Michelle Booth's Blog - Posts Tagged "grow-your-own-food"
Society is making us all preppers!
A news* report here in the UK's Daily Mail today quoted the Managing Director of Waitrose, one of the large supermarket chains, warning that there are huge food price rises coming.
Actually, I thought they were already here! Every time I go food shopping, things seem to have become more expensive.
That's why I took up aquaponics last year. It's a way of growing food without having to dig in the dirt and get a sore back!
Aquaponics uses 2 tanks (generally, there are larger systems but I wanted to start simply), one grows food in it, the other is a fish tank. The water from the fish tank is pumped through the growing tank and then filters back into the fish tank.
The fish produce waste (they go to the toilet in their water!) but the bacteria in the water convert that waste into nutrients for the plants. Then the plants act like a reed bed, filtering the water and purifying it for the fish.
It's a great little ecosystem and the result is quick-growing fruit, salads and vegetables and happy fish. Some people choose to eat the fish too (we're vegetarian, so ours are pets!).
We're pretty self-sufficient in salads and green vegetables. We also grow things in the ground and in pots and containers - fruit and potatoes mainly - but they grow more quickly and more healthily in the aquaponics tank.
If you are concerned about rising food prices, I'd encourage you to learn more about aquaponics. You can set up your own system - if you're good at practical stuff - from bits and pieces from junk yards. If you want to pay for a system you could find that it pays for itself within a year (I did).
I would recommend (of course!) my little ebook about aquaponics - 7 Myths About Aquaponics. I wrote it because I wanted to get across how to get into aquaponics if you are like me and aren't good at practical stuff (I thought you probably had to be a plumber to be able to set a system up!) and don't have much money.
Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/7-Myths-About-A....
You can also find out information about aquaponics online. It is worth checking if there is an aquaponics organisation in your country, as they can provide help on which fish are best suited to your environment, as well as the best plants to grow.
Another idea for keeping your food bill down is to start growing sprouts. Not the round green ones that everyone complains about at Christmas, the ones that grow from beans and seeds, like you get in Chinsese restaurants. They are mung bean sprouts, which are very quick and easy to grow.
Sprouts are packed with nutrition and quite filling. It is worth growing a variety so you don't get bored. We grow sunflower seeds, chickpeas, mung beans, adzuki beans and alfalfa seeds. There is always a little forest of them growing on our kitchen windowledge and containers of them in the fridge. They are lovely added to salads, soups and as side courses for meals.
In these difficult economic times, it is good to know that you can develop basic survival skills that can keep your family fed and happy.
*http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic...
Actually, I thought they were already here! Every time I go food shopping, things seem to have become more expensive.
That's why I took up aquaponics last year. It's a way of growing food without having to dig in the dirt and get a sore back!
Aquaponics uses 2 tanks (generally, there are larger systems but I wanted to start simply), one grows food in it, the other is a fish tank. The water from the fish tank is pumped through the growing tank and then filters back into the fish tank.
The fish produce waste (they go to the toilet in their water!) but the bacteria in the water convert that waste into nutrients for the plants. Then the plants act like a reed bed, filtering the water and purifying it for the fish.
It's a great little ecosystem and the result is quick-growing fruit, salads and vegetables and happy fish. Some people choose to eat the fish too (we're vegetarian, so ours are pets!).
We're pretty self-sufficient in salads and green vegetables. We also grow things in the ground and in pots and containers - fruit and potatoes mainly - but they grow more quickly and more healthily in the aquaponics tank.
If you are concerned about rising food prices, I'd encourage you to learn more about aquaponics. You can set up your own system - if you're good at practical stuff - from bits and pieces from junk yards. If you want to pay for a system you could find that it pays for itself within a year (I did).
I would recommend (of course!) my little ebook about aquaponics - 7 Myths About Aquaponics. I wrote it because I wanted to get across how to get into aquaponics if you are like me and aren't good at practical stuff (I thought you probably had to be a plumber to be able to set a system up!) and don't have much money.
Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/7-Myths-About-A....
You can also find out information about aquaponics online. It is worth checking if there is an aquaponics organisation in your country, as they can provide help on which fish are best suited to your environment, as well as the best plants to grow.
Another idea for keeping your food bill down is to start growing sprouts. Not the round green ones that everyone complains about at Christmas, the ones that grow from beans and seeds, like you get in Chinsese restaurants. They are mung bean sprouts, which are very quick and easy to grow.
Sprouts are packed with nutrition and quite filling. It is worth growing a variety so you don't get bored. We grow sunflower seeds, chickpeas, mung beans, adzuki beans and alfalfa seeds. There is always a little forest of them growing on our kitchen windowledge and containers of them in the fridge. They are lovely added to salads, soups and as side courses for meals.
In these difficult economic times, it is good to know that you can develop basic survival skills that can keep your family fed and happy.
*http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic...
