When it’s about hydro- or aquaponics!
The folks at Environmental Working Group (EWG) have created an informative video addressing whether hydroponics are organic. Watch EWG Analyst Kristan Markey HERE as he answers the question.
In 2006, Steve Diver NCAT Agriculture Specialist and ATTRA (National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service) published an extensive report on Aquaponics – the technique of combining hydroponics with aquaculture. In aquaponics, the nutrient-rich effluent from fish tanks provide hydroponic plant roots with fertilizer — and the roots function as a bio-filter — so clean water is re-circulated back to the fish tanks.
“Aquaponics is a bio-integrated system that links recirculating aquaculture with hydroponic vegetable, flower, and/or herb production. Recent advances by researchers and growers alike have turned aquaponics into a working model of sustainable food production.”
– Steve Diver
A printable version of the entire document (with loads of resources) is available at: http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/aquaponic.pdf
Want to build one in your own backyard? See how this is done in Western Australia at Joel Malcolm’s site Backyard Aquaponics.
“Experimenting with aquaponics can be a simple as as complicated as you like, it could be a simple as an aquarium on a sunny window sill with some goldfish, the water being pumped into some gravel filled pots above it, draining through the gravel back into the aquarium. Once you have tried something simple you can progress up to a system with multiple grow beds and high stocking densities of fish”
–Joel Malcolm
And visit the discussion site at Backyard Aquaponics forum — Bringing food Production Home for information on everything from pumps to fish to “Barrel Ponics.” Thanks to forum participants for the images in this post — more of which can be seen here.
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