It’s September already! These past 3 1/2 months have taken us down some completely unexpected paths and set us back. Having such a late start to the season certainly did help matters.

Click on picture to see our photo collection on Flickr or find the link at the end of this post to follow our thread on Murray Hallam's forum.

The main challenges have been insufficient fish to support our system which has led to many deficiencies. The discovery of this, however, has been dwarfed by something even more challenging… pests! Spider mites and thrips. Thrips are also known to carry and transfer plant viruses… we’re waiting for a diagnosis of something that got hold of all our tomato plants and our cucumbers.

We’ve learned you have to know so much more than just planting a seed. We’ve also learned that you need to be an expert on plant diseases and deficiencies. Let’s not forget that you need to be a pest expert too! What to look for and how to deal with things FAST! We have learned a ton, we’ve moved forward, determined.

Since we’ve chosen to Aquaponics to grow our food, we’re fish “farmers” first and foremost. All our decisions are always based on “the fish” and making sure they remain healthy. We are unable to use any chemical controls, none what so ever to control pests which can be very damaging. It has turned out to be more challenging than some organic growing practices we’ve encountered where many chemical controls can still be used under the “organic” umbrella.

You can find pictures of our progress here and steps along our journey here on Murray Halam’s forum.