Powell - Aquaponic gardening demystified: the art of growing crops and raising fish

Whenit comes to gardening, nothing can beat aquaponics. Its an innovative farmingsystem that uses the natural cycles of both fishes and plants symbiotically.You wont have to rely on synthetic fertilizers or pesticides to grow yourcrops and plants healthily. This natural way of gardening is not onlypractical, but also helps our fragile environment from becoming contaminated bythe harmful toxins from pesticides and fertilizers.

Traditionalgardening requires lots of maintenance, application of pesticides andfertilizers, supplying of fresh water and frequent cleaning of weeds. As youcan see, all these activities are bit exhausting and expensive. Harmfulpesticides and fertilizers enter the food chain leading to various diseases tothe humans and livestock. The main idea behind aquaponics is to resolve thisissue, and it not only benefits you by providing a good crop, but also the bestfreshwater fish without any need to constantly change the water from your fishtank.

Aquaponicsis a combination of aquaculture (raising fish and other aquatic life) andhydroponics (growing various plants in water). While plants can grow in thewater alone, but its important to add some nutrients to the water. An amazingfact is that fish emulsion (nasty things like ammonia that pollute the fishtank) provides wide range of nutrients that plants need to thrive. And tocomplete this great circle of nature, plants take what they need from thepolluted water from the fish tanks and the entire system filters the water forthe fish to thrive.

Aswater from the fish tanks is pumped to the grow beds, the soil there absorbs itand then the filtered water is pumped back into the fish tank. This cycle runswith the help of water pumps. The filtered water is cleaner and has moreminerals because it is filtered with the help of pebbles, stones or sand. Justa portion of water evaporates in the process, so you wont have to replace thewater on frequent basis. You may have to add just a little, but thats nothingcompared to adding gallons of water to the tanks for raising fish in thetraditional way.

Thereare so many benefits that you can get from aquaponics. The biggest benefit isthat you will have to spend a lot less money on this system than traditionalfarming, and you get a constant supply of organic vegetables, fruits and fish.In fact, the fish benefits from this setup. The dirty water from the fish tanksis cleaned on a regular basis, so fish thrives in clean water and these tanksare much easier to maintain. In fact, the entire system can run independentlyand it creates a very sustainable system of gardening.

Clippingsfrom the plants in the garden can be used as feed for the fish. If the waterpump is hooked onto a solar panel with a battery, you can easily have asustainable food supply. The work can be hard in the beginning as you will haveto constantly monitor the pH and ammonia level of the water, but once they haveestablished after the first month, you wont have to constantly check theselevels any longer. Aside from the healthy organic vegetables, you can also getomega-3 fatty acids and protein in the fish. As fish is grown in your ownbackyard, you wont have to worry as to whether it is contaminated with variouschemicals or not.

WhatTypes Of Fish Can Be Used In Aquaponics?

Thetype of fish you can use in aquaponics depends upon 3 things: your personal tastes,your climate and whether or not you are interested in eating the fish youraise. Mostly, fresh water fish, such as tilapia is used in the fish tanks. Inplaces where water temperature control is not possible, bluegill or catfish canalso be used. If you dont want to raise the fish to eat, you can even use koior goldfish. However, with goldfish, you will have to ensure that it doesntreach the plant roots as they are known to nibble on them.

So,How Does Aquaponics Compare With Hydroponics?

Well,aquaponics is much more advanced form of hydroponics. In hydroponics, theplants are raised without using any soil. Its a soil-less gardening technique.As water has no nutrients, they are added artificially. Aquaponics takes it onemore step by adding different types of fish. In this way, all plants get whatthey need in a totally organic way.

CanAquaponics Be Done Indoors?

Absolutely!Its very easy and convenient to establish your aquaponic garden indoors. Manyaquaponic gardeners use their basements for their gardens. With the possibilityof excellent temperature control, you can easily raise vegetables all yearround. Want to enjoy some salad? Just go to your basement and pick somelettuce! However, you will have to ensure that your garden gets sufficientlight. That means you will have to add many grow lights to your indoor space.With so many options in grow lights, you can easily do that within your budget.

Youcan also do aquaponic gardening on a commercial scale using a greenhouse.However, setup cost can be prohibitive as you will have to construct agreenhouse structure. As there will be a fairly large garden, it will takeabout 6 months for the system to stabilize. Therefore, you cannot expect anyrevenues from your system for at least 6 months.

WhatTypes Of Plants Can Be Raised?

Youcan raise all types of plants in your aquaponics garden. Of course, the choicewill depend on where you place your garden and how much time you plan to spendon it. Some plants are easier to grow than others. Most of the leafy greenvegetables will do well in this garden. Other choices include tomatoes, herbs,cantaloupe, bell peppers, radishes, watercress, sweet potatoes, onions, peas,beans, melons and strawberries. In fact, with aquaponic gardening, you can haveyour own fresh produce section in your basement!

Aquaponicscan be a fun way to raise your sustainable garden that can provide you organicvegetables, fruits and fish. The best part is that all this can be done rightinside your house.