Essential spend is effectively those items you need to build the system. The attached spreadsheet shows what I've spent and how I'd categorise it. How much you spend largely depends on what you can get access to for free, or improvise from what you have lying around.
I needed timber to build a frame, IBC containers, PVC piping and fittings, the clay pebble media and a pump. I also needed somewhere to shelter the system so I include the poly tunnels I bought as essential as well.
One essential is a method of testing the PH balance of the water. You can do this with very cheap test kits. I was going to go down this route, but because I work full time, the time investment of constant monitoring seemed too much for me, so I bought quite an expensive digital system.
I've also recently bought (although not yet installed) a Y filter for the system (I'll cover why in an upcoming blog post)
There's no way around it, if you make a mistake, it costs you. I bought PVC pipe that I couldn't use, that wasn't too painful. But I also bought an expensive pump that was just too powerful for what I needed, that hurt. I've not returned anything, as I figure I may use them in future, but I've had to take the pain cost wise.
You can easily knock £900 of my essentials cost if you can pick up some really cheap IBC's which is possible and if you can shelter your system from rain without a polytunnel. You'll save another £95 if you don't need to drag power onto a field! £1000 is a big investment, but if it pays for the majority of , or all of your food for the next 10 years, would it be worth it?
Copyright © 2021 The Closet Hippy - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy