The Making of a Soil Declaration for a city

For the last 8 Saturdays Bristol has been home to Soil Saturdays, curated by the Soil Sisters. It has seen many people come together to talk about soil and art and it has made me, amongst many others I am sure, aware how powerful art is as a medium to bring other issues to the fore in a safe and inclusive way. 

The joy of Soil Culture at Create for me has been the opening of a space for discussion around soil, it’s true importance in all of our lives and how it is so important for many of us across the city who make livings from or support soils and soil health and wellbeing in everything we do. My career of the last 20 or so years has been based around soil, my life based on the rich brown earth beneath our feet and to be able to meet and converse with people over that is something that is rare and beautiful.

The idea of a city creating a declaration for it’s own soils is at once powerful and brave. To do so says not only do we, as a group of individuals, care deeply about the soil in our city but we also care about food, people, education, agriculture, health and wellbeing, children, community and the city itself and it’s wealth and health. It says we care not just about today, but about a future for our forebears where they can have access to healthy food, outdoor space and recreation land in a city that is becoming more and more intensely populated. It speaks of a wish to create the most resilient city we can, going into a future that is unknown but is certain to be different from the now. 

Many have questioned why we might feel the need to create a declaration for soil, and some have asked why we might think it necessary. My answer is always that as a city we need good housing and transport links, excellent schools and services for all communities across the city, as well as a plan to feed all those people and to keep our local economy thriving. Creating a declaration for our city’s soil creates an opportunity to ensure that food growing and production is factored into the future planning of the city and creates a future of more certain health and wealth.

In order to create this declaration there was a hope that many people from many walks of life within the city would come together to work co-productively to create this document. This type of gathering is rare, but we were fortunate in our wishes and there were a whole mix of people, ranging across city council strategic directors to members, food policy council members, permaculture and growing professionals, members of nationally important organisations and people who are interested and care about the future of food and access to land in our city. At one, very powerful moment, there was a table working together that was made up of a city strategic planner, a university professor and soil activists from Rising Up who spent much time protesting around Bristol’s Blue Finger in February and March this year. To create a space where that is possible is remarkable and to be a part of something so powerful makes the whole event a day to remember.

The Soil Declaration itself is still being brought together by the facilitators of the day but what we came up with was a series of statements around soil’s importance in the city and its hinterlands that focussed on beliefs and actions to be taken around those beliefs. Having openly talked about this on social media it is clear that not only is Bristol the first city to embark on such an important piece of work, but that it is possible, and likely that others will follow suit.

For Bristol it is vital to protect land that is already being put at risk by development and to ensure that various things that have happened on our most precious soils, are stopped from happening again. Our Blue Finger of rich and fertile best and most versatile soil, that manages crops in all extremes, needs protection as does all BMV soil countrywide. By creating this Soil Declaration, Bristol is putting itself, in a citizen led movement, at the forefront of this enormous change in the way we look at our precious resources, and that is a hugely powerful and brave move. It should be applauded.

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Expanding our environmental view

This is a piece I wrote for the Peoples Republic of Stokes Croft but Ive also shared it here as I think its an interesting topic that many dont quite see. The environment is not just land in the countryside, or parks and gardens, but its avery space we inhabit, icluding our homes and so we need to expand our view of environmental issues to cover everything that covers. Which, I might add, is pretty much everything.....

In 1980 the right to buy council housing became law in the new Housing Act and thousands of people up and down the country achieved what they had never thought possible-a home that they owned. Little wrong with that  I hear you cry but in reality what happened was that, instead of reinvesting the monies raised by building new social housing for a population that was growing exponentially, that money was ring fenced by the then Tory government, and the growth of building of social homes has steadily declined ever since, whilst the prices of housing has risen at rate that is almost unbelievable. With land being seen as an asset, it’s cost has risen and average house prices, which includes the prices of all those once council houses, have risen alongside that at a rate that soon will make home owner ship by anyone other than the wealthy impossible. Average house prices in 1977 were still less than £10,000 where today the average price is around £190.00 nationally and in London and the South East that figure rises to just over £400,000.

Of course for the generation that were able to buy their council homes this has lead to the possibility of making huge sums of money on homes that were sold for enormously more than they were purchased for and these homes are now a part of the national housing stock and sold as such, meaning that they are now generally not affordable homes at all. Indeed the governments’s idea of an affordable home is one that is 20% less than its average cost which is still completely out of the average wageholders budget of £26,000 per year. With mortgage companies generally asking for at least a 5% deposit and often far more we have created a situation where we will have future generations renting and never being able to get onto the property ladder, already saddled with huge debts from university fees and relying on more and more unscrupulous landlords as need for housing outweighs availability.

Constantly we hear the cry that we must leave the world a better place for our children and our children’s children. That we must care for greenbelt, encourage more conservation areas and SSSI but rarely do we see housing mentioned as a part of this. However, how can it not be? Our environment is not just the outdoors, the countryside or parks, but it is everything we live in. It is our cafes, those areas in city centres between buildings, that grassed area behind the fence on an estate. Our environment is the space in which we live.

So on Stokes Croft, Bristol’s independent district where creativity is at the centre of so many lives, how can we look at a building that is threatened with a London developer’s plan of gentrification as any other than an environmental issue. Stokes croft, the area known for its incredible squats, its street art and its independent spirit, who fought as a community to keep Tesco at bay cannot be the place to put a gated community in any way. In fact, frankly, gated communities, designed with mainly safety and security as its main criteria, cannot possibly help maintain any form of independent spirit. The fact that only 7% of the dwellings will be affordable and that is likely to be just the 20% lower rate rather than social housing, in an area where the housing crisis can be seen every day, on the streets, ought to be seen as a scandal and a disaster for our future generations, rather than a positive solution to a building that has been crumbling for many years.

Positive solutions need to be the way forwards, looking at how we ensure people are safe and secure in homes they can afford and in communities where they feel they are safe and secure. Rather than continually looking at constant development at the outer edges of our cities of box type homes, we need to look at the building stock within our cities, leaving the greenbelt alone for our ever growing population, and looking at the amount of buildings that could be turned into decent homes within the city, where people will be able to be car free, and rather than looking at bus routes that stretch ever further out of the city, the routes can concentrate on the areas that are already populated. With a larger population living within city boundaries, parks budgets and budgets for urban landscaping could increase, helping the city to cope with rising temperatures due to our changing climate. 

With all this in mind surely at the centre of the Carriageworks plan should be community. The Carriageworks Action Group and Knightstone Housing have put together a plan with community at it’s heart, and that must be the plan that is implemented at the very least. Imagine a beautiful city centre community building, with homes that are affordable and with the quantity of social housing that Bristol city Council recommends in all housing schemes of 30%-40% available to people struggling to pay the ever increasing private rents in the area. Imagine that it has beautiful and productive gardens that are open for the entire community of Stokes Croft to use and which people can safely use as a path through to the area at the back of the building 24 hours a day. With small shops and workshops built in at affordable rents on the ground floor, it can also become a centre for micro businesses to begin and flourish, creating a truly local economy and holding the money spent within that economy, adding to it’s wealth, both financial and creative.

This should not be a dream. This is the vision of green and sustainable living that we must move towards if we are to create a world that we are proud to leave for our children. As a species we must stop looking at houses as assets and begin to look at them as homes. Only then can we leave a planet that we are proud of for future generations.

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Theres No Tomorrow

This video is hands down the best I’ve seen yet at covering all the bases of our present converging dilemmas in one quick (35 minute) hit. Over the years I’ve presented all of the issues covered in this video — hitting them from various angles and in different ways to try to drive the point home — but it’s excruciatingly difficult to cover each element sufficiently whilst giving the casual or intermittant reader a full overview simultaneously. The excellent use of imagery has enabled the creators of this little video to touch on each subject whilst joining up all those dots into the fuller picture.

CCRES AQUAPONICS
project of NGO
CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (CCRES)

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Greenhouse with tilapia lettuce herbs and cucumbers

A completely integrated food production system using retractable roofs to create optimal growing conditions using the advantages of the natural outdoors and a greenhouse.


Green Sky Growers, a rooftop farm, is located on top of the Garden Building in Winter Garden, Florida, and is the first Certified Green building in the world with commercial-scale, Aqua-Dynamic farming on the rooftop. Green Sky Growers produces tons of fresh vegetables and fish on an annual basis without the use of harmful pesticides.

• Environmentally friendly growing practices include the harvesting of rainwater that is recycled in the Aqua-Dynamic growing systems. 
• All the growing systems continuously recycle 100% of the nutrients and water.
• The majority of food produced is available to the local Winter Garden community, thus providing healthy, locally grown and low carbon-footprint food.
  
  
  

  CCRES AQUAPONICS 

  project of NGO

  CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (CCRES)

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G F A Advanced System Ltd

  

CCRES AQUAPONICS 

promotes

 G.F.A Advanced System Ltd.

Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms: fish, molluscs, crustaceans, aquatic plants, crocodiles, alligators, turtles, and amphibians. Farming implies some form of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated.

For statistical purposes, aquatic organisms which are harvested by an individual or corporate body which has owned them throughout their rearing period contribute to aquaculture, while aquatic organisms which are exploitable by the public as a common property resource, with or without appropriate licences, are the harvest of capture fisheries.

 

Grow Fish Anywhere

G.F.A Advanced System Ltd. has developed and implemented a unique patented fully closed, zero discharge intensive aquaculture system that is suitable both for fresh and sea water fish. The system is based on an extensive research done by Prof. Jaap Van Rijnof the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The system prevents environmental pollution, and can operate in any climate regardless of the availability of water resource or proximity to the sea. The system has been tested and proven on a scientific basis and is now operated commercially.

Unique Aquaculture Technology

GFA unique system overcomes several limiting factors that restrain the output and effectiveness of fish farmers.


The accumulation of inorganic nitrogen and organic waste products in intensive fish culture systems is one of the major limiting factors preventing further intensification. Inorganic nitrogen (especially ammonia and nitrite) is toxic to fish and accumulates in the pond water through excretion of ammonia by the fish and by breakdown of organic solids. Most of the treatment systems used in todays aquaculture facilities are designed to facilitate the growth of nitrifying bacteria which convert ammonia to nitrate. A drawback of the ammonia removal by means of nitrification is the subsequent increase in nitrate in the culture system. High nitrate concentrations ought to be prevented since, at high concentrations, nitrate has a toxic effect of fish and might be converted to nitrite with an even higher toxicity. Daily flushing the ponds at rates of up to 25% of the total system volume is generally practiced to avoid nitrate build up.
However, such a practice often causes considerable environmental impact and is prohibited in many countries due to environmental and public health considerations. With respect to organic waste products, most aquaculture facilities are designed to mechanically remove the organic waste from the culture tank. Often, the concentrated organic waste is discharged from these facilities without post-treatment and this practice together with the discharge of nitrate-rich effluents is considered a major limitation in the development of intensive fish culture systems.
Due to the need for daily water exchange, existing intensive fish culture systems are situated in areas with an ample clean water supply. Thus, for economical reasons concerned with water supply and discharge, culture systems for marine fish (including recirculating systems) are exclusively situated in the vicinity of the sea. Marine fish farming, whether practiced in seacages or in land-based farms, is often subject to intensive public debate as the farms discharge nutrient-rich effluents in coastal waters of often heavily populated areas. Sustainable farming of marine fish is therefore a major challenge in todays aquaculture development.


Our system developed by Prof. van Rijn and G.F.A Advanced Systems is a zero-discharge system suitable for the culture of freshwater as well as marine edible and ornamental fish. No water exchange takes place and water addition is limited to compensate for evaporation losses only. The system reduces inorganic nitrogen and organic wastes from pond water by means of the induction of several microbial processes among which: (1) fermentation: the conversion of complex organic waste compound to low molecular weight organic compounds, (2) nitrification: the conversion of ammonia to nitrate and (3) denitrification: the conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gas and the conversion of low molecular weight organic compounds to carbon dioxide.


For more information on Denitrification


Key Advantages:
• High output- Avg. density of 70 - 100 kg of fish per m³ of water
• Maximum freshness- Within a day from farm to plate
• Zero discharge- No environmental pollution and Bio-Secure
• Produces premium fish- No antibiotics, mercury and lead free fish
• Both saltwater and fresh water
• Grow Fish Anywhere (G.F.A) - Can operate in any climate regardless of the availability of a water resource or proximity to the sea
• Non native - enable the growth of non native fish in any region

Sustainability

At GFA, our sustainability vision is focused on water conservation and energy savings technologies for the local market. We believe that the future of our food consumption will belong to environmentally friendly and sustainable production driven by economic sense for high quality healthy product.

The main aspect of the GFA systems is its Water Conservation and Pollution preventing. Our production system allows the production of marine fish species in 100% recycled water systems. 1 kg of grain needs 1,000 liters of water to grow to maturity. Our unique system enables us to produce 1 Kg protain (within the fish) in less than 10 liters loss due to evaporation and do not discharge any waste water or pollution in the process.

Another key aspect is Feed Practices. GFA systems that grow the fish in land based tanks, enable the improvement of feed usage. Our system allows, in comparison to sea cages (nets) and open pools, to better managment of the Food Conversion Ratio (FCR). Less food for each Kg of production means lower production costs and a real help for protecting our environment.

Contact  G.F.A Advanced System Ltd.

Feel free to contact on any question

Haofe 1, Kadima
P.O.Box 5030
Israel
T/F: 972.97406761
Mail: Info@gfa-sys.com



CCRES AQUAPONICS

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Something to warm the cockles

A peacock at Rousham strutting his stuff in the sunshine.

I know. Its freezing. You cant get a fork into the frozen ground. Lots of plants have gone all flaccid in the cold. And we are due snow over the weekend. But if the urge to garden is there you can still sow broad beans, peas and onion seed in trays in doors. You can get chilli seeds planted and early tomatoes as long as you have somewhere to put them once they need potting on that is covered. You can trawl the seed catalogues or order dahlias from The National Dahlia Collection! And here are some pictures I took in the heat of last summer to cheer you  up and warm you.

An unidentified Dahlia at Oxford Botanical Gardens

An unidentified Salvia at Oxford Botanics

And if that doesnt help let me suggest some more ideas to tickle your horticultural tastebuds!! There is the glasshouse at RHS Wisley to visit which at the moment will be full of exotic butterflies-an amazing spectacle but beware as it will be busy. Kew Gardens will be opening their annual Orchid exhibition soon in the Princess of Wales Conservatory which is always worth a visit.

Echinacea in the new Rose Garden at RHS Wisley designed by the wonderful Robert Myers for whom I have grown plants in the not so distant past!

The Annual Borders at Wisley where the Ricinus must have reached 12 feet tall.

And remember dear gardening folk, by mid February the daylight hours will have reached more than 10 a day and your garden will be springing into action. Buds will be bursting, leaves will be appearing and the world will start to turn from winter brown to spring green one more. Your garden will be screaming for you to jump into action, secateurs at the ready so use this cold snap to prepare. Sharpen your secateurs, and your spade if you see fit, sort out your seeds, and clean your seedtrays and pots ready for the day when you hear your garden screaming for attention.

So hears to the season ahead!!

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Winter Survival Foraging Class with Dan Farella of Return to Nature

A few weeks ago I saw a post on the Philly Permaculture Facebook group for a Winter Survival Foraging class in Somerset, NJ. I was going to be in Brooklyn that morning and since the class was in the early afternoon, I thought itd be cool to check out.

I checked out the instructor, Dan De Lion, before coming to the class. If I was going to be picking wild plants and eating them, I wanted to have an idea about who was telling me what was safe and not safe to eat. I saw that Dan had several comments from people who had taken previous classes and lived long enough to post thankful remarks about the experience. I also saw that he had several of his own YouTube videos about foraging, posted articles about wild food pretty often, and had his own project, Return to Nature, to teach about wild food and medicinal plants. He seemed to know his stuff, so I felt pretty confident.

I arrived at the park a bit early and chatted with some other people waiting for the class. When Dan arrived, he sat down in a grassy area next to the parking lot and sat down. I came over and introduced myself, as did several other people who were now waiting for the class. After introductions, Dan asked how far we thought wed have to go to find an edible or medicinal plant. It turns out, there were several within a few feet of us. We picked some small wild strawberry leaves, and some wild onions (from the Allium family).

They both looked like what I had always thought of as weeds, I would have never guessed they were related to strawberries or onions. The onion looked like a round blade of grass, and the strawberry, some sort of small clover or something. Dan also pointed out how to make sure that the plants were safe to eat, and not a similar looking toxic plant. He noted that we should look for orange spots on the underside of the strawberry leaves, which could be a fungus that could make us sick. With the wild onions, we would need to dig down to the bulb of the root and make sure that we only eat plants with, "one bulb, for one plant." Multiple bulbs with one plant, or vice versa could make us sick. I was also impressed that Dan knew the scientific name of many of the plants we found. I particularly liked the mild but distinctly onion-y taste of the wild onions. I brought a few home to share with my girlfriend.

As a side note, permaculture videos that Ive watched have taught me that many "weeds," actually have value when we look at them a bit differently. Ive always been taught that theyre invasive, worthless plants, but Ive read that they can be used to heal nutrient deficiencies in soil, and many can even be eaten as nutrient dense foods. This was another reason that I was interested in taking the class. Ive heard about foraging for wild mushrooms and other plants, and it seemed like something I wanted to know about.

We moved on to some nearby pine trees and talked about them a bit. Dan shared some pine needle tea, and explained how we could make our own. Did you know that pine needle wreaths were originally given as DIY tea gift kits? You would break off some pine needles and some other spices or herbs in the wreath to stew different teas. I always thought that they were decoration. More evidence of how our society is losing touch with nature-focused traditions and knowledge.

Dan also asked us to notice how we felt after drinking the tea. He mentioned that all the knowledge about wild plants in books came from people consuming the plant and being aware of how it makes you feel physically and mentally. He stressed that if we want to learn about foraging and wild plants that we should touch, smell, and taste the plants that were taught are safe. This leads us to a more intimate connection with the plant than just looking at it, and deepens our knowledge of these plants.

Some other plants that we came across within a short walk were lance leaf  plantains (a "drawing" plant that can help with big bites or stings, or even ulcers), Mugwort, Sweet Annes Lace (wild carrots), Pokeberry, Primrose, and Curley Dock.

Overall, the experience was a lot of fun, and I learned about a bunch of plants that I can look for during my hikes in the Spring. Some I can eat, and some I should avoid, and now I have a better idea of how to tell the difference. I feel like this is just the beginning of my education about wild foods. If you are near Philadelphia or New York, and are interested in learning more about wild foods and other nature skills, look up Dans project Return to Nature. I know Ill be looking forward to his future classes.

www.ReturnToNature.us

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Basics of A Rain Garden

Rain garden (it should not be confused with Gardening in the Rain) is an interesting concept. It not only increases your gardening beauty but also helps in water preservation. Here in this article I want to give you an brief idea about this concept.

What is a rain garden?

Rain garden refers to a garden which takes the advantage of the water from the rainfall in growing plants. The garden is designed to withstand a great level of moisture and concentration of nutrients. It gave the run off water the opportunity to slow down as it go downhill and thus reduces its erosive power.

Rain garden looks as like any other garden from outside but the speciality lies in the fact that it gets its water from the runoff and what happen after the water enters the garden.

The rain garden is a shallow depression in your backyard with absorbent yet free draining soil and it is planted with vegetation. It acts as a personal water quality system as it filters the waste water of the roof and other hard surfaces and recharges it.

Why should I plant a rain garden?

The main purpose of having this is to receive the run off water from hard surfaces like roof, sidewalk etc. By having a rain garden you will do you little bit to preserve this invaluable natural resource called water.

It increase the scenic beauty of the garden and protect streams and lakes nearby from pollutants and also help reducing flood.

It holds water for quite some time and thus provides a natural habitat for Birds, Butterflies and many other beneficial insects.

It also helps in reducing your water needs by recycling the waste water. So you would have lesser municipality water requirements.

How to build a rain garden?

Building a rain garden is very easy and is not at all expensive.

The first thing to do is to choose a spot to prepare the garden. It can be near the house if you only want to collect roof runoff or can be a little further in case lawn water is also in your plan.

Just keep this in mind that it should not be near a big tree or very near of the foundation of the house or it can damage them.

Next you need to find the are that will drain the water to your rain garden. The larger the area more the water will come to the garden. Ideal size of the garden can be from 100 sq ft to 250 sq ft depending on the total area. It should not be deeper than 6 to 8 inches.

While digging the garden you need to make a berm (a low wall) to prevent the water going downhill. Dig couple of inches more than the actual size of the garden. Add 2 inch thick compost for the nourishment of the plants.

Now come the most interesting part THE PLANTING. First make a rough plan of the actual garden in terms of the plants you want to grow and their positions in the garden.

Choose the plants carefully considering their height flowering time and composite texture of the garden. Choosing different blooming time will ensure a longer flowering season for the garden.

Use one or two year old plants with well established root system. Until the rain starts you need to give them much needed water for their survival. Use native plants to reduce cost and increase the chances of survival.

Have any suggestion? Please bring it our notice. Use the comment box below.

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A tribute to the people of Japan

I found this dedication on PatioPatch blog via hurtling towards 60 and beyond. It says all I need to say.

Dedication: To the people of Japan whose many plants grace our own gardens and who have shown us how to create beautiful spaces with a natural and stark simplicity. The quiet dignity and stoicism they have displayed in the face of their country’s utter devastation is an example to us all.


Feel free to do the same. Thank you Laura at Patiopatch.

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Last week I visited Jimmys Farm near Ipswich, where Thompson and Morgan have their new trial garden for a Press Day that they were organising for bloggers and tweeters. Michael Perry, Thompson and Morgans New Product Development Manager had invited me and a group of other bloggers and so we set off from Bristol to the other side of the country to explore the new trial garden and talk with the product team about the plants that were being trialled in the garden. Im well aware that Im known more for vegetables these days but having been in the ornamental sector for a long time in my career, its always interesting to see whats new in the ornamental world, and I knew there would be some vegetables too.

The gardens re-ignited something that I have often been heard to say and that is that bedding done well is a really effective way of filling in spaces in a garden, keeping the garden full of colour at times when other plants have either gone over or arent quite at their best yet. For someone like me, a total plantholic as well as a hoticulturist, I cannot help but be impressed by the way the garden was set out, creating what actually could be a real garden whilst showing off new plants and different ways of growing.

So here are some photos of the plants.....

 A quite exceptional Amaranths, called Molten Lava, is definitely something I shall grow next year!

 Dianthus Tropical Butterfly, not just a great garden plant but also a fabulous cut flower with a long vase life.

 Petunia Starry Night is a beautiful plant that is still undegoing some trial work to ensure that the markings on it are stable but one to look out for in the future as it is quite extraordinary and would be fabulous in hanging baskets or pots on a patio.

 I am a huge fan of Zinnias and love them both as a garden plant and as a cut flower. This strain is really a garden variety as Im not sure the blooms are big enough to be cut, but it looked spectacular in a huge swathe in one of the trial beds.

                                                Who can resisit a bee on a scabious plant?

 This photo shows the trial vegetable beds which unfortunately I didnt have the time to reaaly investigate as there was a wedding going on! But they looked amaxing in the distance.....

Im well known for my love of marigolds both as a companion plant and in their own rights as very beautiful flowers. This is Jester-whats not to love?

If youre in the area Id strongly suggest a visit to the gardens as they are open for all to visit. I think the best thing about this trial garden is that it is at an attraction that isnt at all linked to horticulture so for both Thompson and Morgan and the industry in general, it opens up the possibility of people visiting this garden and being inspired who generally arent gardeners. There were also a fair few children and young people walking around the beds and to see these youngsters engaging with the garden was wonderful.

We left with a huge amount of goodies that included a massive bag of seeds, plants, biscuits and Thompson and Morgans new feeds. There will be more on these in blog posts to come!!

Finally thank you to all at Thompson and Morgan for a great day.

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Pros and Cons of Different System Types

Commercial Aquaponics

Ive been trying to compare the pros and cons of different types of aquaponic systems recently.  Right now, Im working on constructing a 105 gallon setup at my friends apartment.  Were making a simple flood and drain system, with a 50 gallon grow bed.  Filling that grow bed will require almost 200 Liters of expanded clay or some other media.  All that media is going to double the cost of our system.  We were thinking about alternative methods, such as expanded shale or even something like legos (but we dont have nearly 50 Gallons of legos).  The cost of buying a grow media for a large grow bed is so high, that it really got me thinking about alternative systems.  Heres a list of pros and cons of various aquaponic systems.  If you know anything that I havent listed, please leave a comment and Ill add it to my list and credit you.

Media Bed Systems

Chift Pist, Simple Flood and Drain (Ebb and Flow), Constant Flood (Continuous Flow)

Pros

· Self Cleaning - The grow media filters out the fish waste
· A media bed performs three (3) filtering functions:

    · mechanical (solids removal)

    · mineralization (solids breakdown and return to the water) 

    · bio-filtration

· Media provides better plant support and is more closely related to traditional soil gardening because there is a media to plant into

Cons

· Expensive growing media

A Typical Media Bed

Chift Pist

Pros

· Pump is in sump tank away from fish and wastes

· Water level in fish tank remains constant

· Great if you have a tall fish tank

· Larger water volume because of sump

Cons

· Extra equipment required (sump tank)

· Must have tall fish tank or stand

· Can take up larger footprint

Chift Pist system

Simple Flood and Drain / Ebb and Flow

Pros

· The grow bed can be separated from the fish reservoir

· Simple design - Only two major system components - lower cost

· It is easy to understand and learn

· Great if you have a tall fish tank

Cons

· Requires a timer or bell syphon
· Pump is in fish tank, exposed to fish and waste

· Water level in tank fluctuates a little

Simple Flood and Drain system

Constant Flood / Continuous Flow

Pros

· Same as the Simple Flood and Drain, except when you remove the timer, the system is constantly flooding

Cons

· Pump is in fish tank

· Plant roots can become waterlogged, and areas of the grow bed can become stagnant and anaerobic as the flow of fresh water through the bed moves around any blockages

Constant Flood system

Deep Water Culture (DWC)

Pros

· Resistant against water temperature and pH fluctuations

· Excellent root development due to easy access to oxygen

· There is plenty of surface area for the beneficial bacteria to grow

· Very good for lettuces and leafy vegetables – used extensively by commercial farmers

Cons

· Requires additional filtration to remove solids

· Large plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. can be difficult, if not impossible, to support

Deep Water Culture system

Nutrient Film Technique (NFT)

Pros

· Both components (fish and plants) may be decoupled from each other whenever required and can/do operate independently of each other if required.  I believe this is important in a commercial situation because it allows fish or plant production to continue when and if there are any problems with the other component

Cons

· Water susceptible to temperature fluctuations
· Requires additional filtration to remove solids
· Roots that die and detach from plants can cause blockages in water flow

· NFT is only really suitable for certain types of plants, generally leafy green vegetables, larger plants will have root systems that are too big and invasive, or they become too heavy for the lightweight growing gutters

Nutrient Film Technique system

Sources:

• http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/guide-to-aquaponics/running-system/
• http://myownaquaponics.com/home-2/get-started/
• http://aquaponicgardening.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Aquaponic-Gardening-Rules-of-Thumb.pdf
• http://affnan-aquaponics.blogspot.com/2010/12/conceptual-3d-rendering-of-aquaponics.html
• http://www.kijanigrows.com/
• http://globalaquaponics.wordpress.com/tag/commercial-aquaponics/
• http://aquaponicsusa.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/watch-our-humble-seed-lettuce-thrive/
• Comments on reddit that corrected my mistakes:  http://redd.it/1d18i8

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ABC of Gardening

I come up with an idea to write this blog about the basics of gardening. Gardening is not a very complex matter, though many of us might think that way. In our childhood probably most of us have tried gardening by putting some seeds in the soil and later watched it grow. But creating a garden which produces fresh fruits and flower all season may require much more professional approach. After reading this blog you might have a clearer view on this.

1.       First you need to prepare the bed where you want to sow the seeds. For this you require soil(or go soil-less) with at least 12 inches of depth. Add ½ inch thick compost. Try checking for weeds. Remove if you found any weed in the soil as it will hamper the growth of the plant.

2.       It is important to moist the bed before planting the seeds rather than after sowing it. Watering after planting the seed can result in being swamped or washed up and out of the soil.

3.      Sow the seeds as per the instructions printed on the packed of the seed(i.e, how far apart to plant, how deep to bury etc.)

Keep the seed bed moist by sprinkling water till seeds germinate. In case you have your own plant and nod seeds do transplanting.

More on these on my later posts.

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The Effects of Astaxanthin Type 2 Diabetes

 

Draining the World Wealth

Diabetes mellitus is a worldwide epidemic that is critically linked to prevalence of obesity. More than 220 million people have diabetes and by the year 2030 the figures are expected to grow to 360 million. The diabetes is aggressively growing in both emerging and developed country. According to WHO, the Asian continent has over 90 million people suffering from diabetes – India (40 million) China (29 million); Indonesia (13 million) and Japan (7 million). The prevalence of diabetic patients remains pervasive in USA (22 million), Brazil (6 million), Pakistan (8 million); Russia (6 million); Italy (5 million) and Turkey (4 million). Even in the African region over 10 million people suffer from diabetes, especially in Nigeria where it is expected to reach 5 million within the year 2030.
Diabetic complications lead to heart disease (approximately 65% of death amongst diabetics), blindness, kidney failure and amputations. As a result, the indirect and direct medical expenditure of diabetics represent almost 5 times that of a non-diabetic.

Type 2 Diabetes: A Preventable Disease

 

In most cases, diabetes is treated with medication, although about 20% of diabetics may be managed by lifestyle changes. This means that even if we cannot change the genetic influences, fortunately, for most of us diabetes is preventable; for example, making dietary changes, taking nutritional supplements and exercising. To highlight this, people in high risk groups who achieve a 5-7% cut in body weight will reduce risk of developing diabetes approximately 58% across all age and ethnic groups.
While the debate between the contributory effects of carbohydrate and fat intake continues unabated, research reveals a strong link between foods with high glycemic index and prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Excess blood glucose needs to be converted by insulin (produced by the pancreas ß-cells) into glycogen stores, however, when glycogen stores are full, glucose is converted into fat. Over time, the body’s cells may eventually become desensitized to insulin making it necessary to produce more insulin to achieve the same affect. It is this process that would eventually lead to a state known as hyperinsulinaemic state. As a result, the body looses its ability to control high blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) that could result in toxic conditions and promote further complications such as kidney failure.

New Evidences Emerging from Human Studies

In an anti-aging study conducted by Iwabayashi et al., (2009), 20 female volunteers with increased oxidative stress burden ingested 12 mg/day of astaxanthin for 8 weeks. Results evidenced a significant decrease of diabetes-related parameters that collectively predict trends in diabetes development. Firstly, astaxanthin reduced cortisol by 23 percent.

Astaxanthin Retards Glucose Toxicity and Kidney Damage

Astaxanthin displayed positive effects in a type 2 diabetic mouse model in that it reduced the disease progression by retarding glucose toxicity and kidney damage. This has profound implications for people who belong to high risk groups, display pre-diabetic conditions (impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance) or want to manage advanced diabetic kidney problems (nephropathy).
Studies suggested that reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by hyperglycemia contributes to the onset of Diabetes mellitus and its complications. Non-enzymatic glycosylation of proteins and mitochondria, prevalent in diabetic conditions, is a major source of ROS. For example, pancreatic ß-cells kept in high glucose concentrations show presence of advanced glycosylation products, a source of ROS, which cause the following: i) reduction of insulin expression and ii) induction of cell death (apoptosis). ß–cells are especially vulnerable to ROS because these cells are inherently low in antioxidant status and therefore, requires long term protection. A recent study demonstrated that antioxidants (N-acetyl-L-cysteine, vitamins C and E) exerted beneficial effects in diabetic conditions such as preservation of ß-cell function, so it is likely that a more potent antioxidant such as astaxanthin can do the same or better.
In another study conducted by Preuss et al. (2009), 12 rats fed with 25mg/kg of astaxanthin show a significant decrease in insulin resistance by 13.5%.

Modulation of Glucose Toxicity

Uchiyama et al., 2002 demonstrated in obese diabetes type 2 mouse model that astaxanthin preserved pancreatic ß -cell dysfunction against oxidative damage. Treated mice received 1 mg astaxanthin/day at 6 weeks of age and then tests performed at 6, 12 and 18 weeks. Observations of astaxanthin treated mice (N=8) included: i) significantly reduced fasting glucose sugar levels at 12.

Figure 1. Astaxanthin improved the glucose levels in the Intraperitoneally Glucose Tolerance Test (IPGT) in diabetic mouse model (Uchiyama et al., 2002)

Figure 2. Astaxanthin preserved insulin sensitivity in the diabetic mouse model (Uchiyama et al., 2002)

Figure 3. Astaxanthin protected kidney function measured by urinary albumin protein loss (Naito et al., 2004) 

 

Prevention of Diabetic Nephropathy

As well as substantiating observations by Uchiyama et al., Naito demonstrated that astaxanthin treated type 2 diabetic mice which normally shows renal insufficiency at 16 weeks of age in fact exhibited 67% less urinary albumin loss.

Figure 4. Astaxanthin reduced the amount of DNA damage indicated by urinary 8-OHdG levels (Naito et al., 2004) 

 

Figure 5. Astaxanthin preserved the relative mesangial area.

 
Earlier it was unclear how astaxanthin could ameliorate the progression of diabetic nephropathy, but new evidence revealed additional information in the mechanism of action. Naito et al., (2006) examined changes in the gene expression profile of glomerular cells in diabetic mouse model during the early phase of diabetic nephropathy. The mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation pathway was most significantly affected by high-glucose concentration (mediated via reactive oxygen species). Long term treatment with astaxanthin significantly modulated genes associated with oxidative phosphorylation, oxidative stress and the TGF-ß-collagen synthesis system.

Manabe et al., 2007 went further and analyzed normal human mesangial cells (NHMC) exposed to high glucose concentrations. In the presence of astaxanthin, it significantly suppressed ROS production (Figure 6) and inhibited nuclear translocation and activation of NF-?B (Figure 7) in the mitochondria of NHMC. Furthermore, this was the first time to detect astaxanthin in the mitochondrial membrane (Table 1) and its presence also suppressed ROS attack on membrane proteins.

Figure 6. Astaxanthin reduced ROS production in NHMC-mitochondria exposed to high glucose (Manabe et al., 2007) 

   

Top left panel: mitochondria as green fluorescence, Top right panel: ROS as red fluorescence; Bottom right panel: Merged picture as yellow fluorescence.

Figure 7. Astaxanthin suppressed high-glucose induced nuclear translocation and activation of NF-?B (Manabe et al., 2007) 

 

Table 1. Astaxanthin content in NHMC mitochondria expressed as percentage of total astaxanthin added. 

Mean of 3 samples. (Manabe et al., 2007)

Outlook

Although clinical trials involving antioxidants in humans have only recently begun, these preliminary results concluded that strong antioxidant supplementation may improve type 2 diabetic control and inhibit progressive renal damage by circumventing the effects of glycation-mediated ROS under hyperglycemic conditions. Astaxanthin improved pancreas function, insulin sensitivity, reduced kidney damage and glucose toxicity in diabetic mouse models. New techniques by gene chip analysis and fluorescence imaging revealed further details of mechanism and site of protection by astaxanthin. Further research and clinical studies are still required. However, it is reasonable to suggest that astaxanthin may be useful as part of a nutrigenomic strategy for type 2 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy.

References

1. Forefront (Summer/Fall) 2005, American Diabetes Association.
2. Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals June 2004. "The dietary solution to diabetes."
3. HSR Health Supplement Retailer July 2004. "Fighting Diabetes the natural way."
4. Iwabayashi M, Fujioka N, Nomoto K, Miyazaki R, Takahashi H, Hibino S, Takahashi Y, Nishikawa K, Nishida M, Yonei Y. (2009). Efficacy and safety of eight-week treatment with astaxanthin in individuals screened for increased oxidative stress burden. J. Anti Aging Med., 6 (4):15-21.
5. Manabe E, Handa O, Naito Y, Mizushima K, Akagiri S, Adachi S, Takagi T, Kokura S, Maoka T, Yoshikawa T. (2008). Astaxanthin protects mesangial cells from hyperglycemia-induced oxidative signaling. J. Cellular Biochem. 103 (6):1925-37.
6. Naito Y, Uchiyama K, Aoi W, Hasegawa G, Nakamura N, Yoshida N, Maoka T, Takahashi J, Yoshikawa T. (2004) Prevention of diabetic nephropathy by treatment with astaxanthin in diabetic db/db mice. BioFactors 20:49-59. Nutritional Outlook April. "Fighting Diabetes"
7. Naito Y, Uchiyama K, Mizushima K, Kuroda M, Akagiri S, Takagi T, Handa O, Kokura S, Yoshida N, Ichikawa H, Takahashi J, Yoshikawa T. (2006). Microarray profiling of gene expression patterns in glomerular cells of astaxanthin-treated diabetic mice: a nutrigenomic approach. Int. J. Mol. Med.,18:685-695.
8. Preuss H, Echard B, Bagchi D, Perricone VN, Yamashita E. (2009). Astaxanthin lowers blood pressure and lessens the activity of the renin-angiotensin system in Zucker Fatty Rats. J. Funct. Foods, I:13-22.
9. The Global Diabetes Community. http://www.diabetes.co.uk. Article retrieved on June 8th, 2010.
10. Uchiyama K, Naito Y, Hasegawa G, Nakamura N, Takahashi J, Yoshikawa T. (2002). Astaxanthin Protects ?–cells against glucose toxicity in diabetic db/db mice. Redox Rep., 7(5):290-293.

CCRES special thanks to 

 Mr. Mitsunori Nishida, 

 
President of Corporate Fuji Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.

Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES) 

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