Introduction
Food prices are rising because of inflation, drought, and high demand caused by an increasing population. These factors are making more and more people want to start growing their own food at home.
If you want to grow your own food you should look into A-P better known asaquaponics. This new gardening method will allow you to grow food at home and save energy at the same time. Keep reading to learn what aquaponics is, why it is better than regular gardening, and how you can cultivate your own food using this new cultivation method.
Aquaponics Defined
This great new farming method combines the best aspects of hydroponics with the best aspects of aquaculture. With hydroponics, plants are typically grown with their roots suspended in a solution of nutrients. This solution allows for faster absorption of vital nutrients by plants as compared to plants grown in soil.
In aquaculture, better known to some as fish farming, different species of fish are raised for food. These fish are mostly raised in large man made tanks. However sectioned off parts of coastal waters and rivers have also been used to farm fish.
Soil Based Gardening vs. Aquaponics
A regular garden requires a lot of manual labor. You have to till soil, shred compost, pull weeds and spread fertilizer. With A-P there is no soil, this means there is no soil tilling. The fish in your system produce the nutrients for your plants. This eliminates the need to shred and spread compost and to apply fertilizers.
You also need to constantly water a regular garden because of water loss caused by soil absorption. In an A-P system, the water is recirculated and reused. This greatly reduces the amount of water that you have to use to grow your own food.
Fruit Growing with Aquaponics
This is a gardening Method that lends itself quite well to growing fruits. Typical fruits grown in an aquaponics system include tomatoes, strawberries, and melons. You can also grow fruit trees with aquaponics if you set your system up to handle these kinds of plants. Fruit grown using A-P is often of better quality than store bought fruit.
Vegetable Growing with Aquaponics
Vegetable growing using A-P is easy and fun. Almost any kind of vegetable will grow really well. Root vegetables such as potatoes are the only types of vegetables that you may have difficulty growing. Root crops need to be grown in a media based system and/or wicking beds for best results.
Keeping Fish in an Aquaponics System
A-P allows you to grow fish in your backyard as easily as you grow plants. You can grow many types of fish. In fact you can raise any gill breathing aquatic animal. Commonly raised aquaponic fish include tilapia, jade perch, and small mouth bass.
Conclusion
Growing your own food at home using A-P is a great idea. With food prices increasing because of droughts, inflation, and increasing demand; it is becoming more and more important to begin growing your own food. Using an A-P system to grow your own food is a smart move. Aquaponics allows you to grow vegetables and meat at the same time. A-P also will save you money because there is no need to buy fertilizers.
Before building your own aquaponics system check out Vic Tuller’s UltimateAquaponics.com.
