Awhile ago we decided to become as self sufficient as we could. Since quite a number of our ‘hobbies’ require electricity, we put up 20 solar panels and a wind turbine and bit by bit other aspects of our little permaculture world began to take shape- and it’s a work in progress still. We moved the entire operation to Brownfield Maine from the Blue Point section of Scarborough in 2016 and are now planning on having a passive solar greenhouse as well. When we first started, it was in our house. Everything. We proved to ourselves that any family can do this. And it is becoming more and more obvious that more should, so we quickly started to tell folks about aquaponics and because we stock quite a number of schools who have systems, talked to the teachers and kids about this wonderful food producing process that uses a lot less water than conventional gardens and with no weeding!
We repeatedly tried to get the State of Maine to allow importation of prawn to grow in our systems and finally last year, our wish was granted. Growing tilapia and prawn together, actually increases the yield and size of the fish and the prawn eat the detritus of the fish and any uneaten food. It is quite a symbiotic relationship. 2018 will be our first opportunity to import this species.