All I wanted for Christmas last year was an aquaponics set-up – as some of you may remember – so Jerry went about salvaging things we had on hand – a 29-gallon fish tank, old hydroponic pots, clear storage containers – to set up a small aquaponic operation in the living room.
We met a local couple who had a much larger operation once the tank was set-up and were able to purchase a dozen baby fish – or as they are officially called “fingerlings.”
Once the fish were in the tank, I started seeds of tomatoes and cucumbers in the pots and transplanted herbs from my AeroGarden that were outgrowing their home.
We have learned a lot as most gardeners do regardless of the gardening media they use – you can’t use small pumps – and forget about small tubing. We have lost some plants – but others have thrived. We have harvested tons of basil and parsley. We have a gigantic tomato plant taking over the greenhouse – and honestly it is the largest tomato plant I have ever seen – and we even lost one fish along the way.
Aquaponics is about learning a new way of growing plants and in the process you get to raise your own fish to eat. We have Tilapia in our tank – and maybe someday we will also get to raise catfish. In the meantime, here is a short video of the fish in our tank. It is easy to see how much they have grown from that cold December night when they came home to now.
If you like this post, please pin it to your gardening pinboard on Pinterest.
Recommended For You:
