Hello Readers – I had intended to write again shortly after the earthquake but COVID had other plans. Nick got the positive diagnosis first and I followed two days after. We had the good fortune of sending Nia away to a friend’s house for five nights and thought she’d been spared, but when we tested her on the night she came home, she was positive too. She’s only on day three now, so we’re stuck with the germs for a bit longer. I am grateful to tell you that my second COVID case was milder than the first, perhaps due to the fact that I tried Paxlovid (it’s recommended for immuno-compromised individuals). All that remains now is a sinus infection and cough. Unfortunately, those are VERY hard for me to kick. I am not a good sick person either. I like to be out and about doing things, not trapped in the house!
Speaking of doing things . . . the day before I started having symptoms, Nia and I attended a fascinating tour that I must tell you about. I’m guessing you’ve heard of hydroponics before. That’s the process of growing plants in water (without soil). And you’ve also probably heard of aquaculture, which is the practice of raising fish in large tanks. I was familiar with both of those practices, but what I didn’t know was that a mutually beneficial relationship, or symbiosis, results when you pair hydroponics with aquaculture. The result is called AQUAPONICS.
How does it work, you ask? Well, let’s start with the fish. The fish are in large tanks of water. Their waste, which is excreted into the water, is high in ammonia. Bacteria then convert that ammonia into nitrates. When that nitrate-rich water is pumped into the plant’s grow beds, the nitrogen acts as fertilizer for the plants. In return, the plants act as natural filters for the water before it is returned to the fish tank. This closed-loop system uses up to 90% less water than traditional agriculture methods and can be done in any climate and at various scales. Here’s a simple diagram of a system.
The operation we toured (pictured above) was at a Kazakh Agricultural Institute. The American who set up the system came here to teach students how to do this on their own, so they could go back to their home cities in Kazakhstan and set up small businesses that could simultaneously feed their families, provide income, and share nutrient-rich greens with their community. This is especially important in Kazakhstan where the land is not ideal for many crops due to the soil type and harsh climate of the steppe.
During our tour, we learned how to assess the plant’s health by looking at the color of its root system. We also got to see the differences between how to grow lettuce versus a microgreen and we sampled six different kinds of microgreens that they cut fresh from the plant. Nia was super into the microgreens especially and begged me to buy her these pea sprouts, which she proceeded to nibble off the entire cab ride home. :)
Our tour timing turned out to be exceptional because 700 new baby tilapia arrived while we were touring and we got to see them acclimatized to the new tank. They put the barrels with the fish directly into the big tank and just left them sit there for 20 minutes to help normalize the water temp between the two so the fish wouldn’t get shocked.
It was a lot of excitement and Nia was lucky enough to get a front-row seat!
We learned that there’d been a small fire in the greenhouse in the fall and despite catching it quickly, it altered the tenuous balance of the ecosystem and caused most of the fish–and many of the plants–to die. It felt good to see them building the ecosystem back up again.
We’ve been buying weekly orders of lettuce from this company since we first arrived and were not in need of more that day, but several other tour participants decided to purchase some. My eager beaver was more than happy to pick and package it for them. Doesn’t she look like a natural?
Nia’s a big nature lover in general, so this whole experience was quite dreamy for her. She loved it so much, in fact, that she asked the owner if she could come and volunteer there this summer. I loved seeing her enthusiasm and would gladly support her in that. We’ll just have to see how our summer plays out travel-wise, as we’re planning a month-long trip back to the States. One thing’s for sure though . . . she and I definitely have the same innate curiosity and love of learning new things!
