Maximum Yield Modern Growing | Canadian Edition | May June 2017

microponics
• Live animal protein—black soldier
fly larvae, feeder roaches, mealworms,
and worms
• Farmed rabbits
• Snails
• Mushrooms and fungi
• Other forms of microlivestock—
heritage breeds of goats, pigs, and
sheep—even microcattle, such as
the ancient Irish breed, the Dexter.
APPLIED MICROPONICS
Okay, so what does the integration look
like on a practical level? Currently,
we grow fish, vegetables, herbs, trees,
Japanese quail, chickens, black soldier
fly larvae, worms, and duckweed.
Here’s how our microponic unit works:
• The fish provide nutrients for plants
(including duckweed) and the plants
clean the water for the fish.
• Plant residues and fish
processing wastes are fed to
black soldier fly larvae. The
larvae are fed to fish, chickens,
and quail.
• The chicken and quail meat and
eggs go to the kitchen and the
viscera (guts) are fed to the black
soldier fly larvae. The feathers are
composted.
• The castings from the larvae
(which retain up to 50 per cent of
their original protein level) and
kitchen scraps are fed to worms.
• The worm castings are mixed with
compost and used as a soil conditioner
for trees, vegetables, and
fodder plants; the worms are fed to
fish, chickens, and quail.
• Chickens fertilize the trees and
keep weeds at bay. They also eat
spoiled fruit and the fruit fly larvae
that it contains.
• Other chickens and quail eat the
fodder plants and provide manure
(and eventually feathers and other
processing wastes) for worms,
black soldier fly larvae, and
composting systems.
The important thing about
microponics is that there is no
such thing as waste—everything
becomes part of the nutrient cycle.
Waste heat from chick brooders and
lights (and even the waste body
heat from animals or birds) can
be used to modify environments
in favour of other organisms.
The scope of such integrations is
limited only by one’s imagination.
The integration of fish, plants,
and microlivestock leverages the
volume and quality of the food
that we grow and it makes for a
healthier and more resilient food
production environment.
Our goal is to put clean, fresh
food on the dinner table, so we
use what works best—for the
fish, plants, microlivestock, and
other organisms, and that’s what
microponics is all about!
54 grow cycle