Farmin' In The Hood

[avs]

We are going to have an Urban Agriculture Forum on October 6 from 6-7:30 at the JEA Conference Center 970 N Main Street

We will be discussing what Urbna Ag is, what the issues are, and what we need to do to get the city to be more tolerant and provide positive structure for this growing trend

[Ernest Street]

I have wanted to set up an Aquaculture farm for sooo long now. The tropical fish farms I visited in Polk County usually have ponds at least 8 feet deep for winter and summer "Hunkering". When you introduce tanks into the scene you have a cooling problem in our 97ish summers (no direct sunlight obviously. And they have to be kept at least down to 85-90 degrees ..or cooked.
It's all about water quality. If you can line that pond and filter it you might do well in a Springfield back yard.
Yes..the Tilapia is a Chicilid. A South American fish too aggressive to be an ornamental fish  and very territorial which could be a problem in a 5 foot wide tank with 25 fish in it.
When I broke a wrist working on the Epcot Laser show I was allowed to work at "The Land"Aquaculture exhibit. they grew up tiger prawns in weeks,Freshwater Eels (Say Unagi?)
The catfish swimming pool required 80 pounds of pellets a day and they were consumed before they ever hit the bottom...awesome!
We had wild (or released by accident) Tilapia in the canal behind us and we watched Mama Tilapia clear a 6' wide nest on the bottom and chase everything away...Yes..even coming onto the bank a few times.
I was told the pellet fed Tilapia has a natural buttery flavor as opposed to the vegan ones.

I'm looking forward to the "Bi-Monthly Springfield Tilapia Fry/Poach/Bake"

[Sigma]

Great!!!