The ultimate green house.This system is completely solar-powered.This system is completely solar-powered.This system is completely solar-powered.

Hot water solar heater keeps the fish tanks toasty!

 This system was designed to operate flawlessly, giving the owner off-site capabilites to control and monitor the entire system remotely through a smart phone or computer.

Eden AquaPonics new MACC Control System! The brains of the operation.

Consisting of media bed, deep media bed (for larger plants), raft, and vertical NFT towers…this system was created to grow virtually anything an aquaponics system is able to grow.

Newly designed, indestructible grow beds.

 

Starting to grow.

Aphids on snow pea leaf.

Sticky Traps- Yellow sticky traps are a very good way to determine the type of insects/bugs in your system…as well as trapping them. The insects are quickly drawn to the yellow color, and cannot escape the sticky “glue” they contain. You can easily make your own traps, or you can purchase them on-line or at your local nursery. To make your own traps: Cut strips of yellow construction paper (about 3″x6″), punch a hole at one end to attach hanging string, then use a plastic knife to smear one side with the “glue” (Tree Tanglefoot Insect Barrier). Hang these at various locations throughout your enclosure.

Yellow sticky traps attract and trap insects.

Predatory Insects- Lady bugs, Praying Mantis and predatory mites released into your system in the evening can be extremely effective in controlling aphids, white flys and other types of harmful insects. They may be purchased on-line or at your local nursery. If you are using the spray methods below, please note that predatory insects may also be affected by these homemade sprays…so give one method a try first, then proceed to the next if not successful. 

Ladybug Handling and Release:

Ladybugs at work...

Ladybugs will also breed in your system.

 

 

Also a great natural predator...the preying mantis.

Spray Treatment- Never, ever use insecticidal sprays/soaps in an aquaponics system…they will harm your fish, and compromise your organic system. Instead, try “washing” them, first with a stream of plain water from a pump sprayer. This should wash away aphids and deter spider mites (which don’t like the moisture). If the insects are persistant, wash them with a natural, homemade spray: 1 quart water, 1 drop dishwashing liquid soap, 1 tsp Neem Oil (or other “dormant” oil). Holding a towel under the plant (to prevent the spray from getting into your system), spray the tops and undersides of your plant leaves and stems. This may be done twice a week in the early morning or evening.

If all else fails, gently remove your plants, and immerse them in your fish tank for a few minutes…the insects will drown, and the fish will love eating them as another source of protein. After removing the plants from the fish tank, gently replace into your system.

Mold/Mildew- Occasionally, you might notice mold or a white powdery mildew growing on your plant leaves…as the humidity in your enclosure temporarily exceeds an optimal level. Simply spray the leaves with a homemade solution: 1 quart water, 1 drop liquid dishwashing soap, 1 heaping tsp baking soda OR 1 part milk to 9 parts water. Either solution will have a dramatic effect on the control of mold or mildew. Use the same spraying method as for your homemade insect spray, holding a towel under the leaves as you spray.

Aquaponics does take daily care to maintain balance in the system…adding water lost through evaporation and attrition, testing the water for proper balance, feeding the fish, and planting and harvesting your food…but the largest piece of equipment used might be an electric utility vehicle to ride around and maintain that balance.

There has to be a change in this world to feed and water the growing number of people, with a neutral footprint…and that change is aquaponics. We believe we are different in this field, because we truly do want to help feed the world, and do it with safe, healthy, mineral-rich food. Keep checking back for new updates on aquaponics and green events. We can make a difference, when we all try.

Next time you take a shower or bath, or drink a cool glass of water, think about how fortunate we are to have it available to us. Then consider how important it is for all of us to conserve this resourse as much as possible…aquaponics is a new way to grow, in our new generation….Tim

QUOTE FROM A FRIEND: “You could take this into space!”

pH Tolerant
It is well known that minerals help adjust pH to mostly ideal conditions. However, it can be confusing as to which mineral to use in what conditions. When using Planters II, you know it will balance your pH no matter what your conditions. Planters II minerals will work in adverse conditions, without tying up other minerals.

Plant Available
Why wait 2 – 200+ years, in the case of calcium carbonate, for the mineral to break down to a useable form. Plant available minerals, such as those found in Planters II, are available when the plants need them. As such, they are registered as a fertilizer, and you can see the difference within two weeks.

Registered as a fertilizer, Planters II guarantees seven of the miinerals:
Calcium (Ca)                 5.00%
Sulfur (S)                     5.00%
Magnesium (Mg)            0.50%
Iron (Fe)                      0.40%
Boron (B)                      0.02%
Cobalt (Co)                   0.0005%
Molybdenum (Mo)           0.0005%

The complete List of Minerals in Planters II:
Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulfer, Aluminum, Barium, Boron, Carbon, Chloride, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Fluoride, Iron, Lithium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Silver, Sodium, Strontium, Titanium, Zinc. SOURCE: The Industrial Laboratories Company.

Heavy Metal Analysis:
Contains NO detectable amounts of Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Selenium or Mercury.
SOURCE: Inland Environmental Laboratories.

Planters II is a natural product, mined from a metamorphosed evaporate containing the mixed sulfides, sulfates and oxides of the metals. As such, it is listed as Approved for Organic Use by OMRI.

Planters II is available from Eden AquaPonics. Contact us for Application Rates, Prices, and any further information you may require in its use and results!

The notion of using fish wastes to fertilize plants (the fundamental premise of aquaponics) has its roots in early Asian and South American civilisations.

The ancient Aztecs built ‘chinampas’ (networks of canals and stationary artificial islands) in which they cultivated crops on the islands using nutrient-rich mud and water from the canals.

The ancient Chinese also employed a system of integrated aquaculture in which finfish, catfish, ducks and plants co-existed in a symbiotic relationship where the ducks were housed in cages over the finfish ponds. The finfish processed the wastes from the ducks. In a lower pond, the catfish live on the wastes that have flowed from the finfish pond. The water from the catfish ponds was used for irrigated rice and vegetable crops.

The New Alchemists are probably the people principally responsible for Aquaponics, as we currently know it.

In 1969, John and Nancy Todd and William McLarney founded the New Alchemy Institute. The culmination of their efforts was the construction of a prototype agricultural “Ark”……a solar-powered, self-sufficient, bio-shelter…..designed to accommodate the year-round needs of a family of four using holistic methods to provide fish, vegetables and shelter.

In the mid 1980’s, Mark McMurtry (a graduate student at North Carolina University) and Professor Doug Sanders created the first known closed loop aquaponic system.

Effluent from fish tanks was used to trickle-irrigate tomatoes and cucumbers in sand grow beds which also functioned as bio-filters. As the water drained from the sand grow beds it was recirculated back into the fish tanks.

McMurtry’s research and findings confirmed much of the background science that underpins Aquaponics.

In the early 1990’s, Missouri farmers Tom and Paula Speraneo modified the NCSU system and introduced their Bioponics concept. They grew herbs and vegetables in ebb and flow gravel grow beds irrigated by the nutrient rich water from a 2200 litre tank in which they raised Tilapia.

While gravel grow beds had been used for decades by hydroponicists, the Speraneos were the first to make effective use of them in Aquaponics. Their system was practical and productive and has been widely duplicated by Aquaponics enthusiasts throughout the World.

Americans Rebecca Nelson and John Pade commenced publication of their quarterly Aquaponics Journal in 1997.

In more recent times, Canadian researcher Dr Nick Savidov has undertaken further research around the productive potential of aquaponics.

Through the efforts of these pioneers, Aquaponics…..a modern slant on an old idea….is enjoying a renaissance.

Article by Gary Donaldson, www.aquaponicshq.com

Preparing the site.

Installing the enclosure frame.

Going off-grid.

Planting the beds.The system continues to grow strong.

Side Windows installed for cross-ventilation.

our newest experiment...Papaya Tree.

mixed greens, for a perfect salad!

vine-ripening peppers.

beautiful purple sweet peppers.

our tomato harvest is bountiful.

rainbow Swiss chard!

baked zucchini for dinner tonight!

Eden AquaPonics  Vista, CA

San Diego County

Info@EdenAquaPonics.com