Butternuts In Aquaponics Systems?? A Comprehensive Overview!!

Hey everyone, this was such a nostalgic visit. I previously built many an aquaponics system in the past and grew a large variety of vegetables in the systems, from basil to mint, lettuce to herbs, carrots to beetroot even. Root plants generally are not considered the best vegetables to grow in these systems, albeit can be done and to my surprise. In my opinion there is no better way to grow both fruit vegetables and protein in the form of fish, this fantastic system is a testament to that.

As stated I have personally grown just about most things one can think of in these incredibly simple systems, the fact that one one could grow pumpkins and butternuts in aquaponics as well, did come as a surprise even to myself an experienced aquaponics builder and grower. As the pics below, this can be done and certainly is possible, but not only possible potentially viable on a mass scale too!

Here we have a nice ready to pick (or by the looks of things just picked) butternut.

For those folks that have not yet heard of aquaponics I did some research for you to best explain it simply. As per wikipedia here the best description I could find. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics

The wonders of aquaponics are predominantly that it is totally natural which essentially just mimic's how nature does it.

The towers in the below pics have three levels and are filled with either gravel or floating polystyrene rafts. Water from the main fish tanks are pumped through these grow beds watering as well as feeding plants creating the perfect environment they require for optimal growth.

You may ask, what of the soil? In aquaponics systems all nutrients needed by the plants are created in the nutrient rich, highly oxygenated water which is circulated. In some cases there may be a shortage of potassium or iron in which case this can be easily substituted with store bought iron or potassium chelate. Chlorosis (yellowing of the leaves) occurs when there is a shortage of iron in the water more here as per wikipedia..More information here as per wikipedia... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorosis

Below we have a fresh harvest of Mozambique Tilapia, fish does not get much fresher than this. These fish are extremely nutritious contrary to the popular belief that 'farm grown fish' are not. This all depends on what they consume, in this case the highest quality of pellets, however tilapia are omnivores so love plants too.

The Tilapia feed on a sustainable source of duckweed which is produced in the aquaponics system as well. I met a guy a few years ago that used to feed his Tilapia Cannabis tells me they loved this the most, I can imagine this to be so however never tried it myself.

This chap has been working on this system for years and is doing a great job maintaining as well as selling the produce to clients. These Tilapia sell for R50 per kilogram, to give you an idea of how good that is Pick N Pay sells Frozen Tilapia for about R70 per kilogram ($6 odd) I was shocked to see Tilapia selling at Woolworths for R200 per kilogram ($15). Personally I think this is really expensive most retailers in South Africa sell Sea Fish for half the price, but then again Woolworths is known for their ridiculous pricing!

Above and below a nice overview of the ponds that house the Tilapia. These ponds are 20 000 litres each. This system has ten of these as well as breeding tanks. The total volume of water in this whole system is around 250 000 litres. A nice size for many plants and fish, sustainable and semi commercial systems should not be smaller than this.

Here we have some onions and spring onions. Again as stated before root plants never used to be the best option to grow in my opinion. Growing root plants in stones or gravel they are almost always deformed, which doesn't detract from their nutritional value at all, I personally just prefer the leafy vegetables in these systems, but each to their own!

The Tilapia in one of the breeding tanks. Do check out my post here where I added a video of these happy Tilapia swimming about excitedly in anticipation of food.

https://steemit.com/hydroponics/@craigcryptoking/albino-mozambique-tilapia

Here we have a nice comparison between two aquaponics growing techniques. The above pic we have a floating raft system or DWC (deep water culture) as per wikipedia: Early Deep Water Culture (DWC) systems consisted of a five-gallon bucket, air stone, air pump and net pot with a medium. Five gallon buckets were the favorite of many early adopters of the system as they were readily available at hardware stores. Net pots come in three sizes: 6", 8" and 10". Net pots are then filled with a hydroponic medium such as Hydroton and a Rockwool cube is added in the center that holds the base of the plant. For Oxygenation of the hydroponic solution, an airstone is added. This air stone is then connected to an airline that runs to an air pump.

As the plant grows, the root mass stretches through the rockwool and hydroton into the water below. Under ideal growing conditions, plants are able to grow a root mass that comprises the entire bin in a loosely packed mass. As the plant grows and consumes nutrients the pH and EC of the water fluctuate. For this reason, constant tabs must be kept on the nutrient solution to ensure that it remains in the uptake range of the crop. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_water_culture

Below the sweet basil is growing in 20mm gravel which is a great substitute for the above mentioned 'hydroton' (expanded clay pellets) which is rather rare and extremely expensive!

Watercress is a naturally occurring aquatic plant, to grow these in aquaponics systems is very common, they grow extremely well, fast and are great for cooking as well as raw in salads.

As per wikipedia: Watercress or yellowcress is an aquatic plant species with the botanical name Nasturtium officinale. This should not be confused with the profoundly different and unrelated group of plants with the common name of nasturtium, within the genus Tropaeolum. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watercress

This 10 000 litre IBR plastic tank is very common among new folks getting into aquaponics, it is cost effective, can be attained readily and is relatively 'hassle free' to setup relative to big concrete tanks that the more advanced commercial guys use. This was one of the first tanks on this system as demand grew and their experience and knowledge evolved they expanded and scaled up in a modular fashion! Aquaponics systems built right are very easy to expand with new tanks and grow beds as the demand for your produce increases!

Below we have the flowering aquatic plants that I mentioned 'Duckweed' do read up more here as per wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemnoideae

These are produced in the system in all the water furrows that are used as channels to transport water from tanks to plantbeds, however fish and vegetables excluded from channels and kept to the fish tanks and growbeds!

I plan on making an indoor system in the next month or two. What I am going to do is get an LED grow light for the plants as there will be no sun shining on the system. The system will be a coffee table aquaponics system, so not only nice looking but functional too. Should be a nice addition to the lounge. I shall be blogging the full process so be sure to stay tuned for that.

Trust you have an amazing week.
Cheer$;)