Water is one of the most important parts of an aquaponic system.  It’s what the fish swim in, and also the way that the plants get their nutrients.  Plants of course need water to grow, and they also need water to deliver other nutrients that the plants need to grow, such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.  In nature as well as in conventional farming, plants grow in the soil and depend on water from the rain or from irrigation to provide them with nutrients, but in aquaponics, there is no soil and the plants grow directly in water.  Regular farming is “all about the soil,” but aquaponic growing is “all about the water.”

Each day, we have to test the pH level of the water and measure the levels of ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates in the system.  It’s important to have the right pH in the system so that the fish and the plants won’t be stressed.  The plants like the pH slightly acidic, and the fish like it slightly alkaline, so we have to find a middle ground between the two.  Ammonia is one of the chemicals present in fish waste, and it’s toxic to the fish, so helpful bacteria convert it first into nitrites, and then finally into nitrates.  Nitrates aren’t toxic to the fish, and they’re one of the nutrients that plants need to grow, so they’re important to have in the system.  This is why we need to check on the different levels of each of these chemicals.

This winter, we are working to keep the water temperature in our tanks suitable for the plants and the fish.  We’ll be tracking their growth, and we’ll share our progress with you.

We have been growing lots of good food in both the greenhouse and the garden.  Currently, in the greenhouse, we’re growing basil, mint, and lettuce in our aquaponic beds, as well as upside-down tomato plants.  We’re also growing basil and lettuce seedlings, and repotted basil chard, and spinach.

In our outdoor gardens, we recently pruned the vines for our pumpkin plants in order to direct the plants’ resources to the pumpkins.  Earlier on in the summer, we also grew potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, strawberries, carrots, garlic, onions, and watermelons in the garden.

We’ve also been using some of the plants from our gardens in our recipes.  We’ve made mint tea and mint brownies, with mint from the greenhouse, as well as making pesto with basil from the greenhouse.  When Wes had his going-away party recently, we used potatoes from the garden to make potato salad, tomatoes and basil from the greenhouse to make spaghetti sauce, and tomatoes and peppers from the garden in a salad.

We recently gave two tours of the greenhouse: one for the Irish Impact Conference from Notre Dame, and another for a group from the Mennonite Seminary in Elkhart.  On the tours, we explained the greenhouse, how everything in the greenhouse works, and what we do here every day.  We also explained how Green Bridge Growers started.  We enjoyed having the groups here to visit.

Even though we won’t be able to grow anything outside during the winter, we’ll grow Swiss chard and lettuce in the greenhouse once the weather gets cool.  We expect the tomatoes in the greenhouse to continue to grow through the winter.

It’s a lot of fun working in the garden and the greenhouse, and I’m happy to be part of it.