High density agriculture and Sustainable.

In the same vein of sustainable agriculture and beekeeping, aquaponics combines raising fish and hydroponics in what can be a organic closed system.   The elegance of the system is beautiful, being able to produce meat and using the byproduct to produce vegetables with hydroponics.

More info on wikipedia.


What is Aquaponics? from OrganicNation on Vimeo.

From my research the rule of thumb is that you get double the number of gallons in your fish tank as square feet of garden.  So a 300 gallon tank will get you 600 square feet of vegetable planting.  Doing this in a green house extends the season in more temperate climates.   Leafy green vegetables thrive but you can also do tomatoes cucumbers and any other plant that can handle the very wet hydroponic environment.

Aquaponics

Looking to the collapse in real estate, vacant land abounds in many over built areas.  Urban farming using high yield high density food production like aquaponics could be put on just a few acres.   Urban farmers could grow herbs, greens and vegetables for local consumers and have a nice market for their fish too.