Basicallly I can see this looks really interesting but how much time and money is involved compared to (say) 'normal' veggie gardening... and what are the benefits anyway?

I would have thought if you have fish to look after as well as all those vegetables, it's harder than a dirt garden..???!

Hi ChickyBabe...

Well apart from the initial set-up which was a few days of fiddling, I haven't had to do much at all except admire everything.... There are NO weeds, NO dirt and NO major problems so far (except some roots that blocked a water outlet causing a small flood

I used to check the water every day - then every week and now I don't bother - the fish are eating and growing and the plants all look pretty good - so even though I have zero experience I'm pretty sure all is going to plan!

The only thing I have to do is top up the water every few weeks - Chokos and Toms seem to take the most... but it's from a rainwater tank so a little bet of 'green' coming in to play there too :-)

The benefits? - Absolutely NO chemicals in the entire system, it uses waste fromn the fish to 'fertilise' the plants and we can eat the fish when they reach about 400-500grams.

There is no dirt to deal with and a larger systen could sustain us year around with veggies for almost zero cost. If I set up the water pumps (currently on timers) to a solar system it would be even cheaper.

Besides - I like this kind of gardening and I'm learining something new...

Brian