With proper understanding, aquaponics can be a fun and healthier change to how you get your food. Not only does it combine two healthy styles of growing foods, it is chemical free and much cheaper than purchasing food in the organic foods section.

Explanation

If you are new to growing organic foods at all, aquaponics is probably a new term for you. Aquaponics simply means using fish wastes to provide nutrients for plants. This new way of gardening does not use any chemicals, and there is no need is discard water or filtrate. The true definition of aquaponics is not fully agreed upon. While some believe the process is €soil-less€ there are fish solids, red worms, and a microbial community which could be considered soil. Aquaponics is also not €self sustaining€ since the gardener must still provide food for the fish, and the term applies it to, is generated. Depending on the type of fish food, the process is also not entirely organic, but with lack of chemicals, many consider it to be €all natural€. Overall, however, it is a combination between hydroponics and aquaculture that produces a chemical free food product.

Getting Started

Getting started in aquaponics is easier than you think. Many of the supplies can be purchased at a hardware store, and you can start as small or as large as you want. To begin, establish what foods you will grow. Most vegetables do well, except for root vegetables, such as potatoes. Then decide what fish will be in your system. Tilapia, catfish, koi and perch generally work well for these systems, but others are always available. The number of fish can be determined by the size of your system. The rule is for every inch of fish you have, you need at least one gallon. Accessories to the tank, such as plants and weeds keep the water clean, but they will not affect the foods you grow to eat. After these decisions have been made, look around for an appropriate guide that will further help you with set up. Kits are generally a bad idea, as they do not always provide the right supplies, and will generally be more expensive than necessary.

Flourishing

You can reap the benefits of an aquaponic garden if you continue to maintain the appropriate needs of the system and ensure your garden flourishes. Overall, the most important thing to remember is to ensure the health of your fish. Feeding them nutrient enriched diet will even help your plants get those additional nutrients. The size of your system does not matter €" healthy fish can be raised in even small, five gallons systems. Aquaponics provides a healthy, cost friendly way to eat organic food, and with a little knowledge, it's not hard to achieve.