Lettuce and fish growing in the same greenhouse may not raise an eyebrow anymore, as aquaponics is becoming increasingly common in local food production. Combining flower and fish though? That's something else. Jeff Jirovec started Grow with the Flow about six years ago, with the idea of growing a variety of products using less resources and do it all year long.
Starting with 11 acres of land and one greenhouse, that soon grew to multiple greenhouses. "When we started, we had the idea that no matter who the customer is, everyone has a connection to ag, whether it be the produce we eat, the flowers we love, or the plants we grow in our gardens", Jeff tells us. "This led us to cultivate a wide variety of produce, cut flowers, and live plants. We soon found the demand for cut flowers to be very high and with the addition of a floral design studio at our farm, we were able to offer custom floral design to our customers. We offer market bouquets, custom gift arrangements, as well as full wedding florals."
Flowers and fish
For the aquaponics system, common cold fish are used as the fertilizer source, because, Jeff explains, "goldfish (a type of carp) are a very durable fish that can handle temperature changes and pH swings, as well as they are a very dirty fish that produces a lot of waste/fertilizer."
A number of flowers at the farm grow directly in the aquaponics system, although not all. "Some flower types (like bulb or tuber plants) do not like the overly wet conditions in our aquaponic systems and are therefore grown traditionally in the ground. However, we are able to extract nutrient from our systems to irrigate and fertilize things planted traditionally." The flower types that do grow directly in the system are floral kale, celosia, amaranthus, as well as scented herbs that are used as filler greens in the arrangements.
Fascinated customers
"We have seen amazing response from our customers who not only appreciate the beauty and freshness of our flowers, but also find how they were grown to be fascinating", Jeff says when asked what consumers think of the unusual cultivation system. "We offer tours of our farm that many backyard growers, educators, and plant lovers of all types enjoy."
It's not just the novelty factor of flowers grown with fish that attracts customers though. "Our customers appreciate that our flowers were grown locally, used less resources, and our arrangements can last up to a week and a half. This translates to a better value in the eyes of the customer."
Franchise
Jeff hopes to welcome many more satisfied customers in the future. Not only does Grow with the Flow plan on continuing the production expansion on the farm - they're also looking to develop a franchise system to expand the operation to other markets throughout the U.S.
For more information:
Grow with the Flow
1524 Yankee Hill Road, Denton, Nebraska 68339, United States
(402) 890-4388
gwtfaquaponics.com