Ducks are very messy. But totally worth it for year round egg laying. And we are now selling at the farmers market with a co-op of 16 other farmers, so we want to grow the ducks own food.

Well, a few bold enterprising farmers have decided to use their talents to use the dirty duck water to grow vegetables. So I decided to build a Duckponix system. Essentially, aquaponics without the fish.

This involves creating growbeds for vegetables, ordering a pump, cutting a swirl tank, and digging a pond.

This requires getting the blue 55 gallon barrels, which cost $15 each. I got 4 barrels.  We cut a hole in the side of one container for the swirl filter. The swirl filter takes the dirty water, and allows for the solids to settle out, which can be drained out the bottom and used for compost.

The remaining three barrels were cut in half to create grow beds, creating 21 square feet of space. We are hopefully starting with spinach and lettuce. With the barrels cut and cleaned, it is time to dig a pond. I chose a 10′ x 8′ kidney shaped pond. Since I have mono, and a shovel, it will be slow process. But it will only be about 2 feet deep. So many parts and pieces still need to get done! Installing plumbing components for the grow beds, testing plumbing, filling the pond, getting a good speed on the swirl filter, etc.