Today's guest is Jennifer Boren of Noga Farms in Gordonville, Texas. A nurse by profession, she decided to be a stay-at-home mom to take care of her four beautiful children. Initially building their system from some recycled oil-filled equipment, she shares with us what they've done wrong with their first aquaponics system and how they fixed the issues along the way.
Listen in as Jennifer talks more about gravity-fed systems, ebb and flow vs. constant flood, using bell siphons vs. standpipes, as well as what's growing in their raft system and pea gravel media system. Discover how Nova Farms is growing peppers, strawberries, micro-greens, red lettuce, tomatoes, beans, eggplants, and edible flowers. Currently, they run an outdoor media system connected to the barn.
She also delves into topics like heat issues, lighting system, oxygen requirement, understanding water hardness or softness, off-gassing chlorine from water, cycling water; and salts and sodas for hardening the water. We also touch on filtration system (bio-bead filter, bird nets, and Matala filters) as well as valves for emergency measures and leakage issues. Lastly, learn about their business model primarily on selling tilapia for pond management.
