of Colorado Aquaponics, operates a 3,000-square-foot farm in a food desert neighborhood (without easy access to fresh, healthy, affordable food). Koi, tilapia and hybrid striped bass fertil- ize romaine, bib lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, spinach, chives and strawberries. Other crops include tomatoes, peppers, yellow squash and root vegetables like beets and carrots. Tilapia and bass sell to the community and restaurants; koi are used in livestock ponds. Sawyer remarks, “An aquaponics system can be indoors or out, depend- ing on the climate, for commercial use or in the home. The basement, garage or a spare room is ideal for growing your own food.” Home garden sizes range from a 20-gallon aquarium to a 10-by-20-foot area. Avery Ellis, an ecological designer and permaculture specialist in Boulder,


Colorado, builds dynamic, living, non- conventional systems. “The temperature in most homes is near 70 degrees, an ideal temperature for a tropical fish like tilapia,” he says. “A 50-gallon fish tank, a 50-gallon storage bin and a timer to feed the fish automatically and supply light can be a self-sustaining system.” Outdoors, a greenhouse or geodesic dome can house the system. “A harmo- nious balance maintains itself, and we enjoy maximum yields from little labor,” says Ellis. He reflects that the solutions for feeding the world exist if we just open our eyes to what needs to be done. For those that don’t care to harvest and clean fish, decorative koi species work well. Erik Oberholtzer, founder and


owner of Tender Greens restaurants, which sources from nearby southern California farms and is exploring ways to install an aquaponics system in each


of its restaurants, explains, “The world is suffering from a loss of growing habitat, genetically modified seeds and global warming. Aquaponics enables growers to stay ahead of climate change, mak- ing it the future of sustainable farming. It’s an ethical way to make quality food healthy, affordable and profitable.” Aquaponics methods deliver fish


free of mercury and genetically modi- fied fish food, plus the freshest vegeta- bles possible, all without the worry of weeds, rabbits, insects, suspect fertil- izers, toxic herbicides and pesticides. A home aquaponics system can be one of the best green investments to make in 2014. According to Oberholtzer, “Eat- ing this way should not be a luxury.”


Avery Mack is a freelance writer in St. Louis, MO. Connect via AveryMack@ mindspring.com.


Jaime Guerra’s New Aquaponics-to-Table Movement by Linda Sechrist A


quaponics, the combination of aquaculture and hydroponics into a


no-waste cultivation system, is growing in popularity among gardeners, businesses and celebrity chefs such as Jose Andres, Ingrid Hoffmann and Adrianne Calvo. Although a simple concept, it involves a complex system that circulates water from fish tanks through planter boxes and back to the fish, which is usually tilapia. Home chefs can experiment with a countertop-sized personal aquapon- ics garden. The three-gallon tank has a small pump and a place for six plants. The process is self-contained and offers up a bounty of bite-size pieces of basil or any other herb that can draw its nu- trients from recycled fish waste, which is converted by bacteria into the nitrates that plants need. For the more serious home gar- dener or community gardener, Cape Coral resident and owner of Aquaponic Onsite Training For Communities, Jaime Guerra, can design aquaponic systems and provide training. An aquaculture and aquaponic consultant, Guerra has designed and set up aquaponic inte- grated projects in Pine Island and Cape Coral, as well as several projects in


Jaime Guerra


Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. “I also set up a system on Pine Island next to my sister’s kitchen so that she can walk outside the door and cut what she needs for cooking. It’s been a real eye-opener for her neighbors, who benefit from an abundance of her fresh lettuce. On Saturdays, she sells what her family can’t consume at Fruitscapes. My other system supplies local restau- rants,” advises Guerra, who particularly enjoys designing systems for individuals with disabilities. “Waist-level systems are perfect for gardeners with physical limitations or those who are in wheel- chairs. In fact, they can be designed in a variety of ways, including for a wall.” According to Guerra, it is not nec-


essary to farm acres of land to produce healthy, nutrient-dense food for neigh- borhoods of people. “It can be done in the middle of the city in a backyard,” emphasizes Guerra, who will fly to Costa Rica on April 10 to set up the country’s first restaurant with an indoor aquaponics system, so that diners can appreciate the source of the fresh vegetables on their plates. “It’s also a seven-day training opportunity for five individuals interested in learning to build the system that I designed a few weeks ago. I’ll also train them to use the system and maintain it,” he says. Before Guerra flies south with his aquaponic protégés, he plans to plant spinach to go with his tomatoes, parsley, lettuces, mint, chives, watercress, kale, Swiss chard and basil. In his opinion, aquaponics rivals the farm-to-table move- ment. “It’s natural, a lot easier to do and much more manageable,” he says.


For more information on the five avail- able spaces for the Costa Rica training trip, visit Facebook.com/pages/Aquaponic On- Site Training for Communities, email JaimeGuerra54@yahoo.com or call 813-601-3553.


natural awakenings March 2014 41


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72