Bio-organic Planting [ Part-1 ]

I am currently working on an eco friendly looped cycle method of growing plants without chemical fertilizer or soil. So thought  I would  start a log on it as I go along. The word 'Bio-Organic Planting' is just a word that I came up with since I need to call this project something.Here are a few simple methods which we will combine later on in our project.


Aquaculture, also known as aqua-farming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish.

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. The medium is often ceramic pebbles , husk , broken tiles or any neutral medium that can support root formation. The nutrient rich water is circulated through this medium. 

Aeroponics , this process grows plants with no soil and extremely little water. Here we do not use any medium. There are misting/fogging chambers in which the plant roots get the required  growth nutrients.

Fishes discharge ammonia  through their gills and also through their waste matter. Ammonia build up in the water is unhealthy for fishes. Plants grow well in a nitrate rich environment. So if we have a method to convert the ammonia into nitrate we can use it for the plants. Hydroponic and aeroponic systems use nutrient rich water for plant growth. We can complete the cycle with the help of two good bacteria namely the 'Nitrosomonas' and the Nitrobacter'. 'Nitrosomonas' is a bacteria responsible for changing the ammonia to nitritre and 'Nitrobacter' is another bacteria responsible for changing this nitrite to nitrate.

To cut things short, we need the bacteria medium to convert the ammonia to nitrate and then to nitrate and finally we feed it to the plants. There are different methods to achieve this, but before that a few key points.... 

• Prolonged exposure of the plant roots to a submerged condition will lead to the roots getting rotten.
• The roots take in air and so it is healthy to aerate them on a timely basis for optimum growth.
• Since soil is not required we can use mediums like clay pebbles, broken bits of pots/clay-tiles or small stones. I have used a layer of broken tiles and then rock stones over it.
• The growth medium will provide an environment congenial for the bacteria to grow and facilitate the conversion of ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate.
• The nitrate in the medium will then be absorbed by the plant roots and the clean water is send back to the fish farm.

So here is what we would need for a very basic proof of concept setup and the same is salable:

• A siphon system to control the filling and emptying cycle in the growth medium.
• Pump to pump up the water.
• Container to hold the growing medium.
• A reservoir to hold the fish.
• Tubing and plumbing

The Siphon:

We know that the prolonged exposure of roots to water can destroy the root structure or retard growth. So the ideal way is to create a continuous cycle of wetting the roots and then aerating it without making it extremely dry. So ideally we should flood the growth medium and then flush out the water and continuously repeat the process. This is possible by designing a siphon system in the growth medium.   

In part 2 we will start off by building the siphon. 




Index:


Bio-organic Planting [ Part-1 ]

Bio-organic Planting | Building the Siphon | [ Part- 2 ]

Bio-organic Planting | Grow-bed & Pump | [ Part- 3 ]