (have to be high quality and consistent production) as well as perhaps something more specialized to go with it such as bulk gourmet pesto's. As mentioned before the transport/fuel costs are the great inhibitor. Transporting product for 2 hours from Urbenville to Brisbane is costly, especially if you are having to deliver to lots of individual restaurants/cafes etc. On the flip side of the coin, if you sell through a distributor you are going to have the margins squeezed on you again... and you become somewhat of a slave to the big boys... so, still figuring out that one.

I mentioned some of the solutions earlier in this post. Other things to consider include adding value to the products that you grow and attaching to niche markets where possible. One example you've already addressed is that of the gourmet pesto. Basil is widely grown and you're competing with other growers for market share. Gourmet pestos are less widely produced and may find favour with cashed up yuppies at farmer's markets. This a simple example of adding value......there are thousands of others.

I'm a Sirolli Institute-trained Enterprise Facilitator and a former small business adviser so subjects like these strike a chord with me.

Gary