5 ms·

We need open source resources on how to build and maintain farms like this. Unfortunately these guys are not sharing yet, at least I couldn't find any detailed

We need open source resources on how to build and maintain farms like this. Unfortunately these guys are not sharing yet, at least I couldn't find any detailed information. I'd love to try this myself, but as a complete novice i'd need a lot basic information - like what species to grow, how to get seeds and plant them, etc.

binarray2000 11y ago
Upvoted! (And I don't know, why you were downvoted) If we're doing software the open source way (and thus securing the sustainability of the software "eco" system), why not do the same for food production (and secure the sustainability of food production). Just this morning I talked to a woman on the Sunday market and she told me about a guy who, even thou he has his own green houses and makes a living doing that, gives all that info to who ever is interested (best produce to grow, best timing for the market etc.) Concentration of this knowledge (or even patents) in the hands of a few is bad, bad, bad.
- foxhop 11y ago
  There are two factors for growing food that I learned the hard way, "when to plant" and "plant temperature tolerances" For when to plant, I use this web site, if my desired plant isn't on the chart, I make a best guess based on related plants: http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates As for temperature tolerances, googling the "hardiness of a tomato" is a great stepping stone.
alexc05 11y ago
> but by open-sourcing our farming model so that anybody with 20 acres and a boat and $30,000 can start his or her own farm. It sounds like they are open sourcing their information. Further, they're offering 2 years consulting and 5 years buying nearly the full crop at triple the market rate. Maybe you could reach out. It sounds like they want the help.
- sleepychu 11y ago
  What happens in 5 years?
  - nextweek2 11y ago
    Usually it's a renegotiation based on the current market rate. The 5 years is to cover capital investments. Banks would see those 5 years as low risk.
- reqctomaniac 11y ago
  Yes, I also got excited when I read that, but "open sourcing" means providing freely accessible information, not consulting. And they dont have any accessible information that I could see. Also I dont have 30 grand or a boat, I wanted to try this on a much smaller scale, just for my own interest and benefit.
logicrook 11y ago
I couldn't agree much. If you look outside of CS and mathematics, where FLOSS principles are widely represented, in most domains it is very hard to access the knowledge. Besides the experts protecting their expertise, there are some fields where they actively try to discourage any such dissemination of knowledge to protect the interest of the trade -medicine, where there is also a question of accountability- or to protect society as a whole -the knowledge to make weapons and explosives. Obviously, these are important arguments you have to deal with when trying to convince somebody that open knowledge is a benefit to society. There's also quite a deal of effort that goes into making these resources available, so it's not just a problem of opening things. Have a look at 'open source ecology', there are things existing, but this is still a long way from getting to the point where CS/math is. You can also look at Earthships, a fairly utopian idea, and how far they are from embracing openness, despite their proclaimed philosophy.
- LeifCarrotson 11y ago
  Medicine (and many other "closed" subjects) is widely taught in schools - it is not a secret guild. You can also go to school for agriculture, to learn about the growth of crops and about livestock management. The difference is that this ocean farming is a new endeavor by a small group. It's not like CS or math where independent researchers can download a compiler or pick up a notebook and verify or extend other studies, you need years of work and large amounts of money. Would there be pull requests for this if they opened it to the public?
  - logicrook 11y ago
    >Medicine (and many other "closed" subjects) is widely taught in schools - it is not a secret guild. We agree, but you could as well say thus that closed software is not really closed since you can learn software in schools. It's different from having easily accessible knowledge, when it's hard to get actual data on many subjects (in some cases, this data is even actually protected by law). >It's not like CS or math where independent researchers can download a compiler or pick up a notebook and verify or extend other studies, you need years of work and large amounts of money. It's not so much of a problem. There are enough people out there that are ready to test the ideas and techniques. If you could find say a set of various setups that worked for a set of given conditions (with a good description of costs, encountered issues and output) then you could have people who can test it by themselves while changing the parts they don't like, and contribute their own data. There's a huge amount of money spent on experimenting already, however it's basically all done in a closed manner. BTW, if you have "the secret guild" feeling out of my comment, it's because discussing with my physician friends, they clearly advocated for some principles in this spirit (irrevocability of the physician's opinion, unilateral defense of their interests regardless of any moral issue, etc). It may vary depending on your country, of course.
Devlin_Donnelly 11y ago
I did a quick search and it seems there is some general information out there about ocean farming/aquaculture. There is a Wikipedia article on the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaculture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaculture As well as an office of Aquaculture in the US NOAA (National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration): http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture/index.htm http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture/index.htm Maybe these resources could help you find information & resources to learn more about ocean farming/aquaculture.
hammock 11y ago
If you or anyone else is seriously interested, leave your email and I'll shoot you a note. My buddy has started commercially farming oysters and other seafood the last few years. The info is not widely available, but you can find it if you look. Many existing farmers (at least half) are fully willing to share knowledge with each other, give you a tour, etc. The fact is they are more in competition with traditional oystermen than they are with other farmers from another region. Another great source of information is the aquaculture folks in your state's DNR (or similar department). Set up a meeting with them and ask away.
- reqctomaniac 11y ago
  Sounds great! How do I leave you an email? Not sure if I want to spell it out here =)

binarray2000 11y ago

Upvoted! (And I don't know, why you were downvoted) If we're doing software the open source way (and thus securing the sustainability of the software "eco" system), why not do the same for food production (and secure the sustainability of food production). Just this morning I talked to a woman on the Sunday market and she told me about a guy who, even thou he has his own green houses and makes a living doing that, gives all that info to who ever is interested (best produce to grow, best timing for the market etc.) Concentration of this knowledge (or even patents) in the hands of a few is bad, bad, bad.

foxhop 11y ago
There are two factors for growing food that I learned the hard way, "when to plant" and "plant temperature tolerances" For when to plant, I use this web site, if my desired plant isn't on the chart, I make a best guess based on related plants: http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates As for temperature tolerances, googling the "hardiness of a tomato" is a great stepping stone.

alexc05 11y ago

> but by open-sourcing our farming model so that anybody with 20 acres and a boat and $30,000 can start his or her own farm. It sounds like they are open sourcing their information. Further, they're offering 2 years consulting and 5 years buying nearly the full crop at triple the market rate. Maybe you could reach out. It sounds like they want the help.

sleepychu 11y ago
What happens in 5 years?
- nextweek2 11y ago
  Usually it's a renegotiation based on the current market rate. The 5 years is to cover capital investments. Banks would see those 5 years as low risk.
reqctomaniac 11y ago
Yes, I also got excited when I read that, but "open sourcing" means providing freely accessible information, not consulting. And they dont have any accessible information that I could see. Also I dont have 30 grand or a boat, I wanted to try this on a much smaller scale, just for my own interest and benefit.

logicrook 11y ago

I couldn't agree much. If you look outside of CS and mathematics, where FLOSS principles are widely represented, in most domains it is very hard to access the knowledge. Besides the experts protecting their expertise, there are some fields where they actively try to discourage any such dissemination of knowledge to protect the interest of the trade -medicine, where there is also a question of accountability- or to protect society as a whole -the knowledge to make weapons and explosives. Obviously, these are important arguments you have to deal with when trying to convince somebody that open knowledge is a benefit to society. There's also quite a deal of effort that goes into making these resources available, so it's not just a problem of opening things. Have a look at 'open source ecology', there are things existing, but this is still a long way from getting to the point where CS/math is. You can also look at Earthships, a fairly utopian idea, and how far they are from embracing openness, despite their proclaimed philosophy.

LeifCarrotson 11y ago
Medicine (and many other "closed" subjects) is widely taught in schools - it is not a secret guild. You can also go to school for agriculture, to learn about the growth of crops and about livestock management. The difference is that this ocean farming is a new endeavor by a small group. It's not like CS or math where independent researchers can download a compiler or pick up a notebook and verify or extend other studies, you need years of work and large amounts of money. Would there be pull requests for this if they opened it to the public?
- logicrook 11y ago
  >Medicine (and many other "closed" subjects) is widely taught in schools - it is not a secret guild. We agree, but you could as well say thus that closed software is not really closed since you can learn software in schools. It's different from having easily accessible knowledge, when it's hard to get actual data on many subjects (in some cases, this data is even actually protected by law). >It's not like CS or math where independent researchers can download a compiler or pick up a notebook and verify or extend other studies, you need years of work and large amounts of money. It's not so much of a problem. There are enough people out there that are ready to test the ideas and techniques. If you could find say a set of various setups that worked for a set of given conditions (with a good description of costs, encountered issues and output) then you could have people who can test it by themselves while changing the parts they don't like, and contribute their own data. There's a huge amount of money spent on experimenting already, however it's basically all done in a closed manner. BTW, if you have "the secret guild" feeling out of my comment, it's because discussing with my physician friends, they clearly advocated for some principles in this spirit (irrevocability of the physician's opinion, unilateral defense of their interests regardless of any moral issue, etc). It may vary depending on your country, of course.

Devlin_Donnelly 11y ago

I did a quick search and it seems there is some general information out there about ocean farming/aquaculture. There is a Wikipedia article on the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaculture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaculture As well as an office of Aquaculture in the US NOAA (National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration): http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture/index.htm http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture/index.htm Maybe these resources could help you find information & resources to learn more about ocean farming/aquaculture.

hammock 11y ago

If you or anyone else is seriously interested, leave your email and I'll shoot you a note. My buddy has started commercially farming oysters and other seafood the last few years. The info is not widely available, but you can find it if you look. Many existing farmers (at least half) are fully willing to share knowledge with each other, give you a tour, etc. The fact is they are more in competition with traditional oystermen than they are with other farmers from another region. Another great source of information is the aquaculture folks in your state's DNR (or similar department). Set up a meeting with them and ask away.

reqctomaniac 11y ago
Sounds great! How do I leave you an email? Not sure if I want to spell it out here =)