Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow?

This is an update on my aquaponics garden, because I have received a number of requests for updates and pics.  I am not sure how many goldfish I have gone through, but there are 6 healthy ones in the tank now.  I lost a number of them early on because it just got too cold at night.  Now, the night temps are fine and they seem to be doing well.

My basil and cilantro seem to be thriving pretty well.  And the lettuces that I planted as seeds have begin to grow like crazy!  I can recognize the romaine and several different varieties in the gourmet mix.  They are about 1 1/2 inches tall now and growing very well.

I haven't had any problems with chlorine or nitrates/nitrites, but our water is SO hard that I have had to lower the pH.  I used a little white vinegar - don't know if that is really approved, but I know that it isn't harmful to people and NOW I know that it isn't harmful to fish:-)    I need to talk to the experts at the hydroponics store to see if they now whether it will harm the plants at all.  So far, seems just fine and it lowered the pH perfectly.  I figure now is the time to experiment:-)

Beginning Aquaponics

Last month, I went on a tour of The Garden Pool, which is located near where we used to live.  I had just received a number of plants for my birthday and was hoping to find someone who could help me grow a garden - like a mentor.  I came across the website for The Garden Pool and was intrigued.  There was a public tour the very next day with one space left, so I signed up and went!

The Garden Pool is a large in-the-ground pool that a family has turned into a greenhouse, complete with tilapia pond and chickens!  They grow enough eggs, fish and veggies to sustain their family of four.  They use aquaponics, which is a combination of hydroponics (growing with water) and aquaculture (growing fish).  The beauty of this system is that it waters and feeds itself and there are NO weeds!!  Well, those are two of my greatest challenges with gardening, so hope sprouted in my heart that I COULD successfully grow a garden.

Earlier that day, they had taught a class on a small aquaponics system using a shelf that they call "shelfponics".  I missed the class (didn't know I would be interested:-), but they put the video online the following Monday.  So I watched it and thought this would be a great way to being to learn about aquaponics.  They include step-by-step instructions and a list of items needed, so I went to work rounding up what I would need.  It took less than an hour to get the whole thing ready to go and I bought some goldfish to begin with until I can get some tilapia fingerlings.

I planted cilantro and basil in the top shelf, romaine lettuce in the middle shelf and a gourmet lettuce blend in the bottom shelf.  In about a week, I had LOTS of lettuce sprouts and my herbs are growing well.  I lost some goldfish due to cold nights, but I bought some more (only 28 cents each) and now have 10 healthy larger goldfish in my 10 gallon tank.  They seem to be doing really well and the biofilter of the growing medium (hydroton) seems to be working very well since my pH levels are good after 2 weeks.

I am anxious to get some tomatoes going in another small aquaponics setup this week!  There are lots of websites where you can learn more about aquaponics.   If I can be of any help, let me know, but I am just beginning this journey.  I have BIG ideas for another area of my yard where I am hoping to put in a large tilapia pond and many growing beds to grow all kinds of fresh food for my family.  It makes me SO happy to grow fresh stuff for my family:-)