Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have the feeling that the Asian restaurants around me would buy all the lemongrass I could grow. Has anyone had any success with this plant??

Grows like a week in the greenhouse. I don't use it much but I grow it in the AP system every year. I haven't tried to figure out growing it outside of it's normal season, I just leave it in it's own grow bed (a 27 gallon tote) and it spreads from 3 individual shoots to fill the tote at least twice a year in the greenhouse (of course I'm not harvesting much so it gets to do what it wants). I rip it all out and start again using part of what I take out. At the price I see it for sale in Asian groceries around here it's probably not worth growing but it sounds like another story where you are (I got my starts from one of the local groceries, you can find galangal, turmeric and other interesting asian vegetables this way - NOTE: Kang Kong is not legal but you may see it for sale, I made a post with more information about Kang Kong a while back).

I replant in the Spring and again late Summer/early Fall - I don't know if this is right but it works for me . I plant the starts close to one side of the grow bed like you would some types of orchids because the new growth is directional. The plant sits dormant during the winter and survives near freezing temps so you don't have to coddle it unless you want to supply it in the Winter (33F, I've even had the fish tank partially iced over). I'm guessing you'd have to extend the day length for it in the Winter and might need to give it temps at least around 60. It seems to take off slowly in the Spring but comes on when it warms up (sometimes I think the plant looks dead but it isn't)

I'm sure there are a lot of Aussies that grow Lemongrass

I see you are in Oregon. What type of fish do you have that survive the cold temperatures? I'd like to keep tilapia but heating costs are prohibitive.

Many of the Asian restaurants here have a few large pots out back where they cut it from fresh.

Right now I have about 5 good sized catfish and around 40 bluegill, also up to eating size. I'll probably try to get them to breed. Neither of these is a fast grower here, the temps are a bit too cool and they are warm water fish but they can handle the cold and survive near freezing temps. Larger catfish will eat with temps in the upper 40s and the bluegills are even hardier. If I were in your shoes and was looking at fish, I'd go with Yellow Perch if they are legal in your state and assuming it gets to warm for trout there. Yellow perch are a cool water fish and they can handle water temps up to 85F. You might have a shot at getting them to breed if you wanted to try. Last I checked, they aren't legal here or I'd be growing them along with the other two.

Yellow perch are legal here. All the fish you are talking about are meat eaters aren't they. Can you just feed them regular pelleted fish food?

Good question, I don't know what the official answer is but I would call the catfish an omnivore but Bluegill and Yellow Perch are likely carnivores although I've seen Bluegills listed as omnivores and heard people say that YP will eat just about anything . Yeah, you can just feed them regular fish chow but a good quality fish chow if you want good plant growth. I have chickens so my fish get chopped up hard boiled egg as well as fish chow and any worms or caterpillars I find while out doing yard work. I'm not concerned about fast fish growth and am just having fun with it (just using a good fish chow designed for the fish and age of fish you are growing should take care of this). Bluegill take sinking chow better than floating chow when the weather cools off.

If Blue Tilapia are legal there they are a bit more durable than most tropicals. You might want to investigate building a Recirculating Aquaculture System for Tilapia if you have a way to keep them warm but not a lot of space. You can hook it up to grow beds during the warmer months to run it as an AP system but disconnect and only he the RAS portion as it gets colder. A dual loop system might be worth investigating as well.

I'll make some calls for Yellow Perch on Monday. We have an AP guy near us that feeds his fish a brand of dog food. His wife is a chemist and found the contents of this particular dog food and the fish chow to be almost identical except that the dog food had trace minerals in it that the plants needed. He has nice healthy fish and plants. The dog food isn't cheap but then I've found that I don't use that much fish chow for the fish. I bought a 40 pound bag of game fish pellets 3 years ago and still have about 30% of it left. I have the space. I just put a garden shed at the end of my green house with the intention of putting the fish tank in there and heating the shed. I have a wood stove, I'm worried I might burn the whole thing down. I think the perch might solve all my problems, although I like fresh catfish. I live in the pine barrens of NJ. Most of the surface water is cedar water. We have a unique genus of catfish that likes that cedar water. They don't grow more than 12", but I know that they eat anything. I could go catch a few dozen of those and put them in a tank and see how they make out. Plus I'd have some fun fishing. We get too hot in the summer for trout.