Pete

Welcome Pete,

Thanks for joining the Aquaponic Gardening community!  I hope you find it a fun place to explore aquaponics.  There is a real blend of experienced and new aquapons in this community, so please don’t hesitate to get in there and start asking questions.  Everyone is quite happy to help out new members – no question is too basic. 

A great place to start is to read the “How to Use This Site” link on the upper right corner, “Start Here” section of the Home page.  You might also find the “Aquaponic Gardening Rules of Thumb” guidelines helpful.

Please participate and check in with us every day!  We are constantly posting news about aquaponics and the good food movement.

Normally Sylvia Bernstein, the community's founder, would be welcoming you, but she is enjoying a well deserved vacation and I am helping out by welcoming new members in her absence.  I am certain she would be excited to have you join and she will be looking forward to getting to know you upon her return.  Thanks again for joining us, and I too look forward to getting to know you too.  See you around the site!

Gina Cavaliero

Hey Pete, thanks for adding me as your new friend here. Please feel free to ask any questions. I don't know everything and my answers sometimes may be different from others but I have been playing for a very long time and glad for the chance to blabber.

Cheers

Things here have changed a lot since the "open doors" policy was enacted. I have been here every few years since 82 and witnessed the awesome changes. Yes the majority of people still live in cramped hi-rise units and there are more than ever. When you were here, (BJ) Beijing rural area reached out to the second ring. Foreigners were very restricted in there movements and the total population was probably around 2 million. Today the city reaches out past the fifth ring road, supporting a population of about 15 million people.

However, as people make money and travel, it has become vogue to have what we call single family homes (what they call villas or mansions),out in the countryside (some 1-2 hours drive from the city center) as their country homes. Unfortunately these "rich" people have no concept or desire to "work" themselves, relying on peasant gardeners.

Through our Farm school, we try to educate the public the benefits of our program verses the disadvantages of ordinary organic and factory systems so they can better make the decision to join our CSA. I think it will be a few years before personal gardening catches on as a hobby.

On the other hand, I think commercial applications of AP in an urban environment is ripe and am in the process of designing such a store.