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Greens Fed on Rainbow
Waste
Hydroponics, as the name suggests, is a growing method based on use of
mineral-enriched water, whereas aquaponics takes matters a step further,
bringing together fish and plant farming in one recirculating system.
At Bioaqua Farm at Blackford in Somerset – the largest integrated
aquaponic farm in Europe – vegetables are grown and Rainbow Trout reared
together in organic symbiosis, without chemicals or pesticides, but with
the help of bees and worms.
The fish provide most of the plant nutrition, by way of aquaculture
effluent. In turn, fish waste metabolites are removed by nitrification
and direct uptake by plants, with the suitably treated water then
flowing back to the fish. In all, it is claimed this virtuous circle of
reciprocity requires up to 95 per cent less water than traditional
horticulture farming.
For sustainable food production and agriculture, the aquaponics
ecosystem principles also appear attractively scalable, from back
gardens to commercial facilities.
For more information
visit:
https://www.theaquaponicsource.com
Bioaqua Farm - The
biggest aquaponic trout farm in Europe |
