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