Growing/harvest periods

[mrjuice]

Just a quick question about growing time to harvest. Due to the vigor that plants grow in an aquaponic system. Does that translate into quicker harvest times, or does that just mean there is more growth during that same time. Is there a good site that outlines aquaponic growth for various edibles?

Yes, i know its a rather general question as im not talking about one particular variety, im unsure of exactly what i will plant, just would be nice to have some sort of general rule when planning crop rotations. Thanks

[Pugo]

Which harvest are you talking about fish or plant? If it is plants your mileage will vary If it fish your mileage will vary To many factors for there to be a set time table. Plants will grow faster than there soil based cousins, But that depends on how well you system process nitrogen, and the PH you maintain then the temperatures the plants grow in, how much sun light.. so on so forth..

[Earthan Group]

Just a quick question about growing time to harvest. Due to the vigor that plants grow in an aquaponic system. Does that translate into quicker harvest times, or does that just mean there is more growth during that same time.

Not that we have seen. We have trialed deep water culture, gravel beds and well watered wicking earth bed next to each other and see no difference. The water makes up a large portion of a plants cell growth so it goes to say, any plant will grow well in any media provided it has sufficient water, along with nutrients and the right temperature for that growth. No white mans magic here mate.

[Caca]

For me time is not the essence.
healthy food is (for me and my family), from my hands.
Don't get me wrong but, if we make growing/harvest period short from x to y time, there is no benefit. I'm not a factory.
But, people do that - Better ,Faster,....

Again , maybe I'm wrong to see things that way.

[Pugo]

It is just part of selling the idea of aquaponics, healthier, faster, better.. the ability to harvest twice as much from a smaller area. I can plant twice and harvest twice, before my neighbor gets his first harvest. This make aquaponics twice as productive as soil gardens for a lot of people this is very important.
As for me I am far more interested in the Fish, But it is nice that I can walk out my back door pick some fresh lettuce for a sandwich, vegetables for dinner.

[mrjuice]

I can plant twice and harvest twice, before my neighbor gets his first harvest. This make aquaponics twice as productive as soil gardens

This is what I was referring to when I started the thread when i was asking does it translate into quicker harvest times or just more growth during that time. If a packet of seeds says 60 days, would that be shorter growing aquaponically. Is there a guestimation guideline to start from.

[Pugo]

I am a lazy guy, I very seldom plant from seeds, I buy my seedlings from a shop, rinse the dirt off their roots place then in the grow bed and we are off to the races. I have some luck with seeds but mostly not.. Like many others we have found it much better to start the seedlings outside the system and once they get going we place them into the growbeds. I have read the package on the back that says 60 days or 90 days but in my dirt garden they never were ready to harvest when the 90 or 60 days were up. I got eggplants in 30 days in my system ready to harvest.. really it was amazing on a Saturday, I saw the egg plant start it was may be 1/2 inch by the next Saturday it was 8 inches long.. The Funny thing is you can almost see you plants growing in an aquaponics system, I saw a plant drupped over from the heat two hours later it was standing straight up.

[Earthan Group]

I have read the package on the back that says 60 days or 90 days but in my dirt garden they never were ready to harvest when the 90 or 60 days were up.

did you constantly water the dirt garden?

[kellenw]

Hello Mr Juice,

It all depends. All things being equal, you should expect the same grow out time frames for plants "in the dirt" or in aquaponics. However, with proper monitoring of nutrients and water quality, hydroponics and aquaponics often do reduce grow out times slightly and can decrease crop losses substantially. Kind of a contradiction, but here's why...

There's no magic at play. Properly designed and managed aquaponics and hydroponics facilities are very controlled growing environments (ie. greenhouses) that substantially reduce many of the variables (unfavorable weather, drought, heat waves, frost risks, some of the insect and critter problems, etc.). When plants get optimal nutrients, photoperiod, temperature, water and so forth, they are going to tend to grow faster than those that don't. Growing outdoors in the dirt it's common to occasionally experience "interruptions" to the plants' optimal conditions. So, it's not so much BECAUSE of aquaponics, but because of the better environmental controls most aquaponics facilities provide. Make sense?

[Shane]

Just a quick question about growing time to harvest. Due to the vigor that plants grow in an aquaponic system. Does that translate into quicker harvest times, or does that just mean there is more growth during that same time.

Hi Mr Juice,

I've found some things grow better in dirt than AP..well for me anyhow...and vice versa.
For example,
Zuchini, Squash, Cucumber, Pumpkin have all done better for me in dirt.
Lettuce, Eggplant, Tomato, Snow Peas, Celery all grow way better for me in AP.

I suggest you find what grows best for you in your area in both dirt & AP...and then use both to get your maximum yield.