Udon Thani Thailand Forum - Udon Thani, Thailand

anyone interested ?

Yes, been looking into growing some Lettuces this way.

just getting started, going to try various systems , and plant trials, so for celery, basil and strawberries seem to take well

Where can I buy the systems in Udon?

How about aquaponics?

Doodoo wrote: ↑

February 11, 2018, 11:47 am

How about aquaponics?

Totally different - and impossible in the average back garden

Joepai
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc5Sl3IfT9E
One such system requiring 13 feet X 5 feet (65 square feet of space)

I don't know what you mean by an average back yard? But was a suggestion for others to read

Hope this helps
Doodoo

If anyone is interested, I designed and built an Arduino ( microcontroller) pump timer for the circulation. Times can be adjusted in software and has differing times for night and day operation with the use of a daylight detector. Runs from a 12v dc plug pack with relay output controlling 240v ( or whatever)for the pump. Includes test facility for set-up. Reason for the initial design was commercial timers could not cover the ranges required, no day/night select, and the cheap Kmart units would die after a couple of weeks resulting in loss of plants. Current unit operating now for over 5 years.

Aquaponic systems are good, but harder to control on a small scale, plus adding another dimension with some free fish, but also means extra filter systems to get solid waste out, plus daily care is needed as live fish need tending. the system I'm envisaging needs to be small and easy to maintain, in fact as bluejets says automation of a system is the aim , plus my idea is to avoid large water consumption, if I had a large pond maybe I would try. the area I have is about 13x5 feet and water sumps will contain 450l in total ,with a 550l reserve tank that tops up the sumps automatically . plus looking at solar power for pumps. the point being hopefully I will only need to do tests on it on a weekly basis.
comes down to this . my wifes family are good old fashioned farmers, but they are in their 70's now and farming low value crops has kept the reasonably poor all their lives. so I want systems that are cheap to build and have virtual zero running costs. I see the problem with thai farming is it need to modernise and become more diverse , why farm 20 rai of land with crops that have low value ,when you can produce high value crops on 1 rai. speed is also a factor, plus multiple crops yearly

Doodoo wrote: ↑

February 11, 2018, 4:11 pm

Joepai
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc5Sl3IfT9E
One such system requiring 13 feet X 5 feet (65 square feet of space)

I don't know what you mean by an average back yard? But was a suggestion for others to read

Hope this helps
Doodoo

system like that can neither produce enough fish or plants to be of any use apart from feeding the owner, that system quite easy , but it's more fish keeping than veg production. of the 65 square feet I want 60 square feet of plant production, say we are talking lettuce. I would be looking at a minimum of 240 plants. I would try it if I had a large pond though. one fault with this system which is obvious. the fish tank seems to be made of wood, expensive and being Thailand you would have to build a new one every year as the old one will rot pretty quick here. but interesting vid

God morning Dean !

Are you going to run it Organicly or Chemical?

Hi Dui, well being a horticulturist means I don't really differentiate much between the two . NPK is basically all the same, although organic fertiliser is preferable it just adds an extra burden of securing a stable and consistent supply. but what I won't be doing is using pesticides, they are the issue, organic feed or chemical the plant will be exactly the same,the plant lives on NPK and will convert it into plant material . but dousing them is nasty chemicals for pest control is a no for me, simple soaps, coffee and hot pepper wax solutions are the way I will go. plus around I will try some companion planting to see how that works . see the thing is we are talking hydroponics, organic is more about improving soil and it's structure, hydroponic strangely enough is about controlled growth in a more controlled enviroment.one instant benefit is the lack of any soil pest

You seems to have read some rergarding this subject for sure.

My question was moore regarding the endresult..better taste i my bet IF you can get things grown al naturale..me think.But the biggest thing is cleanliness to avoid pests..humidity/hot eather..Down at The Kins SHOP (TOPS)they have some nice non chemical 2 part fert..and then wormcasting/Batguano..make a tea..That's my take on Hydro.But i would take a trip to BKK and check ACK Hydro and ask questions..Goodluck my friend

Many years ago I grew vegetables with a Hydroponic System best Tomatoes I have ever eaten but where can can you buy the right Nutrients here in Thailand?

It is was very simple set up polystyrene boxes coupled together, base medium of blue metal and sand with a plastic rubbish bin either end for recycling worked perfectly.

papafarang wrote: ↑

February 12, 2018, 8:27 am

one fault with this system which is obvious. the fish tank seems to be made of wood, expensive and being Thailand you would have to build a new one every year as the old one will rot pretty quick here. but interesting vid

Nothing that I can see to require it to be made of wood.
It was almost certainly constructed that way because the 2x4's and OSB was cheap and easy to work with.
It looks as if all the bits that have water contact are plastic, so you can make it with any material you like, AAC blocks, red brick, cinder block would all work and you can add steel reinforcement if you want.

The product to substitute for wood would be Plastic and Tote Bins are available for resale in Udon with steel reinforcement cages on the outside
This can be used in Hydroponics also
The concern in the last posting was "Totally different - and impossible in the average back garden" and this was in answer to that concern of available land to have an aquaponics system
Hope this helps
Doodoo

plants just turn any chemical organic/inorganic into plant material, a bit like animals ,don't matter what they are fed ,as long as it's balanced you get the same result, even us rice/potato, chicken/fish we still grow basically the same. but thanks for that info on the feed and I will defo be trying them , cost/result/care are important when considering building. also consider this The majority of plant-available nitrogen is in the inorganic forms NH4+ and NO3- in soil, without bacteria and microorganisms organic nitrogen is unavailable to a large extent, nitrogen is basically washed out of the air when it rains and is absorbed directly as it's in a soluble form, and there is no difference between inorganic and organic nitrogen. for true organic you need to culture the soil, you need to put life into it so all the little microorganisms have a good environment to grow and keep your soil rich.
nutrients are available in town macca

Doodoo wrote: ↑

February 12, 2018, 11:10 am

The product to substitute for wood would be Plastic and Tote Bins are available for resale in Udon with steel reinforcement cages on the outside
This can be used in Hydroponics also
The concern in the last posting was "Totally different - and impossible in the average back garden" and this was in answer to that concern of available land to have an aquaponics system
Hope this helps
Doodoo

yes I understand, but the video is more fish than hydroponics, a tank of that size is massive compared to the amount of crops being produced, just a guess but that much water would produce hundreds of square feet and produce thousands of plants. I have no real interest in fish keeping . but if you are into fish too he's the basics on how many fish,
1 pound fish per 5 – 10 gallons of fish tank volume or .5 kg per 20-26 liters, as my tanks only hold 200l it would mean a max of 10 fish, plus looking at more filtration and cost in materials and work to maintain, deep water culture or nutrient film much easier and a fraction of the cost. I don't want to have to check everything every day, defeats the purpose. automated systems can't tell if your fish died last night and having to feed them 3 times a day (yes auto feeders) can help, but again more expense and even auto feeders pack up so you still need to check every day, which if you have a commercial set up is fine as it's your job. we are on about a system where most of my visits are to pick the produce or add water.
Anyway good discussion and hopefully some others will have a go at it , I will be going to look at a larger scale version of aquaponic system and find out more for you guys , also take some photos too

Thanks Dean but where?