[Pil-pc-oceania] Hydrponics

[Tom Duncan]

Dear Graeme,
Aquaponics in one context is the combination of recirculating aquaculture 
systems with hydroponics systems.
A 90m2 Aquaponics my business has designed, can run of 1 x 12V solar pump 
(with battery for night)

Growing media can be carbonised hay/ straw or crop residue, a pretty common 
substrate, or carbonise sawdust, a carbon neutral option.

The aquaculture waste water after biofiltration will distribute the right 
amount of nutrients to the plants if the right amount of fish are in the 
tank. Basically an aquarium with a hydroponics system attached for small 
scale. I believe this is certainly part of permaculture.

Aquaponics has been practiced in China for over 2000 years, and native 
american indians for several hundreds of years if not more. Admittedly they 
did not use pumps but had passive fish/ wetland/ lake/ duck floating 
aquaponics rice production systems.

So perhaps your assertion that Aquaponics is not a permaculture solution, is 
from the perspective of capital intensive hydroponics. There are many ways. 
In China, they cut reeds, bound them together, put mud in the reed raft, 
planted rice into them, and put them on the fish pond to absorb the 
nutrients from fish and ducks - same in north america - still to this day - 
wild rice is cultivated aquaponically. I guess you never heard of it. 
Aquaponics is ancient, but there are more efficient ways of doing it 
nowadays. Thats why I formed a business called Global Aquaponics, that 
specialises in providing design and consultancy, as most people cannot build 
a system that will feed themselves, and also provide an income for them 
selling fresh herbs,salad greens, vegetables ie. tomatoes, cucumbers, melons 
etc..

Cheers, Tom
http://www.aquaponicsglobal.com

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 20:13:04 +1100
From: pacific-edge <info at pacific-edge.info>
Subject: [Pil-pc-oceania] Hydroponics
To: pil <pil-pc-oceania at lists.permacultureinternational.org>
Message-ID: <C1CD9C50.B5D%info at pacific-edge.info>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Hi Graeme...
Just got back from Queensland and found your email.

You are right that hydropononics has been criticised in Permaculture circles
on account of the artificiality of the culture of plants within it and on
account of the greater energy expenditure involved. The question used to
come up for discussion in courses. This was some time ago. I do not know
whether that critique is so strongly held today.

If it is less-strongly held, that could be related to the interest in the
potential of hydroponics in urban agriculture, to cities feeding themselves.
As you may know, hydroponics may have application as a form of rooftop
garden agriculture. Soil-based growing might not suit rooftop cultivation
where the building structure is unsuitable due to the weight of moist
growing medium and equipment. In rooftop hydroponics, the pumping energy
needed to circulate the plant nutrients in solution may be derived from
photovoltaic electrical energy and in cold climates the hydroponic farm may
be enclosed in a greenhouse. Furthermore, a method of organic hydroponic
cultivation has been developed, though I no longer have the reference to
that.

Of interest might be the early work of the Todds. They experimented in
integrated water cleansing, fish and food growing in their Ark building in
the US. This was done in an enclosed greenhouse-type structure, though this
was an accommodation to the cold climate. It was an exercise in the
downstream utilisation of the wastes of preceding processes.

...Russ



From: pil-pc-oceania-bounces at lists.permacultureinternational.org
[mailto:pil-pc-oceania-bounces at lists.permacultureinternational.org] On
Behalf Of Graeme George - Earthcare Permaculture
Sent: Saturday, 6 January 2007 4:55 PM
To: pil-pc-oceania at lists.permacultureinternational.org
Subject: Re: [Pil-pc-oceania] Aeroponics

Penny & Tom

I'm curious to know where you see hydroponic, aquaponic and aeroponic
systems fitting in with Permaculture. I've always viewed Permaculture
systems of growing food as being totally natural and hydroponic systems as
being totally artificial, though I know many people curiously confuse the
two. I have presumed until Penny's latest posting that aquaponics and
aeroponics sat somewhere between these totally opposed systems, but the
additional step of spraying solution onto bare roots would require
additional energy expenditure and therefore make them even less sustainable.
I don't see how these modified hydroponic systems can be seen as a part of a
Permaculture solution.

Regards

Graeme

Graeme George
Earthcare Permaculture
35 Deering Ave, Healesville, Vic, 3777
(03) 5962 5070