06 January 2013

Aquaponics goes troppo

A few months back we took out the massive Green Zebra tomato plant (keeping in mind we have about 10 plants now yielding in the veggie patch) to make room for some new plantings.  Then it looked like this, as the new seedlings were taking root.

And now it looks like this.


We've got spinach, spring onion, sage, beans, lettuce, tomatoes and capsicum.  There seems to be two or three reasons for the flourish; the fish are growing (and pooping) up a storm now that the weather is warmer creating more available nutrients for the plants (the cold weather cools the water and causes the fish to go into a hibernation of sorts), taking out the massive tomato plant has freed up water flow and Shaun has added some chelated iron, which seemed to be lacking.  So the growth rate of the plants has gone through the roof and even a capsicum that we planted in the first bed with the Green Zebra tomato now has a new lease on life
It looked almost dead a few months ago and is now putting on these spectacular purple capsicum.  We harvested a few for our Christmas salad, but more have grown with some new little ones on the way.

I didn't get a photo of the fish, but they are getting close to plate size now with just a month or two to go.  Some are larger than others, so we can eat the bigger ones first and let the others grow.  Also these Jade Perch don't eat their fingerlings, unlike Barramundi, so we can keep adding the tiny fingerlings now and we will have a constant supply.

8 comments:

  1. Looks good. I've never seen purple capsicum - are they heirloom?

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    1. They are and we couldn't resist. They look fantastic in a salad

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    2. Dani - they are heirloom and they are called 'Purple Beauty'.

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  2. wow looks great, makes me what to get our one set up... especially with this dry weather limiting the normally crazy summer growth in my garden!

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  3. That's the best thing about, with all the water being recycled, it uses so little and never dries out. Magic

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    1. Except for the odd water top up now and again :P

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  4. gosh your plants look so healthy! i would love to try aquaponics, but sadly do not have the room.

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    1. Re space - an aquaponics setup can have a really small footprint by locating the fish tank directly beneath the grow bed. There are many flourishing AP systems on flat/apartment balconies in a high rise building provided that they have sufficient sunlight.

      There are even some people (cold weather or no access to sunlight) who have had some success with indoor AP systems by using LED grow lights.

      Aquaponics is a lot easier than it looks... ;)

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