|
AquaRanch™ Systems Liners for Tanks & Ponds Aquaculture in Education Comments & Articles |
Out Back Water Gardens, An Aesthetic Approach to Aquaponics
By Myles Harston In the past, much of the focus for aquaponics has been on raising products for consumption. During my research in this field, I found the Owens family using aquaponics on a daily basis... but they have taken a different and beautifully aesthetic approach. Appropriately named, Out Back Water Gardens (owned by the Owens') is a business dealing with water gardening. Using aquaponic methods, they produce colorful Koi fish and lovely water garden plants.
After building the first pond, the plants grew so quickly that they needed someplace to put the excess plants, so they decided to start adding ponds. The second pond they built measures 18' x 45' and has an earthen bottom. It is used for raising Lotus and for overwintering hardy plants. For those of you interested in water gardening, it is a great hobby to have. You don't necessarily need a green thumb because you don't have to water the plants and there is no grass to mow! You do have to be dedicated, however. Sometimes it can get frustrating but, if one thing doesn't work, there is always something else to try. Every pond is as unique as the person who created it. There are so many different kinds of ponds to create, from the mixture of plants and aquatic life within it to its size and functions. They have gardens ranging from a basic tub to a pond that is 20' x 90' x 3'. Some customers want their water garden for relaxation after a hard day at work; others want it for an ongoing project or for learning purposes. Whatever the reason, there is a pond for everyone.
Back to "Articles Authored By Us"
|
The Owen's farm is a traditional farm with row crops, cattle, and some chickens. Several years ago they decided to diversify their farming with water gardening. They now have a large selection of butterfly Koi, regular Koi, and some goldfish. Koi fish are a diverse species with many different color patterns and fin styles. Only a few out of each batch will have top quality coloring and fin style, which makes them rare and worth much more than the average Koi fish. Shawn Owen enjoys entertaining his customers who buy Koi fish for as much as $150.00 and will often don an Australian hat and a Tahitian style casting net to catch the fish. Out Back Water Gardens also offers 73 varieties of gorgeous aquatic plants. Amazingly, they even sell tadpoles for a dollar each. Not bad considering how many tadpoles a frog can produce. Ususally customers want to stock their ponds with the tadpoles right away instead of waiting for a few frogs to find their way into their ponds.
The Owen's water gardening business started by chance about ten years ago. A friend of the family had moved to Oregon before their house was sold and Shawn Owen was asked to take care of the yard. There was a small fiberglass pond in the yard with some beautiful water lilies. They were left in the pond with the hope that their beauty would help sell the house. During the winter the lilies were left in Shawn's care to prevent winterkill. When spring came, the Owens dug their first pond which is now their show pond and transplanted the lilies there. Shawn started his business from that point and the family enjoyed it so much that three years later Shawn's mom, Jeanne Owen, decided to join him in the business. More recently, Dave Owen, Shawn's dad, joined Out Back Water Garden's team and is a welcome addition to pond maintenance.
The third pond has a liner and measures 20' x 90'. This pond is used for Koi breeding and also for overwintering hardy plants. The fourth pond is the largest and measures 30' x 90'. This pond is home to large tropical night-blooming Victorian water lilies. These Victorian water lilies are reminiscent of the old Tarzan movies where Tarzan floats down the African river on the huge lily pad. These lilies measure 3 feet in diameter and are covered on the underside with thorns. Their blooms are about the size of a softball and look like peony blooms. They open for two nights with an obvious change in appearance from one night to the next. It takes two separate blooms to pollinate and produce seeds. They originate in the tropical Amazon Basin which makes it almost impossible to overwinter. Although the Owens added a greenhouse to overwinter their tropical plants, most professionals simply grow them from seeds.
Each pond has its own filtration system to remove solids and aerate the water. The filters are relatively simple. They ahve a large plastic stock tank. The water flows in through the bottom of the tank and out the top. The filter material consists of mesh bags of washed lava rock on the bottom, one or two fiber mesh filter pads in the middle and it is topped off with water plants whose roots are good natural filters, such as lettuce and hyacinth. Due to limited time, the Owens only fertilize the plants at specific times. They fertilize in the spring when they first open the ponds up. They also fertilize whenever they divide or re-pot the plants. Plus any time they sell a plant, they fertilize it just before it goes to its new home. As for the fish, there is a special color-enhancing food that the Owens use on a regular basis.
Out Back Water Gardens markets their products mainly by word of mouth at the present time. They have sent out fliers as well. They are planning to open a website to advertise what they have, who they are, and where they are located. However, they are not planning to sell over the Internet. They plan on slow-but-steady growth as they become more widely known. They have always emphasized that personal service is their number one priority and plan to keep that a top priority as they continue to grow.
Now, for those of you interested in the business aspects of water gardening, you need to have a lot of dedication and time. You also need plenty of room for ponds, filters, and greenhouses. The possibility of profit is definately there because every year more and more people are interested enough to invest in a water garden. For more information on Out Back Water Gardens, contact them at: