Richard bray

Plant Selection & Culture
The varieties of plants and fish you choose for your system will be determined by a number of factors:

• Where the system is physically located (inside, outside, in a greenhouse, under a canopy, etc.).
• Where the system is geographically located (climate zones).
• Harvest goals (dynamic harvest for a family, or 2-3 crops for farmer’s markets).
• Limitations (available space, available energy, cost, time, water quality, light, etc.).

You can either decide on which aquaponic system to use, and allow that to determine your plant and fish choice, or you can decide on your plants and fish, and allow that to determine your system.
In general, media-filled beds offer variety, while deep-channel systems offer quantity.
While it's possible to grow anything in an aquaponic system, the best beginner crops are herbs and vegetables.
Many produce items we consider to be vegetables are actually fruits. This distinction can help sort out why some plants do well in one system and struggle in another.
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In the purest sense, vegetables do not even exist. They are merely a term used to denote a certain group of immature plant structures that are nutritious, edible, immature, and not particularly sweet. Celery is a stem, kale is a leaf, and a carrot is a root. These plant structures are edible at any point in a plant’s life, but they are best when the plant is young. This is why baby versions and "micro” greens are so popular.
Why is this important? Because if an edible portion of a plant is not a fruit, then it requires less nutrition, time, and space to grow.
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Peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, and other produce items with seeds are fruits. In order for a plant to produce fruit, it has to reach maturity. Then, it puts a large amount of energy and nutrition into forming a seed and a protective outer layer for that seed; the flesh that we eat.
In order for a plant to produce a fruit, it needs more time, light, space, and nutrition. Most fruiting plants also need a support structure, like cages or trellises. Squash and cucumbers will spread out over 10' unless they are tied up onto a vertical frame. These structures are difficult for a floating foam board to support without breaking or tipping over.
This is why media-filled beds are the primary choice for fruitingp/ants. The media offers a more permanent home for plants that need to reach maturity before producing, and it also holds more nutrition while allowing the roots to spread out over a large area. Deep-channel systems can support fruiting plants, but they need modifications, larger pots, additional nutrients, and more complex trellising.
The easiest way to grow fruiting vegetables in an aquaponic system is by planting dwarf varieties. There are dwarf pepper and eggplant varieties, bush peas and beans, and miniature melons and squash. Many varieties that do well in square-foot gardens, hydroponic systems, and container systems do well in an aquaponic setup.
Hybrid systems like Dutch buckets work well to support large, fruiting plants on a small scale, whereas NFT systems and vertical frames work well to support small, leafy vegetables on a large scale.
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