Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Let's begin with the basic steps for planting seeds which you will 'transplant' into the
gravel of your Grow Table when your seedlings are 1 ½” to 2” tall.
Wehavefoundaround300seedvarietiescanbegrowninaquaponics(forexample,adozen
varieties of basil, a dozen varieties of tomatoes, etc.) but many vegetable plants prefer to be
grown in a drier-sandy-garden soil/dirt. For example, we've never had much luck growing
zucchini and squash or melons in aquaponics because they prefer a drier-sandy-garden soil
with maximum levels of mid-summer and early fall sunlight. Yes, we have grown them in
aquaponics, but with less success than we had hoped because of blossom drop, vegetables
not forming, or the vegetables form but are stunted and fail to grow to full harvest size.
We don't recommend growing perennials in aquaponics either. For examples, asparagus,
strawberries or blueberries because they only blossom/sprout only once per year and the
rest of the year they lay dormant but their roots continue to grow and then those roots begin
to rot in the gravel.
In fact, we don't recommend any plants stay in your Grow Table beyond the time the
plant stops growing and reaches maturity or when the plant stops blooming and producing
food.Forexample,tomatoesgrow massive root balls (thatresemblealargeflatbasketball)
between five and six months after they begin producing fruit in the Grow Table and should
be removed from the gravel. Why? Two reasons:
One, the root ball has begun to rot and will (magically) begin to produce ants, aphids and
earwigs that begin to eat on the decaying root ball.
And two, because large root balls impact the flow of water in the Grow Table and can
cause problems for other plants in the Grow Table. If you leave plants in the Grow Table
longer than necessary to produce food, you are inviting problems for your entire aquapon-
ics system.
Read the planting distance (between seedlings) on the seed envelope. Some plants need to
be planted 4 inches centers and some plants require 10 or 12 inch centers, etc. of spacing
so lay out a simple grid on a pad and decide what seeds you'd like to plant in your Grow
Table. It's fun to mix and match and see what you enjoy growing and what you're family
likes to eat. For example, WE LOVE BASIL so I plant a few basil plants year round. We
also enjoy growing our own lettuces and of course, tomatoes.
Here is a list of common vegetables that are easily grown in aquaponics, but feel free to ex-
periment with different varieties. Remember, aquaponics is not conducive to growing root
crops such as potatoes, onions, carrots, or beets in aquaponics because they cannot grow
well (to maturity) under the heavy gravel in the Grow Tables.
All varieties of basil; our favorite taste is Genovese
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