May 6, 2012 - As her once-thriving construction business dried up after the crash — as she found herself spending more of her days laying off employees and fighting with customers to get paid — Gina Cavaliero spent her evenings searching the Internet for a recession-proof business.
She was looking for something, anything, that would not vaporize with a market downturn. Finally, along with business partner Tonya Penick, she decided that when the going gets tough, the tough need to get growing.
"What's more recession-proof than growing food? You always have to eat," said Cavaliero, 43.
Almost two years ago they opened Green Acre Organics, a commercial farm that employs a relatively new agricultural method called aquaponic gardening.
"Now I get to grow food and feed people. This is so much more rewarding than construction," said Penick, 40.
Aquaponics is a blend of two farming techniques — aquaculture and hydroponics.
Plants raised in the soil-free method known as hydroponics can grow twice as fast as those in the dirt, but traditionally consume large amounts of chemical fertilizers.
In aquaculture — basically fish farming — the problem is treating the large amounts of animal waste.
But when the two practices are combined, the water is filtered by the plants and the plants are fed by nutrient-rich water created by the other product — living, swimming tilapia.
"It's the best of both worlds," said Sylvia Bernstein, author of "Aquaponic Gardening: A Step-By-Step Guide to Raising Vegetables and Fish Together". read more>>>
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