LIKE the sound of catching a fish in your own backyard?
Residents can learn to build 2m x 2m systems to farm edible native fish and vegetables for as little as $100 at a two-day workshop at CERES Environment Park in Brunswick East this month.
Course facilitator Stephen Mushin said the two-level aquaponics system used 99 per cent less water than a conventional garden and could provide households with two fish a month and plenty of fresh salad.
“You can grow almost anything, but we normally grow leafy greens: bok choi, basil,” said Mr Mushin. “We grow silver perch, but there is a large variety of native fish we recommend.”
Plants grow in a bathtub lined with gravel, which sits above a tank filled with fish.
A small aquarium pump feeds nutrient-rich water from the tank to the bathtub, irrigating and fertilising the plants.
“The water basically goes round in a circle, through the gravel bed and back down again. It only uses 1 per cent of the water a normal garden uses,” Mr Mushin.
He said it took six to 12 months for silver perch to grow to an edible 500g size. The workshop runs on May 14-15. Cost: $220/$180. Bookings: 9387 2609.