Last May I left on an airplane to Kona, Hawaii to attend a two week internship with Living Aquaponics. I had a great time learning about aquaponics from Zac Hosler on this flourishing green island. For two weeks I was able to see a large scale aquaponics systems in action.
Zac's commerical aquaponics farm is operated on half an acre of land. The first time I saw his operation I was shocked on how such a small area of land produced a sea of green and red vegetation. With this abundance of food, Zac supplies fresh produce to restaurants, farmer's markets, and distributors.
Zac uses as method of aquaponics known as Deep Water Raft Culture. The plants are put into rafts which float on top of the nutrient rich water. The nutrients in an aquaponics system are supplied from fish waste. As the plants grow their roots thrive into water. The length of these roots can easily reach a foot in length. As the vegetables grow their rafts get pushed farther down the system to where they are harvested.
I harvested vegetables such as bok choi, mustards, and various types of lettuce. A great thing about raft systems is the ease of carrying the rafts to a shaded location. Unlike traditional farming, the plants are mobile because the roots lay in the water rather than being confined to soil. After the plants are harvested in the morning they are delivered freshly to his customers.
In addition to learning about the operations of a commercial aquaponics system, I was moved by Zac's values and his passion for growing organic and healthy food. I think that it is valuable for people to know where and how their food was grown. What I took away from my experience with Zac was how much of an impact aquaponics can have on sustainability. In a place like California where we are experiencing a heavy drought, there is potential for farmers to use aquaponics to reduce water usage. Most importantly growing food should be a communal effort between farmers, restaurants, and their consumers in order to promote organic and sustainable growing.
