Why can't you grow a garden in your front yard!?

I would like to talk about why it is a great idea to grow a garden at your house, front or backyard. There are so many benefits to growing your own fruits and vegetables. So when a link to an article (written by Alexis Wiley) was sent to me about a woman in the city of Oaks Park who is being charged with a misdemeanor for growing a garden in her front yard, I felt that I must speak up. This is ridiculous to me for so many reasons! What really offends me is the response of the City Planner of Oaks Park, Kevin Rulkowski, when questioned, in the article, about why Julie Bass was being ticketed and charged with a misdemeanor,"That's not what we want to see in a front yard," Well I disagree Kevin Rulkowski, I disagree. The city's arguing that there is a code that states  there must be suitable, plant material that is alive in the front yards. In another quote from the article, Kevin Rulkowski said 

  "If you look at the definition of what suitable is in Webster's dictionary, it will say common. So, if you look around and you look in any other community, what's common to a front yard is a nice, grass yard with beautiful trees and bushes and flowers,"  

Challenge, Kevin Rulkowski!! Webster's Dictionary states:

(here is the link if you need further proof!)

There is a lot wrong with this statement! Yes, grass yards, trees, bushes, and flowers are common around many communities; all of this plant life sucks water! It all must me constantly watered and keeps that water meter spinning, that does not seem "Suitable" to me. A good friend of mine is currently "zero landscaping" his house, pulling out the water wasting grass yards, trees, bushes, and flowers and is replacing it with succulents, plants which are quite beautiful and rarely have to be watered. 

Here are some of the reasons you should grow your own garden on all parts of your property:

1. Go to the store and look at food prices, it's expensive! growing your own food lowers the cost of grocery bills.
2. Gardening gets you outside breathing fresh air, it keeps you active and limber tending to our garden.
3. It is a fantastic way for a family to share quality time.
4. It is a hands on way to teach your children about sustainable living methods, and the health benefits of eating homegrown food.
5. Children will be more likely to want to try new foods, especially if they are the ones that grew the ingredients!
6. Gardening is a sustainable way to feed yourself and those around you.

As further proof gardening is beneficial, a neighbor of Bass was quoted from the article as saying "I have a bunch of little children and we take walks to come by and see everything growing. I think it's a very wonderful thing for our neighborhood," The City of Oak Park should be ashamed of themselves! Instead of deterring locals from being environmentally conscious, the city needs to be encouraging these sustainable habits and actively participating in programs that promote sustainable living.

We support you Julie Bass and believe in what you are doing! The world would be a better place if more people followed in your footsteps. To quote my Mom Jill "Wow - time for a paradigm shift - I guess the answer is for everyone to grow gardens in their front yard - it would then be "common" and therefore "suitable" in the eyes of the city planner."

Here is the link to the article so you can read for yourself, and just so you know, here is what Julie Bass was ticketed and is being charged a misdemeanor for:

 (picture from the article)

Aquaponic System Incorperated Into Existing Koi Pond

My Dad and I came up with a plan to install an aquaponic system into a koi pond. This pond has been established for over 10 years. The benefits of incorporating an aquaponic system into a koi pond, especially a pond that has been established for years, is substantial! A koi pond has all the components to growing vegetables already in place. The nitrogen cycle is already established, this means that there is plenty of plant food nutrients in the water. Figuring out how you want to integrate the vegetables into the pond is all that needs to be done.

The koi pond is roughly 5000L with about 30 koi fish, a couple big catfish and a happy crawdad or two. There is a lot of space, but the area we are focusing on is where we tied the aquaponic system into the pond; a fiberglass container loosely resembling a bathtub against the far edge of the koi pond. The tub is raised so that the bottom of the tub sits just above the water line. This area was being used to create extra filtration by adding various water plants into the tub. The plants established a root system and the water was filtered as it cycle through and drained back into the pond. Instead of using non edible plants we decided to replace the water plants and with vegetables to grow healthy food and supplement the grocery bills.

The type of aquaponic system we are using is a continues flow style. It means that water is constantly running over the roots of the plants, giving them constant access to the nutrient filled water. We filled planter boxes with our vegetables and used lava rocks as our medium. across the length of the tub we installed the planters, leaving about a foot between each box. The water will flow through the boxes allowing the roots to have easy access to the nutrients in the water.

There are so many bonus' to incorporating an aquaponic system into your pond. The aquaponic system acts as an added filter for the pond, keeping the water cleaner. It is a fantastic way to grow vegetables, and a great uses of space. (I believe in large gardens, but if there is not a lot of space accessible this style makes sense, also the pond is already there!) The aquaponic system in itself is pleasant to look at, while maintaining shade for your fish. It is a great conversation starter, and above all else it is environmentally friendly.

Here are the pictures of the install, enjoy!

Getting the planter boxes ready

Installing the planter boxes into the koi pond

The finished product

Ventura Trash Runners

   Two of my running buddies, Amy and Erin, tell me I should attend a trash run with them. Since I run with my buddies often, I wouldn't want to do anything to make them upset with me. (They would make me go on really painful runs!) and since it is good for the community, and I run around Ventura almost every day, I figured it would be a good idea to attend the trash run.

   I am so glad I went! The members of the Trash Runners I met were very friendly and we had a fantastic time talking about healthy, sustainable living at the same time picking up trash. There was so much garbage!We walked from San Pedro to The Point (boardwalk in Ventura, CA) and by the time we were done we all had full bags of trash. After we are done we run back to where we started from.

   This is a fantastic group to get involved with! After I got home I found the Trash Runners' page and signed up immediately for email updates on future trash runs. This is important for our community, we all enjoy walking by the beach and enjoying the view. How can we enjoy OUR beautiful Ventura if it is filled with trash? How easy would it be to go out for 45 minuets once a month and go for a walk, socializing with some really cool people? So I recommend you check out the site, sign up, and come out on a trash run with the Ventura Trash Runners. Here are some pics of the latest trash run.

 

Outdoor wall aquaponic system (update: 6/29)

So I finished tying together the system, and got all the kinks out. After a day of letting the system settle we planted a bunch plants; strawberry's and tomatoes. We also planted a flower that attracts bees, it's called Cuphea "La Chiquita"  Here are some new pics!

Here are the tomatoes planted nicely in a row!

 Here are some great pics of the

strawberry's we planted

 Soon to be a big tomato plant!

Here are the 13 strawberry plants

Here is the Cuphea flower

 

Outdoor wall aquaponic system

   So here is my outdoor aquaponic system just installed today. It is installed on a side yard and it has 30ft of grow-able bed and is linked to a 55gl. drum for my fish. It takes up about 4 sq. feet on the ground, with the rest of the system on the wall, out of the way. Here are some of the pics...

 

 

Indoor wall aquaponic system

     This is my version of a wall aquaponic setup. It works the same way as my aquaponic system outside, this one is just much smaller. One or two small fish will keep the Nitrogen Cycle going. All the plants I have chosen are low light indoor plants, providing increased oxygen for the household. This was a really fun project and I have a few ideas for improving my design, but we tested the system and it worked flawlessly! Here are some pics, enjoy!

 

 

 

Two bed aquaponic system

     So here are some pictures from my aquaponic system. I am still waiting for the Nitrogen Cycle to complete itself, but after testing the water each day, looking at: Temperature, Salinity, pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate levels, I am documenting a noticeable difference in the Nitrite levels. There is also a rise in Nitrate levels, due to the fact that I used a few gallons of water from my Dad's pond (established for over five years) and cycled that through my system. I read a piece an kick starting the bacteria needed for Nitrite growth by adding water from an already established pond or aquaponic system. By doing so you introduce all the parts needed for a full cycle. This does not mean that the next day, walla! You have a completely cycled aquaponic system producing at 110%!!! It does however provide a foundation for the correct bacteria to grow, and that is a great starting point!