Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Aqua tastes as good if not better than organics. That's why I'm concerned with UV inhibitors now in my greenhouse, and how to let the UV in.

Cool!

My lettuce was taseing better than the garden grown ones.... must be why the possums ate it!

Taste is such a subjective thing that it's impossible to make any real sense of it.

Claims that organic produce tastes better than produce grown with chemical fertilisers usually stand up OK until a blind taste test is introduced.

It's like the argument about free range eggs and battery hen eggs - most people can't tell them apart.

The other fallacy is that organic produce is more nutritious. There is no automatic connection between organic food and vitamin and mineral content. The only way to validate any difference is to undertake appropriate laboratory analysis.

I like free range eggs and organic vegetables but I don't kid myself that I could pick them out of a line-up......it's just that I know more about what's in them.

When we had a pub a few years ago, I switched beer brands (we substituted West End Draught for Carton Draught) and I discovered that the greater the "expert" the more likely that they were not to detect the difference. We confirmed my suspicions several weeks later when we conducted a blind taste test competition on six beers. It was won by a woman (by a handsome margin) who admitted that she didn't much care for beer anyway.

If greenhouse plastic is such a problem because of UV protection - how do all the big greenhouse growers manage to grow decent food using them. I don't understand - is greenhouse plastic really a problem? If so, is it only a problem for fruiting things?

Thats what i was trying to say in a round about way There is no UV requirement for plants that has been discoved yet. As far as i know.

Well, I'll trust the man on this. I've never had a hothouse tomato as good as I can grow. When working on market gardens I'd take home field tomatoes everytime, soup grade field toms preferable to 'prime' hothouse toms.

The scientist who sent me the e-mails has no vested interest in greenhousing either way. If he says it is so it's because him and his buddies know it is so.

Valid laboratory analysis for nutritional content has been undertaken here after double blind taste tests of organic vs chem. 6 of 1 half dozen of the other.

But then you get to taste Aqua, and you'll see.

I'm talking losing taste from UV filters. Sorry I mentioned organics as a reference point, my organics blow the shop bought competition away.

Is this an issue for fruiting plants only AA - or leaf veg also. BTW, the leaf vegetables in my aqua taste great. Funny thing is the kale in particular has a salty taste also, which I expect has something to do with the 5ppt sodium choride in my pond. For some reason this slat has not seemed to bother the plants at all. I am looking forward to seeing just what a mature system can do. The plants seem to be more resistent to bugs also (wonder of this is the salt). The bugs have not seemed to bother with these plants at this stage - maybe they just haven't found them yet.

Kinda hijacked neals thread here sorry neal.

The original e-mail and secondary one after I asked questions is in my greenhouse thread.

UV light plays a part in aromatics, resins, taste. I hope to figure a way round this for greenhousing ie: different material, rolling walls or top...

thanx AA, thats why i prefixed it with "discovered".............. sort of like the plants only needng NPK...........bullshxt If its in nature then it is brobbaly BETTER to have it, although not striclty necessary for BASIC plant growth. True?

Resins, haha