Aquaponics!

This week my report will be about Aquaponics, a symbiotic environment of plants and fish. This cross between hydroponics and fish-farming is a recirculating system that yields incredibly high crop results using less than half the water normally used on farms.

Aquaponics is a sustainable way to grown food, it is especially effective in locations where the soil is bad and water is scarce. It is a way to provide local and organic food year-round.

Here are some things to look at before next class:

This is a farmer’s youtube channel documenting his own Aquaponics greenhouse. I suggest looking at the winter update as well (located to the right of the video).

http://www.youtube.com/user/web4deb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS3sej53gx0

http://yesmagazine.org/issues/food-for-everyone/growing-power-in-an-urban-food-desert

http://civileats.com/2009/12/03/inventing-the-suburban-farm/

And some things to ponder:

How can we best use this system to serve our society?

Although this new type of agriculture cuts back on water, foreign fertilizers and the use of machines powered by oil, it uses a lot of energy and man power. Is this an acceptable trade off?