JB wrote:

There was an interesting article in today's New York Times on "aquaponics",
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/ga...&emc=rss&pagew
anted=print
where the author uses "waste" water from a 150 gallon fish tank to fertilize
his plants. He's posted a YouTube video of his set up at
http://www.youtube.com/user/web4deb if you're interested. The article
describes pretty amazing production in his crops of cherry tomatoes,
lettuce, cucumbers and strawberries.



This got me to thinking. I have a bio filter falls that is planted with
mint, Louisiana Iris, Forget-me-nots and other plants, in addition to the
fiber mats and lava rock. This set up keeps my 3,000 gallon pond clear. (I
don't use any U/V filtration.) Each summer I have to remove significant
amounts of mint from the filter falls as it dams up the spillway where the
water returns to the pond. Wouldn't I be better off cultivating something
that I could use (eat) and not throw away for mulch? What if I were to put a
couple of tomato plants in my filter falls instead; or, some other food
crop?



Has anyone else tried "farming" from their ponds?



I think I'm going to try this out this year!



JB


Well, the problem you would have is that water plants are built to have
their roots in water. Plants like tomatoes are not, they would "drown". It's
the same reason that rubber tree in your dentist's office does poorly when
the pot is kept in a dish full of water. You might try some of the herbs
though. Mint, as you note, does quite well.

San Diego Joe
4,000 - 5,000 Gallons.
Koi, Goldfish, and RES named Colombo.