Garden pool .org

What a great site . Paul what do you think about what these folks are doing? Might make for a great podcast?

http://gardenpool.org/

Really nice setup That they have going for them. I might try something like that under the back porch.

Im so jealous I dont have an old pool layin around!! Eggs, fish, and produce all in that tiny space?!

That guy has probably my favorite urban setup. He bought that house out of foreclosure for pennies on the dollar because, among other things, the pool was broken and would need $$$$$ to restore.

I am pulling some of his ideas for my aquaponics setup

I think they are misleading a lot of people. Don't get me wrong I love Aquaponics. I have a 2500 gallon set up in my back yard. However when I hear this guy claim that he & his family are self-sustained off of this greenhouse, I have to say BS. I watched all the videos on YouTube that he had listed. Most of them are media- based segments in which news crews do a 60 second segment( like a commercial). He does not give any viable information on his system & alot of what he does say is incorrect.
Yes, he does have an Aquaponic system and yes, he has a lot of vegetation. However I haven't seen any produce to support his claim. Vegetation does not equal Vegetables. Seems to me the chickens are not the only thing Fowl! this thing smells kinda like a "Pondsy" scheme with Bernie Madoff at the helm. I like that he is teaching his kids to garden. I just believe he is misleading the viewers that its producing what he claims.
I'm sure I will ruffle some feathers but I have to call it as I see it.

Howdy Jon, welcome to permies. Can you tell me more about your setup? Pictures please. Is it in a pool too?

http://www.youtube.com/user/excinarater#p/u


Listed above is the link to my channel. Let me know if you have problems viewing. I'm not trying to say my system is better, I just think it is important not to mislead newcomers to aquaponic gardening. I see alot of misleading sites out there.
Its important to educate yourself before you embark on the journey. I studied for 3 yrs. before I built my first system & made alot of mistakes. I'm happy to answer any questions & be helpful in any way I can.
After 2 yrs of my system being up & running I still cannot self-sustain my family from my plants. Although we thoroughly enjoy what it does produce. We have about 250 Tilapia that are just now maturing to be eaten.

I just came across this discussion on Google. I thought I'd stop by to say hi and address this guy and his personal accusations.

Jon Tomlinson wrote:I think they are misleading a lot of people. Don't get me wrong I love Aquaponics. I have a 2500 gallon set up in my back yard. However when I hear this guy claim that he & his family are self-sustained off of this greenhouse, I have to say BS.

We have a 5000 gallon setup that is much larger than the youtube videos that are a few years old. My family has also grown. When we recieved most of the media attention, my kids were only 2 and 4. We are now a family of 5. We probably have 800 lbs of tilapia, 8 hens, and 2 dairy goats, fruit trees, and of course the aquaponics. We were even voted the best backyard farm in Phoenix. We don't claim to be self-sufficient, but our setup is. What we mean is that we raise the food for the fish and the hens in the system itself. We are still working on feeding the goats completely. We are a non-profit organization with over 600 local members.

Jon Tomlinson wrote:I watched all the videos on YouTube that he had listed. Most of them are media- based segments in which news crews do a 60 second segment( like a commercial). He does not give any viable information on his system & alot of what he does say is incorrect.

We do not post many videos on youtube and most of what we posted were back in 2010. I'd love to know what was said that was incorrect so I can see if it was wrong.

Jon Tomlinson wrote:Yes, he does have an Aquaponic system and yes, he has a lot of vegetation. However I haven't seen any produce to support his claim. Vegetation does not equal Vegetables. Seems to me the chickens are not the only thing Fowl! this thing smells kinda like a "Pondsy" scheme with Bernie Madoff at the helm.

Everything that we produce is edible. Here is what real people in our community say about us after seeing what we do in person: http://www.meetup.com/GardenPool-org/about/comments/?op=all I don't know why you have a personal problem with me, but I would be happy to talk them out with you. I am sure you have a great aquaponics setup.

Jon Tomlinson wrote:I like that he is teaching his kids to garden. I just believe he is misleading the viewers that its producing what he claims.
I'm sure I will ruffle some feathers but I have to call it as I see it.

I am sure you call it like you see it, but i think you are completely wrong and misleading in your views on Garden Pool. I ask folks to judge for yourself: http://www.meetup.com/GardenPool-org/ http://gardenpool.org/

Howdy Dennis, Welcome to permies. I started this thread after I saw your stuff on youtube. I think you are doing great stuff! I learned a lot from what you are doing.

Hi Miles. Thanks for the welcome and kudos. We appreciate it