Over the years I have been asked many times about what crops I think are best for aquaponic gardens. At the end of the day I figure it comes down to two key factors. First would be, how established is your garden and second would, of course, be what do you like to eat. Since the second is entirely personal I will focus on the first for the sake of this discussion.
From what I have seen in my own aquaponic garden trials, the first year should be devoted to favorite herbs & leafy greens. Mint, for example, can be an ideal starter plant simply because it is so hardy but basically any small leaved plant is a solid choice for the first few months. Larger leafy greens are also usually somewhat successful during the first year while the system develops & grows. Many gardeners will choose a type of lettuce at this stage but I have switched to kale for a couple of reasons. Number 1 being that it's so darn healthy, when grown safely, and number 2 being that it will grow in my greenhouse during the cold Canadian winter and the heat of our crazy summers. If you simply can't resist planting something that will produce fruit in that first year then I would recommend strawberries. Easy to grow, hard to kill and nothing beats a fresh picked aquaponic strawberry.
By year two an aquaponic garden usually has a much more developed internal ecosystem and should be prepared to host a different set of plants. Now you can start to think about crops like peppers & tomatoes that will produce fruit, but there is a warning here as well. These plants are greedy and can be quite good at removing any & all micro-nutrients from the system. For sustained success with fruit & flower producing plants you may need to find safe ways to reintroduce elements such as calcium and magnesium but fear not, nature has answers for all of it. A little research as to what your crop requires will keep your plants producing & your fish healthy. It is worth mentioning however that if you start adding things to boost fruit production it is wise to move herbs & leafy greens into a different system so that they don't go to seed and loose their true flavor.
Well, I hope this helps to point you in the right direction and has answered a few questions for you. Thanks for your time & best of luck on your aquaponic adventure!
