Sustainable Urban Farming Through Aquaponics

Tank systems with fish, recirculating water and food growing areas can create a self-serving cyclical farm, all in a very small space. This piece explains.

"'There's alternate ways of growing food,' he said. 'I don't want to push it down people's throats, but if someone's interested, I'd like to show them you can do this with cheap parts and a little bit of Yankee ingenuity.'

It's all part of a home experiment he is conducting in a form of year-round, sustainable agriculture called aquaponics - a neologism that combines hydroponics (or water-based planting) and aquaculture (fish cultivation) - which has recently attracted a zealous following of kitchen gardeners, futurists, tinkerers and practical environmentalists.

And Australians - a lot of Australians."