The shortest way to say it is that the planet is in trouble. Big trouble no matter what new feed you read, the news isn't pretty. That's part of WHY aquaponic gardening is becoming such a popular way to provide for yourself and spend a little time feeling better. How do these things relate to each other? Easy.
One of the biggest issues we hear about, aside from people killing each other, is how people are starving all over the world. Even in so called first world countries the citizens can be seen on the streets clearly in need of better food sources. In second & third world countries the situation is even worse. Growing food for large numbers of people requires damaging huge patches of land, in many ways that's just all there is to say about it, but it doesn't NEED to be that way. Many of us that are growing with aquaponics are only too happy to speak of the many benefits that go along with it.
First would either be the health benefits of locally grown food but second would undoubtedly be the water saving nature of the gardens design. If you were to look at an aquaponic garden for the first time you may be asking ... just how does this massive pool of water use less water than a soil garden? To be fair, that's a reasonable question. Allow me to answer it for you. Aquaponic, and hydroponic, gardens recycle the water in a loop that ends up back at the source. Any water used, is returned. Quite simple really. In soil gardening the water is often lost to gravity draining it down and away before the plants can even really notice it, let alone benefit from it! With aquaponics the garden bed is waterproof, or at least it should be, so the water drains into pipes and back to the filters & fish tanks. Not wasted. Another place that traditional gardens tend to loose a fair bit of water is to simple evaporation. Before the water can soak into the soil to pass by the roots it must battle the heat of the surrounding environment or risk becoming a future raindrop. In aquaponic gardens the top layer of grow media is kept dry to help prevent this loss of such a valuable resource. The end result is a garden that uses water without really loosing it. Water is still consumed by the plants and expelled into the air via the leaves but otherwise it just stays in the system!
Having all of this water moving past the roots helps the plants to thrive and in doing they produce amazing flavors. The taste of aquaponic basil simply cannot be beat in my opinion! Raising fish in the aquaponic gardens, the source of all the good stuff for the plants, is a secondary bonus that traditional gardens doesn't provide. For folks such as myself, raising goldfish provides for the plants and saves me a fortune in therapy. For others, raising edible fish provides another chance to save or make some money and provide for the ones they love. Either way, good deal! So what is the big deal with aquaponic gardens? They are the answer to a big chunk of the worlds problems. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself, you'll be telling folks to try it in no time!
