Growing the Aquaponic Community aka Sharing My Passion

The other day, I had a wonderfully inspiring ‘Hang Out’ chat with a man I am quite glad to say that I know, and hope I can safely call my friend.  Over the course of our discussion we talked about a great many things but one thing that really stood out, was about sharing our passions and making a positive difference.

In society today, it has become so easy to be completely disconnected with our food supply that many of us don't even know what country it came from.  That scares me a little bit.  I would have to say that my passion is getting others involved in creating their own aquaponic gardens.

Knowing that all over the world, people are starting to grow food for themselves and re-establishing that connection is what drives me forward every day!  I am delighted every time someone new asks me how to get started and I can't even pronounce the names of some of the countries ALL OVER THE WORLD where I have helped people to do just that.  My friends, that truly is a happy feeling deep down inside.

Let’s face facts.  The world today is so completely nuts that it will take something massive to make an impact at this point.  Let’s take a quick look at how aquaponic gardens are beginning to make their mark, shall we?  Every day thousands of trucks, trains, airplanes and cargo ships carry untold amounts of food, all over the world.  On the surface this seems like a wonderful thing!  We can grow food halfway around the world and still have it on our dinner plates.  Great!  Right?  In some ways, sure … it’s an amazing thing that mankind can do that now, wonderful.

How much fuel goes into transporting those crops thousands of miles around the globe?  How much time do those crops spend slowly decomposing once they have been picked?  That’s okay though because we have all kinds of chemicals we can spray on it to ‘keep it fresh’ for the journey.  Fact is, NO!  IT”S NOT OKAY!

Aside from those chemicals seeping into our food supply, building up over time in our bodies and generally taking away our sense of good health & aside from all the fuel being consumed in the process, it’s not so bad right?  Well, there is all the food that get destroyed because it doesn't ‘look’ good enough for the grocery stores once it gets there, and there is all the food that gets thrown into dumpsters because it sat too long on the shelves.  Oh, let’s not forget all the ‘amazing’ stuff they put into those foods before they hit the shelf too!  (so they can last longer…)

Why am I passionate about sharing how simple aquaponic gardening can be?  If you really need to ask that still, I suggest you reread the last couple of paragraphs.  Why aquaponics over soil gardening?  Well, that’s a whole different topic.

What I hope to do, is to help grow the global aquaponic community, so that we can all have healthier foods, grown locally.  The amount of water required for an aquaponic garden is only 2-10 percent of what it takes for soil based crops, that means fresh food for a lot of dry areas where people right now are starving.  ANYONE can grow crops with aquaponics, I know because I've made a lot of mistakes along the way and it still works!  Sure, maybe you don't have a big yard and can't grow all of your own food, so what?  I don’t grow all of what I eat yet, but when I eat what I grow … I feel pretty darn good about it!

I personally have made an aquaponic garden as small as 18 inches across by 32 inches in length and it still grows.  It’s great when we can afford the time, cash & space to build a really large and beautiful aquaponic greenhouse but don't wait until that point to get started.  Make a garden from a storage tote, make one out of from a 18 gallon water bottle, convert an old fish tank, run garden beds to filter that old koi pond out back … just get started!

If you need any advice, I’m always happy to lend a hand.  Subscribe to me on YouTube @ JT Bear and check out the video library.  If you still have any questions just send me a message or comment under one of the videos and I‘ll get back to you as soon as I can!   Blessed be & many happy harvests to you!

Are Aquaponic Gardens the Answer for Sustainable Living?

First off let me just say that anybody involved in gardening for food production gets a big ‘thumbs up!’ in my books.  Taking that first step towards producing your own food is, in my way of thinking, one of the most important steps for anyone to take on the journey towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

Now, you may life in a tiny flat or apartment and be reading this saying, ‘JT, I’d love to but I just don't have the room…’  Believe me, I feel your pain.  Not too long ago however I built a super basic aquaponic garden for a friend of mine to keep in his tiny apartment.  Sure, it’s not going to produce all the vegetables that he needs but it will save him a fortune in fresh herbs for the kitchen!

Steps towards sustainable living don't need to be huge, as long as you are making progress towards your goal it’s still progress!  So, how does aquaponics fit into all of this?  Well my friend, it’s quite simple really.  As with my friend from the last paragraph an aquaponic garden can be made to fit almost anywhere.  Every day people from all over the world are getting involved and adding their own way of doing things and solving problems.  Not only is this helping to create a friendlier global community based on helping each other to succeed, it’s also providing us with new and better ways to build our aquaponic gardens.  Ways that use even less power and water than ever before.  That’s what this is all about really.  Water.

Do you have any idea just how much fresh water goes into the growing of a single days worth of food?  It’s really quite staggering just how much is required.  It’s even more if you wish to enjoy meat in any of your meals.  With aquaponic gardening, the water use is cut down to a range of  anywhere from 2 to 10 percent of traditional farming.  That means up to 98% less freshwater could be used to produce that same amount of food!  Imagine that on a global scale … it’s truly awe inspiring.

With aquaponic gardens comes another food source as well though.  It’s not just fruit and vegetables anymore!  Once you switch to aquaponics you have the chance to begin growing your own fresh, clean & healthy freshwater fish.  I know plenty of fisherman who will only eat fish if it’s less than 10 minutes out of the lake, I think this would solve that problem!  How could you get fresher fish than from your own backyard?  Not to mention the bonus of stocking your favorite fish & being guaranteed a catch every time out!  The wild fisheries just aren't what they used to be anymore.  Our worlds lakes, rivers & oceans are getting more polluted every day and those fish are just not that safe to eat anymore.  It’s sad, but a fact all the same.  Anyway …

When you are growing your own fruits and vegetables, no matter how you garden, you are helping to reduce your overall carbon footprint as well.  How endless are the miles travelled by the vast majority of grocery foods?  How much fuel is used?  How about all that packing for shipping?  Wow, it’s disturbing how much of a mess you can see from the produce section going straight into the landfills.  Every head of lettuce you grow, every tomato you eat from your own plant, every savoury bite of fresh grown herbs … it all helps to reduce your overall carbon footprint in a pretty massive way once you think about it.

So the question again then was, ‘Are Aquaponic Gardens the Answer for Sustainable living?’  I'm just going to go ahead and say an enthusiastic YES!  Let’s summarise shall we?  Up to 98% less water used, that’s a good thing.  Aquaponic gardens can produce two sources of fresh healthy foods in your backyard, yup … that’s a good thing too!  With the added bonus of the overall reduction of fuels consumed & packaging required it seems to me that aquaponics is a clear winner!

Get started on your own aquaponic adventure today!  Come visit the YouTube channel and check out some of my assorted videos as I have learned about aquaponic gardens to keep our small family in fresh produce all year long!  Now go get growing!

JT Bear

Are Koi a Good Choice for Aquaponic Gardens?

There are really two reasons to raise fish.  The first being, obviously, for food and the second reason being for profit.  Regardless of why you are keeping them, fish are an essential part of the aquaponic garden set up.  Based on that, there are really two different types of fish that you can raise.  Edible and ornamental.

Raising edible fish is a fantastic for of insurance for your food supply.  Clean, healthy protein is always a good idea but what if you're not worried about that?  Say for example you prefer beef, or maybe you don't even eat meat but you see aquaponics as a great way to grow better than organic fruits and vegetables! What would be the point of edible fish in your garden then?

Raising ornamental fish in your aquaponic garden can be a great way to build a steady, home based, income if you go about it correctly.  For example, let’s discuss the four beautiful koi I have added to my system recently.  You can check out the quick HD video I posted to YouTube if you would like a look at them.

These four fish cost just over $70 total at their current size.  In a year or so, after they have grown 8-12 inches, each of those fish could easily be worth that and more!  Pound for pound, my research suggests that koi are one of the most valuable fish that I could fuel my garden with.  Once they are between two and three feet in length, any one of those koi could sell for enough to pay for a whole new backyard greenhouse.  In time, as they mature enough, these koi could become brood stock for my own breeding program at Clean Valley Farms!  Granted, I will be selecting from far more than just four when that time comes but they could easily be in the running with some of the qualities they possess.

We all have our aquaponic gardens for our own reasons.  Since I am lucky enough to live between two well stocked freshwater lakes, edible fish is not one of mine.  On that note, check out Talkquaponics.com for our coming online koi auction page!  The videos will be updated weekly so that bidders can see exactly how their desired koi is doing and know exactly what they are buying.  One of these four will soon be listed for bidding so be sure to check often.

Happy harvests everyone & blessed be!
JT Bear