Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Continental Organics to build a 900,00 square foot indoor organic farm

Continental Organics a service-owned veterans small business, has committed itself to creating a 900,000 square foot indoor organic farm in Orange County. With 120 employees and 50 percent being Veterans, the company plans to create a 21st century hydroponics system that will allow them to grow not just organic vegetables but also fish. Utilising the principle of ‘locally grown, organic & sustainable farming’, Continental Organics is already raising its first tilapia crop, with an estimated production of 100,000 lbs. per year. That’s the aquaculture part of the equation. 
hydroponics system
The organic waste from the fish will be used to produce three million heads of hydroponically grown (meaning grown in nutrient-rich water, not soil) lettuce. Aquaponics is a sustainable method of agriculture that is becoming very popular because it can be practiced intensively in densely populated areas or in regions of the world with poor soil and little freshwater. Aquaponics is sustainable, highly productive, and utilises 90 percent less water than traditional agriculture.

Aquaponics combines the farming of an aquatic organism (fish, mollusks, shrimp etc.) with the hydroponic technique of growing plant crops (vegetables, herbs, fruits) without soil. These two forms of agriculture are merged in a closed loop system through the re-use and recycling of nutrients and water.  Naturally occurring bacteria and biological processes create a third component, the biofilter, which converts the fish waste into nutrient rich fertiliser for the plants. These three components – fish, plants, and biofilter -complete a Recirculating Aquaponic System or “RAS”. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little, The Aquaculturists, published and supported by the International Aquafeed Magazine from Perendale Publishers. To get your copy of 'PPLAPP' click here.

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1 comment:

  1. Organic farming helpful in social, economic and environmental aspects. Organic farming helps to sustain health of soils. Use of locally available resources is the highlight of organic farming.

    Documentary “Farming Our Future” tells the ill effects of chemical farming and the role of organic farming in the creation of a healthy world.

    To watch this documentary please visit - http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/6804

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