Washington County Weekend Post

Washington County ■ 262-306-5000 ■ 1-800-498-5655 ■ Fax: 262-338-5271 ■ CVC Audited ■ Retail ■ August 9, 2015 7259 Sleepy Hollow Rd. West Bend, WI 53090 (262) 334-1906 W63 N127 Washington Ave. Cedarburg, WI 53012 (262) 377-1906 Note: 2016 HS Senior Photo Sessions Now in Progress For your session 262-677-0951 Weddings too! Call 244774007 In Good Taste A s I walked down to the greenhouse with Matt and Elise Susnick, with one and a half year old Rowen checking out the flora and fauna on the way, Matt asked me if I ever tried mulberries. We were passing under a thick tree that canopied the path to the greenhouse. He handed a mulberry to me and I found a new favorite in the berry world. That's what it's like, living at the Lone Duck Farm just south of West Bend. Food varieties and new tastes are everywhere. As they start their third year of production of aquaponics, the couple is expanding their offer- ings and refining their practice. I know, what is aquaponics? It's older than the word and has its roots in the most ancient civilizations. Aquaponics is a practice of combining aquacul- ture; the practice of raising aquatic animals, such as tilapia fish, blue gills, or prawns, in con- fined systems like ponds or tanks; with hydro- ponics; the practice of cultivating plants in a water based system. In this symbiotic system, water from an aquacul- ture system is fed to a hydroponic system where the animal by- products are broken down by nitrification bacteria into nitrates and nitrites, which are utilized by the plants as nutrients. The water is then recirculated back to the aquaculture sys- tem, clarifying the water and eliminating the toxicity previously present. Whether you give credit to the Aztecs and their chinampas system, regarded as the first aquaponic systems, or you look to the Chinese and the rice paddy systems that combined the propaga- tion of rice with fish in the same system, aquaponics is a holistic approach that has served farming commu- nities and created sus- tainable environments that are able to endure difficult conditions and times of difficulty. Coming back to rural West Bend, aquaponics is fresh and actively practiced at the Susnick's farm. With In Good Taste, we first vis- ited Lone Duck Farm in their first year in October of 2013. They acquired the equipment in February of that year, stocked the tilapia tanks, and filled the raft beds with greens, and then they finished their first harvest of greens with the assurance of a fish crop. With their focus on technology, keeping in mind the demands of the Wisconsin season (most notably winter), they looked to where they could extend the grow- ing season by use of ear- Back to Wholesome with Sustainability Written By: John Sancomb The edible flowers; Nasturtiums continued on page 21

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