Thoughts From The SSL Family Dad Whats This Place All About

New subscriber? Been around for awhile? What is this channel all about and why do we do what we do? These are a few of the questions that I hope to answer in this video.


A few years ago my wife and I decided to move into this small subdivision in small town America. Having both come from country roots it was a bit of a compromise for us to be in a community type setting. As we settled in those country roots began to take hold of our small suburban homestead.


We started thinking more about what we ate, how we got our food, how to save money and live a more simple life. We decided to have the SSLFamilyMom at home full time working on raising and caring for our family of five. Many decisions began being made that slowly turned this city lot into a small backyard farm.

During this transition we needed lots of information, repairs, cooking, gardening, aquaponics, chickens, and anything else you can think of. We started reading blogs, researching we articles and how-tos, and watching a whole lot of others on YouTube. We learned so much and used so many ideas of others. It was time for us to start giving back, it was time for us to share our lifestyle and our ideas with others. This was the beginning of the sslfamily blog and YouTube channels.


We are a family of five, often going in many different directions at once. Cooking, knitting, auto repairs, wildlife, hiking, aquaponics, chickens, DIY projects, home improvement, recipes, bible crafts, science experiments, inventions, sustainable projects, computer repair, and the list goes on and on. We decided on three YouTube channels to spotlight the kids, my wife, and my own projects individually and one blog to tie it all together.


We have been blown away over the past year at the response we have gotten, the lives that have been touched and the stories and projects that have been shared back with us. Our family has been truly blessed over the last year and much of it in part to those of you watching or reading this now.


So if you are a new subscriber what can you expect here? Well, just about anything! I try to release at least 1-2 videos per week on relevant topics ranging from home and auto repairs to gardening and sustainable living projects. Product reviews come around from time to time if I have a product that I feel would be good for that kind of thing. I always review honestly and never with a product that I have not used. I focus on aquaponics videos throughout much of the winter and to the outdoor garden in the summer. I also release computer repair and technology tutorials whenever they present themselves around the home as this is my profession. I always provide an honest outcome if I am trying something new and share the experiences I have had and what has worked for me or share what I have learned from others. Oh, and you may see a few bible verses shared on my channel, this is something that is important to us and our faith in Jesus is interwoven into everything we do here on our little homestead.


What not to expect? One thing you will not see here is us asking for money from you. We are not here to profit from you or ask for donations of any kind. It is always a turn off for me when I watch a YouTube channel or subscribe to someones blog to see them asking for money and that is not something I am interested in doing here. We also do not do unboxing videos. I will go ahead and open my own boxes off camera! I have not done anything in the way of Vlogging and do not really plan to do anything under this title (I hate the word myself). I may however, offer an opinion on a video or article if I feel it is relevant or feel the need to share with you.


What is coming up next? This is a long-winded answer so I will get to the point. I have so many things that I want to do that I will never be able to catch up. I may post an interactive list at some point for you all to be able to add things to as well but for now I have the following in the immediate works:


Improve the wood burning pool heater and the garage heater
Chicken coop watering system redesign
Fish "Pondaponics"
Indoor aquaponics redesign
Rain collection system
Automatic garden irrigation
Tire rotation
Cast iron seasoning
Chicken coop scraps feeding door and trough
Wireless network tips and tricks
Shop computer
and the list goes on............


How can you support us? This is a simple answer, do what you are already doing. The best way to support the SSL Family is to follow along with us and share your stories, your pictures and your feedback with us.  We couldnt do this without you!


Thank you for following along, have a good one!

The SSL Family Dad

 

 

 

 

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Solar Power and Net Zero

Rainbow over the winner of the 2011 Solar Decathlon

An awesome thing about living in DC is access to events. This fall the Department of Energy held a Solar Decathlon, showcasing almost 20 homes that incorporated solar energy with various energy-saving designs to achieve "net zero" energy use.

Unfortunately, these were houses where folks would live, not greenhouses. But many of the ideas still apply. Some of my favorite ideas out of this conference:

• Grey water collection and treatment (the winning home used this in a water feature, eventually resulting in water clean enough to water their garden).
• Vaccuum tube solar water heaters (the winning home used this in a vertical wall that was absolutely gorgeous)
• Passive heating or cooling

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Presently there is this growing trend of eating only organic food

Presently there is this growing trend of eating only organic food. Yet, not all of the merchandise claiming to be organic are always this way. In addition, it is possible to spend much more on goods claiming to be organic and get lower high quality than the standard vegetables grown with pesticides. The only way you can be sure that the meals youre consuming is 100% organic would be to commence growing it oneself. Now it really is extremely effortless with aquaponics.This new kind of farming is really easy to place in practice, extremely practical and lucrative. There are quite couple of factors you may need in an effort to set it up, issues that are also very cost-effective, so you may not must invest a fortune on pricey equipment. As well as that, it is so easy to mount and start the aquaponic farm which you will need only couple of minutes to know the principles and an additional few to place them in practice. In a matter of days you may location your aquaponic method and start developing your fish. Their role is the fact that of making the bio-nutrients for the plants. When there are sufficient nourishing substances inside the water, youll be able to propagate the seeds then wait for them to grow. Meanwhile you will have to take good care in the fish, to ensure that they continue to make food for the plants. The excellent this can be that you wont have to clean the water for the fish yourself, as that is what the plants will do with their roots. Hence, it will be simpler not merely to develop plants, nevertheless it may also be less difficult to grow fish this way than should you have been setting only an aquaculture.

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15 How Much does this Cost Under 1000

Heres a run down of the amount I paid for this system, with suggestions on how you can reduce costs even further.

Tanks - $440 - I was able to get the Rubbermaid stock tanks at a local farming coop for $70 and $80 for the 50-gallon and 100-gallon tanks, respectively. I think youd need 3 IBC units to make something similar out of IBC, so that wouldnt save much cost. However I understand that its possible to get 55-gallon barrels for free from local beverage processing plants. The downside of 55-gallon barrels is youll have to spend more on plumbing, youll have a lot more cutting to do, and the end result will look like hack-sawed plastic. But free is free.

Hoop house - $100 - If you use pressure-treated landscape lumber for the base, 3 mil sheeting, and 1/2" EMT conduit, the total price rolls in at around $100. You could slightly reduce costs for the frame by using PVC. Or you can decide you dont need protection at all, if youre in a climate that doesnt require protection from excess sun, rain, or cold.

Pumps and timer - $110 - I was able to find my 800 gph pump at a local hydroponics store for $60, and you can get an air pump sufficient to aerate 100 gallons for $30. Tubing and air stones round the total amount upwards to $100. One option is to dispense with the air pump, if you pump some of your water over the surface of the fish tank, oxygenating the water the way a pond fountain does. There are ways to use wind power to drive something like a rope pump, but I dont think that is cheaper than an electric pump (though awfully fun to make). I do use a timer to turn my water pumps off at night, which is another $5-10.

Plumbing - $100 - I used 3" pipe for media guards (4 feet), 2" pipe for bells (4 feet), 1" pipe to connect the tanks (10 feet), and lots of 3/4" pipe for upstands and drains (10 feet). Add in the elbows and adapters, caps, and o-rings and youre up around $40. I used garden hose that is drinking water safe to carry water from my sump tank to the grow beds, so two 50 foot lengths, adapters, and Y splitters ran me $60. You could reduce cost by having a simple standpipe and using a timer to turn the water on intermittently, though your water pump capacity may need to increase. As for plumbing between the sump and the beds, you could plumb that with PVC pipe and elbows. If you find a cheaper way to do it, after tallying all the costs, go for it.

Grow bed supports - $60 - I used cinder blocks (16 @ $2.50) and 2x6 planks (4 @ $5) to support the grow beds. If you are able to dig your tanks down into the ground, you can cut back on the number of cinder blocks required. If you can find such materials second hand, thatd be great.

Floating Raft - $40 - I was able to get a 2x8 sheet of 2" extruded polystyrene for $15, and the 2" net pots cost $0.39 apiece. I suppose you could come up with some kind of wood float supported on empty water bottles and used (drilled) plastic containers.

Media - $ to $$$ - If youve got a pile of 3/4 gravel out back, this could be free. If you fill all four grow beds with Hydroton (@ $40 per 50L bag), you could be spending about $600.

So the basic system as Ive got it here (including a floating raft bed) is $850. I love Hydroton, but I know of a friend who got an entire truckbed full (1250L) of expanded shale for under $60. So you can create an extended-season, vegetable-growing, fish growing water storage system for under $1000.

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