Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I am interested in trying out either a hydroponics setup and an aquaponics set up, or maybe both at the same time, but in my climate, would have to be some type of greenhouse. . I consider the outside growing season is too short. .
Supposing you have to recommend, which would you recommend, what would you recommend ?

And that's probably a good retail price.... average retail lettuce prices quoted by US market data.. is $1.50.. retail...

You might get more.. direct marketing.. Ryan seems to be.... but that's turnover.... what's the actual profit/unit... a $1???

And then there's the fish... worth growing???... breakeven???



Sure... you can probably make some pocket money... if you "know people".... and don't suffer losses.. through pythium.. or hail damage.. or the like....

But then there's all the costs associated with controlling your environment.. and pests.. through seasonal variations...

And trying to garuantee continuity of supply... watch how fast your "people" dissert you.. if you can't for say issues like the above...

Hey... give it a go... I'm just saying that it's not a 2 hour a day hobby.... and going to allow you to give up your day job... unless you setup to a certain scale... and that's going to cost money....

And ultimately.... your limited to scale by the amount of time/money.. you can throw at it.. with a single person....direct marketing approach

Part of the problem with these sorts of discussion.. is that either sort of operation.. is so very location specific...

Do you have a ready, close market..... how much does it cost to control your environment...

And in a combined fish/plant system.. can you control your environment.. for either, or both... cost effectively....

And can you make both fish & plants profitable... if you can't make the fish profitable... then they're just a fertiliser.. and are they cheaper than hydroponic fertilisers???

I hear you Rupert, and I also understand people leaving you when you do produce. That $2 a head is more for local market not retail. People here will pay a little more to help local growers. I have seen people at the market getting $3 a head for "heirloom" lettuce. Thats the thing is I am not betting the farm on this, I work in the restaurant industry and I do know the people lucky for me. But even if I lose my whole system I am not in dept and I wont lose anything. I have a group of friends also that are in a CSA and the two things they rarely get from local growers in good herbs and lettuce. I am not a single person operation its more a family deal here so I am blessed that way.

Oh and to your fish comment HECK NO those puppies are mine yummy Perch

Although "CityRootsFarm" wrote this, it is for everyone.


Where I live, they give tax free status on farmland actively used in farm income.
Although that is not a large sum, it is really helps the lower income farmers.
Does "CityRootsFarm" have that property tax reduction for farmers in his area, and is the municipality bothered by that ?


Also, produce that you consume by yourself and family, that you do not have to buy, should be discounted at the full price that you would pay where you would normally buy it, considering time of year also. .

For that part, you would not use the price that you would get by selling it, which includes overhead, gas, etc.

I can't understand for a moment.. how lighting/heating...a warehouse/abandoned building.. can possibly be more enegry efficient.. or more profitable... than growing outdoors, with a greenhouse...

I was referring to using the land around the building, but I did not explain myself well. That happens often.

In such a situation , maybe the building could be just considered storage facility.

To all of that, I have a brother in law that helps develop new businesses and we are looking into a grant from our city that will run the building off of alt energy. Now I am not at all versed in this to talk about but what the city wants to do is get a building to be 100% self sufficient for electricity. So on that side of it IF it weren't for that I agree 110% rupert I would rather do it in greenhouses. And in Colorado there is a cool AP group there that took over an abandoned green house there and are doing cool things there. unfortunately there are just not a lot of Greenhouses that come up here. I have also talked to the city about building self sufficient Greenhouses as well. But like I said this isn't my focus right now first is learning as much as I can about the AP.