Full Nature Farm , based out of Hong Kong , is prove to the Asian upright farming diligence that it is possible to be profitable with aquaponics . Ray Lok , founder of the company , and his squad have developed a unique vertical scheme that would be more space - efficient than tank farming . " DWC and NFT are vulgar techniques in aquiculture , but they are not really efficient in terms of outer space optimization , " says Ray .
in full reprocess systemThe Full Nature Farm system is composed of a recirculating system that reduces ammonia and sterilizes the water that goes into the Pisces cooler . The waste is put into a bioreactor , which converts that into fluid fertilizer . After that , the bioreactor dumps the clean water into the tank again . The water mix with nutrients drop directly on the root geographical zone . Ray says they can do a cycle of lettuce in around 22 days , and each head is about 200 - 250 grams .
" This is different from what you ’d get in hydroponics . There we are around 35 % faster . In aquaponics , because of the beneficial bacteria and the greater availability of O for the ascendent geographical zone in the vertical solidifying up make cycles little than in aquiculture . "
flower supply for -50 % than imported ones"It ’s a perfect deal for high - remnant eating house and hotels in the area , as they increasingly prefer local , fresh produce . And we can supply that on a hebdomadary basis at a fraction of the price of the comestible flower that we unremarkably get from the US or Japan , which are usually much pricier . We can deal our edible flower for 50 % less than the imported goodness , " Ray points out .
Quick plant turnoverYet , all of this could n’t be accomplish if it were n’t for Ray ’s utter control over every aspect of cultivation . The first metric unit that they looked at was how much produce the farm could make per cubic meter . Then , you ask to be careful at selecting the harvest . For that , Full Nature Farm has gone for edible flowers . This kind of intersection is usually imported to Hong Kong , gain this particularly expensive . " We can harvest once a week , around 30 - 50 flowers , " Ray explain .
The added economic value of growing edible flowers is that when these are picked , the plants stay in the cultivation with leaves on to promote photosynthesis , and eventually , these flowers again . Ray read that plants usually get changed every 4 - 5 month . Cutting off transportation and shipping cost and the fact that Full Nature Farm supplies restaurants and hotels only , their edible flowers are 5 time cheaper than the imported one .
Monitoring is fundamental in aquaponicsFull Nature Farm can nail this down consistently because Ray is always monitoring what ’s happening on the farm : his team and he are perpetually check out that all the parameters are under control , from piss level and water period to check the fish tank . for instance . " As we see that certain values spike , we know that something goes haywire . With this organisation , we can close down the piss ticker , for instance , and then it will tell us what to do next . "
Aquaponics is not often seen in erect farming , and Ray believes that ’s because it can be quite complex . Admittedly , there are many matter that one demand , and many things can go wrongly , according to Ray .
" Biofilm issues can be quite frequent , and then you have to finagle the bacterium , the greens , and the Pisces – it can be very complicated . Yet , if you’re able to rely on a good scheme that monitor and can promise what is blend in on , you’re able to do away with a lot of likely number – also because , in aquaponics , these are because of humans , mostly . "
The monitoring CRT screen
Building upon the success of their edible flowers farm , with some 400 B2B guest , Full Nature Farm is now in the cognitive operation of setting up a new , bigger farm of 1,000m2 where they will also do leafy greens .
" We will focus on the most plebeian jet that you ’d find in supermarkets so that we ’ll also embark on serving regular consumers . We are work on our first franchising farm with our spouse and expect the new farm will be up and running in Q4 2022 . " alas , the lockdown in China is slowing down the process as their sensors are produced there , so the next phase is currently on detention .
Yet , that does n’t mean that Ray is not work severely to show how vertical aquaponics husbandry can be profitable . He is indeed go to fly to Europe to begin a newfangled daily round of fundraising , to salutary fine - tune his perpendicular aquaponics farm , and to pop the question a groovy option of fresh viridity .
For more information : Ray Lok , Founder and CEO[email protected]Full Nature Farmswww.fullnature.com
© FloralDaily.com/Rebekka Boekhout
