Aquaponic Trial Run @ Home Base

Found some time and acceptable weather to fill the new planter boxes surrounding the chicken coop here at home. Loaded them up with the super duper garden blend offered by Mazzola's here in town. This soil is loaded with a well rounded balance of plant loving grow nutrients. Three yards was enough to fill the new beds, top off the subterranean irrigated beds, a few ruts in my grass, skim coat the front flower bed and I still had a couple extra wagon's full to put on the compost pile that my chickens fortify regularly with nitrogen rich dung.

You'll notice in one of the photos the 7" deep, 12' X 11' cut dug out of the ground and in another the large pile of stacked bricks (free craig's list find). Soon I will be getting base delivered and then install a nice brick patio. On top of the patio, Jennifer and I will construct a green house from an old 10'X10' EZUP PopUp shelter that I'll reskin with heavy clear plastic. Inside this structure, I will get to work assembling the necessary components for the Aquaponics system. EVENTUALLY, we'll get to growing something! But, in the mean time, the raised beds will be busy providing a spot to get some early crops in the ground.

 Enjoy the photos.

The orange marker is staked into the opening of what I believe is the sixty year old capped water well that was used years ago.  I'll have to pack gravel and sand around it.  Luckily it is far enough below the fill line that it won't interfere with the brick level.

Seven more of these to construct to finish off the fifteen grow towers that will fill the Green House Ez Up.

Finally, Here's a quick video pan of the last cleanup that my son and I tackled.  Having his help is a Godsend!  The area directly behind the new pile of branches was a mess of downed and cut up trees that got buried under snow.  The warm weather allowed us to stack it, rack it and bundle the rest for burning.