Alternative Gardening 2011

Another growing season is upon us. In between rain storms, Sussex County NJ gardeners are planning, dreaming, prepping and pledging to PLANT A ROW for the Hungry this season. The Sussex County Board of Agriculture initiated this grass roots community service project with a different spin from the Garden Writer's Association's original vision...The SCBOA utilizes its web presence to not only encourage gardeners to Plant an Extra garden row dedicated to sharing with a local food assistance program or neighbor in need-but equally important- the site offers agricultural experience, horticultural knowledge, recipes, how-to's on canning and preserving the harvest AND alternative gardening.
Why would farmers encourage alternative gardening? The facts are that farmers have always encouraged local produce-fresh and healthy as important part of a daily diet. But in today's hectic pace, it isn't always easy or practical for folks to garden.

The Alternative Gardening feature (part of the SCBOA Plant a Row online segment) demonstrates it is possible (and relatively easy) to grow food in small spaces using some alternative methods like; containers, edible landscapes, strawbale gardening and no dig potatoes, upside down tomatoes on the deck and more.
The harvest from the 2010 PAR Alternative Gardening model undertaken by SCBOA member farm Shepherd's Cove, proved productive-producing enough food for the Shepherd's Cove family table AND and abundance to share through a local food shelter. This year SHEPHERD's COVE has signed on for a rather unique alternative experience- hydroponically growing produce while simultaneously raising protein ( namely trout) in a system that exchanges nutrients from the fish waste (those feed the plants) with filtered water returned to the 50 gallon stock tank.

The project began a few weeks ago with the installation of a 3 flow tube system (enough for 18 plants) and the acquisition of brown trout from a New Jersey hatchery. Here's what Shepherd's Cove reports so far:

" We were delighted to construct the three tube hydroponics system with so much ease. Made from PVC piping, the system can hold 18 plants-which to our delight DO NOT have to be restricted to lettuce!
Our initial hope was to raise Tilapia in the stock tank-however-sourcing this fish proved to be almost impossible and not cost effective. Our goal is to create an economical and practical model that can easily be repeated ANYWHERE.
After several weeks of trying to locate a hatchery that bred tilapia, we shifted gears and decided to make trout our protein source. Trout are heat sensitive and sensitive to changes in their environment- however, we believe that we've worked out many of the issues and are on the road to success in achieving and maintaining that delicate balance.

We'll be sending photos and diary entries to Green Happenings H2O as we move forward with this project- our end goal being a food pantry donation of both fish and produce-including some less traditional hydroponically produced plants! Fingers crossed!"Shepherd's Cove

Green Happenings H2O encourages YOU to become part of the SCBOA/Plant A Row project by visiting the Sussex County Board Of Agriculture website: www.sussexcountyboardofagriculture.org and making your participation pledge to Plant A Row. Find local donation sites by zip code search-learn about the food you grow and how canning and preserving  your garden harvest can significantly add savings to your food budget AND test out some alternative gardening at home!

Green Happenings H2o is excited to have Shepherd's Cove Farm contributing to our site. We wish them well in their exploration of hydroponic growing and aquaculture!