I plan on showing you how little fish effluent it takes to make your veggies grow. First lets recap on how the aquaponic system works. The water that the fish are contained in, either tanks or ponds, is pumped to your vegetables. The nutrients in the water, provided by the fish (and fish food) is absorbed by the plants; the filtered water then drains or is pumped back to the fish. This system works because of the Nitrogen Cycle; it is never ending as long as there are fish and foliage.
While waiting for a batch of new trout I had a tray of seedlings that were ready to be transplanted. I decided to move the plants to the aquaponic system and use feeder fish to run the cycle. I went out and bought twenty dollars worth of feeder fish and put them in my 320 gallon stock tank. Within three days I had serious results!
The seedlings have been in 2 3x3 grow beds for 3 days and there is about an 1 1/2 in. growth. I am growing different pepper plants, squash, beans, chives and tomatoes.
Here you can see the bean and pea plants. Once we transplanted them to the aquaponic system they just took off!
Check out these peppers. Three days ago the leaves were just barely out of the rockwool cubes. Now they are sprouting new leave!
These squash plants are doing really well!. One of them was damaged in the move, but after a little extra attention I'm happy to say it has plenty of new growth!
Here are the feeder fish enjoying a little lunch.
Once I have my aquaponic system stocked with trout or talapia, there will be even more growth. But as you can see, even a few fish can produce enough nutrients for your vegetables. This is a fantastic method to feed yourself and those around you. There is no need for crop rotation or rest period for soil. Once your crop is ready to eat you can pull your plants and plant a new crop in the same day. The best part about using an aquaponic system is that everything you grow is healthy food!There are no chemical additives, there is no processed this, and partially hydrogenated that; this is all natural. Remember you are what you eat!
While waiting for a batch of new trout I had a tray of seedlings that were ready to be transplanted. I decided to move the plants to the aquaponic system and use feeder fish to run the cycle. I went out and bought twenty dollars worth of feeder fish and put them in my 320 gallon stock tank. Within three days I had serious results!
The seedlings have been in 2 3x3 grow beds for 3 days and there is about an 1 1/2 in. growth. I am growing different pepper plants, squash, beans, chives and tomatoes.
Here you can see the bean and pea plants. Once we transplanted them to the aquaponic system they just took off!
Check out these peppers. Three days ago the leaves were just barely out of the rockwool cubes. Now they are sprouting new leave!
These squash plants are doing really well!. One of them was damaged in the move, but after a little extra attention I'm happy to say it has plenty of new growth!
Here are the feeder fish enjoying a little lunch.
Once I have my aquaponic system stocked with trout or talapia, there will be even more growth. But as you can see, even a few fish can produce enough nutrients for your vegetables. This is a fantastic method to feed yourself and those around you. There is no need for crop rotation or rest period for soil. Once your crop is ready to eat you can pull your plants and plant a new crop in the same day. The best part about using an aquaponic system is that everything you grow is healthy food!There are no chemical additives, there is no processed this, and partially hydrogenated that; this is all natural. Remember you are what you eat!
Hi Josh, love this. Do you think this setup could be smaller? My backyard isn't that big.
ReplyDeleteIt can be as small as you want! If you want to stock your fish tank with fish to eat, like talapia or something similar, then I recommend having a larger tank, around 1000L. but the tank can be pushed under your grow table to conserve space. Or If you want to send me some specs of your backyard I could play with some ideas and make it work. Let me know!
ReplyDeleteThere are various modular systems made for the public that utilize aquaponic systems to produce organic vegetables and herbs, and provide indoor aquaponics decor at the same time. These systems can serve as a source of herbs and vegetables indoors.
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