Right off the bat, planting the seeds in your aquaponic garden is much easier than putting them in the ground. You just put your high quality seeds into a net pot and you are done! Then wait. No work for you involved for them to start germinating and growing. Knowing when to plant the seeds is your only task for now.
Beware Haste
Do not purchase the fish, place them in the tank and immediately place the seeds in the pots. Don’t even consider doing this. Even though your seeds may grow and develop up to a certain point, they will die in as soon as the seeds consume their own meagre supplies of nutrients. Since the fish have not generated any nutrients yet, your new plants will not have nutrients available to them. This will undoubtedly cause them to shrivel and die.
Patience is Rewarded
Wait for that perfect moment when the fish excrement has turned into beneficial nutrients. Then place your seeds in the pots. The process which generates nutrients for your plants is quite simple. After you place the fish into the tanks, they will start freely dropping excrement into the water. The excrement contains ammonia, which is highly toxic to the fish. As long as the concentrations are not too high, this is not a problem for the fish. There are bacteria in the water, which immediately transform the ammonia into nitrites. These eventually evolve into nitrates. For your plants to grow they need nitrates. When the process of decomposing and transforming ammonia is over, the water will be ready to support your plants.
The entire process of turning ammonia into nitrates can take up to three long months. Do not place any type of seeds in the pots during this time as they will certainly not flourish or develop fruit.
For the Impatient Gardener
Fortunately, for those will little to no patience, you can speed up the process by inserting nitrates into the water before the fish excrement is transformed.
Water Quality
Whether you choose to do this or not, you should monitor the amount of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates in the water. Check the pH as well. You want to always know the quality of your water for both your fish and your vegetables. This will allow you can take the appropriate action before a disaster occurs.
Conclusion
As you can see, planting the seeds at the right time is essential to growing good crops and healthy fish. Monitor the quality of your water regularly, both before and after planting. This is the only way to guarantee good crops.