Would love to see something like this in Jacksonville. I know there's bits & pieces of it here & there, but I don't know of anything like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyRMvXZIKaw
QuoteAnd Making a Difference! Epic story of about 20 families that uprooted from suburbia and made their homes for good in one of the most blighted neighborhoods in the U.S. Lykins Neighborhood 64127 Inner City KCMO. And the game is changing! Together as Lykins Neighborhood we believe there is hope. Crime is dropping! 21% over the last 2 years and the adventure continues. Follow the story at TheUrbanFarmingGuys.com Featuring Aquaponics, Neighborhood Transformation, Permaculture, Urban Farming and lots of fun taking back the neighborhood.
Love this.. looks like a great prototype for Springfield to follow..
Another good article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/business/smallbusiness/19sbiz.html?_r=2&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y
How about Kayakin in the Hood? Gaffney, Where are you man?
Quote from: mbstout on September 03, 2011, 04:03:20 PM
Love this.. looks like a great prototype for Springfield to follow..
Another good article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/business/smallbusiness/19sbiz.html?_r=2&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y
Yeah, I think Springfield would be perfect for bigger projects such as this. They're already sorta on their way.
I'd like to see a lot of the abandoned lots being utilized for growing, greenhouses, fish farming, etc, with each member of the neighborhood able to buy into it as a local food co-op.
P.S. That NY Times link didn't work for me, but this one did: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/business/smallbusiness/19sbiz.html?pagewanted=all
Quote from: peestandingup on September 03, 2011, 05:36:16 PM
Yeah, I think Springfield would be perfect for bigger projects such as this. They're already sorta on their way.
I'd like to see a lot of the abandoned lots being utilized for growing, greenhouses, fish farming, etc, with each member of the neighborhood able to buy into it as a local food co-op.
Fish farming. Tilapia grow well here. Urban fish farming can now produce 100 pounds or more of fish per year.
http://www.npr.org/2011/07/03/137588931/urban-fish-farming-wave-of-the-future (http://www.npr.org/2011/07/03/137588931/urban-fish-farming-wave-of-the-future)
stay tuned - Sustainable Springfield has several initiatives going in this direction!
Quote from: Sigma on September 03, 2011, 07:03:30 PM
stay tuned - Sustainable Springfield has several initiatives going in this direction!
Sigma,
I think that is great stuff and would you please let me know if there is a meeting on this or is there somebody in this city that is doing it now. I'm serious. I'd like to learn and help. Thank you.
Urban farming is easy...all you have to do is change how you see our surroundings...instead of palms and st. aug grass...put in corn and thyme...look at vegetables as beautiful plants that can be and instead of a yard that's always the same...a veggie yard changes about 3 to 4 times a year. I just pulled out the summer stuff and starting with all new corn,pumpkin,tomatoes,cucumbers,peas and onion. Given the amount of unused city land there really is no excuse the city can come up with..well..i'm sure they can and will but gorilla gardeing is a start. thanks steve for the lead. I've been pitching seeds since. Anyone trade seeds?
Quote from: Noone on September 04, 2011, 06:32:43 AM
Quote from: Sigma on September 03, 2011, 07:03:30 PM
stay tuned - Sustainable Springfield has several initiatives going in this direction!
Sigma,
I think that is great stuff and would you please let me know if there is a meeting on this or is there somebody in this city that is doing it now. I'm serious. I'd like to learn and help. Thank you.
Noone - try to get involved with SS - all the board members work full-time jobs and are limited by time and of course, resources. Whether helping with planning and logistics of future projects or helping in some other way, I'm sure you would be welcome. Amanda Searle is the go-to.
She's also a driving force with getting Jacksonville to change the ordinance against backyard farming and community gardens. This MUST be changed before something of this magnitude will take place in Jacksonville - or else, well, you know.
What are some of the liimitations?
Legislation! I just love it.
Redman- Do Something-How would you like to fish off a pier today? 2010-604
Gaffney- Where are you man? Waterways 2 1/2 hour FIND subcomittee meeting. Huge announcements. Springfield-SOL
Is there an active talapia tank going right now anywhere?
Quotebut gorilla gardeing is a start. thanks steve for the lead. I've been pitching seeds since. Anyone trade seeds?
I didn't know you could grow primates from seeds!
SS is looking at ways we can get the aqua farming started - cool huh! it will tie in well with the urban farm.
Noone is right - the COJ must change the ordinance so that its all legal.
I saw some pictures a couple of years ago where the New York City Parks Department had put simple liners in some construction dumpsters to turn them into temporary swimming pools for the summer. Something like that might work out for Talapia ponds as well.
What do Talapia eat anyway?
Quote from: Garden guy on September 04, 2011, 08:13:53 AM
Given the amount of unused city land there really is no excuse the city can come up with..well..i'm sure they can and will but gorilla gardeing is a start.
I agree. What did that MetJax article say a while back? Something crazy like around 50% of the core is surface/empty lots & un-utilized spaces?? :-[ That's pretty crazy, but I'm sure the city will think of some lame excuse not to let this happen just like they do with everything else.
It seems for urban farming to take off in modern America, the city either has to A: Be super progressive or B: Be a complete bombed-out shell of its former self (like Detroit) where they just don't give a damn what people do with empty lots. It doesn't seem like there's anything in between those two. That needs to change.
Quote from: Dog Walker on September 04, 2011, 03:30:23 PM
What do Talapia eat anyway?
Tilapia are vegetarian. Farmed tilapia are fed fish pellets made mainly of corn and soy. A lot of other farmed species, such as salmon, are carnivores, so have to be fed ground-up fish (not good for the environment, and more expensive).
Quote from: peestandingup on September 04, 2011, 04:43:13 PM
Quote from: Garden guy on September 04, 2011, 08:13:53 AM
Given the amount of unused city land there really is no excuse the city can come up with..well..i'm sure they can and will but gorilla gardeing is a start.
I agree. What did that MetJax article say a while back? Something crazy like around 50% of the core is surface/empty lots & un-utilized spaces?? :-[ That's pretty crazy, but I'm sure the city will think of some lame excuse not to let this happen just like they do with everything else.
It seems for urban farming to take off in modern America, the city either has to A: Be super progressive or B: Be a complete bombed-out shell of its former self (like Detroit) where they just don't give a damn what people do with empty lots. It doesn't seem like there's anything in between those two. That needs to change.
I'd pay for a lot to grow on in the city..maybe something like you'd pay a gardening fee to the city and it allows you to a certain sq ft of growing space in allotted areas...you'd get the space for lets say 2 years...i'm sure there are some restaurants that would love to have their produce so close.
Quote from: Sigma on September 04, 2011, 01:51:35 PM
SS is looking at ways we can get the aqua farming started - cool huh! it will tie in well with the urban farm.
Noone is right - the COJ must change the ordinance so that its all legal.
So it is currently legal for me to have a Koi pond, but not a Tilapia pond?
Quote from: dougskiles on September 04, 2011, 06:16:03 PM
Quote from: Sigma on September 04, 2011, 01:51:35 PM
SS is looking at ways we can get the aqua farming started - cool huh! it will tie in well with the urban farm.
Noone is right - the COJ must change the ordinance so that its all legal.
So it is currently legal for me to have a Koi pond, but not a Tilapia pond?
Doug - I believe (though not sure - so I would defer the fo-sho correct answer from Amanda) - that Tilapia farming falls under the same ordinance banning community gardening and backyard farming.
There is some interesting and ridiculous "rules" in Jax - try putting up a shed or storage building on a empty lot in Springfield without a residential house on the property - not allowed.
I'm sure if you intended to use your Koi for some purpose - God forbid it be food or something horrendous, then you would be cited. But as long as they are "pets" then perfectly fine.
So as long as I name my Tilapia, it's ok... Or perhaps as long as I provide fresh fish to my neighbors and they don't call code enforcement, I am ok.
Strange rules indeed.
;D ;D ;D ;D I think you are right!
If there's no limit on how many Tilapia you can have as "pets", then I say exploit the hell out of that.
I'm all for the rules & stuff like that, but not for following stupid unjust laws. Especially ones that look out for corporate interests & not for individuals. And this kind of stuff reeks of that.
The ordinanaces for aquafarming are part of a greater effort to chagne the ordinances for urbna farming. The aquafarming isn't written in but if they are going to be grown and sold, that needs to be written in. We are having an urban ag forum Oct 6 at the JEA conference center, 6-730 pm
Several City Council people are showing interest. The planning dept is supportive. need council support and I agre, Gaffeny where are you???? He's been asked to sit down and discuss btw
also, like the video showed, tilapia can live off of duckweed, which grows voacriously and is nutritiuos for them (and hens). no feed required
Quote from: avs on September 05, 2011, 03:48:13 PM
also, like the video showed, tilapia can live off of duckweed, which grows voacriously and is nutritiuos for them (and hens). no feed required
Duck weed could be a renewable resource of great magnitude...it grows like mad..it's also great in a compost bin...my chickens love it..rabbits love it..hmmm..i wonder what a duck weed fed rabbit tastes like?...hossenfeffer anyone?
Anybody got a backhoe? I'm ready to dig a pond in my backyard.
Quote from: dougskiles on September 05, 2011, 05:40:30 PM
Anybody got a backhoe? I'm ready to dig a pond in my backyard.
When do you need it?
Quote from: avs on September 05, 2011, 11:01:06 AM
The ordinanaces for aquafarming are part of a greater effort to chagne the ordinances for urbna farming. The aquafarming isn't written in but if they are going to be grown and sold, that needs to be written in. We are having an urban ag forum Oct 6 at the JEA conference center, 6-730 pm
Several City Council people are showing interest. The planning dept is supportive. need council support and I agre, Gaffeny where are you???? He's been asked to sit down and discuss btw
worth repeating
Amanda, thank you for all of your hard work in this area. I have over 100 heirloom tomato plants in an empty lot and hope they are not gone when I get back from vacation...
We are going to have an Urban Agriculture Forum on October 6 from 6-7:30 at the JEA Conference Center 970 N Main Street
We will be discussing what Urbna Ag is, what the issues are, and what we need to do to get the city to be more tolerant and provide positive structure for this growing trend
I have wanted to set up an Aquaculture farm for sooo long now. The tropical fish farms I visited in Polk County usually have ponds at least 8 feet deep for winter and summer "Hunkering". When you introduce tanks into the scene you have a cooling problem in our 97ish summers (no direct sunlight obviously. And they have to be kept at least down to 85-90 degrees ..or cooked.
It's all about water quality. If you can line that pond and filter it you might do well in a Springfield back yard.
Yes..the Tilapia is a Chicilid. A South American fish too aggressive to be an ornamental fish and very territorial which could be a problem in a 5 foot wide tank with 25 fish in it.
When I broke a wrist working on the Epcot Laser show I was allowed to work at "The Land"Aquaculture exhibit. they grew up tiger prawns in weeks,Freshwater Eels (Say Unagi?)
The catfish swimming pool required 80 pounds of pellets a day and they were consumed before they ever hit the bottom...awesome!
We had wild (or released by accident) Tilapia in the canal behind us and we watched Mama Tilapia clear a 6' wide nest on the bottom and chase everything away...Yes..even coming onto the bank a few times.
I was told the pellet fed Tilapia has a natural buttery flavor as opposed to the vegan ones.
I'm looking forward to the "Bi-Monthly Springfield Tilapia Fry/Poach/Bake" ;)
Great!!!