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Really getting into my planting list now. As mentioned in my previous Planting List post I’ve been looking at what we eat, and comparing that with the list of tried-and-tested plants for aquaponics systems over at Backyard Aquaponics. Been going through the Garden Organic Catalogue to get an idea of the range of varieties and their planting times etc. I then combined that with expected yield information from my well-thumbed copy of John Jeavons’ “How to grow more vegetables”. and current pricing info from Sainsbury’s. This gives me a good idea of how much we can expect of each plant and what it’ll be worth to us. It’ll be interesting to see which plants meet or exceed these yields, as they are specifically derived from soil-based techniques.
This is really our first-year test list, so I’ve deliberately gone for a broad range of varieties. Once we start to see which varieties do best I’ll start to reduce the range a little, although I’m very keen to try and keep a diversity of crops to minimise the impact of any particular failures or diseases.
OK, Here goes:
Starting to think about my wishlist for planting up our proposed aquaponics system, so here goes. From the list of tried-and-tested plants for aquaponics systems over at Backyard Aquaponics, compared with stuff we actually like to eat I’ve got this list:
- Lettuce / Rocket / other varieties (inc. over-winter varieties)
- Peas / Snow peas
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Basil
- Chard
- Flat Leaf Parsley
- Chives
- Some mild chillis
- Peppers
- Bok Choy / Pak Choi etc
- Broccoli (inc. over-winter varieties)
- Coriander – slow bolt
- Melons
- Strawberries
I’ll keep updating this with different varieties as we start to make some real decisions about what we have space for.
Aquaponics is the combination of Aquaculture (keeping fish in tanks) and Hydroponics (growing plants without soil). It aims to solve the problems of both of these methods, delivering a system requiring very little water or added fertilisers.
A working aquaponics system needs three things: fish, plants, and beneficial bacteria. Working together, in balance, these power a successful aquaponic system. In a typical setup, ammonia-rich water from the fish tank passes into gravel growbeds colonised by the bacteria; the bacteria convert the ammonia first to nitrites and then to nitrates, which are then the perfect fertiliser for plants to grow in the growbeds; the cleaned water then returns to happy fish in the fish tank.
Why bother? There are lots of reasons:
- Plants in an established aquaponics system tend to grow up to 3 times faster than in a traditional garden.
- Very little ongoing water is required – great in a drought.
- The plants require no extra fertilisers.
- You get delicious fish to accompany your fresh garden vegetables!
- You can have an aquaponics system in your own back garden.
In a world where our food is becoming increasingly expensive, and with the effects of Peak Oil due to make food availability even more critical, an Aquaponic system in your back garden could make a real difference to your diet and expenses!
