“Aquaponics” in My Vocabulary It’s has been in my vocabulary since June of 1992…. Austin Texas — Keith Lane, Backyard: 3,000 gallon tank, with 300 catfish average of 35 grams, with a floating “Protected flower from Florida State University. The humble attempt worked! All 300 catfish thrived and grew out in 22 weeks; we ate […]
No Issue With Stand Alone Systems It is not hard to understand the difference. The main difference being the fish or other aquatic organisms. But there are numerous other differences we can cover in the future. There are numerous ways to produce food. Please note! I am not calling these things bunk, Both types: Stand alone Hyrdoponics […]
There’s lots of confusion over this exact statement. Here, at Lilypad Farm, we have clean fish practices; the result is giant plants. When starting a small commercial system, or even better a small backyard aquaponics home unit, you may have trouble. The nutrient levels are low. So you, the producer, must be patient. SRAC-454 asks for […]
We have never once used clay media or rock wool in our aquaponics system. Ever! Using a “media bed” with clay, rock wool or pebbles is strictly a trans-gardening and hydroponics industry notion. People, often unknowingly, have created a hybrid or a trans-garden from this exact discussion and labeled it aquaponics. Media Beds = Unhealthy Fish Practice and […]
Here, at Lilypad farm, we have finally made the Cross over… from Dow blue board to LiliPad ™ raft. In prior years, we planted in the “dow”- blue board, cleaning them every 30 days on average using a gentle water stream and a soft nylon brush. These new rafts details are below: 2′ x 4′ […]
We had a great time at the Texas Aquaculture 44th Annual Conference and Trade Show last January 29-31, 2014 in Fredericksburg, Texas. It was a true honor to provide an overview of our aquaponics practice at Lilypad Farm and provide a point of view to the amazing group of Texas aquaculturists. Let’s start with the basics – SRAC# […]
It’s been some time since we last posted on this blog. There’s a great explanation for this. We’ve been taking care of business! We continue to farm and to explore the boundaries of aquaponics all while living a healthy lifestyle. This is part of our positive living here. But, we do have an exciting event […]
With winter of 2012 in full swing, we’re feeding in 3 buildings and raising produce in 2 buildings. Even though the feeding rate has slowed down, the output is tremendous. What I’m showing you now is some Kale that is out-of-the-ordinary in size. Proof positive that deep water raft culture can do something that gravel beds […]
We here at Lily Pad Farm sell only live food. Each plant is attached to the root ball. It is sold standing up in the vertical position. Most every other herb or leafing item is cut from the root and then it is displayed laying down. Taking full advantage of deep water raft culture means […]
Germinating Seedlings We here take every precaution to prepare our seedlings and the Net Pot transplanting. First, we sift and blend coir fiber in a 3 to 1 mixture, allowing the vermiculte to remain as a binder. This allows moisture to remain making the roots develop correctly. Our germination trays are 72 hole square. Lets […]