Help me change the world one block at a time.

My concept is simple and elegant: Grow food that's 100% organic with no pesticides, no fertilizers, and no GMOs. I have been a backyard aquaponic designer / grower for over 2 years and have invested my money in equipment, products and building materials. My goal is to design zero-net energy, organic, aquaponic greenhouses that will be built on parking lots and unused land in urban environments. This system allows for the production of a variety of fruits and vegeatables as well as fresh fish and shellfish.  My hope is that these greenhouses will be able to convert city blocks from barren land to year-round food production plants.  A significant number of these greenhouses could also reduce CO2 emissions in the city.  I am located on the beautiful California Central Coast with a climate ideal for plant production. I plan to have approximately 300,000 sq. ft. dedicated to growing  vegetables. I am building a state-of-the-art production facility, ensuring consistent and superior quality. The facility includes IBT containers, gravity irrigation , environmental controls, solar powered pump and fan system and solar water heating. The ability to develop this project would be an amazing opportunity.  The possibility of making  fresh, healthy foods more available to urban citizens while reducing greenhouse gasses.  Your donations could be the beginning of the success of a project intent to make the world a better, healthier place for all.

You are invited to become a sponsor of this ambitious project at my donations page here:

This produce will also be sold locally, giving our community access to healthy produce. It is important for people everywhere to produce their own, healthy food. Our system provides fresh organic food and fish. No chemical pesticides go into the environment to produce it and no fossil fuels are used to transport our food across highways or oceans. We produce enough food ourselves so that we have a surplus available for sale at our local farmers market. Aquaponics truly is farming of the future.

Aquaponics is a closed-loop system in which plants are fertilized by fish tanks, and the plants filter the water that will be returned to the fish tanks. Captured rain water allows us to grow produce using aquaponics, an aquaculture system where this water is used to grow plants hydroponically. While using water eight times more efficiently than traditional farming and with up to three times the production capability. I anticipate we could have as many as 4,000 plants growing at one time and can expect to grow about 40,000 heads of lettuce per year. 

This is important to the community because there are still hungry people who go to bed with out eating. Also there is a growing concern for water management during a California drought. Lastly, this is important to the community because many people don't know what products at the store are truly organic and wholesome. Vegetables such as kale, tomatoes, basil, lettuce and spinach can be grown in the middle of winter and sold locally. Over half the costs of fresh produce is transportation and spoilage. By growing all the produce locally, we eliminate the expense of shipping cost. This lowers the carbon footprint on a massive level when perishable items need to be shipped long distances.  Also, there is a growing concern for water management during the ongoing California drought. 

Aquaponics101: Aquaponics is the term for combining hydroponic gardening  (growing plants in water) , with aquaculture (fish farming). Fish are raised in tanks. The waste water is pumped from the tanks to a filteration system, and then to the growing beds, where the plants absorb the nutrients, cleaning the water so it can be pumped back into the fish tanks. The only water loss comes from evaporation. The produce is certified as 100% organic, and uses NO synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Aquaponics is the merging of two agricultural methods; Hydroponics and Aquaculture. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants in a soil-less medium, using water to deliver nutrients to the roots of plants. Aquaculture is a method of growing fish in tanks. Aquaponics uses the best aspects of these two methods to grow plants and fish. Basically, you need a container for water and fish, and a container for plants, and some method of circulating water, nutrients, and gas exchange. Usually, two or more tanks are used. One holds fish, and another holds the plants. The water is pumped to the tanks, and drains back to the other. This circulates the fish waste to the plant roots, clean water is fed back to the fish, and aeration is added wherever needed. We believe these growing methods are cleaner, faster, and more water efficient than conventional agriculture. Soil-borne pests and diseases are non-existent. Warm-blooded pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella are not found in fish or fish waste, and thus their threat is minimized. Aquaponic growing generates more food per square foot, and does NOT use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, or GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

This can be a true game changer for 60 B Ag business. California is in the middle of a multi-year drought that has impacted farmers, fallowing hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland. During a normal year, the Central Valley Project provides enough water to irrigate 3 million acres of agricultural land. Last year, farmers only received 20% of their allotment. The lack of water is not just worrying for growers. It affects all people who eat food. One third of the nation's produce is grown in the Central Valley (Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley) and the deep water cuts mean that more than half a million acres of crop land will be left unplanted. Some scientists predict California's drought could last as long as a century. I believe I have a better method of producing food.

• Immune to Drought: uses 5-10% of water of traditional Ag business
• Better return on Land: 2x to 4x the output per acre
• Reduced labor costs
• Reduced transportation costs
• Farm - to - table: Public is hungry for fresh food 
• 100% NO GMO's: No Montasanto crops
• No Pesticides: controlled growth in greenhouses
• No Herbicides: No weeds, no Roundup necessary 
• No Fertilizers: Fish provide all of the necessary nutrients
• No tractors, irrigation, or storage required as with traditional Big Ag

Aquaponics Facts:

AQUAPONICS USES 90% LESS WATER THAN CONVENTIONAL FARMING DOES!

AQUAPONICS IS ENERGY-EFFICIENT: IT REQUIRES ONE-THIRD OF THE ENERGY OTHER FARMING SYSTEMS USE!

AQUAPONICS HAS EIGHT TO TEN TIMES MORE VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN THE SAME AREA AND TIME!

LABOR IS REDUCED AS MUCH AS 40% AND MANY USEFUL BYPRODUCTS ARE CREATED THAT CAN BE USED TO FARM OTHER CROPS, TREES, SOIL, WATER AND ENERGY!

A PERMACULTURE INSPIRED SYSTEM PRODUCES ALL OF THE SYSTEM's NEEDS (WATER, ENERGY, FISH FEED, HEAT, ETC.) ON SITE!

PRODUCTS OF THE SYSTEM INCLUDE; SOLAR ELECTRICITY, HEAT, FISH, PRAWNS, VEGETABLES, AQUATIC PLANTS, ALGAE, SNAILS, WORMS, FERTILIZER, EVEN METHANE GAS!

Biz plan:

• Use Modular, small-footprint design using off the shelf materials
• Easy to assemble and duplicate
• Scales from small to massive
• Solar powered and solar heated design
• Can be placed on or off the grid
• Low cost start up costs that can use un-farmable land in urban areas
• The design of the system is elegantly simple and cost-effective

Costs and expenses:

Approximately 50,000 per year

Labor: 10 employees for a large scale urban farm

Land: Approx. 1 acre w/ adequate sun

Water: Minimal

Electricity: Minimal