A visitor to our Heritage Farm in the Fairgrounds recently said:
“It looks like they’re building some sort of a greenhouse.”
Sure enough, that’s what it is, but it contains something very special: a unique soil-based aquaponics system for growing vegetables and fish.
Aquaponics is a system for growing vegetables and fish together in a symbiotic relationship: the fish produce the nutrients to feed the plants, and the plants in turn filter the water which is recirculated into the fishtanks. Our system is particularly unique in that we are using raised wicking beds to grow the plants in nutrient and mineral rich soil – “Soilponics”!
Our goal is to have the aquaponics system in full operation by the Fair. When the entire greenhouse system is complete, we’ll be able to grow as much as 6,000 pounds of fresh produce and 1,000 pounds of fish per year!
