I love your mission! We're on the same page.

DIY Rain Barrels with a Rain Chain

Hi, I love your blog and all of the wonderful ideas it contains. I especially like the “Make Your Own” section. For a long time now, I’ve wanted to put together a blog or eBook, or something with all of these great ideas. It’s nice to see what you’ve done here. I recently started my own blog with a few similar subjects that I am more familiar with. Many of these subjects would fit nicely on your site. I discuss rain barrels, aquaponics, black soldier fly bins, home made vegetable oil, and soon I’ll be covering many other topics.

While my site does contain some Amazon links, I wouldn’t consider it a commercial site, so I hope you don’t mind me posting the link here. I hope that you read the page, do your own research on the subjects, and expand on them here on your site. I will happily link back to this page, because I see a wealth of information here.

The point is not to make money, drive traffic, or sell products. The point is to get the ideas out there. I have recently stumbled upon Aquaponics and I truly believe it will become a revolution in how we produce the food we eat. In short, you have a fish tank. The fish waste fertilizes the plant. Worms in the grow beds break down the solid material. Bacteria in the grow beds convert ammonia into nitrates. The plants use the nitrates. Everything is in balance. You cannot use fertilizer, or you will kill the fish (and you don’t need to). You cannot use ammo-zyme or other aquarium chemicals because they contain salts that will kill the plants (and you don’t need to). Plants grow faster and larger and at a much higher planting density. You don’t run into problems of root-rot that hydroponics face. In my spare bedroom, I don’t have a problem with insects.

I have lots of other great ideas that I will be expanding on soon. I really hope you are actively maintaining this page, because this is really a great thing you have here and I look forward to telling all my friends about the different recipes you’ve posted.

Please see my blog and let me know what you think. I would love to share and discuss ideas with you: https://bluebarrels.blogspot.com

Thanks!
Jake

Comments for
I love your mission! We’re on the same page.

TILAPIA FISH – ANSWER TO STARVATION
by: Natalie Rowles

Hi Wendy

I’ve telephoned the local pet shop for fish, and she told me that an African from Zambia brought in these 20 x about 20cm size Tilapia fish which they use there at home to feed the people. She couldn’t tell me its proper name.
So I told her that it probably may be one of the Tilapia mossambique species – and she mentioned that it has got a white spot under the chin area. They have 20 fish in an aquarium tank there and she reckons these fish are still babies – so just imagine what size they will reach as adults! She reckons that I can keep these fish without a heat element – but probably requires a pump for aeration, as I am toying with the idea of using half the stale fish water per week to run it onto my raised vegetable beds as liquid fertilizer, and use any excess fish for my dog’s meals too, if not for my own meals as well.

Aquaponics
by: Wendy

Hi Jake, thank you for sharing this wonderful way of growing food and reducing waste. You have a great mission with your blue barrels. Well done!

Fantastic tip
by: Wendy

Hi Natalie, we used to keep Tilapia in our ornamental fish tanks…do they grow big enough to be worth a meal? I think this is fascinating that something that is alredy found in rivers and lakes in Africa can be farmed for a starving nation!

FISH FARMING WITH TILAPIA
by: Natalie Rowles

Have you tried farming with Tilapia mossambica, which is apparently one of the best tasting of all fish to eat according to “The complete book of SELF-SUFFICIENCY” by John Seymour? These fish will feed on algae, weeds, mosquitoes, worms, etc.
They are one of the best fish to farm with in tropical conditions as they need warm water (27 degrees C. at least). A fish farming project like this, will help starving Africa immensely as an average family could derive all its animal protein required in a 14 000 litre covered pool full of Tilapia. Minced fish with bones and all, can supply also the calcium content in the people’s diet too, so fish cakes etc. could replace meat perhaps, as farming with fish requires less space?