Almost every plant, vegetable, and tree will grow in an aquaponic system. Some plants are just not efficient in their growth and equipment needed to grow them to maturity can get costly inside an aquaponic system.
Some points to consider when choosing what to grow:
It takes time to grow fruit trees and if your aquaponic system goes down, they will more than likely not make it.
Plants take different minerals and levels of minerals to grow at the proper rate. Not all plants can grow together or at least thrive in the same system.
A main difference is the nutrient phosphorus. Fruiting and flowering plants need much more of this nutrient than leafy greens. When phosphorus is added to leafy greens the greens will bolt (go to seed) much faster. That means they will start to produce seeds and not focus their growth on leaf production. Normally you would have two different systems to grow them separately, but this is not an absolute rule as both types of plants can grow together, but will not be maximized in their potential.
Here are some of the most common vegetation grown in an aquaponics system that are tried and true.
Best vegetables
Several species of peppers are incredibly popular with aquaponic gardeners, specifically bell peppers. Growing twice as fast as soil-grown peppers, it is no wonder why.
A vegetable that grows from vines, the cucumber plant takes a bit more skill or practice to grow aquaponically. but it is still among the best crops for aquaponics.
While perhaps not the first vegetable that jumps out at you when considering which aquaponic plants to grow, the eggplant should actually be high on your list.
The first on many gardeners lists, lettuce is one of the very best plants to grow with aquaponics. It grows extremely fast from start to harvest and can even be regrown from stumps.
Best Fruit
Tomatoes are a fruit and do fantastically well in an aquaponics media bed with adequate support for maximum height.
The leading fruit to grow with aquaponics is by far strawberries. There are numerous species to choose from and many of them are growable all year long.
The pomegranate plant is another delicious fruit that does very well in aquaponic systems, regardless of it being less well known.
Though sometimes looked down upon by aquaponic gardeners for their difficulty level, blueberries are in truth a great type of fruit to grow in aquaponic systems.
Believe it or not, almost any sort of fruit tree can be grown aquaponically as a dwarf version. They do however take more time and patience.
For more growing information, along with other suggestions, check out www.whyfarmit.com
Next aquaponics installment will go over which additives are safe and why/when to use them.
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