Internet of Farming: Arduino-based, backyard aquaponics
Rik Kretzinger grew up on a Christmas tree farm and spent his college years studying horticulture, but he found it too difficult to make a living as a small farmer so he spent most of his career working for others. A few years ago, he began to tinker with aquaponics (fishfarming + hydroponics), sensors and the open-source microcontroller Arduino to create an automated garden that could compete with commercial farms. For the first couple of years he spent thousands of hours struggling to learn programming languages to automate his backyard mini-farm. Then while speaking at an international conference (along with Eric Maundu and Rob Torcellini, he's among the elite few experimenting with aquaponics and automation) he was introduced to APDuino(open-source firmware for aqua- and hydro-ponics). APDuino allows Kretzinger to read the sensors in his garden without any programming. Now Kretzinger's garden can send him tweets or Facebook updates if something is going wrong and Kretzinger can adjust the water flow, pH and temperature from a smartphone. Now, what started as a hobby may provide Kretzinger with the boost to compete as a small farmer. His plan is to keep it urban (or suburban). He'll use unused backyards or vacant lots to grow his produce and he's created a prototype tower (PVC structures similar to those in our videos of Rob Torcellini's greenhouse and of rooftop hydroponics on Manhattan restaurant Bell, Book & Candle). His towers can be removed and taken to farmer's markets where customers can "pick" their strawberries or lettuce directly from the units. His set-up is also highly mobile so if a property owner decides he wants his land back, Kretzinger can move within a week. Rik Kretzinger's blog: http://rik94566.wordpress.com/category/agponics-com/ Original story: http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/internet-farming-arduino-based-backyard-aquaponics/
Comments
-
Systems like this is the future
-
This is the same kinda stuff I wanna do. Fully-automated, self-regulating, closed-loop aquaponics. That's where it's at.
-
I will have, I am going to, There will be, that's gonna be, I am gonna be doin..... All good concepts, but i dont see anything more than a over-engineered home aquaponics system.
-
Kirsten, please revisit this guy ... this whole system is brilliant and those towers in particular are just pretty in terms of design quality. Rik has so much forward momentum in his explanations and I'd love to see his progress and what else he's come up with in the last 3-4 years.
-
Where did u purchased the big pvc tubes and what size are they .thanks
-
could those fish grow up in such small container?
-
Hi! Nice video. Have you written any paper about all this system? If not, could you recomend any paper/book on how to start with this kind of complexity? I know the basics in aquaponics.
Thank you. -
how can water come from the bottom??? it will get half way up and pushout all the plants and gush water everywhere lol
-
I wonder why his "is garden" is so poor : no flowers, no thick bushes, nothing my eyes could be caught if I'd pass in front of his house. I hope things got better after the video.
But I had a grand father who loved building things... but couldn't feel the use of a cosy, good looking house. A very pratctical guy, but certainly not a poet.
This man's house looks like a laboratory. -
look @ leaf grow box
-
it nice but i think your putting to much technology into it.
-
awesome,well done ,please tell me name of instrument or sensor,module used by you other than arduino
-
so what is your yearly cost to run this verses the value of produce grown?
-
How ingenious can one man be ?
I am amazed by this level of skill and knowledge.
Aquaponics as a method of production has amazing potential for producing good quality food while drasticly reducing environmental impact. This is very positive. -
Genius .... Now you can have a Farm and still have a Life ! ....Take a trip with less worry ..... Impressed
-
face at 1:57
-
How does the fish water stay so clear after going through that system?
-
Very cool!....Love his energy and passion for this....its evident!.......to scaling up then!
-
What about the water shortage in Cali? Are they not controling the water very tightly?
-
your the man
18m 27sLenght
8430Rating