Aquaponics has been proven to be one of the most sustainable ways to produce vegetables and fish. Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture (the raising of fish) and hydroponics (growing plants without the use of soil).
When you combine these two methods, you create a system whereby the plants absorb all the rich nutrients being produced by the fish (from excrement, etc.) which, in return, helps to purify the water for the fish (in our case, rainbow trout).
The objective of aquaponics is to mimic the same natural process that all healthy rivers, ponds, lakes and water ways rely on to grow vegetation. You cannot use herbicides, pesticides or other harsh chemicals in an aquaponics system without harming the fish and killing off the good bacteria needed for a healthy system.
All this means that a healthy aquapoincs system allows you to grow and appreciate good food without creating such a negative impact on our planet.
Here at SCOFF we are aiming to be virtually carbon neutral in the production of our food and are constantly looking for ways to improve our systems. We are off-grid, using solar energy and battery storage to power our production and the water we use is recycled rainwater.
Growing/production of produce can be tailored to the customer, due to the wide variety of plants that can be grown ‘aquaponically’.
The list is almost endless !
Aquaponics allows us to grow a wide range of plants and fish.
The fish and plants that we select for our system have similar needs as far as temperature and pH, making them easy to grow alongside one another. As a rule, warm, freshwater fish and leafy crops, such as lettuce and herbs will do well together.
So far we have grown lettuce, swiss chard, kale, collards, herbs, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers but are always looking to try new crops.