What is Aquaponics?
Aquaponics is a sustainable method of raising both fish and vegetables. It is popular with individuals, entrepreneurs, educators, missions and governments. Furthermore, with this type of indoor farming, you grow substantially more food with less water, land and labor than traditional agriculture.
Build Your Project
Benefits of Aquaponics
- Use 1/6th of the water to grow 8 times more food per acre.
- All natural fertilizer source from fish waste.
- No reliance on mined and manufactured fertilizers.
- Efficient, sustainable and highly productive.
- Produce is free of pesticides and herbicides.
- Fish are free of growth hormones and antibiotics.
- Allows continuous production of food.
- Produces both a protein and vegetable crop.
- Integrated system is sustainable and earth-friendly.
- Eliminating soil eliminates soil borne diseases.
What Can You Grow?
The fish and plants that you select for your aquaponic system should have similar needs as far as temperature and pH. As a general rule, warm, fresh water fish and leafy crops, such as lettuce, greens and herbs will do the best.
Most commercial growers raise leafy crops, but you can grow all kinds of plants in aquaponics. At our demonstration facility at Pure Project, we have raised lettuce, swiss chard, kale, collards, herbs, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, radishes, carrots, green onions, leeks, beans, peas, kohlrabi, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, sunflowers, edible flowers and aloe. We even have tropical fruit trees in our aquaponic systems! Yes, we grow bananas, limes, oranges, lemons and pomegranates year ‘round in aquaponics!