A couple of years ago I decided to erect a prefab greenhouse in my back yard. It is 10' x 12' in area and rather attractive, but so far it has been an orphan. This past week I visited my daughter and learned about aquaponics. Suddenly my greenhouse has a function. The cycle of water between a fish tank and grow beds provides an answer to my concern about the lack of water in a putative emergency. Although it is unlikely it will handle the job of feeding me and my household, it will surely be an asset if food prices continue to rise. I have already invested in many of the items that are needed for an aquaponics setup. First of all, I have the greenhouse. I also have an evaporative cooler to keep the temperature inside the greenhouse from soaring in the summer. I have bins to convert into grow beds and an old cast iron/porcelain tub to use as a sump. My daughter provided me with the necessary plumbing for the bell syphons required for a 'flush and fill' system and I purchased pumps and aerators for the water supply. Above is a picture of my greenhouse with a seedling table and the bins I plan to use as grow tanks. The walls of the greenhouse are made of corrugated transparent polycarbonate, both tough and light. I plan to insulate the north wall with sheets of insulating foam and use 55 gallon drums of water in matte black as thermal sinks for winter warming.
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