Hello from new member Shelgeyr!

[Shelgeyr]

I don't mind in the slightest, istanbulin!

You are correct that "Shelgeyr" means "hunter" in Manx, but I am not a native Manx speaker. It also means the same thing in Gaelic (of which I believe Manx is the Isle-of-Man-specific dialect), and I do have Gaelic roots. But once again, I don't speak that language either.

Good call, though - in all these years you're the only person who has not only asked the origin of my name, but basically got it correct on your own as well. I find that impressive.

 

[Shelgeyr]

Hello shelgeyr, im looking forward to seeing your set up.I was planning on using an ebb and flow system this year but im putting it off until next year.

Most of the systems I've built have been ebb & flow, but this year I'm likely transitioning to constant flow for the grow beds, and both deep water rafting and thin nutrient films for the green leafy things.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

My daydreams of tilapia farming died real quick when I moved to Vermont. That is one thing I wish I could do here, but no fish is like a tilapia and although I could farm trout or salmon technically, they need more space and grow slow so it's just not realistic. Le sigh.

 

[andrewislord]

You guys raise your own fish, too? Is there anything you guys don't do/make yourselves?

 

[Knucklehead]

Yeah, we're still working on the female/wife problem.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Unless you are Japanese give up that idea. The first thru seventh models of love bots will be from there. By the time I'm 50 they better have all the bugs worked out cause I'll be in midlife crisis mode and instead of buying the hot rod to get the chick it'd prefer to just get the chick. I have now until then to come up with an explanation the wife might buy lol.
Ie she is here to do the mopping, dishes and laundry....Yeah that's it

 

[andrewislord]

Love Bots. Well at least I got that to look forward to.



The tobacco aquaponics thing sounds interesting. I hope you take lots of pictures.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Love Bots. Well at least I got that to look forward to.

Just make sure you paint them white like the rest of the kitchen accessories.

 

[Shelgeyr]

Welcome to the forum Shelgeyr !

Your nickname took my attention. I was thinking if it's related with the Persian languages. I learned that "Shelgeyr" means "hunter" in Manx language which has about a hundred competent speakers and locating in Indo-European language family (same family wich also covers Persian languages). Are you a native speaker ?

Sorry, I made some searches, I couldn't prevent myself

Please note: Nothing I'm about to write below has anything at all to do with tobacco, but rather addresses the likely results one might get from searching on my name. Vanity is one thing, but even I am not so narcissistic as to assume anyone would actually care, so please consider this "fair warning" to skip the rest of this post. My future posts will be about tobacco horticulture and/or attempts to grow tobacco in an aquaponics system.

I should have mentioned in my last reply (but simply forgot) that when you searched on my name it would not surprise me to learn that you may have gotten more than a few hits from posts on "thunderbolts.info" (mainly focused on plasma physics and geology) and maybe some on "imao.us" (largely filled with political snark). If so, that's me as well.

I have to admit that any hits from "godlikeproductions.com" (or "GLP") are mine as well. That site is kind of a guilty pleasure, but I must stress that I'm not a "conspiracy theorist" (which is what GLP is geared for), nor am I a UFO nut (a large sub-population at GLP). I occasionally post there because some fascinating if bizarre topics are constantly being bantered about, and I got involved with that site because someone reposted a political article I liked from imao.us to there, and I got caught up with tracking the responses being made. Plus, in their defense, I've seen no better site for up-to-the-instant news coverage during the occasional crisis, natural or man-made.

On the other hand, the "Shelgeyr" at the "Free Worlds League - Guild website" is NOT me. In fact that holds true for any "gaming" site, because I'm not a gamer.

But enough about me - just thought I'd point out that quite a few "Shelgeyr"s out there are me, but not all of them.

Thanks!

 

[Shelgeyr]

My daydreams of tilapia farming died real quick when I moved to Vermont. That is one thing I wish I could do here, but no fish is like a tilapia and although I could farm trout or salmon technically, they need more space and grow slow so it's just not realistic. Le sigh.

I've never lived in Vermont, and the closest I've ever come to doing so was spending a couple of winters in Illinois and New York, so believe me, I understand.

However, if you've got enough room to do it, it can be done. I've read about (or seen videos of) some cases in the far frozen north, where people sunk their tilapia tanks into the ground (as I have here in Texas), covered it with some sort of insulating lid (which I've also done), but then went the extra step that I have not bothered to do and covered the surrounding ground, out to a significant distance, with a very deep layer of compost. We're talking "multiple feet" here, not inches.

The decomposing compost was more than enough to keep the ground under it (and thus around the sunken fish tank) not only frost-free, but outright warm.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you've got the ability to sink a tilapia tank in the middle of a significantly deep compost pile, and replenish that pile a couple of times during winter, go for it! Otherwise I understand your frustration with trying to raise them in Vermont.

 

[Shelgeyr]

I should probably ask - not that it impacts me directly, but I'm curious - how far north can tobacco be raised? Are there any varieties that do well in the long summer days up in Canada?

 

[Shelgeyr]

You guys raise your own fish, too? Is there anything you guys don't do/make yourselves?

Oh man, the list of things I can't do or make is probably infinite. The list of things I WANT to do and make is only slightly shorter. But give me time!

This summer's activity list (in the unlikely chance all goes as planned) not only includes raising tobacco in an aquaponics environment, but also getting my first beehive started. I have the site picked out, and it is beneath a tree that already has had a hive inside it for many years.

I'm also going to build a miniature foundry (for smelting aluminum and maybe other metals), but only because some videos I saw on the subject looked intriguing – and then someone went and gave me all the parts I would need except for the refractory cement, so I figured "why not?".

 

[Boboro]

How hard is it to melt beer cans? They always burn up when I try to melt them.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

How far north is not the question. As long as you can get 4 months of growing weather (possibly even 2-3) you can grow. Our issues are color curing. I'd say that the leaf grown in this weather is better than Down south as long as you can get it processed correctly.

 

[Shelgeyr]

I recently met three pleasant and industrious kids (I say "kids" but that's probably unfair - I think they're in their early 20s) who are starting a farm just west of Fort Worth. I haven't mentioned tobacco to them, but I plan to - if only because I think they'd try their hand at it simply because I asked.

Last week I sold them a 12,000-gallon tank, as well as 3,500-gallon and 300-gallon tanks, and a 275-gallon IBC tote. I am also lending them another 12,000-gallon tank for two years free of charge because I want them to succeed and I didn't want them to sink all their startup capital into tanks. I figure if they actually make a go of it, then they'll be able to buy the tank from me in two years for a reasonable price (I sold the above group to them for a fraction of what they're worth, but frankly I needed them moved and didn't have the time it would take to properly sell them online). So essentially we traded favors - I gave them a great deal, and they relieved me of a 28,275-gallon logistics nightmare that was rapidly worsening.

We should be getting together soon since I'm outright giving them another 12,000 gallon tank that is broken (they should be able to salvage 8000 to 9000 gallons out of it as an open-top tank), and I will mention this site to them at the time.

It would be cool if they got involved - they've got a lot more energy (ah, youth!), not to mention a great deal more land, than I have.

If you're interested in seeing what that load-out looked like, here's a link, and you'll want to scroll down to the entries that start on January 31st:
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=12285&start=30

 

[Shelgeyr]

How hard is it to melt beer cans? They always burn up when I try to melt them.

I don't know, but it sounds to me like you're probably melting them in an environment where too much oxygen is readily available. Someone knowledgeable could probably make me eat those words, but that's my best guess having never done it in a foundry before. I've melted beer cans in a camp fire (on a hill, with a strong wind), and for that matter beer bottles as well, and you're right - there's usually nothing left of the cans. But I know the foundaries work, so my guess is that oxygen-level is probably the key factor.

 

[Shelgeyr]

How far north is not the question. As long as you can get 4 months of growing weather (possibly even 2-3) you can grow. Our issues are color curing. I'd say that the leaf grown in this weather is better than Down south as long as you can get it processed correctly.

Thanks! I will definitely keep that in mind - I didn't know you could get a better quality leaf up there. I have a Canadian contact through work that brews his own beer and seems up for all sorts of DIY projects, so I think I'll drop this idea into his head to see if it germinates. Thanks again!

 

[buckeyebob]

Welcome to the forum my friend,I admire you already. My employer most recently was based in the Lone Star and I have spent much time there in the last 10 years or so. Learned to love the fiercely proud and independent folk of Texas a great deal. Found out that " Don't mess with Texas " is more than just a saying. It will be interesting to see what can be done with your approach to growing baccy in the aquaponic tradition. I have some prepper friends [yes I'm one too] that are developing aquaponic systems and their veggy results are impressive and tasty . I wish you luck but realize you don't need it. In Texas they are used to working for a goal . If you ever run into anyone that knows me down there they also all called me BuckeyeBob. That's where the handle came from.