The Easiest Way to Grow Organic Food with Aquaponics System

When we talk about agriculture, we refer to either plant or animal. Most people involve themselves in one of them. The thought of investing in the two at the same time is rather strange to an average subsistence farmer.

He thinks land space, money for feed and manure for the plants, water, and all these and many more limiting thoughts will discourage anyone that does not have the millions to spend.

But, how about a situation where you can grow your vegetables and also raise your animals on the same plot of land? With limited space and reduced capital to start and maintain?

Have you thought that there could ever be a system like that?
Yes! There is, it’s called “Aquaponics.”

 

 

The term Aquaponics initially originated during the Cold-war era in America. During this period, a bomb scare forced most people to think of a combination of aquaculture – raising fish for personal consumption and hydroponics – soilless plant production.

Extensive research was later carried out on the system, and it was discovered that the agricultural growing system is, in fact, a form of symbiotic system.

Which is between the plant, fish, and bacteria. And it only requires a small space.

The fish helps to provide fertilizer for the plant and also controls insects.

Aquaponics is a highly effective way of producing food, with a minimum of water and waste and a final product of organic, nutritious fish and vegetables.

Aquaponics offers food in the form of both protein (from fish) and vegetables from a nutritional point of view.

It allows you to grow plants and animals in an environmentally sustainable system, which creates a self-sustaining ecosystem in a small home scale.

So, get set to take advantage of this opportunity to maximize your space, money, and effort most productively.

What is Aquaponics?

According to the Oxford dictionary, Aquaponics is a system of aquaculture in which the waste produced by farmed fish or other aquatic creatures supplies the nutrients for plants grown hydroponically, which in turn purify the water.

It combines well-practiced aquaculture (breeding water animals such as fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (planting crops in water) in a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) environment.

In healthy aquaculture, wastes from animals being raised can accumulate in the water, increasing toxicity.

In an aquaponic system, a hydroponic system is fed by water from an aquaculture system, where the reusable wastes are broken down by nitrifying bacteria.

Such bacteria are nitrified, first, into nitrites and later into nitrates, which plants can use as nutrients. Afterward, the water is circulated back to the aquaculture system.

Since hydroponic and aquaculture farming methods are the foundation for all aquaponic systems, the size, complexity, and types of foods grown in an aquaponic system can differ as much as any system found in either distinct farming discipline.

The Sustainability and Permaculture of Aquaponics

What is permaculture? How does permaculture work?

When you hear of permaculture, what comes to mind? It is just a way to get an organic food garden that is attractive, beautiful, and productive without having to over labor oneself with any stressful garden work.

In the minds of most people, the concept of Permaculture has been portrayed as a system of the organic and renewable home garden of vegetables.

Of course, that notion of permaculture is not inaccurate, but that is just one aspect of it. Permaculture entails a whole lot more.

Geoff Lawton, while trying to pitch one of his ideas on permaculture, said it is possible to fix every problem in the world in a garden.

These problems range from your pollution problems and all the needs of your supply line. But his lament was that there are still many people today who don’t know that, and it makes them insecure.

Overview of Permaculture

Permaculture, as a term, is a careful combination of ‘permanent’ and ‘culture,’ or the words ‘permanent’ and ‘agriculture.’ This combination could just give you an inkling as to what the concept is about.

The philosophical underpinning of the concept of permaculture was developed in Australia for about thirty years by two men: Bill Mollison and David Holmgren.

Bill Mollison had several years of his life spent as a wildlife biologist, and as such, he has a first-hand witness of the destruction in natural systems being caused by humans.

Asides that, he also had a chance to witness how the interplay of these natural ecosystems takes place, and how they are kept stable.

The design of permaculture today is simply the result of these witnesses and observations they carried out.

David Holmgren was a student of Bill, and both of them published their idea in 1978, in a book called Permaculture One. The sole aim of the book was to introduce a mechanism for the creation of human environments.

In a book which he wrote later, Mollison presented that the aim is to create systems that would be economically possible and ecologically intact, thereby providing their own needs, systems that are free of pollution and therefore sustainable in the long run.

One important thing to note about permaculture is that it uses the intrinsic characteristics of animals and plants coupled with the natural attributes of structures and landscapes to produce a system that is capable of supporting life for a city and country, by using a small area as a prototype for practicals.

In his books, Bill Mollison describes an entirely whole system that has nature as its model.

The idea is that if you can create a design for your garden or farm in such a way that it looks like a natural system, you would be doing yourself a lot of good because you will reduce stress, have waste eliminated, and also conserve energy.

Nature recycles everything. It makes everything keep going round and round. It is the most significant and final recycler, and as such, there is really nothing that should be a waste. Everything is a resource.

Most importantly, nature is known for its sustainability. It has a reputation for being something that keeps working well over time, and it’s not something that creates issues and eventually upset your system.

Now, the one beautiful thing about permaculture. It is that its principles can be practiced everywhere, and they would produce similar results in every climate, be it on a small or large scale.

Although it takes more in-depth knowledge and more rigorous planning, permaculture can be applied to housing estates or whole villages.

Some processes may be pretty straightforward such as if you want to use a small balcony or backyard for your practice.

With these, it’s become clear that the main work you would need to get done is usually at the beginning of setting up the design for your permaculture garden.

If you can see the big picture and give your garden a perfect design, it won’t have to take so much effort from you anymore; it will mostly cater for itself and also look very attractive, productive, and beautifully responsive to the animal.

 

 

Implementing Aquaponics in Permaculture

Aquaponics, as a system, is known for producing vegetables and fish in a closed system.

Although most books on permaculture don’t talk about it, aquaponics has a place as part of permaculture design. It is possible to incorporate the aquaponics sustainably in a design.

Aquaponics cannot stand as the primary food-producing system, however. In unified food-producing systems, it has a place with fish protein and vegetables.

Sustainable resorts can be produced at home. Also, you could get ideas on the net if you’re into making fish food from the beginning.

Water is another input. If you have plans to fiddle with hydrochloric acid, then you must keep using rainwater in your AP system!

Some fish gotten from rivers and lakes such as redfin and carp can also be used in the Aquaponics system.

Most people do say that when redfin is purged in aquaponics and grown a little more, it is usually very tasty to enjoy before bedtime!

Considering a Good System Design

When dealing with Aquaponics, a good system design is needed in order to carry out the process successfully.

It is up to you to decide what type of aquaponics system best suits your needs as a gardener, as well as the space that you have available.

A Good system design may be hard to find, especially turning that idea into reality.

To successfully create an excellent aquaponic system design that is effective and long-lasting, one must be very careful and deliberate while planning.

It is also important to note that when creating a system, the location has to be considered if it will be outdoors or indoors, and also the availability of water and electricity.

All this might be essential for your aquaponics design.

There are four general components of the aquaponic system. They are: grow beds, fish tanks or aquarium, water pumps, and pipes, or siphons.

Business Opportunities

Consumers flock to the farmers’ markets and stand in search of local produce.

Large and small grocery stores are searching for locally produced food to meet demand. Institutions enable consumers to pursue local food.
The request is there.

In most climates and areas, not enough food can be produced locally to satisfy this demand in most climates and areas.

The solution? aquaponics and environmentally regulated farming.

Rising the fuel cost, new food safety concerns related to large-scale industrial food production, and transportation and demand for higher quality food have turned it into a national priority for the local food movement.

Aquaponics is the ideal way to provide a group with local fresh vegetables and fish.

In the case of an aquaponics company, sales can be direct to the customer on a farmer’s market or road front stand; sales can be wholesale to grocery shops, restaurants, or organizations such as colleges, hospitals, prisons, and corporate offices (many having a local food purchasing mandate).

Local food systems create a community by having a partnership between the customer and the farmer; by making more affordable food accessible, and by improving local economic growth. Aquaponics may be the backbone of a local food system.

Water shortages, land shortages, and higher shipping costs are all responsible for increasing prices for fresh food. And what ends in supermarket shelves is mostly low quality since they were raised in one country and shipped to your grocery store for thousands of miles.

An aquaponics company may be located in an urban, suburban, or rural area serving a local niche of food. Most aquaponic farmers sell everything they grow within an hour.

»» Grow a Perfect Garden with ZERO weeds ««

 

Benefits of Aquaponics

There are many benefits to aquaponics. As a matter of fact, the advantages of aquaponic farming have been clearly demonstrated in regards to environmental, social, economic, and health aspects.

Summary of Benefits

Aquaponics is a high efficiency food-production method for growing food year round, in any climate. Following is an itemized list of aquaponic benefits:

• Healthy food (100% organic food.)
• Saves money.
• Helps the environment.
• Grow a tremendous amount of food in a relatively small area.
• Uses very little energy and can even be solar- or wind-powered should the “grid” become unusable or undesirable.
• Grow your own food year-round for your own needs, to use for bartering, or sell to others. Very important should there be a disruption in commerce or should you just desire to become more self-reliant.

Benefits of Aquaponics-Itemized

• Aquaponics is the most energy efficient farming method in the world.
• Most aquaponic systems can be modularized for ease of construction and operation.
• It is relatively easy to replace mechanical components.
• Automated water circulation – plants never need watering.
• Waist high work area for efficiency and reduced injury potential.
• No weeding necessary.
• No need to clean medium/gravel.
• No need to clean fish tanks.
• No need for pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides.
• No hormones, harsh chemicals or antibiotics used.
• Ability to grow a wide variety of plants based on preference or demand.
• Entire system can be remotely monitored to notify you if any needs arise.
• Waste produced is nontoxic and is a very efficient fertilizer for plants growing in ground.
• Solar or alternative-energy power can be utilized.
• Uses 90 to 95 percent less water than does traditional in-ground growing methods.
• Precious topsoil is not needed.
• Utilizes locally available materials for construction.
• Can be installed in almost any location.
• Food can be harvested quickly and often.
• Does not require a higher education or skilled labor to operate.
• Time demands and labor needs are small once operational.
• Can be installed indoors in warehouses, basements, etc., with the use of grow lights.
• Excellent Return on Investment – three to five years depending on markets and varieties of vegetables grown.
• Systems are expandable and scalable.
• Can be used as an educational tool. The educational component, teaching others about aquaponics, can also be an additional source of income.
• It is a fast growing food system that provides the freshest produce.
• Transportation costs are negligible.
• Produce plantings can be seasonally adjusted to maximize their value in the marketplace.
• Additional enhanced methods for aquaponics, including revolutionary greenhouse cover and specialized induction lighting, speeds production by its ideal growing conditions.
• Aquaponics growing produces healthy food at the maximum possible growth rate.
• Healthy organic food is in high demand. This food will save your family money and enhance your family’s health. Extra food can be sold, or used to barter a good value on a variety of goods and services provided by others.

Conclusion

Aquaponics is a healthy form of rearing fish and vegetables. Among individuals, people in business, educators, missions, and governments, it is popular.

In comparison, this indoor farming system yields considerably more food with less water, ground, and labor than traditional agriculture. A sustainable method of agriculture that provides improved nutrition and health.

For fish production in tanks (circular aquaculture), aquaponics integrates soil producing plant culture (hydroponics).

In aquaponics, natural fertilizer is supplied to plants by nutrient-rich water from raising fish, and plants purify the fish’s water.

Aquaponics can be used during the year in a commercial farming enterprise to grow fresh vegetables and fish for a family, feed a village, or make a profit in any climate.

Aquaponics is a prime example of year-round indoor farming. New, organic food free from pesticides, herbicides, and artificial fertilizers can be made everywhere. It is safe, simple, and fresh!

Indeed, raising your own healthy food is an extremely rewarding process. Saving big money while consuming your own homegrown, organic healthy food at much higher nutrient density content than conventional grocery store food is priceless; and aquaponics in of itself is really an interesting process.

An aquaponics setup can be as small as a 20-gallon aquarium or as big as several acres.

 

Feeding those in need: Aquaponics is suitable for offering fresh and healthy food to anyone in need. Food banks and missions.

Commercially, when entrepreneurs understand that aquaponics and controlled agriculture will provide high quality local fresh food for the whole year, the aquaponics sector is rapidly expanding.

Broad commercial aquaponic farms provide grocery retailers, hospitals, and colleges with fruit. Micro Farm Aquaponic Systems are suitable for a family or retirement organization.