This should be a fun area for all members!! Who doent like DIY's? Ha ha ha! I've seen so many great ideas on homemade incubators, candlers, brooders, and hatcheries, I know some of you have some great ideas so build, take some photo's, write an article and share your idea with us!

We can also cover in detail how to incubate eggs, keeping them warm, picking the right chickens for your needs, building feeders and waterers, things to watch for in sick chicks, and even training them.

This area Covers: DIY Incubators, DIY egg Candlers, DIY Brooders, DIY Hatcheries, Mail order, Incubating eggs, Picking your chicks, Sexing, Training, Caging, Heating, Feeding, Watering, Care, What to watch for, and Getting ready to join the flock.

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

This should be a very informative area on chicken breeds and there care info. Like some of you know already, there are pros and cons to all breeds of chickens, and some people's cons can be other people's pros. Here at Home Farm Ideas we get asked questions on a constant basis in regard to what are the best layers, the best for butchering, and the best breeds for climate. If it gets cold in your area you wouldn't want to buy a chicken in spring that will end up dead in your cold winter climates. Of course you would need to know specifics on the breed you choose so that you can supply all of its needs for year round care.

You can also buy your chickens based on which ones are best for a specific color of egg shell you want, and which ones lay the biggest eggs:)

Obviously we don't know the answer to all of these and that is why we rely completely on you guys for information on all breeds of chickens! So let's fill up this database so that others will benefit from your wisdom!

This area Covers: Layers, Broilers, Banty's, Decorator, Breed by Egg Colors, Breeds by Size of eggs, Breeds by Climate, Breed Pros & Cons.

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

As many of you know a coop is a must no matter how many chickens you have to keep them safe from predators and the weather. It also gives them a comfortable place to lay eggs:) Coops can be small to house two or more chickens or big to house many chickens. In this area will be covering how to build your own coops, chicken tractors, nest boxes, roost, and anything else you would like to share to improve your coops!

We will also be covering subjects such as coop and run cleaning, deep litter method, how to keep past and predators out of the coop, ventilation, heating, lighting, weather proofing, and decorating:)

This area Covers: DIY Coops, DIY Chicken Tractors, DIY Nest boxes, How big or small, What everyone wished they did, Enclosed or Free Range, Litter methods, Heating, Ventilation, Bugs, Keeping Pests Out, Coop & Run cleaning.

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

It's a fact that a healthy chicken gives you more eggs! Well, not everyone knows how to keep there chickens healthy, and sadly I have seen one chicken get sick and that sickness ends up killing all your chickens in a very short amount of time so it is so important to know how to keep them stress free, parasite free, and disease free.

There are other things that can make your chickens feel stressed and that is predators! I had skunks coming around and I had to make sure they could not even come around my coop because just them being around stressed my chickens so bad they stopped laying eggs. Be sure to post all your ideas on how to keep your chickens stress free and healthy:)

This area Covers: First Aid kit, Wing clipping, Dust bath, Using Diatomaceous Earth "DE", Organic Pest Control, Medications, Antibiotics, Bumble foot, Enlarged crop, Bloody toes, Beak repair, Egg Production Issues, Lice & Mites, and Overall Hygiene.

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

There are lots of cool feeders and waterers out there for your chickens but I also know that they can be costly. I use these chicken water nipples to water my chickens and they work great! In this area we will be able to post our DIY feeders and waterers. We will also be able to share what types of chicken feeds we use and make ourselves for our chickens:) I feed my girls an organic feed and bugs that I raise and catch for them.

I also breed mealworms to feed my chickens as a snacks and I always find beetle grubs in my garden beds. When I turn my soil once a year I pick out all the beetles and put them in a container with soil in it and feed them all my veggie scraps to get them nice and fat. When spring comes they are ready to be fed to my chickens!

This area Covers: DIY Feeders, DIY Waterers, Types of feed, Grits, Calcium Types, Bugs as feed (Mealworms/Black soldier flies/Beetle grubs etc.), Kitchen scraps, Treats, Water types, Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV), Electrolytes.

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

Here is where we will get the ideas flowing for some do-it-yourself systems! I have seen so many great aquaponic systems over the years but I would like to start building a library of different kinds of systems for people to build right from home. Of course there's always options to buy but this area will cover DIY systems and parts needed for them. Right now I have a little system that I've been doing testing on to figure out the fish to plant ratio. I know there are lots of you out there that are doing this much more professionally than I could do so please share all the wisdom you have with all our members:)

Some of the systems I've seen can be pretty interesting. One of those is a system that uses floating styrofoam rafts with holes punched in them to place plants. That is more like a deep water method. Another system is called a nutrient film technique. This method to me is more like a hydroponic system because it pumps the fish water into pipe systems with a constant flow of water over roots of plants. That takes all the fish waste right into the root systems:) Another method is filling waterproof beds with media and pumping the nutrient rich water from your fish tank into the grow beds. From there a bell syphon will allow the water to drain out of the grow beds and back into the fish tank. Let's get this area going!!

This area Covers: DIY systems, System Types, System Pros & Cons, Indoor Systems, Arduino Aquaponics (Microcontrollers), Solar Aquaponics, DIY Bell Siphon, DIY Lighting.

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

In order for fish to grow you have to feed them. Shocker, right? Ha ha ha! Now what you feed them does matter because you are what your fish eat;) If you feed them bad then you will be reap bad, but if you feed them good food then you will reap good:) In this area we will be looking into commercial foods, growing fresh foods, and raising live foods for our fish. So, start posting all the articles you can on what your doing to feed your fish both the cheap and healthy way:)

I have seen lots of great feed ideas over the years and I know some of you have tested lots of them. Ideas like growing duckweed in everything that can hold water in your backyard. You can also make your own dry flake and pellet feed! Another cool way is to raise bugs of all kinds like Black Soldier Flies (BSF). You can feed them veggie scraps from your aquaponic systems to raise BSF. Another good way to feed your fish fresh live foods is to raise mealworms! They are easy to raise and you will be harvesting them almost all the time once you have the mealworm farm well established.

This area Covers: Duckweed, DIY Flake, Pellet, Black Soldier Flies (BSF), Mealworms.

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

In an aquaponic system fish are so important. You get all the nutrients from the fish waste that is broken down by bacteria that allows the plants to take it up and grow like crazy:) You need to get the right fish for there climate. If you live in a cooler climate year round you may want to keep Rainbow Trout because they like cooler waters but they also like moving waters. In warmer climates Tilapia do great, grow fast, and taste awesome:)

Whatever fish you choose you need to look up there natural climate. Otherwise you will have dead fish very fast! As I already said Trout are great for year round colder climates and they grow fast so they are ready to eat faster. Tilapia on the other hand grow fast as well but they need warm waters. The one benefit that is great about these fish that I like is that they are easy to breed. When you can breed the fish you grow you will always have a food supply! You can also grow fish just for there waste like Goldfish or smaller fish like guppies to feed your garden plants.

This area Covers: Tilapia, Trout, Catfish, Barramundi, Silver perch, Blue Gill, Sunfish, Crappie, Pacu, Large mouth Bass, (Ornamental Fish) Guppies, Angelfish, Tetras, Mollies, Swordfish.

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

Fish are obviously going to be a huge part of an aquaponic system so it is imperative that you keep them healthy. Part of that is being able to identify diseases and sicknesses and be able to cure them quickly. I remember when I was a young boy I was really excited to get a fish tank, and before I got my fish tank I had read up on all the different diseases and how to cure them. But as I learned there are things that I could've done to prevent diseases and sicknesses through having the proper bacteria growing in the water, rocks, and the filtration system. Well, time was a good teacher and unfortunately some fish at the lose their lives in the process of me learning.

In fish tanks if you do not have the proper water quality, temperature, and the right salinity for certain types of fish you will always have sickness in your fish tanks. For instance, if you raise tilapia in colder waters they will very likely developed Ick due to stress because they are more of a tropical water fish. Once one fish gets it, it spreads very quickly! It can kill all of your fish due to the disease and an ammonia spike due to the dead bodies. So what's the best way to prevent diseases in your fish? Make sure you are matching the water quality that your fish would have in nature and they will be less likely to develop diseases. If your fish do develop diseases you can always get fish medicines and other things that help to relieve stress your fish:)

This area Covers: ------

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

I love this area because it is really important to know how to breed your fish, not to mention the breeding process is really fun to observe:) If you want an aquaponic system that is truly sustainable, you have to know how to not only save seeds from your plants, but you also have to know how to breed your fish so that your system is truly renewable! Tilapia are one of the easiest fish to breed in captivity but people have developed ways to get all sorts of fish to breed in captivity and that is what this area is for.

As a kid I raised two Oscar fish till they were about a foot and a half long each, and fortunately for me they happened to be a male and female. I noticed over time that they were doing different stuff in the tank then they normally do so I read up on them and learned that they were exhibiting signs of breeding. If you signs that I was noticing were they would twitch when they got close to one another, they also started locking there jaws together as if they were kissing one another, and they started cleaning areas of the tank and begin to chase off other fish. After a week or so of that happening they selected a site to lay their eggs and begin to make passes over a rock one after the other with the female depositing her eggs and the male fertilize the eggs. Now if I would've left the eggs in the tank with the fish they may have eaten them. There are ways to incubate fish eggs and build hatcheries. This area will also cover all aspects of breeding fish so post all you know:)

This area Covers: ------

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

Now that your fish are nice and grown you are obviously going to want to start thinking about processing them. Depending on the number of fish you have raised you're going to also want to look into how to pack them up. As some of you know there's going to be nothing like fresh fish so you can either process them all at once, or you can pull them out as needed, it really just depends on your climate and the type of fish you are raising in that season. A lot of people raise tilapia during the spring and summer and then process all of them! Tilapia also grow at a really good rate so you will need to be ready to process all of them by the end of summer. Once you're done processing your tilapia you can replant some fish that do well over fall and winter and process them at the end of those seasons as well.

In this area we are going to cover all the details involved in processing the fish. I know some of you more experienced aquaponic farmers are used to not only processing the fish, but ways to preserve the fish. Not everyone freezes the fish, they also smoke it to give it a nice flavor but also to help them keep the fish fresh longer. We can also talk about the tools needed, ways to catch the fish easily for processing, and replanting new fish. So if you have experience in these areas please don't be shy, post what you know so that other members can benefit from your knowledge:)

This area Covers: Gathering Fish, Handling Live Fish, Safety, Cleaning Fish, Scaling Fish, DeBoning Fish, Filleting Fish, Preserving Fish, Managing Waste, Guts into Gold!,

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

In this area we will discuss canning techniques and recipes. Please share your processing tips for delectable jams and jellies. Are they better as freezer jams or canned preserves? How do you enjoy your Summer bounty in the cold of Winter by "putting it up". Do you have tips for comparing water bath canning to pressure canning? Members would love read about your experiences with canning soups, stews, meats, mustards and anything else that can fit in a jar. Product reviews are welcome; for example, pros and cons of various canning jars/lids and the best canning pressure cooker around. Also, It would be delightful to see how you decorate your canned goods for gift-giving.

I've always handmade a "little something' for my colleagues at Christmas. My first project was to make wine jelly, displayed in a wine glass and sealed with frothy wax to simulate whipped cream. I had no idea what I was doing. It was a warm day, so I opened all of the doors and windows to my tiny apartment while creating my insane concoction. To my horror, simmering honey in the recipe summoned a swarm of bees which quickly consumed my apartment. I've come a long way since then. After trial and error, I now produce my own recipes, understanding the art of high, low and no sugar jellies and jams. Next stop: high pressure canning. Hello, canned meats and veggies!

This area Covers: Canning Methods, Techniques, Cook Times, Jams, Jellies, Syrups, Preserves, Canning Meat, Vegetables, Soups & Stews, Canning Tools, Supplies, Canning up Gifts.

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

Fresh milk from well-tended and well fed dairy animals like cows and goats is naturally healthy and rich in vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. Cultured milk is milk made better! When milk is cultured, beneficial organisms are allowed to multiply exponentially, taking the nutrition to a whole new level. Your immune system and digestive system can reap all the benefits of the enzymes and live cultures that are rarely found in conventionally produced, pasteurized, sterilized (dead) foods from the local grocery store. Through history and across all societies culturing milk was not only keeping people healthy, it was also a practical way to keep dairy fresher longer.

Yogurt and sour cream are more commonly consumed cultured dairy products. This is our chance to share with each other a huge list of cultured milk products that include creme fraiche, buttermilk, cultured butter, clabbered milk, yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, feta cheese, fresh cheese, queso fresco cheese, cheddar cheese, and even less common (but should be well known) Filmjölk, Viili, Piimä, Matsoni, Blaandso. Let’s share methods, traditions, recipes, successes and even failures, because we can learn from all of them! Lets not forget all the tools we will need like a cheese press for hard cheeses, curd strainers, cheesecloth, cheese wax, thermometers, and so on. There are even cheese making kits that you can try out!

This area Covers: DIY Cheese Press, Tools, Buttermilk, yogurts (both dairy and non), sour creams, cheeses, kefir and other cultured dairy,

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

In this area, we will discuss various types of cured foods. Please share recipes, techniques and tips for home production of all forms of charcuterie, including smoked and brined meats, poultry and fish, salt and sugar cured delights and sausage making. Please also share your tips on making these foods as healthy as possible by reducing fats and avoiding the nasty nitrates and nitrites normally found in commercially cured foods. Have you ever made the perfect dry-cured garlic salami, smoked gouda, salt cured trout, maple infused bacon cured with apple smoke (Oh, yum!) or the venison jerky everyone begs for? Yes? Then this is the place to share your experience with others who will truly appreciate your advice.

Imagine a time when you've tasted a delicacy and wondered how it was produced. That's my love affair with anchovies. Recently, we found fresh anchovies, straight out of Monterey Bay. Yes!, I thought to myself, I'm going to cure my own. It's much easier than you think. It only requires that you remove the tiny fillets with a spoon, pack them between layers of salt and stick them in the fridge. Voila', thirty days later you have delicious gifts from the sea, ready to be packed in virgin olive oil and stored in your refrigerator. They are so much better than the little tin cans you find in the supermarket. You'll never regret the minor effort when you enjoy this deliciousness in your Caesar Salad dressing or pasta puttanesca.

This area Covers: Salted Cured Meat, Poultry and Seafood, Sugar Cured Meat, Smoked Meat and Cheese, Dry Cured Meat, Jerky, Charcuterie, including Salami, Sausages, Pate's, Vegetarian Alternatives.

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

If you are like me, you will plant, grow and harvest way more fresh food than you can eat before it goes bad. Or you could get carried away at the local farmers market and come home with bushels full of farm fresh goods. Like canning and freezing, dehydrating food is a great method for preserving the abundance. Basically, dehydrating is a method of removing moisture from food to prevent spoilage. Dehydrated foods take less space to store and should easily stay fresh for a year, just in time for the next fresh food harvest! Most foods are pretty straight forward when dehydrating but some foods like pork or wild game however, will require special preparation. Blanching or steaming some produce like apples can help prevent browning. The proper heat setting (with adequate air circulation), typically between 130F and 140F will remove moisture quickly, preventing food spoilage. There are lots of dehydrators on the market but the Excalibur is a great one:)

Just about any fresh food can be dehydrated. I choose fruits and vegetables with naturally low water content like onions, carrots, peas, apples, pears, bananas and mushrooms that are picked at their peak and free of bruises, blemishes and bad spots. I harvest herbs early in the morning and pick off stems or woody portions. When it comes to dehydrating meat, I like using lean slightly frozen cuts of turkey, chicken and beef that are easy to slice thin. There are so many methods and techniques out there, let this be a place to share and exchange all things related to food dehydration!

This area Covers: DIY Dehydrators, Store Bought, Homemade Electric, Solar, Wood Fired Heat, Closed Car Method, Low Temperature Oven Method, Low-humidity Air Drying, Proper Storage.

SUGGEST A CATEGORY

Pickling is a process of preserving food by creating an acidic environment to promote anaerobic fermentation. Pickling can preserve food for many months without the need for refrigeration. Unlike canning, pickling does not require sterilization of the food before it is sealed. Living lactic acid bacteria are naturally present on foods like fruits and vegetables and when given the right environment, these bacteria will flourish. The resulting salty or sour food is called a pickle. There are three basic requirements for a successful pickling, acid or saline solution, proper fermentation temperature and eliminating oxygen (anaerobic). Herbs such as mustard, garlic and cloves are naturally anti-microbial and are often used in the pickling process.

Just about any food can be pickled. Olives and sauerkraut are commonly pickled foods. Eggs, beets, peppers, onions, okra, cabbage, green beans, mushrooms, watermelon rinds, carrots, cauliflower, condiments like relish and hot sauce and even pigs feet, herring and sausage and more depending on your region and/or culture. Most common here in the U.S. is the cucumber pickle. Most commercial “cucumber pickles” are made with vinegar and are not pickled through the process of fermentation therefore does not producing beneficial probiotic microbes. The traditional method of pickling with a salt brine does promote a healthy source of probiotic microbes that benefit our digestion and overall health.

This area Covers: Pickled Vegetables, Pickled Fruits, Pickled Meats, Traditional Brine Pickling, Vinegar Pickling, the “American” Pickled Cucumber, Refrigerator Pickles.

SUGGEST A CATEGORY