A homestead fish plan, step by step

1. Water first, then fish

Fish are the quietest animals on the homestead, but they need what many holdings lack: constant water.

1. Water in August too — Fish need enough clean water all year round, especially in August when there is least of it. A pond starts with the question of how much water you have, what kind and when.
2. Oxygen at dawn — Fish that run out of oxygen on one July night die, all of them, by morning. So a fish plan is first of all a water plan.
3. A pond does several jobs — It gives water for irrigation, silt for the garden, a place for ducks and geese and, if it is built well, a reserve of water for firefighting.
4. Fish needn't come first — Hens, the garden and water for the house come first. A pond is a good third or fourth step, once you know how water behaves through all four seasons.

Why: A carp turns grain into meat better than a pig or a hen, because it spends no energy keeping its body warm. But fish are also the most sensitive animals on the homestead: a hen without water survives a day, fish without oxygen don't survive the night.

• The old ponds weren't dug where it looked pretty, but where water arrived on its own and the ground held it.
• Never keep fish in a well, a drinking-water cistern or a spring catchment. A pond has its own water, separate from the water for the house.

2. How much fish the family needs

You work out the number from the table, not from the size of the pond.

1. Work out the family's AE — Adult = 1, child 7–14 = 0.7, child up to 6 = 0.4. Two adults and children aged 8 and 4 = 3.1 AE.
2. How many meals — Decide how many fish meals a month you want. One meal is roughly 300 g of live fish per adult.
3. Multiply — AE × meals a year × 0.3 kg. For 3.1 AE and two meals a month: 3.1 × 24 × 0.3 = 22 kg of live fish a year.
4. Add, then divide — For Christmas Eve, Good Friday and smoking add 6 kg: roughly 28 kg (about 62 lb) in total. At 10 kg of fish per 100 m² that is roughly 280 m² (about 3,000 sq ft) of water.

Why: A fish meal is roughly 300 g (about 10 oz) of live fish per adult. After gutting, roughly 60–65 % remains, so that is 180–200 g of fish on the plate.

• For two fish meals a month, count roughly 7.2 kg (16 lb) of live fish per AE a year.
• In pond country, families used to buy the winter's fish at the autumn netting: some for a stew straight away, some into brine or the smoker.

3. Four systems · Locked

Buy the Fish on the homestead: pond or aquaponics module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 26 steps.

4. Your water: test before you plan · Locked

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5. Site and paperwork · Locked

Buy the Fish on the homestead: pond or aquaponics module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 26 steps.

6. Safety and duties · Locked

Buy the Fish on the homestead: pond or aquaponics module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 26 steps.