Probably not. I just made it up. But the idea has been kicking around in my head for a few of months now. Today I finally put the parts together, and I figured this would be the place to air out the concept, while I'm actually running the experiment at the same time. I may be bat-spit crazy to try this, but with some dead, cabin-fever-ridden time before next year's plantings I've got to do something, yeah?
The basic idea is a variation on vermicomposting, only with crayfish. They will live in a plastic tub next to my apricot tree, and irrigation water will go into the tub rather than directly onto the ground (where it's going now). Overflow from the tub goes onto the ground, and this should provide a daily (or whenever the irrigation system runs) dose of nitrates and other nutrients from whatever waste the crayfish are pooping into the water. Here's the layout. I drilled a 3/4" hole near the bottom of a big plastic storage tub. The drainage was a 1/2" PVC 90° adapter (slip on one side, threaded male on the other), a conduit lock nut, and a PVC straight coupling (threaded female on one side, slip on the other). Basically the lock nut and the female side of the 90° coupling sandwich the wall of the tub, and I used silicone to seal it.
On the inside of the tub, the slip side of the 90° coupling points up. By inserting a short piece of pipe I can put the overflow level nearer to the top of the tub. Fill it with water, overflow goes into the top of the pipe and out. I cut a couple of windows into the tub's lid, put it in position and filled it with H2O. Yup. pretty much the way I planned. I had already dug a 6" wide by 12" deep hole near the base of my apricot tree and filled it with gravel--this would be where the nitrogen-rich overflow would go. I had to cut some smallish roots to make the hole, but I figure the tree will recover no prob.
I'm letting the water age a bit while I track down some crustaceans. One problem with crayfish is that they don't tolerate high densities--they start to rip each other apart. It helps to give them some hiding spots (I put some broken terracotta pots at the bottom). I figure I'll start with a dozen. They'll increase their numbers if they're well fed. One benefit is that they are definitely better-eating than red wrigglers. I figure I can cull the larger, more territorial ones every once in a while to throw in the pot.
I plan on feeding the crayfish with snails and slugs from my (untreated) garden. I also fish a lot, and I'll let the crayfish pick away at the skeletons after I fillet out my catch. I think I can also feed them frozen corn and peas, too.
Whaddya think?
The basic idea is a variation on vermicomposting, only with crayfish. They will live in a plastic tub next to my apricot tree, and irrigation water will go into the tub rather than directly onto the ground (where it's going now). Overflow from the tub goes onto the ground, and this should provide a daily (or whenever the irrigation system runs) dose of nitrates and other nutrients from whatever waste the crayfish are pooping into the water. Here's the layout. I drilled a 3/4" hole near the bottom of a big plastic storage tub. The drainage was a 1/2" PVC 90° adapter (slip on one side, threaded male on the other), a conduit lock nut, and a PVC straight coupling (threaded female on one side, slip on the other). Basically the lock nut and the female side of the 90° coupling sandwich the wall of the tub, and I used silicone to seal it.
On the inside of the tub, the slip side of the 90° coupling points up. By inserting a short piece of pipe I can put the overflow level nearer to the top of the tub. Fill it with water, overflow goes into the top of the pipe and out. I cut a couple of windows into the tub's lid, put it in position and filled it with H2O. Yup. pretty much the way I planned. I had already dug a 6" wide by 12" deep hole near the base of my apricot tree and filled it with gravel--this would be where the nitrogen-rich overflow would go. I had to cut some smallish roots to make the hole, but I figure the tree will recover no prob.
I'm letting the water age a bit while I track down some crustaceans. One problem with crayfish is that they don't tolerate high densities--they start to rip each other apart. It helps to give them some hiding spots (I put some broken terracotta pots at the bottom). I figure I'll start with a dozen. They'll increase their numbers if they're well fed. One benefit is that they are definitely better-eating than red wrigglers. I figure I can cull the larger, more territorial ones every once in a while to throw in the pot.
I plan on feeding the crayfish with snails and slugs from my (untreated) garden. I also fish a lot, and I'll let the crayfish pick away at the skeletons after I fillet out my catch. I think I can also feed them frozen corn and peas, too.
Whaddya think?
