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DWC vs NFT vs Media Beds

In this post, I want to examine the various types of grow container styles in hydroponic and aquaponic systems, discuss the differences, and go through the pros and cons of each style. First of all, definitions: DWC = Deep Water Culture Deep water culture is one of the simplest methods, as it has no moving parts. In this system, you have a basin of water (5 gallon buckets are very common), and a floating raft (typically Styrofoam) with 2-3″ diameter holes cut for plastic net pots. The net pots sit …

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Hydroponics vs Aquaponics

First of all: Welcome to the beginning of a new series with us. We’ve just finished the build of a small, but diverse Aquaponic system in our garden and I’m excited to share this new knowledge with you. This post is going to be more of the theory behind these two systems, and the next posts will get more into the specifics of what I’ve done in the garden and how that’s working out so far. So first up, we need to define what these two types of gardening are: …

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Babydoll Southdown Sheep

Well, we went and did it. We got two of the fluffiest, softest, cutest sheep in existence and it’s already been SO much fun. So here’s a little bit about who and what they are, for those of you who might be considering them yourselves. We have two Babydoll Southdown sheep, the white one is named “Nunu” and the brown one is “Rumble”. Follow our adventures on instagram @sheepsinthecity A Short History: These sheep originally came from Sussex England, also known as the South “Downs”. They are known for their …

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DIY Simple Fountain

Everyone loves the sound of water trickling: its relaxing, soothing, and transports us to a warm, sunshiny place out in the woods near a stream where we can get away. The trouble is: recreating this feeling and sound at home while at the same time not spending a fortune. I’ve wanted a fountain at our house for a long time, and I finally bit the bullet and built a small pond in the backyard (click the link to see the article on how to build that) but I also wanted …

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Predator Proofing the Chicken Coop

Last Christmas, my wife and I had a two week long run in with a predator. Still unsure if it was a Possum, Raccoon, or Fox, but either way, I was getting more and more frustrating to losing chickens to it. We’ve had run in’s in the past with predators, usually during the winter, and we’d lost a chicken or two, but this time we lost 5 full grown, laying hens, and 5 rabbits. Our perpetrator managed to get over a 6 foot wood fence, through a gap somewhere in …

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Chickens : A Complete Overview

My wife and I started our flock of backyard chickens about 4 years ago. Each year has been a different adventure with different challenges and new things to learn. I wanted to write up a long, detailed list of as much stuff I can remember so that you, a reader who is likely interested in starting up your own flock, can benefit and hit the ground running with some new knowledge. Keeping chickens is a fun, relatively easy livestock keeping experience and is generally the recommended animal for starting out …

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Winterize the Animal Watering System

Back when I built the chicken coop, I knew the most annoying part of keeping animals would be keeping the water filled and clean. Food is easy. Fill up the feeder once every 3-5 days and let them do their things, but the water has to stay clean to keep disease, flies, and dehydration at bay. Putting out a dog bowl of water works, but its dirty in 10 minutes and chickens walk in it, quail try to take baths in it, and rabbits poop in it, so that didn’t …