Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So, I'm setting up a new system that has 200 gallons (760L) / 38 sq-ft (3.5 m2) of GB and I'm wondering what to plant. I had a VERY small soil garden and really only grew tomatoes and some string beans. There is a "wild" thorn-less black berry bush (vine) that is very prolific and fast growing in the "wild" part of my yard. Great tasting, too! I'm thinking of putting one or two in the GB and see how it compares to the soil-grown.

My list of things to grow:

Tomatoes -
Beefsteak
Sweet 100 (cherry)
Some of those little yellow pear-shaped ones
Some "heirloom" variety (not sure which)
String beans
Blackberries
Leaf lettuce
Spinach
Butternut squash
Radish

Now I'm looking for other recommendations.

Tell me what you like to grow, why and how you typically prepare it. I see these monstrous sugar beets, but I wouldn't know what to do with them!

I have open ground space that I could run some vines like watermelon, cantaloupe and pumpkin. They wouldn't take up much space in the GB so they might be worthwhile. Or should they be trellised and the fruit supported?

Blackberries should go well, I'm planning on putting a few canes from our thornless bb into my next outdoor wicking bed system. They certainly grow best in the wild around here in damp soil situations, gullies etc.

Now would be a good time for you to plant broccoli, cauliflower and peas. My broc and cauli grew really well last year, but powdery mildew was a problem with the peas after a while, not responding to treatment, so I didn't get a decent sized crop of them.

Ops, forgot to say I was going to do broccoli as well. Love it and cauliflower too! In terms of timing, I'm still due for some nasty weather (hard frost through the end of March). Is that OK for broccoli and cauliflower?

What sort of minima are you likely to see? All the brassicas are fairly frost tolerant, you wont really have the broccoli and cauliflower heads until the frosts are gone- they are the parts that are prone to damage in frosts.
In any case, you can put frost cloth over the plants for any particularly cold nights.

Thanks - good to know that the plants are hardy. Minimums are quite often 30-34F during a cold snap but we occasionally get 25F for a night or two. Non-cold snap overnights are upper 30s-low 40s.

They should be fine at those temps- perhaps cover with frost cloth if you are expecting 25F.