Learn To Be An Aquaponics Farmer

Learn To Be An Aquaponics Farmer CROPS New Crops In the past couple years FARM SHOW has published articles about people setting up aquaponics systems for growing fish and vegetables together Plants get required nutrition from fish grown in water tanks In turn plants filter the water and make it safe again for the fish Here are a couple outfits that teach the business of aquaponics Friendly Aquaponics Tim and Suzanne Mann in Hawaii designed and built their own aquaponics system in 2007 and tested 90 different species of vegetables to get information on what grew best optimum planting densities and expected production volume Then they built a fish hatchery and grow-out tanks By 2010 they had nearly 7 200 sq ft of growing area At the same time they learned an effective way to breed and raise tilapia to populate their aquaponics tanks and also how to raise Malaysian Giant River Prawns From that experience they designed and built a simplified 250 sq ft backyard system and a smaller 64 sq ft system for people interested in their own aquaponics venture In 2008 the Mann’s developed a commercial aquaponics training program that provides an intensive 4-day course at their farm More than a dozen of their students now have aquaponics systems in operation including 6 commercial systems and 5 that are certified organic People unable to attend a course at the Mann’s farm can purchase a 112-page course manual that includes computer-drawn construction plans a 47-page construction manual a day-by-day operations manual and numerous production tips These do-it-yourself plans have allowed people in Singapore Hong Kong Jamaica Trinidad Arizona Idaho California and Kauai to build commercial aquaponics systems of their own The Manns now offer their live Hawaii courses twice a year in October and April and have added a fifth and sixth day to the course to cover building and operating methane biodigesters They also have 5 day training classes at Randy Campbell’s Today’s Green Acres Farm in Elora Tennessee Friendly Aquaponics recently designed and built a Micro Aquaponics System that can be 64 or 128 sq ft in size Plans cost $99 95 for this system which can be built for under $700 worth of materials Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Tim Mann Friendly Aquaponics P O Box 1196 Honoka’a Hawaii 96727 contact@friendlyaquaponics com; www friendlyaquaponics com Aquaponic Austin “With aquaponics you can grow twice as much food in half the time using fish to produce organic fertilizer that feeds the growing plants ” says Arturo Arrendondo who hails from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas “In this system you don’t use commercial fertilizers and don’t use herbicides or insecticides It’s organic farming without soil A person can grow food year-around using just a fraction of the water they would use in an irrigated soil operation ” Arrendondo recently organized the Texas Aquaponic Trans Farming Group an organization that teaches people how to start their own aquaponics venture He provides informal classes that cover topics such as the different types of aquaponic systems how different systems fit into different environmental settings options for fish and plants daily work requirements with a system and harvesting information Most of his classes have less than a half-dozen people and usually last 2 hrs so it’s a good learning atmosphere for those attending After taking one of his classes Arrendondo says a person can set up and operate his own system Aquaponics can use different types of fish such as tilapia bass perch or crappies Any of those fish excrete ammonia which naturally occurring bacteria consume converting it to nitrites and then nitrates Leafy green plants vegetables and tomatoes are commonly grown using aquaponics With their roots immersed in the nitrogen-rich water plants grow quickly and produce a bumper crop Arrendondo says a typical startup system will cost about $500 and include a tank plant trough pumps tubing timers stones test equipment and a thermometer His classes cost $55 for a 2-hr session He also does consulting for starting an aquaponics system and charges $25 per half hour for that service Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Arturo Arrendondo Aquaponic Austin ph 512 820-2004; www aquaponicaustin com

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