Hello from Galveston, Tx

[urbanfarmer]

Hello,
I'm looking to start up a decent size hobby operation as a family/friends community effort. Some of the questions that have come up have been around the taste and nutrient quality of the plants that are grown in an AP system. Specifically with herbs and salad greens, how does an AP system compare with that of veggies organically grown in soil; nutrient, and micronutrient wise. ( and flavor ) Are there some things that plants can only get from the soil, or are there ways with AP to provide those same nutrients as well?

Thanks for any input,
Tyler

AP can provide the same nutrients as the soil. It really depends on how you maintain your system. AP basically has soil without the soil... I know it sounds all Zen like...

How goes the community effort? Update us!

[bcotton]

Tyler
Welcome to another Texas boy .
I can say I have not tasted any off flavor from anything I have eaten out of my system . With a good quality fish food you should get most everything you need passing through the fish . The one thing most seem to find lacking is iron and for that you can use chelated iron or what most use Maxicrop w/iron . Since I had too many cubic foot of bed I could no way afford hydrotron so I ended up using crushed granite only to find it does contain a lot of trace elements ,maybe that helps ,maybe it don' t but as long as the plants grow well I won't complain !
Just tell the folks ,No the veggies won't taste like fish !
Have A Kind Day
Mike

Here in texas you can buy expanded shale by the cubic yard at any landscaping/gravel supply. It's 1/15th the cost of hydroton with similar properties.

brian

[urbanfarmer]

Tyler
Welcome to another Texas boy .
I can say I have not tasted any off flavor from anything I have eaten out of my system . With a good quality fish food you should get most everything you need passing through the fish . The one thing most seem to find lacking is iron and for that you can use chelated iron or what most use Maxicrop w/iron . Since I had too many cubic foot of bed I could no way afford hydrotron so I ended up using crushed granite only to find it does contain a lot of trace elements ,maybe that helps ,maybe it don' t but as long as the plants grow well I won't complain !
Just tell the folks ,No the veggies won't taste like fish !
Have A Kind Day
Mike

Here in texas you can buy expanded shale by the cubic yard at any landscaping/gravel supply. It's 1/15th the cost of hydroton with similar properties.

brian

Actually, I think it has double the surface area compared to hydroton. Also, regular gravel has 20% more surface area than hydroton. Interesting, huh?

[foodchain]

I was just in Galveston last weekend for that big rainstorm....kids still loved the beach. I have to agree with everyone else. The vegetables taste better, possibly imagined in my case I don't know. The fish/prawns taste good. But have found that if you don't keep good, clean water mine can get a "muddy" tastes similar to fish you catch in mud ponds. Again it might just be me here.
Also, I have found that if my strawberries don't get enough light/sun...they taste all watery. Look nice, but short on flavour. If they get too much the berries are smaller, but very sweet. Best guess is the sun on this. I am running more tests on this logic in the spring with the new season.