Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have only just started to research into aquaponics and am keen to get set up in a small backyard system.

My one main concern was the quality of the vegetables produced by the system. It is very impressive to see the growth rates of the plants being grown via this method however getting down to the real nitty gritty, how do vegetables grown in this manner match-up to the equivalent grown under a soil-organic process.

The comparison that I am really interested in is not only in regards to taste, but have tests been done on vegetables grown under an aquaponic method to analyse their mineral and vitamin composition? Can plants obtain all the necessary requirements to grow and maximise their true consumer dietary benefits from only one source of nutrients (that being the fish)?

It is more than probable that this topic has already been raised on this forum however I have been unsuccessful in locating the information.

Thanks for your help

I don't know about any scientific studies into the nutritional content but they do taste just as good.

I don't feel that the fish poo alone would produce all the micro nutrients needed but then neither to the poor soils in my part of the world. Some people add seasol (sea weed extract) to their water now and then to add the trace minerals that are possibly missing from the fish waste.

hi Borby, might be something for you to look into and let us know what you find?

personaly I think if the plants look healthy they probibly are healthy as plants do show signs of defishincy if there are any, for the simpl fact that there are no pesticides or herbicides used in the growing proces the produce must be healthy, well better for you than what can be bought?

I think if the fish feed is well balenced with all the vitamins and minerals required then it would be posable for some plants to get all they need from fish wast, not all plants but some species/ types.

cheers.

In aquaponics you grow vegies with fish poo...in dirt beds, I mix cow/chicken poo and compost.

To me, not much diffeerence.

Bottom line, the produce is very competive in the market for every quality standard.

I think that to get the answers you want you would have to look at University tests, you might try the University of the Virgin Islands and North Carolina where extensive aquaponics projects/programs have existed for years.

Good luck, you could also visit some AP operators in Oz and sample some of their produce yourself.

If you are already growing really good organic soil veggies in "perfect" soil right in your own back yard, then a new AP system might be hard pressed to compete.

However, I don't know many soils that are actually "perfect" and if they are one needs to keep adding the right things to them all the time to keep them that way.

An Aquaponic system once mature, if it is being fed a good quality balanced fish feed and being given appropriate supplements when deficiencies show up, I expect will come up with fairly similarly healthy produce compared to most sort of organic backyard garden produce.

In my opinion, anything you can grow at home is more healthy than food that needs to be shipped thousands of miles to get to you and was probably growing in depleted chemically fertilized soil and the varieties chosen for shelf life and shipping, not taste or health.

Now if we can come up with healthier, more sustainable fish feed we will be all set (I'm speaking here about the fact that most commercial fish feeds are high in corn and soy with have fairly poor omega 3:omega 6 ratios and are also mostly Genetically modified at least in the USA.)

Hi Borby
I asked the forum the same question when I first started looking at AP there doesn't seem to be any research in this area or none that I could find. Having been (and still) a keen soil gardener I have known that creating good soil isn't just about throwing minerals and manure into the soil, it is about creating the conditions for mycorrhizal activity which in simple terms is a symbiotic and mostly mutualistic fungus that colonises between the plants root system this is where a plant predominantly obtains its nutrients.
Having just started with AP late last year I can say that I am reasonably convinced that this activity does take place within the system, the gravel in the growbeds isn't just a sterile medium that supports the plants while being feed fish poo, it contains traces of soil, decomposed plant material, biofilm, solid wastes, worms (and there castings) and oxygen which I believe would lead to mycorrhizal development.

Lack of mycorrhizal activity was something that turned me of hydroponics many years ago.

Finally the taste, freshness, look, smell and long shelf life of AP produce is very evident.

I agree that's why a mature system performs better than new ones.

My experience the veggies are actually better, the corn I had last year had heaps better taste and better formed cobs than the dirt grown, we are actually disappointed that the Tomato's are coming to an end, we now have to go back to the crappy tasting shop ones, if they taste and look right I can't see how they could lack vitamins and minerals, I have never added anything to the system to supplement elements, plants mostly look healthy so they must be getting what they need, obviously some plants don't do as well in AP but the majority of what I eat do fine,
After thought I have added worms to the grow beds

Fantastic to the hear the positive feedback. I wasn't expecting a lot of negative more so after a scientific response to see if any definitive research had been done to truly prove what most people had already established through trial and error processes and by growing produce that must taste great.

My question came about through a discussion with an organic farmer on the weekend who when questioned on what his thoughts were on aquaponics replied with "it has its many benefits however he believes no productive perfect system has been developed yet."

Aquaponics sounds like it is getting close however one needs to be obviously aware of the inputs going into the bio-system such as feed created from GM crops or crops that have had significant exposure to chemicals. That said I was reading in an article on a AP grower developing their own fish feed.

Interesting to read about the mycorrhizal activity that is required to establish a happy growing ecosystem and how this would obviously develop over time. I am currently aiming to improve this system in my soil system and working on developing a more balanced solution to the process.

Many thanks to all. I look forward to setting my system up soon and contributing more!

Hi Borby
As I mentioned I have yet to find any real scientific evidence or research on the nutritional value of AP produce, I am reasonably convinced that AP produce is wholesome but like you would like to see some solid research. Let me know if you ever come across this info

Only picked lettuce so far from my system but the wife and I have both said it tastes great.
She had to make sandos for a staff thing at her school so made egg and lettuce with my AP lettuce. She said more than one staff member commented on the very tasty lettuce, but were a bit squeemish when she told them it was grown with fish poo
Got peas, brocolli and celery coming in the next few weeks for more comparison

[quote="mantis"]commented on the very tasty lettuce, but were a bit squeemish when she told them it was grown with fish poo


People are funny! Would they prefer plastic bags of lettuce that were grown in lifeless soils with chemical fertilisers and pesticides and then washed with chlorine?

Nothing against the organic farmer, but IMO there are some people out there that are so fixed in their ways that they fail to see the benefits of others. I would not say that they are perfect systems but I believe there are a number of members here that have truly productive systems.

Anyways, IMO jump in there and try it and find out for yourself...

Growing anything from seed has to be better than the GM crap we get these days, the modified shit is modified to last longer and look better, not taste better or be healthy, try heirloom seeds if you want to remember what veggies tasted like, or if you never have tasted the older varieties then try them to see what veggies should taste like.
I can't understand the need for all this science, the veggies are organic, the fruits and produce are healthy, to my knowledge no one has died from AP grown veggies, do you do scientific research on the stuff in supermarkets? probably not, you maybe shocked, who cares if they are grown from fish shit, to my knowledge no one has died from eating fish shit either the shit is actually converted into nutrients, same nutrients that are found in the ground and fertilizers