Author: Aqua Gardening

How Many Plants Can I Grow In This Area?

Video Transcript:

Hi, I’m Shiran from Aqua Gardening.

We often get the question “how many plants can I grow with this system?”. In this video we are going to discuss ways to determine how many plants you can grow successfully, while considering how to keep the system in balance.

Too many plants, and there will not be enough nutrient for the plants which will slow there growth. Too few plants, and the system will have an excess of nutrient which will lead to a unhealthy water for the fish.

In an aquaponics system, food eaten by the fish is turned into waste, and beneficial bacteria convert this waste into nutrients for your plants.

So the more fish you have, the more food they eat, and the more plants you can grow. However, with more waste being produced, you need more bacteria to convert it. And consequently, you need more growing media and filtration to have more bacteria. So the fish, bacteria and plants all form vital parts of the aquaponics system!

Everything is interconnected…

Our aquaponics kits come with the ideal amount of grow media for the number of fish we recommend. But if you already have a system, and you need to increase filtration to have more fish and plants, there’s a couple ways to do it.

Boost the bacteria with a pond filter, add additional growing beds with clay balls, and add an air pump. All of these options boost either surface area or the oxygenation of the water, which are both ways to encourage the bacteria.

So if you’re still with me, you’re asking so how many plants can I grow?

When it comes to leafy greens, you can only grow as many as you can fit so that the broad leaves catch the sun. Generally, you can plant 5 in the same space as 4 if you pull the leaves off every day or two.

In regards to herbs, We find we don’t need more plants as a single plant often provides more than enough! When it comes to tomatoes, beans and vines, this is where you see the biggest benefits. Only the stem takes up space in your grow bed – the rest of the plant can climb a lattice, wall or trellis, away from the other plants.

We estimate you can grow twice as many of these plants compared to a soil garden, due to their smaller root systems.

You can further boost the number of plants with the addition of a vertical garden – check out our wall garden planters which are perfect for aquaponics. NFT channels can also be mounted on brackets against fences and walls to save the space.

Now you have an idea how many plants you can grow, check our Kit Selection Guide on the link below to see how much space each kit uses. With the purchase of a kit, you gain access to our video library of Expert Tips and hints to help you garden successfully. I’m Shiran from Aqua Gardening – safe healthy food that grows itself.