Hello Everybody.
I am a 26 year old guy from smack dab in the middle of Illinois. I first became interested in gardening while living at my parents' house. They have a small garden that is probably about 12'x8' and is just tilled dirt & compost surrounded by chicken wire. I started helping out about 5 years ago and I really loved the idea of eating home-grown food. I also found relief from depression and anxiety by getting my hands dirty and focusing on something physical. It seemed like a natural extension of the meditation practices that were really starting to help me heal. About a year and a half ago I bought my first house and this past summer I made a basic garden in my back yard with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, radishes, green bean, and a bunch of other seeds that didn't sprout for me. I really enjoyed the food I made and am bummed to have to wait until spring to plant again.
I first learned about aquaponics on reddit when somebody posted a video from fairtrade.com video featuring Eric Muandu from Kijani Grows. The video got upvoted to the front page with the title "This man deserves more recognition. He is a GENIUS!" (see youtube link below) I watched the video and was amazed. I had never heard of aquaponics. I thought it was something brand new until I looked in the comments and found out it has been around awhile and there is a whole forum of people who share their ideas and stories, bringing me here.
I have been lurking for a few weeks and looking through various plans, and today I had a little downtime at work so I figured I would introduce myself. I just ordered the book "Aquaponics Gardening" by Sylvia Bernstein on Amazon and can't wait to learn more so I can start making a plan for my first aquaponic garden. I would like to start small so I can keep it simple and inexpensive. I am hoping to learn more about indoor systems as I have a lot of basement space that isn't being used and would love to grow through the winter.
I look forward to learning more about Aquaponics and I REALLY look forward to getting started, with a little elbow grease and a whole lot of advice from you all.
