Things are going “swimmingly well” in the greenhouses at the Agricultural Incubator Foundation according to Shawn McWhorter. After a ribbon-cutting in June, McWhorter has been busy testing of a hydroponic system enhanced by fish effluent.
McWhorter, a research associate with Ohio State University, who operates the satellite operation just east of Haskins, said he is “ecstatic” with the preliminary trials of the system.
The program is developing ways to improve and enhance agriculture and lay groundwork for the future.
In its simplest terms, fish tanks with large-mouth bass within the greenhouses at the Ag Incubator, are used to help fertilize herbs and vegetables. The system takes the effluent, water which includes fish waste, and filters it to provide nutrients for the plants.
Using a drip irrigation system, the filtered water nourishes the plants which are grown without soil. After the plants are germinated, they are placed into plastic sleeves filled with coconut fiber derived from ground coconut husks. Those husks hold the moisture and some of the nutrients for the plants.
The water is enhanced with additional liquid fertilizer as the effluent is not sufficient to fertilize the crops.
Because the temperature needs to be maintained around 70 degrees, McWhorter said the operation will close down later this month, before resuming again in late winter or early spring as the first complete study begins for the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, for whom McWhorter is conducting the study.
“

This year we were just testing things, working all the bugs out before we begin the study,” McWhorter said.
When things resume in the spring, a second drip irrigation system will also be in use to test straight hydroponics to the hydroponic and fish culture mix. The current system will be used for half of the plants; while the second system, with plain water not enhanced by the effluent, will be used for the remainder of the plants for comparison.
McWhorter says he likes the drip irrigation system because it is a very efficient use of water.
While each unit in the irrigation system is capable of distributing up to a gallon of water each hour, the plants use far less. He indicated, for example, the tomatoes are only watered for four minutes each day.
In fact, the entire operation is very “green.” The system can be used in an urban environment to grow crops closer to the confines of the city to minimize travel.
Quoting a former professor McWhorter relayed, “There’s no such thing as pollution, there are just resources put in the wrong place.”
He added, “It’s a value-added affair. We are using what would normally be a waste product and turning into another product for sale.”
The bass can also be sold, so there is minimum waste. These fish are separate from the bait fish and other aquaculture projects McWhorter is conducting in another area at the Ag Incubator.
The three sections of the greenhouse are lush with herbs and vegetables. In addition to several tomato varieties including three variations of grape tomatoes, McWhorter has raised four varieties of peppers, three lettuce choices, cucumbers, snow peas, parsley, cilantro and garlic chives. A section of the greenhouse which McWhorter calls his “weirdo house” features several vegetables which could be raised for niche markets.
That section includes eggplant; an individual portion-size acorn squash; a winter melon called sun jewel melon; koboka, a sweet small fruit similar to pumpkin; and a variety of green beans which is purple until the vegetable is cooked.
“These things are for a niche market. Farmers could hook up with a restaurant or chef and grow specialty, boutique things,” McWhorter said of some of the practical applications of his testing.
Farmers could also sell the specialty crops at a roadside stand. He also envisions a time when the system could be used outdoors in an actual field.
“This is all applicable research which can go right to the farmer,” he stated. “It’s cool to be growing things in the winter.”
When harvested, the current crops will not be wasted, McWhorter is working to arrange its use in cooperation with food banks or possibly the Penta culinary program.

Shawn McWhorter explains a bit about the new aquaponics area. (Photos: Aaron Carpenter/Sentinel-Tribune)