Whether you are growing ornamental plants or plants that produce food, you can greatly enhance your indoor plant growing by letting fish do much of the work.
Believe it or not, fish make great assistants when it comes to growing plants.
And they work cheap, only requiring clean water and fish food.
You may be wondering what fish have to do with growing plants, but fish and plants compliment each other amazingly well.
Fish are an excellent source of plant nutrients that they put directly into the water through their waste excretions.
These nutrients are released through the fish's gills and their excrement.
Bacteria in the water convert these waste products into nutrients that are usable by plants.
Plants are also great for fish because their roots are great at filtering these materials out of the water to keep the water clean.
The way many commercial farmers and home gardeners are taking advantage of this process is through a process called aquaponics.
Aquaponics takes aquaculture and combines it with hydroponics.
Aquaculture is raising fish, and hydroponics is growing plants in nutrient enriched water without soil.
One of the challenges of hydroponics is it can be a chore to supply and keep appropriate nutrient levels in the water.
And with aquaculture, it can be a challenge keeping the fish waste levels in the water down keeping the water clean.
With aquaponics, you eliminate these challenges of both systems and use them as an advantage.
Aquaponics works by pumping water from a fish tank to a separate grow bed where the plant roots grow directly into the fish water.
This can be done in a medium like gravel or clay balls, or with the roots just hanging free in the water.
The plants are supplied with all the water and nutrients they need, so growth can be spectacular.
And this method is all organic, so vegetables that are grown this way are typically of garden grown quality.
After the water flows through the grow bed, it is returned to the fish tank, usually by gravity.
Since the plants clean the water, the water is recycled over and over.
This system is very water efficient, since all that is lost is through a little evaporation and what is actually used by the plants.
Growing plants this way can use as little as 2% of the water that dumping water in soil uses.
If you already have a fish aquarium in your home, you are already half way there for your indoor plant growing.
All you need to do is install a grow bed in place of your tanks filter.
In some cases you may even be able to use the filters existing pump.
If you have a sunny window near your tank, this can make an ideal spot.
With aquaponics you can grow much more in less space, using natural organic fertilizer.
Since you are making a natural system that mostly takes care of itself, it means less work for you.
Fish are very easy to care for, and they will take care of watering and fertilizing your plants for you.
Plus you get to have fish to either eat or to keep like aquarium fish.
Believe it or not, fish make great assistants when it comes to growing plants.
And they work cheap, only requiring clean water and fish food.
You may be wondering what fish have to do with growing plants, but fish and plants compliment each other amazingly well.
Fish are an excellent source of plant nutrients that they put directly into the water through their waste excretions.
These nutrients are released through the fish's gills and their excrement.
Bacteria in the water convert these waste products into nutrients that are usable by plants.
Plants are also great for fish because their roots are great at filtering these materials out of the water to keep the water clean.
The way many commercial farmers and home gardeners are taking advantage of this process is through a process called aquaponics.
Aquaponics takes aquaculture and combines it with hydroponics.
Aquaculture is raising fish, and hydroponics is growing plants in nutrient enriched water without soil.
One of the challenges of hydroponics is it can be a chore to supply and keep appropriate nutrient levels in the water.
And with aquaculture, it can be a challenge keeping the fish waste levels in the water down keeping the water clean.
With aquaponics, you eliminate these challenges of both systems and use them as an advantage.
Aquaponics works by pumping water from a fish tank to a separate grow bed where the plant roots grow directly into the fish water.
This can be done in a medium like gravel or clay balls, or with the roots just hanging free in the water.
The plants are supplied with all the water and nutrients they need, so growth can be spectacular.
And this method is all organic, so vegetables that are grown this way are typically of garden grown quality.
After the water flows through the grow bed, it is returned to the fish tank, usually by gravity.
Since the plants clean the water, the water is recycled over and over.
This system is very water efficient, since all that is lost is through a little evaporation and what is actually used by the plants.
Growing plants this way can use as little as 2% of the water that dumping water in soil uses.
If you already have a fish aquarium in your home, you are already half way there for your indoor plant growing.
All you need to do is install a grow bed in place of your tanks filter.
In some cases you may even be able to use the filters existing pump.
If you have a sunny window near your tank, this can make an ideal spot.
With aquaponics you can grow much more in less space, using natural organic fertilizer.
Since you are making a natural system that mostly takes care of itself, it means less work for you.
Fish are very easy to care for, and they will take care of watering and fertilizing your plants for you.
Plus you get to have fish to either eat or to keep like aquarium fish.