trends & technology
The key advantage of aquaponics is that it offers a crop of fish for the same amount of water that it would otherwise take just to grow the plants ; and by feeding the fish you also feed the plants . The difference with microponics is that you can access that benefit regardless of the plant growing system . Square foot gardening ( SFG ), pioneered by American Mel Bartholomew , is as waterwise as any aquaponics system and just as productive when it comes to growing plants . Sheet mulching ( as described by the late Bill Mollison and David Holmgren of permaculture fame ) is a soil-based option that is both water-wise and very productive . We ’ ve used square foot gardens and raised sheet mulch beds in conjunction with our aquaponics systems . We also use the nutrient-rich water to irrigate several fruit and fodder trees . Our use of water is leveraged even further given that the water from our aquaponics systems comes from rainwater tanks . Rainwater is better for plants because it is free of toxic substances like chlorine or chloramines . The use of water from an aquaponics system to irrigate plants is also better for the fish . Any accumulation of suspended solids or nitrates is kept in check by regular replacement with fresh rainwater . While microponics is distinguished by its encouragement of a wider variety of plant growing systems , its principal point of difference is its integration of microlivestock and other organisms . The prevailing wisdom in science says that the greater the biodiversity in an ecosystem , the better it is — and that ’ s where microponics really distinguishes itself .
80 grow cycle