July-August Awesome Cold Weather Aquapon

[Jeremiah Robinson]

This post first appeared on Cold Weather Aquaponics

The Awesome Cold Weather Aquapon (ACWA) from July-August is Adam Cohen from Green Phoenix Farms in Mansfield, TX near Ft. Worth.

Texas, you ask?  Why on earth would the ACWA  go to a Texan?

Well, they do get temperatures as low as about 10 degF there, but the real reason I chose Adam is because of the helpful advice he offers to new aquapons, especially those in cold climates.

Adam writes a column for Aquaponics Survival Communities magazine called Aqua Ponderings in which he provides helpful advice in response to questions about aquaponics.  He's surprised me on a number of occasions with his thoughtful responses to questions related to growing in the cold.

Adam's knowledge comes from his background in a fish biology and species management, followed by 12 years of teaching.

His farm has grown over the past six years and now works with a nonprofit called Feed by Grace to provide jobs to homeless folks in the Ft. Worth area ,working in the aquaponics greenhouse.

He also offers affordable 2-day aquaponics classes, sometimes in partnership with Rob Torcellini from Bigelow Brook.

Below is one of his responses to a question in ASC.

From Sue In Oregon: I live in the Pacific Northwest (Southern Oregon, USA) and the only thing stopping me from getting into aquaponics is WINTER. I need suggestions on how to maintain a viable system when normal winter temps average mid-20s F with several weeks of below 0F. Please help with any advice that you can give.

Adam: Sue, well I have to say that does sound like a daunting prospect. Here in Texas, I am lucky enough that I can grow almost 12 months out of the year without a greenhouse or covering of any type. In your climate, I think the reality is that you will need to have a greenhouse that is equipped with some type of climate control system. There are a number of systems that you can use to accomplish this.

Your options would range from a traditional greenhouse with an electric or gas heater to a more “organic” (or Natural) solution like a Walipini.

You might want to try an earth sheltered greenhouse. As far as heating options go, I would recommend that you look into a Rocket Mass Heater.

In general, I recommend using passive solar techniques which could be used to “store” heat in your greenhouse.