naTural culTiVaTion: FusinG MoDern anD TraDiTional Techniques
aquaponics
"The absence oF These bacTeria in hydroponic sysTeMs caused nuTrienT soluTions To slowly change inTo soMeThing ThaT was poisonous To planTs."
In the middle of the 1990s, researchers involved in aquaristics (fish-keeping) noticed that using the nutrient solution from the bottom of their aquariums to feed their plants achieved exceptional results in the quality of the end product. The bacteria naturally present in the earth broke down the molecules in the aquarium water into ions that could be immediately taken up by the plants. From this, the researchers understood that if they could find a method for developing these benign bacteria strains in their hydroculture systems they could prevent souring of their nutrient solutions. In order to populate an area with a bacterial strain, you must create just the right conditions: mainly hiding places (porous clay granules) and high oxygen content,
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which are basic requirements for all life on Earth. By simply replacing the tank of the hydro system with an aquarium, and ensuring a sufficient oxygen supply and a porous substrate (clay granules, etc.), benign bacteria will develop by themselves. This process is dependent on what aquarists call “the
nitrification cycle.” During this process, ammonia—which comes from the droppings of fish and rotting organic material in the water (and is fatal to fish)—is