Aquaponics is a practice that takes elements from hydroponics and aquaculture, blending them to create a more effective, sustainable and natural food production system. Hydroponics and so, by extension, aquaponics are by definition, soil-less. In nature, soil provides a medium for plants to anchor themselves and grow up towards the sun. Soil also holds the nutrients and water which plants need to live and grow. Plants often develop extensive root systems to ensure they always have good support and access to the full menu of nutrients. There’s also some microbes, bacteria and other microorganisms that help keep the soil healthy, aerated, and not overwhelmed by waste products. Believe it or not, every one of these requirements can be met in an aquaponics system without the use of any soil!
Some aquaponics setups use a grow medium to allow plants to anchor themselves.That’s not soil, though, because the grow medium is generally an artificial or inorganic substance that won’t sustain life on its own. The nutrients and water that plants need are provided by an ebb and flow, or trickling system that presents nutrient-rich water to roots on a near constant basis. Because the nutrients come to them, so to speak, plants do not need to expend energy developing such large roots and usually grow larger and mature earlier than soil-grown plants. Even in soil-less conditions, bacteria and other important microbes thrive and transform waste products from the fish into nutrients ideal for plants to take up. They also help maintain dissolved oxygen levels and remove other impurities from the water. This carefully tuned mutualistic relationship allows an aquaponics system to use the same water, repeatedly enriched, depleted and filtered, for years at a time without the use of soil.
