Article by Zul Macho

Planting the seeds in your aquaponic garden is much easier than putting them in the ground. You just have to put them on a netting pot and… this is it! Then you just have to wait for them to start vegetating and grow. However, there is one little aspect you must know before placing the seeds and that is – the ideal moment when the seeds should be planted.

Many people purchase the fish, place them in the tank and in the same day they also place the seeds in the pots. This is by far the worst way of approaching aquaponics as the seeds, even though will grow and develop up to a certain point, they will die in a matter of days after they finish their own supplies if there are no nutrients in the water on which they can feed.

Thus, the perfect moment to place the seeds in the pots is when the fish excrements have turned into nutrients. The process through which you can obtain nutrients for your plants is quite simple. After you place the fish into the tanks, they will start freeing excrements into the water. Because the excrements contain ammonia, they are highly toxic for the fish. However, do not worry about that, as this issue is solved by nature itself. There are bacteria which transform the ammonia into nitrites and then into nitrates. In order for your plants to grow you need nitrates, so once the process of decomposing and transforming ammonia is over, the water will be ready to support the plant seeds.

The entire process can take up to 3 months, time in which you should not place any type of seeds in the pots as they will certainly die. There are also ways to speed up the process by inserting nitrates into the water before the fish excrements can transform. However, many people do not like to interfere in nature’s way. However, no matter what way you choose, it is recommended to monitor the amount of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates from the water, so that you can always know the quality of your water for both your fish and your vegetables.

Planting the seeds at the right time is essential if you want good crops and healthy fish, so monitor the quality of your water permanently, before and after planting. It is the only way through which you can obtain good crops.

Starting an aquaponic garden can be quite an easy task, especially for those who have already tried the hydroponic system. Yet, many people still have doubts about the effectiveness of such a system. If you are one of them, then you probably want to know more about the aquaponic system and about the way in which it is going to change your life. Well, read on and part of your questions will get their answers.

First of all it must be mentioned that the aquaponic system is not meant in any way at modifying the plants which are going to be put in the netting pot. No substance will speed their growth and no additional, human help will be given for the crops to be available earlier than they would be if cultivated in the ground. What aquaponics does is only to replace the ground with water filled with naturally obtained nutrients from the fish. Thus, if you are looking for a system which will provide you with tomatoes in just a couple of weeks, then you are definitely in the right place.

The aquaponic system is all natural, which means that the plant will follow the normal stages in its development and will grow as if it were planted in the ground. So, in order to properly estimate the time when you will have the first crops look on the package and see how much time that particular plant needs to grow in the ground as that is the exact time in which you will have your fist crops.

If you start your aquaponic garden now, then you will have to add about 3 month to the date from the seed package, as you will not be able to plant the seeds until the ammonia from the fish excrements will turn into nourishing substances and the process will take about 3 months. No fertilizers or chemical substances which can speed plant growing can be used as this will kill the fish and eventually ruin your aquaponic garden, but you can skip those 3 months by inserting nitrates in the water from the first days you purchase the fish tank.

Vegetables grown in aquaponic gardens need as much time to develop as the ones grown in the ground, which guarantees you tasty and healthy vegetables. So, there is no need to be suspicious or doubtful about the quality of the crops obtained through the aquaponic system. They are as tasty and healthy as can be, sometimes healthier than what you find on the market!

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