Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi All

I need to grow plants in an aquaponic area that only receives natural light and no direct sunlight. Can anyone recommend a plant that likes lots of nitrates in an an area with natural light conditions. I would prefer a plant that is edible but this is not essential.

Thanks Peno

Most of us here grow in natural sunlight.
Wait - No direct sunlight you say? Hmm.. How, inside a room/garage?

You may need to provide light, most edible and availiable plants (except mushrooms) need a little bit of direct light a day. Though of using a Fluoro, Metal halide or LED's?

Mint will work with low light, but I guess it may not be so interesting for you.

We grow Begonia & maidenhair fern in our limited light system. The begonia will grow in full shade and their flowers add some colour.

Be very careful with mint, the root system will take over everything including the pipes.

I have a little strip down the sie of my town house that gets very little direct sun - but plenty of light. It has 2 great looking parsley plants - I named one of them Elvis and the other Priscilla. I am thinking of transplanting them both into my AP system once it is up and running.

rofl

Hi Peno
Plenty of light is good but even if they don`t get any direct sunshine you should be fine.
The small bed on my fishtank is indoors 5ft from a SE facing window which has nets and a curtain.
The bed is too high up to get any direct sun but the basil, 2 varieties of chilli and even an orange (clementine) pip i planted for the heck of it are growing quite happily.

Hamish

I guess the one named Elvis gets fed various supplements to keep it going.

Mainly deep fried mars bars...

Off the top of my head, Mint is the only plant that I know of which will suck down lots of nutrients while being happy in the shade. Be ware, it is an aggressive plant and may take over the world on you.

Some other plants that I know which will happily grow without directly sunlight. I don't know how much nutrient they will suck up though. Aloe, handy for healing burns and scrapes. Pothos a houseplant (I know it does well with little light as it's growing all over the place in my house in jars of water, I don't know if it will appreciate lots of nutrients and I don't know if there might be any negative side effects to growing it in an AP system other than, It may also have a habit of taking over your world.) There are many houseplants that grow happily with only indirect light, just make sure that any you plant into your system won't risk introducing toxic substances to your or your fish.

Perhaps pansies, violas and violets would manage in the light you have. Perhaps even evening primrose.

You might try lettuce to see if it gets enough light to grow well for you though it may have a tendency to get leggy instead of giving you good production.

Look around your area and see what seems to be thriving in similar light conditions to what you are planning. Perhaps you can use a "weed" to suite your purpose. Remember that a weed is only a weed because it is growing where you don't want it. A rose in a corn feild is a weed. Corn in your lawn would be a weed. A weed transplanted from your lawn into your AP system may become a Flower, Herb, veggie, or just interesting.

Good Luck.

Hey all - I just managed to change the light in my courtyard by about 50% for the better. I just got in and 'pruned' some trees that were blocking a lot of light - 10 min later and ive improved the situation a lot! I also drove past a house yesterday that had for sale out the front on the side of the road 2 sliding wardrobe mirrors with aluminium frames. Bug suckers - 2 of them probably 2m x 1m. No price but my guess is they are surlpus from a renovation so might be cheap. Figured these might help bounce sunlight into the area - anyone doing this?

You'll be burning your plants and needing shadecloth in summer at this rate!!! :-) but perhaps you need it...

Yeah the courtyard has a 6 foor block wall right around it - and a lot of tall trees over the other side of the wall - so it doesnt get much direct sun. What I did today has helped a lot...

Hamish

Glass mirrors are not terribly efficient at reflecting light (are relatively heavy and make a hell of a mess if they break).
More efficient, I think from memory, in order are
Reflective Mylar
Polished aluminium
Flat white paint
Obviously flat white paint is the simplest for an outdoor area and the light is nicely diffused.