>> IF THE WHIRRING SOUNDS OF THE WIND TURBINE OR THE ARRAY OF
SOLAR PANELS DON'T SEND A MESSAGE THAT LUCKY CLAYS FARM IS
A DIFFERENT TYPE OF FARM, THEN ONCE IN THIS GREENHOUSE
DEFINITELY WILL.
IN FACT, THE FUTURE OF FARMING IN A WORLD WHERE WATER IS SCARCE
MIGHT JUST BE INSIDE THIS BUILDING TUCKED INTO THE HILLS
AROUND NORWOOD.
WATER IS STILL REQUIRED FOR THIS FARMING OPERATION, BUT WHAT'S
HAPPENING HERE NEEDS ONLY ABOUT 1/10 OF THE WATER THAT IS USED
TO GROW VEGETABLES IN THE GROUND.
THAT'S BECAUSE THIS FARM IS A CLOSED SYSTEM THAT RECYCLES
99.5% OF ITS WATER.
>> THIS WOULD BE AQUAPONICS.
AND WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE INCORPORATING, UM, HYDROPONICS
WITH AQUACULTURE.
SO WE'RE USING THE WATER THAT'S RECIRCULATING THROUGH THE FISH
SYSTEM TO PROPAGATE AND TO GROW PLANTS WITH.
>> AQUAPONICS IS A FARMING SYSTEM IN WHICH EVERYTHING IS
LINKED TOGETHER IN A MANMADE WATER CYCLE.
WATER IS CLEANED AND RECYCLED AND USED AGAIN AND AGAIN TO
RAISE FISH AND GROW PLANTS.
THIS IS GONNA SOUND SILLY, BUT THIS IS ALL -- THESE ARE ALL
FLOATING.
>> YES, SIR.
YEP.
>> OKAY.
>> THEY'RE, UM -- TELL YOU WHAT.
THIS WOULD BE A GOOD ONE.
SO THIS FLOATS IN NOTHING BUT WATER.
YOU CAN SEE THE YOUNG ROOTS FALLING DOWN THROUGH THERE.
WE HAVE AIR STONES EVERY FOUR FOOT.
EVERY 16 SQUARE FOOT WE HAVE AN AIR STONE THAT PROVIDES FRESH
OXYGEN FOR THE ROOTS.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT NORMALLY IN TERRESTRIAL FARMING YOU DON'T
GET AS MUCH AMBIENT OXYGEN IN THE SOIL AS YOU WOULD AT OUR
FACILITY HERE.
>> AND JUST TO MAKE SURE, THIS IS THE WATER THAT THE FISH
WERE IN THAT HAS BEEN CLEANED AND EVERYTHING ELSE, AND NOW
IT'S FLOATING HERE.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
YES, SIR.
>> OKAY.
YOU MIGHT BE READY TO SAY YUCK.
BRADLEY TODD, WHO DESIGNED AND BUILT THE SYSTEM, WOULDN'T BE
SURPRISED.
>> WE HEAR THAT A LOT.
AND THERE'S MERITS TO BOTH SIDES OF IT.
WHAT WE DO IS WE COLLECT ALL SOLIDS, ALL UNEATEN FOOD,
ANY KIND OF WASTE IN THE SYSTEM, SO NO SOLID WASTE AT ALL EVER
MAKES IT TO ANY OF OUR PLANTS.
WHAT THAT ALLOWS US TO DO IS TO TAKE THAT SOLID WASTE AND TO
MINERALIZE IT.
AND THAT EXTRACTS ALL THE NUTRIENTS, ANY KIND OF MACRO,
MICRONUTRIENTS THAT THE PLANTS NEED.
>> BUT THE FOLKS AT LUCKY CLAYS BELIEVE THEIR SYSTEM WILL ALSO
MAKE PEOPLE SAY HMM.
>> YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS IS, AS THE POPULATION
GROWS AND REAL ESTATE SHRINKS AND THE FISH STOCKS IN THE
OCEANS GET DEPLETED THROUGH OVERFISHING OR DISEASE,
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIND NEWER WAYS TO FEED THE
POPULATION.
AND ONE WAY OF DOING IT IS A SYSTEM LIKE THIS TO WHERE YOU
CAN DO IT IN, UM, INNER CITY IN A BUILDING, RENOVATE IT, SET IT
UP THAT WAY, OR YOU CAN DO IT OUTSIDE, YOU KNOW, OUT IN THE
RURAL AREAS LIKE WE'RE DOING.
>> THERE ARE REALLY TWO DRIVERS TO THIS SYSTEM.
THE FIRST IS NATURAL -- GRAVITY.
THAT'S WHAT BRINGS THE WATER FROM THE FISH TANKS DOWN TO THE
VEGETABLES.
THE SECOND DRIVER, PERHAPS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, ARE THE FISH
THEMSELVES, BECAUSE IT'S THE UNEATEN FISH FOOD AND THE FISH
WASTE THAT FERTILIZES THE VEGETABLES.
SO HERE'S HOW IT WORKS.
THE TILAPIA LIVE THE FIRST FEW MONTHS OF THEIR LIFE IN ANOTHER
BUILDING BEFORE BEING BROUGHT TO THE MAIN FARMING FACILITY.
AND THAT IS A WHAT?
>> THIS IS A MALE TILAPIA.
>> THE FISH ARE FED SEVERAL TIMES A DAY.
IT TAKES ABOUT ONE YEAR TO RAISE TILAPIA TO THE ROUGHLY 2 POUNDS
THAT RESTAURANTS ARE ASKING FOR.
THE WATER IS CONSTANTLY CIRCULATING, WHICH ALLOWS THE
FISH TO SWIM AND THE SYSTEM TO KEEP THE WATER MOVING.
>> OUR FILTRATION SYSTEM USES GRAVITY.
THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF FISH WASTE AND UNEATEN FOOD IS
SLIGHTLY MORE THAN WATER.
SO THAT CAUSES ANY KIND OF WASTE TO SETTLE ON THE BOTTOM.
SO CLEAN WATER COMES THROUGH INTO OUR BIO-FILTER.
OUR BIO-FILTER IS COMPOSED OF A BIO-MEDIA.
IN THIS CASE, KALDNES K1 MEDIA.
AND IT'S KIND OF LIKE LITTLE PIECES OF PASTA NOODLE.
AND WHAT THIS IS IS, IT HAS AN EXTREME AMOUNT OF SURFACE AREA
FOR ITS SIZE.
>> THE SOLID WASTE FROM THE FISH, AS WELL AS LEFTOVER FISH
FOOD, IS REMOVED.
ALL THE WHILE, TWO TYPES OF BACTERIA ARE ALLOWED TO GROW ON
THE FILTERS.
ONE TYPE CONVERTS THE AMMONIA THAT IS LEFT IN THE WATER FROM
THE FISH WASTE INTO NITRITES.
THE OTHER BACTERIUM TURNS THE NITRITES INTO NITRATES, WHICH IS
GREAT FERTILIZER FOR PLANTS.
IN SHORT, THE FARM UTILIZES ONE OF THE BASICS OF CHEMISTRY,
THE NITROGEN CYCLE, TO CLEAN THE WATER AND GROW VEGETABLES.
>> AFTER THE CHEMISTRY'S DONE, WHAT IT -- WHAT IT TURNS INTO IS
ALL THE NUTRIENTS THAT'S IN THAT FISH FEED THAT THE FISH USE
WASTE OUT.
THAT BECOMES THE INPUT FOR THE PLANT GROWTH.
SO THAT'S WHAT PROVIDES THE NUTRIENTS FOR THESE PLANTS TO
GROW.
>> THE WATER KEEPS MOVING THROUGH FILTRATION BEDS OF ROCK,
WHICH FURTHER CLEANS THE WATER AND REMOVES ANY REMAINING
SOLIDS.
THE WATER IS THEN USED TO SOAK A GROWTH MEDIUM IN WHICH SEEDS ARE
PLANTED.
>> SO THEY'LL STAY ON THE SEED TABLE FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO
WEEKS.
THESE WILL BE MOVED NEXT MONDAY TO THE SYSTEM.
FROM THERE THEY GET TRANSFERRED OVER TO HERE.
>> AND NOW WE'RE BACK TO WATER AGAIN.
>> BACK TO WATER AGAIN.
>> OKAY.
>> YES, SIR.
>> WHAT IS THIS?
>> SO THIS IS A -- THIS IS OUR TIGHTER SPACING.
SO THE NEXT STEP AFTER THE SEEDS HAVE GERMINATED IS WE PUT THEM
OVER HERE ON OUR 4-INCH SPACING, AND THEY'LL SPEND ABOUT TWO
WEEKS OVER HERE GETTING A LITTLE BIGGER, A LITTLE STRONGER,
BEFORE WE PUT THEM OUT TO THE LARGER SPACING.
IN THERE THEY'LL STAY TILL THEY CONTINUE TO THE END AND ARE
HARVESTED FOR RESTAURANTS.
>> THE WATER IS THEN FILTERED NATURALLY AS IT FLOWS ALONG THE
ROWS OF PLANTS LARGE AND SMALL.
IT IS THEN RETURNED TO THE FISH TANKS.
THE FARM PRODUCES SEVERAL TYPES OF LETTUCE ALONG WITH CILANTRO,
BASIL, AND PARSLEY.
THE PLANTS MOVE THROUGH THE WATER SYSTEM FROM TOP TO BOTTOM
IN ABOUT SIX WEEKS.
THAT'S LESS TIME THAN IT TAKES FOR SIMILAR PLANTS TO GROW IN
SOIL.
>> DEFINITELY, WE TAKE WATER QUALITY SAMPLES EVERY WEEK.
WE MONITOR OUR OXYGEN LEVELS IN OUR FISH TANK AS WELL AS IN OUR
PLANT BEDS.
ANY KIND OF TRADITIONAL FARMING, YOU WOULD SPRAY CHEMICALS.
YOU WOULD DO STUFF TO EITHER, YOU KNOW, PREVENT WEEDS FROM
GROWING OR ADD NUTRIENTS THROUGH FOLIAR OR SOIL APPLICATION.
ANYTHING YOU DO TO THE PLANT'S GONNA AFFECT THE FISH AND VICE
VERSA.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T USE ANY KIND OF HORMONES FOR THE FISH,
ANY KIND OF ANTIBIOTICS.
WE USE NO TYPES OF PESTICIDES.
ALL ORGANIC CERTIFIED METHODS OF TREATING PESTS.
>> BUT IT ALL APPEARS TO BE WORKING.
LUCKY CLAYS' EXPERIMENT WITH AQUAPONICS IS SO SUCCESSFUL,
IT IS BUILDING A LARGER FACILITY WHICH WILL PRODUCE 20 TONS OF
FISH, FOUR TONS OF SHRIMP, AND 320,000 UNITS OF PRODUCE PER
YEAR.
ALL OF IT IS DESTINED FOR RESTAURANTS.
THE CUSTOMER BASE IS GROWING.
>> WE SEE THIS AS NOT ONLY, YOU KNOW, AN ECONOMIC
OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS IN AGRICULTURE,
BUT AS A SOLUTION TO A LOT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS THAT'S
GOING ON IN THE WORLD.
WE KEEP CLEAN WATER, PURE WATER.
WE RECYCLE OUR WATER.
WE CAN USE A LOT LESS LAND TO GROW MORE PLANTS.