Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

yeah it was HUGE, pretty certain it was 2 storey... JOEL?

I think so.... plants upstairs.... The photo on their web page looks the same as the ones we were shown anyway.....

was 2 storey, i'm sure. the bigger they are...........the harder they fall

Its one thing having the capital to build something, but maintenance can be the real killer

From what I gather they are still around. In another part of the site the owner mentions some huge catastrophe that they overcame (somewhere in the corporate sections that deals with their employment of handicapped staff).

The fish tanks do look very busy but then they say that the service 500 odd customers with 60 plus cases of basil a day so there must be a lot of growbed for filtering that lot.

I've emailed the owner.... waiting for response

Might be useful to consider:

http://rondam.blogspot.com/2006/10/top- ... myths.html

Awesome link I'm really enjoying the Paul Graham essays i found linked to his name in one of the Myths.

Just some of my thoughts:

1. To grow aquaponically and then transport the produce any great distance goes against many of the principles of sustainable food production (ie have to use lots of petrol - a no, no)
2. I expect that although the organic shops charge an arm and a leg, high mark-ups are required due to lower volumes. I wonder if you would get much for produce sold to these people. There are bloody big organic farms out there that would sell their product fairly cheaply wholesale
3. I know it is easy to get excited about these things when you see how well the plants grow in these systems etc, but I think it is dangerous to get ahead of ourselves. I went to the lectures, as many others here did, and I have to say I was not impressed by the figures being thrown around. The reasons for this included that Willos were theory and only theory, the overseas guys were selling produce and fish for heaps more than it fetches here, their systems could not be considerred fit for certification as organic or any other chemical free type certification and the list goes on.

I agree with Murray - just let it come, it will in time. Don't need to get over-excited as I don't think the early bird will get any bigger a worm in this case. Over time the need and benefit of this type of system will increase. Look at the prices of fruit and veggies, going up every day and just wait and see what happens when coles and woolies finally put every greengrocer and butcher out of business (not to mention liquor stores, chemists etc).

NNNOOOOOOOOO- not the liquor stires!!!

*hick*

so that's why you stacked it and broke your grow bed AM!

...

VB - About five years ago I witnessed a truly remarkable coup by a gentleman who started a small organic tomato farm on 5 acres in a trendy sort of upwardly mobile suburb of Sacramento, California.

He only grew tomatos! He grew exotics, cherries, stakes, you name it. He named the place "Tomari's" and set up four poles and a beautiful canvas/pvc tent roadside where he set out all his produce so people could drive right up and get fresh tomatos. Well, five years ago he sold Tomari's for $1.6 million dollars. He made $1 million of the sale of his five acre parcel that started out as raw land and a part time job. He retired to Hawaii where many of his tomatos originated from, and Tomaris is still a going business.

This is where aquaponics fits.

A sort of leave it on the bush until the consumer wants it michael?
I think VB has some soild points and rushing into it is going to leave alot of people burnt pretty badly. There is a niche market out there, but maybe it needs some time to grow first. As VB and Murray have said let it come to us. I can see all the SEQ members becoming some really good friends over lots of meets at different peoples setups and houses (and over alot of beer ) which would put us in a great position to become a coop at some later stage to ensure everyone of us is getting a fair deal. Maybe even this is thinking to quickly.

Oh and in regards to the petrol problem I'm hoping to try growing some wheat or something (hopefully aquaponically) to make a biofuel..if not wheat, as I understand there maybe some problems in growing it, then maybe sugar cane for ethanol. Just an idea I want to experiment with some time.

Every time someone is saying they're scared or it's too soon cements the fact this is the perfect timing for a smart operator to get in.

Or should we wait for corporations to sew it up with heavy expensive and uneccesary machinery as the norm for aquaponics.

Solo operators can fly if they're smart enough, no distractions and barely any overheads.