Coming soon to the British Virgin Islands, your source for fresh, healthier greens and fish from Porkwood Farms!
Every year it is the New Year’s goal of many to eat healthier. Sadly, it only ends there as high costs of these “organic” foods costs so much money, that often times one is forced to just shelf the idea. By spring of 2017, right here at home in the Virgin Islands, you will no longer have to resort to second best as Porkwood Farms will be bringing to you fresh, 100 percent organic, low-costing vegetables and Tilapia fish.
Porkwood Farms, a name derived from its location, is a division of Ground Works BVI and it is the aim of that company to grow fish and vegetables of all kinds through a modern agricultural method-aquaponics. Now aquaponics simply put, is a union between aquaculture which is the raring of fish and hydroponics- the art of growing plants without soil, simultaneously in one integrated system. The process begins when the fish passes waste, it provides an organic food source for the young plants and the plants, in turn, provides a natural filter for the water the fish lives in. The third participants are the microbes (nitrifying bacteria) and composting red worms that are responsible for converting the ammonia from the fish waste, first into nitrites, then into nitrates and the solids into vermicomposting that are food for the plants.
Here in the BVI, with water and agricultural land being such scarce commodities, soil based gardening requires a lot of both. Not to mention the weeds, soil-borne insects, soil preparation, pests, among others that go into that type of agriculture! Months ago, the management and staff of Ground Works BVI, began their behind the scenes work, with a team already conducting construction of the site, and others undertaking training to better prepare them for the new and exciting venture!
Very soon no more will you be forced to pay high costs for vegetables and fish containing heavy chemicals, in your attempt to be healthy. The shelf life will be longer because the long sea traveling distances will be eliminated completely and wastage will be a thing of the past.
The idea was conceptualized based on the need for the territory to have a sustainable food source. Porkwood Farms will have the capacity to produce over 1,500 vegetables per week and the fish will be ready for harvest every three months. What’s more, all tanks are food grade quality, so no harm will become of the fish or the final consumer-you.
Look out for high-quality fish and vegetables delivered right to you, whenever you need it while paying a fraction of the cost that you do currently. Pockwood Farm is coming, with a modern twist to agriculture, so you stay tuned!