60 Minutes on Backyard Food Production

[GaryD]

Hi,

For those who missed it, 60 Minutes featured a segment tonight on the growing trend towards backyard food production.

Interestingly, many people are still locked into the notion that food production means just growing fruit and vegetables.

Nonetheless, it was a timely and interesting segment.

Gary

[anniefish]

Hi Gary,

Shame AP was not included. Good segment though.

Annie

[Laurie]

Unfortunately, Peter C. is only interested in 'organic' growing, but should keep up with the times. Hydroponics & aquaponics is the way of the future.

Laurie.

http://www.geelonghydroponicgardening.com

[Murray]

Hi Laurie,
And it is really easy to be an "Organic" gardener where there is plenty of rainfall and there is good soil.
Unfortunately most of Australia is little more than desert.
Here in my part of this great land I can't even grow decent weeds The soil is that bad and the rainfall very unreliable.

Aquaponics and Hydroponics provide a very viable solution to fresh food supplies.

[Castaway]

I don't watch Channel 9 but I did read their transcript here:

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/a...aspx?id=797223

No mention of Aquaponics which isn't surprising but its good to see mainstream television finally starting to catch up with viewer interests.

We visited a community garden in Peregian on the Sunshine Coast QLD yesterday and I took this snap below of private and public plots that anyone is able to access and grow their own vegetables. The council and local businesses are right behind this project judging by all the sponsors who have donated water tanks, pavers, bricks, timber structures etc. Some very nice tanks that could have been Aquaponics systems but full of dirt (for the time being...) Watched a very good demonstration on building your own Cob Oven with clay and pavers. Spoke to a woman in a Govt. Department who also wants a community garden like this one set up in her region. I did my bit to spruik AP to her. Not sure if she knew what I was talking about...People need to walk past and see AP systems in action to become interested I think.

Imagine a community garden set up for AP instead of dirt like this photo below:

[Murray]

Right on Castaway....Problem with Aquaponics ...most people have not even heard of it.
Need to get onto public free-to-air TV...somehow.

Close to 3 years ago Joel Malcolm and his Aquaponics system was featured on ABC Gardening show "Gardening Australia". That event was wonderful for Aquaponics, but it is time for another one, that is for sure.

[Castaway]

Close to 3 years ago Joel Malcolm and his Aquaponics system was featured on ABC Gardening show "Gardening Australia". That event was wonderful for Aquaponics, but it is time for another one, that is for sure.

I think someone like you will have to carry the torch Murray. We need to get the mainstream media to do a real story on growing real food real quick and AP does it really well!

"...and that's your bloomin' lot Peter Cundall!"

[GaryD]

Hi,

Unfortunately, Peter C. is only interested in 'organic' growing, but should keep up with the times. Hydroponics & aquaponics is the way of the future.

Peter Cundall has spent many years teaching thousands of people to garden organically......and, when you do it as successfully as he does, you don't need to keep up with the times.

By definition, aquaponics is the combination of recirculating aquaculture and hydroponics......but to assume that aquaponics is the only way that fish and plants can be successfully integrated amounts to limited thinking. The fact is that aquaculture has a role to play in virtually any plant growing system......and a host of other food production systems, too.

The attachment of a simple recirculating aquaculture system to a Peter Cundall-style gardening arrangement would provide a crop of fish for the same amount of water that it took to grow the plants......and would be just as efficient (taking account of everything) as most aquaponics systems.

Gary