Using a Koi Pond to Produce Great Lemons and Using a Vegetable Filter to Clean a Koi Pond

Intro: Using a Koi Pond to Produce Great Lemons and Using a Vegetable Filter to Clean a Koi Pond

Years ago we built our greenhouse/koi pond and planted a lemon tree . Since then we have added many fish and plants. Both have benefitted from our setup. There is a small pump in the pond that moves water up to the vegetable filter where the root mass of plant starts remove nitrates and waste.

STEP 1: We Wanted Lemonade So We Built a Greenhouse With a Vegetable Filter

Lemonade goes well with our pizza...see https://www.instructables.com/id/we-wanted-pizza-so-we-build-a-wood-fired-oven/

STEP 2: This Video Explains the Setup. a Vegetable Filter Uses Plants to Absorb and Utilize Waste /fertilizer From a Pond.

STEP 3: Here Are More Images of the Greenhouse.

STEP 4: Here Are Some of the Plants That Benifit From Our Fish Fertilzer.

The cacti are from seed and arboreal epiphytes grow like weeds in here. I have not had any blooms on the grapefruit so it is becoming root stock for other citrus that I'm grafting on.

STEP 5: Here Is a Grapefruit Tree We Grew From Seed.

Using the koi pond water has made the plants grow great and kept the fish happy as we top off the pond with fresh water as needed. in the summer we water our hops and raspberries with the pond water so the koi give us raspberry ale as well as lemonade.....indirectly

Comments

[JayBird408]

was the lemon tree growing in your koi pond-hydroponically or was the tree planted elsewhere and given pond water weekly?

[filisanm]

Nice garden and a good ideea u have a big like from me

[drewgrey]

Thanks, Have you seen the solar watering sytems that use a rain barrel. They are great

[spylock]

Super cool,my brother made a bog area to help filter his pond water,as a matter of fact the bog was his filter.In the summer you will normally get algee if you dont shade the area,or by a high dollar light,which can be made from the light out of an old printer.I think I will take a wack at this one though.Nice job.

[drewgrey]

Thanks, sometimes a lemon falls into the pond and the fish play with it.

[bbatenchuk]

I sure the word you're looking for is aquaponics.

[tstevens-1]

It's the pink flower in the pic right 'after' the pic of you watering your plants with a white teapot. It's really nice.

[drewgrey]

http://www.cyclamen.org/purp_set.html -I think this is the specific variety or very similar

[lynnfiorante]

How old where your plant when they started to give fruit

[drewgrey]

we had fruit on one when we bought it at about 30 inches tall and rescued another that was big enough to fruit but in rough shape . Our grapefruit tree would be 20 feet tall if we had not pruned it but has not flowered and we have a lime tree less than 20 inches tall that has small fruit. I guess it depends but a think a lemon would fruit in less than 5 years.

[lynnfiorante]

Isn't this just a normal aquaponic system with a lemon plant inside ?

[drewgrey]

Yes although I think sometimes aquaponic systems get "bogged" down in a closed loop approach. I consider the greenhouse as a part of a bigger system that incudes the kitchen ,compost ,worm bins, and my morning tea. Also I'm currently at 2 lemons a lime and a grapefruit (graft stock) and a whole bunch of seedlings.........some of which I will have to let fruit before I find out what they are. Oops .....label your plants people.

[tstevens-1]

Do you know the name of the pink flower with the twisted petals? Looks great.

[drewgrey]

I believe you are referring to a hardy cyclamen. It dies back and then surprises you with color.

[drewgrey]

We have about 4 koi and 6 goldfish that we feed pond fish food. They do get an occasional bug or 2 .The pump is a very small electic that I may tie into my solar projects later. The citrus trees are very rewarding.

[kakashibatosi]

also, is your system actively pumping and draining, or is it an ebb and flow system? I like your greenhouse very much and some day aspire to have one with citrus myself!

[kakashibatosi]

how many koi are in your pond, and what is your primary food for them?