A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners

Indirect lighting

I am brand new to all of this and haven't ever grown much other than a potted herb garden but I LOVE the idea of aquaponics and am trying to determine the feasibility of setting a system up. I don't have any open land space but only have a north facing screened patio that receives no direct sunlight (I am in the FL panhandle). How effective will growth be and will I need to supplement with any type of artificial lighting?

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Permalink Reply by David Waite on August 5, 2011 at 11:48pm

Malinda I will take a stab at your situation. North face outside in Fl. I would guess you might get enough indirect or reflective light to grow quite a few crops. Heavy shade or indoors and you will need Lighting to get your fruiting crops to produce. All lettuce crops should do fine . Direct sunlight or lighting will help your garden 10 fold. Hope that was clear as mud.

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Permalink Reply by Shawn Cruze on September 20, 2011 at 6:18pm

My system is on an east facing porch which is covered. My plants only see one hour of direct sunlight in the early morning then the rest of the day they are in the shade. The beans, lettuce, mint, and peppers are doing great. The tomatoes, artichokes, and other larger fruiting bodies are not doing well. Their vegetative growth was good but then as the season is changing they aren't producing that much. I am under the impression that the lack of direct sunlight is not completely the issue. PK deficiency which is common in aquaponics and needs to be addressed in my system. I will be supplementing with artificial light and other nutrient sources the rest of the year to see if I can get some better growth even with diminished light. I would set up the system and see what works. At least you won't have algae issues.