Colorado Springs is home to at least two indoor aquaponics operations attracting notice this season — one riding a wave of consumer demand tied to national food safety concerns, and another actively recruiting community volunteers to scale up production and local distribution.
Emerge Aquaponics, an indoor farming business in Colorado Springs, has seen a sharp rise in customer interest as lettuce recalls at the national level lead shoppers to look closer to home for fresh produce and raise broader concerns about where their food comes from.
On the volunteer-driven side of the local aquaponics scene, the Solid Rock Community Development Corporation is actively seeking volunteers to assist with harvesting and packaging produce from its aquaponic growing facility, called the Aquapod. The system operates on a closed-loop model and is housed at the Family Success Center in southeast Colorado Springs, where it has been running for approximately one year and has generated hundreds of heads of lettuce donated to local organizations such as Food to Power and the Sunny Side Market.
The Aquapod's most recent harvest went to Harrison School District 2, under a purchase agreement in which the district buys lettuce directly from the operation. The farm's manager said the goal extends beyond a single contract. "I'd love to get more fresh, locally grown produce into our schools," he said. "We need to expand kids' diets a little bit more."
Aquaponics, like hydroponics, grows plants in water rather than soil, but the two methods differ in how plants are fertilized: hydroponic systems rely on manually applied liquid fertilizer, while an aquaponics setup like the Aquapod uses live fish whose waste provides the nutrient source. Fish are fed three times daily, and a bio-filter separates solid waste from ammonia, which is then directed to feed the vegetables. The system also uses water roughly 90 percent more efficiently than conventional soil-based agriculture, according to the farm's manager.
The full growing cycle runs about eight weeks during summer months and stretches to ten weeks in winter, when available sunlight is reduced. The farm's manager, who also operates a separate farm in Peyton, argued that the short distance between harvest and table translates directly to nutritional value. "You can go to the grocery store and buy lettuce and carrots, but you're probably looking at a two-week period from farm to table," he said. "Local produce might cost a little more, but it's much fresher, more nutrient-dense, and better for your body."
Solid Rock organizers are hoping to field two Saturday shifts of ten volunteers each, with each shift lasting two hours, covering seeding, harvesting, and post-harvest tasks. Interested residents can register for either the 8–10 a.m. or 10 a.m.–noon Saturday slot through the Solid Rock Community Development Corporation's website at solidrockdc.com.
Further details about the scope of the national lettuce recalls and any statements from Emerge Aquaponics about sales figures or farm capacity had not been made available by publication time, and Springs Daily will update this brief as additional information emerges.