What kind of Vegetables are we talking about?
So we saw what kind of fish are grown in an Aquaponics system, but what kind of vegetables are we looking at growing?
For many people in the Western world, our diets consist of highly processed grains, sterilized dairy products, high fructose corn syrup, and meats that are produced with antibiotcs, steroids, and fed diets of the same processed grains. What we're left with is is a nation full of people who are or have
Overweight
Malnurished
Attention deficit
Stimulant dependant
High blood pressure
Chronic fatigue
Prone to inflamation
Underdeveloped Immune Systems
In a constant state of a near diabetic condition
How do we combat these situations?
We turn back time nutritionally. We can not go back to the Garden of Eden or even to a antediluvian flood era, but we can go as far back as possible and look to a simple Vegetable, Fruit, Meat and Dairy diet. Reduce or eliminate the refined sugars, refined starches, refined grain and artificial sweeteners that the FDA has sold us out to Big Ag and Big Food Corp for. The people who are supposed to make sure we are safe are approving all the things that are making us sick.
What kinds of Vegetables are we growing?
There is two ways to look at the Vegetables that we will be growing.
The Business: We must make money to keep the business going so we can continue to pay the utilities, the mortgage, the car payment, clothing, gasoline, ect. Some of the cash crops that are always in demand are the leafy lettuces, the butterhead lettuce, the romaine, the kale, the swiss chard, and a few key herbs like basil, chives, and cilantro.
The Ministry: Since we are already growing vegetables and we need to keep our clients busy, we might as well produce the vegetables that we eat at home. In addition to the salad type crops that we are growing for the business, there are other vegetables that have a higher nutrient requirement which needs a more dense fish population. These vegetables include things like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, beans, peas, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. Additionally there is some success with beets, radishes, carrots, and onions.
Now, I'm not a vegitarian, but I remember as a young boy, if I was given the choice between a good salad with my favorite dressing or a steak, there was no competition. The salad won every time. I was skinny, I was fast, my mind worked overtime, my memory was never hazy, I never had any sense of muscle fatigue or joint pain. And while I know our bodies change over time, I can't help but wonder if I would have continued eating the way I did when I was young how much different I would feel now. In addition to the vegetables we grow, we will also be raising chickens (primarily for eggs), and pigs (primarily for our garbage disposal system) to sell a few and to harvest a few for meat on the table.
There will always be vegetables that can grow better in dirt than in an aquaponics system, but we'll talk more about those when we cover other areas of the farm that are outside of the greenhouse.
