Imagine...

Imagine... turning off of Bessemer Avenue/Burlington Road in East Greensboro, the Bessemer Community, where the old rock walls and stately white oak trees from the 1940s or before still decorate the front of what we now call, Bessemer Aquaponics-- the first fully accredited Aquaponics school in the nation-- now stands.

You park in the parking lot taking a minute to read a historical marker there telling you the history of the site, once a county old folks home then the recreation facility for the soldiers stationed at the Overseas Replacement Depot. You learn it later became the first racially integrated hospital in North Carolina when the North Carolina Convalescent Hospital was built there during the Polio Epidemic of the late 1940s and 1950s. And later, again an old folks home until being torn down over 40 years before and abandoned for over 4 decades while grass and trees covered everything there including the asphalt parking lot.

You read how it was once home to the 7th and 8th graders from Bessemer High School back in the 1960s when the Bessemer Community was so strong the school system was unable to keep up and how during those very same years part of the building was used for a county jail where a young man named Jessie Jackson was once held. Yes, that Jessie Jackson.

Outdoor works of art made entirely by local artists adorn the grounds and gardens everywhere you look with both fixed and ever changing pieces on display. This is done at no costs to local artists as a service to the local artists community who were so supportive in spreading the word about this project as many of them are also very interested in sustainability for Greensboro. And rather than spend precious local dollars on buying art from out of town we though it better to display local art in the hopes of helping our local artists sell their works.

The chain link fences surrounding the property are covered in plants. Later you will learn some of those plants are hops used in the making of Greensboro's many local beers and other vertically grown crops to numerous to name.

Walking inside you see the free visitor center where freshwater fish are swimming on display in big tanks and the locals are buying fresh, organic, aquaponic grown produce and fresh fish. You see videos and vivid explanations about what goes on there. You see books and study guides for children and adults. And a free guide to local attractions packed with lots of discount coupons printed by a local printer and published by a local publisher.

A group of 5th graders walk past to their activity bus waiting in the parking lot half way through a field trip that includes a visit to the Siquarium across town-- a distance made much easier to travel because of the recent completion of the new Greensboro Urban Loop, aka I-840. Having learned about hundreds of different freshwater fish and Aquaponics they make their way to gaze at the rarely seen saltwater varieties in the aquarium there.

You see the rows of Greenhouses fulled with fish and plants. As you walk closer each one has a brass plaque denoting the year it was built and who helped to pay for its construction. You realize this place wasn't built overnight but in a series of stages as time and money permits.

Another group, farmers and businessmen, walk past drinking coffee, discussing the markets and debateing the success of the newest aquaponic farm to open nearby. They discuss the pros and cons of urban farms vs. rual farms and come to the conclusion that it depends on your target market. The praise Aquaponics 3.0 developed first at NC State University but taught first here. How could we have gone from an importer of foods to a major exporter so quickly, you think. Then you're reminded of how Greensboro had long invested in infrastructure and logistics that were just begging for products to haul away. This was the regional solution the politicians has sought for years, right in front of your eyes.

Next door at the Guilford County Agricultural Extension Service, people line up to view the demonstration garden. The Ag Service had to hire full time tour guides but it's not a problem because the cost is covered by a grant from Bessemer Aquaponics that also helps to fund Agricultural Extension county wide.

You know you are in a special place.

Behind the visitor center are the offices, classrooms and rows of greenhouses where fish and plants are raised and farmers, be they lifelong farmers or new to the trade, study to become experts in the most advanced forms of agriculture in the history of the work-- able after a few short weeks in class, to grow food anywhere it's needed.

You overhear people talking about how much better Greensboro and North Carolina's economy has become since Bessemer Aquaponics was founded, with all the new businesses starting up and people working again. How area non profits no longer need to play political games with elected leaders to get the funding they need. People are working day and night exporting Greensboro's fish, fruit, vegetables and the aquaponics equipment built by small and large manufactures located nearby, to places all around the world. And the profits from Bessemer Aquaponics go not into someone's pocket but towards funding other needed programs throughout Greensboro and Guilford County.

You think about the fact that Aquaponics, a 5000 year old technology, grows 6 times the food while using only 2% of the water of conventional agriculture and you ask yourself, "Why did it take us so long?"

If you can imagine our vision then please share this story with everyone you know and attend our next meeting.

What Could Bessemer Aquaponics Do For Greensboro And The Piedmont Triad

Aquaponics has the power to put locally grown, quality organic food on Greensboro tables that might not otherwise get it. That alone should be enough to convince Greensboro, a city with over 23% poverty, the highest unemployment in the state of any comparable city and the hungriest population in the nation to jump at the chance to convert over 20 abandoned, County owned acres located slap dab in the middle of one of Greensboro's poorest neighborhoods into an Aquaponics school and production facility.

Sadly, that won't be enough to get our community to act. Sadly, in this town you've got to show people how they can profit before they'll extend a hand.

For those of you average citizens who are simply worried about getting quality produce at good prices:

"Production can occur year-round under a greenhouse or in a temperature-controlled enclosure.  This allows producers to market fresh produce during seasons when trucked-in produce is at their highest seasonal prices."

How about this, Greensboro developers, Aquaponics can fill your empty old buildings. All around the world what would have been abandoned buildings are being turned into Aquaponic farms.

For the downtown Greensboro restaurant owner: want the freshest ingredients possible year 'round to impress those Irving Park customers with money to spend and demanding tastes? Our location is 3 miles due east of downtown-- just follow East Market Street. The vegetables in the farmers market will never be as fresh and they don't sell fresh fish.

For the downtown business owner, no matter what type of business you own, wealthier Greensboro communities mean more people shop and do business downtown. Since 1957 the leaders of downtown Greensboro have waged war against Greensboro communities in the name of downtown development with the end result being a completely dysfunctional downtown development organization that forever remains in constant turmoil. When our communities thrive so will downtown.

For Greensboro's hotel and motel operators: Bessemer Aquaponics will be the first accredited Aquaponics school in the nation. Our goal is to bring 80 to 100 students a month from outside of Greensboro on top of those students who live locally. Those 80-100 students will need to sleep somewhere.

The creation of the nation's first accredited Aquaponics school in Greensboro would mean a boon for Greensboro's already established plastics, chemical, metal and machine industries as equipment, chemicals and parts would have to be made. Already Silicone Sealant, the only kind of sealant that can be used with live fish, is made in Greensboro and fish safe PVC pipe is made in Colfax.

With all the concern about food deserts and food insecurity the lucrative cut flower industry often gets forgotten. That's right, those imported roses and carnations you just bought for Mothers' Day could be grown using Aquaponics right here in Greensboro. From the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center:

"Cut flower imports in 2012 were valued at $615.7 million, a 30 percent drop from 2011. Colombia was the largest supplier of cut flowers, providing flowers valued at $480.1 million, a 15 percent decline from the previous year. Ecuador was another main supplier of cut flowers, followed by Mexico and Thailand.  (FAS)

Roses are the leading cut flower imported into the United States. In 2012 fresh rose imports were valued at $367.3 million. Imported fresh mums were valued at $128.9 million, and imported fresh carnations were valued at $82.5 million. In each case, Colombia was the largest supplier, and Ecuador was usually the second largest supplier.  (FAS)

Imported nursery products except for cut flowers were valued at $1.0 billion in 2012, jumping 51 percent from 2011. Canada was the largest supplier of imported nursery products, followed by the Netherlands and Colombia. All three countries experienced double digit or greater increases in the value of their U.S. sales.  (FAS)

Orchid plant imports in 2012 were valued at $65.3 million, decreasing 6 percent from 2011. Taiwan was the main supplier, followed by the Netherlands and Thailand. Flower bulbs continued to be supplied by the Netherlands. Tulip bulb imports totaled $52.0 million in 2012 and lily bulb imports totaled $29.7 million.  (FAS)"

That looks to me as if Greensboro could make major strides towards reducing our portion of the US Trade Deficit.

What about the increased property tax revenue the City and County would receive from the dozens, perhaps hundreds of business start-ups an emerging industry would generate? Isn't that the excuse our elected officials always use when passing out questionable incentive packages?

Bessemer Aquaponics is the regional solution to the problems of unemployment and food insecurity in the Piedmont Triad.

We have 20 acres. The Guilford County Agricultural Extension Service has agreed to bring in Aquaponics experts from NC State University. If we do it right the project will be eligible for grants from the United States Department of Agriculture. Now we need Greensboro to get behind the idea for Greensboro's sake. Please share, please tell your friends, please ask your elected representatives to act now.

Don't assume this is happening. It won't happen without your help.

Aquaponics For Vegans and Vegetarians

Some Vegans and Vegetarians might be deterred from getting involved with Aquaponics because Aquaponics involves raising fish for food but Vegans and Vegetarians shouldn't let that keep them away. You see, there's no rule that says the fish must be eaten. Some Aquaponics growers raise more expensive exotic fish that are sold for pets. Others who are simply practicing Aquaponics as a hobby or to feed themselves and their families the healthiest fruits and vegetables just keep the same fish until they die from old age.

You could be raising Goldfisk, Koi, Oscars, Betta, Tetra, Molly, Guppies or no telling what other kinds of fish. Even giant catfish and turtles if you build it right.

You see, the fish convert fish food into organic fertilizer for the fruits and vegetables and in turn the plants filter the toxins out of the water to keep it safe for the fish. The way Mother Nature intended just more intense through the use of technology.

That brings us to another possibility for Bessemer Aquaponics. If the members and board of directors wanted to go this route we could open the world's first Aquaponic Aquarium open to the public.

The water from the aquarium could be piped to a greenhouse where the plants are grown separately. This would allow filling the greenhouse with CO2 at night to speed up plant growth without adversely affecting the health of fish or people.

And an Aquarium in the neighborhood, even a relatively small Aquarium, would go a long ways toward making East Greensboro a better place to live. Maybe children could get in free so they've always a safe place to go and learn.

Isn't it time Greensboro had a few firsts?

Our second meeting of Bessemer Aquaponics will be on Wednesday, May 6, 2015, 7:00 PM in the 20 acre empty field due west of the Guilford County Agricultural Extension Office 3309 Burlington Rd (Link to Google map: https://goo.gl/maps/P9cFn ) Long time residents will recognize it as the former location of the Polio Hospital and a nursing home both torn down about 40 years ago and left vacant ever sense.

What To Bring: a folding chair unless you prefer to stand. Friends.

Who is invited? Everyone who is interested in creating jobs and bringing quality food to Greensboro.

Our 2nd Meeting: Wednesday, May 6, 2015, 7:00 PM

Our second meeting of Bessemer Aquaponics will be on Wednesday, May 6, 2015, 7:00 PM in the empty field due west of the Guilford County Agricultural Extension Office 3309 Burlington Rd (Link to Google map: https://goo.gl/maps/P9cFn ) Long time residents will recognize it as the former location of the Polio Hospital and a nursing home both torn down about 40 years ago and left vacant ever sense.

What To Bring: a folding chair unless you prefer to stand. Friends.

Who is invited? Everyone who is interested in creating jobs and bringing quality food to Greensboro.

Now on to today's news:

This morning I met with Guilford County Agricultural Extension Agency Interum Director Karen Neill, Extension Agent John Ivey and Earline W Parmon, Director of Outreach for Congresswoman Alma S Adams. I'm happy to announce that all are in support of Bessemer Aquaponics and will be working to help us connect with the proper people, places and offices to get started growing.

The extension service reiterated that they are willing to bring in Aquaponics experts to guide us but that Bessemer Aquaponics and our community will be responsible for the management of the school and production facilities. Ms Parmon indicated there are USDA grants available.

Come on out and let's make Greensboro the first place in the nation where you can go to school to learn Aquaponics.

It's Not A Food Desert, It's A Food Prison

Ron Finley of South Los Angeles’ is a guerilla gardener who believes you can grow your way out. At Bessemer Aquaponics we believe it too. And we believe Aquaponics is the answer for Greensboro where unlike South Los Angeles’we have winter.

How Bessemer Was Born And The Site We've Chosen

And A History of The Community Bessemer Aquaponics Commemorates


First there was Julius Alexander Gray: http://ncpedia.org/biography/gray-julius-alexander one of Greensboro's earliest elites:

"Gray's early years were carefree; he never was exposed to systematic labor, and he enjoyed good health and a strong body. After attending Caldwell Institute near Greensboro, he studied with the Reverend Jesse Rankin in Lexington. He then entered Davidson College as a sophomore in 1850 and was graduated in 1853."

It goes on:

"In 1855, he became teller and bookkeeper of the Greensboro branch of the Bank of Cape Fear. The president of the bank was Jesse H. Lindsay, Gray's brother-in-law and a brother of Mrs. John Motley Morehead."

Continued:

"Because of Gray's strong support of Zebulon Vance for governor in the election of 1876, Vance appointed him a director of the North Carolina Railroad."

And this one you don't hear often anymore:

" Because of this remarkable achievement and Gray's other activities, Greensboro regarded him as the keystone of its prosperity."

That's right, Julius Gray and not the Cone Brothers. It was in-fact Gray who later managed those railroads his friend, Governor John Motley Morehead gets credit for bringing to Greensboro but it was John Motley Morehead who was the president of the NCRR establishing Greensboro's tradition of crony capitalism.

Gray didn't stop with railroads.

"In the 1880s Gray was also involved in ancillary business activities. In 1887, he helped to found the North Carolina Steel and Iron Company, which constructed blast furnaces in Greensboro in the hope of using native coal, iron ore, and limestone to make the city a steel center. The venture failed when the local iron ore proved to have too much titanium and was difficult to smelt."

That's right, too much titanium. A problem any miner would love to have today. That steel mill was built on the site where the Cone Brothers built Cone Mills. Bessemer Avenue, Bessemer Elementary School and what was once Bessemer High School, Bessemer Jr High School as well as the Bessemer Community were all named for, according to the Guilford County Schools: http://bessemer.gcsnc.com/pages/Bessemer_Elementary/691590834055725010/About_Us

"Sir Henry Bessemer, an English engineer and inventor, who founded the process for turning ore into steel. This was later know as the "Bessemer Process".

Funny, had the Cones not come here we might be in the titanium business today. It's also been reported that the Steel Mill graded 20 miles of streets before going out of business including Bessemer Avenue. While some will argue that point, Bessemer Avenue was known to exist before both the Cones and the City of Greensboro came to our community. And Bob Clendenin is right that Bessemer was named for the inventor of the Bessemer Process as there are no references to anyone named Bessemer in Greensboro history.

As the site of the steel mill was near where Bessemer Avenue intersects with Battleground Avenue, Bessemer originally extended in an arch that reached from Battleground Avenue east to about Penry Road (about 8 miles) and south to McConnell Road and included what we now call ORD, Woodmeer Park, Kings Forest, Aycock, the mill houses and almost everything east of Murrow Blvd. In the 1919 map of Greensboro below you'll note that Bessemer Avenue wasn't on the map despite the fact that Bessemer School first opened its doors in a one room schoolhouse on Bessemer Avenue in October of 1900.

An abandoned Bessemer rock quarry from which the stone was mined to build Greensboro's well known historic neighborhoods like Fisher Park, Irving Park, Aycock Historic District, College Hill and others remained unfilled until just a few years ago on the corner of Phillips and Lombardy. I used to play in that rock quarry as a child despite my mother having forbidden me to go there.


While most histories of Greensboro seem to be written in such a way as to make it appear there was nothing in the Bessemer Community prior to Greensboro. Even the News & Record seems not to acknowledge Bessemer in their list of Greensboro neighborhoods. But this photograph taken on Holts Chapel Road just about 300 feet south of East Market Street bears evidence that a community existed there long before most of Greensboro was ever built. Click on the photo to read the inscription or drive by as its still there.

Why is it a concern that references to Bessemer seem to be getting lost? Well let me put it this way, in this 2008 City of Greensboro survey of historic Greensboro neighborhoods the historic Glenwood neighborhood was left out and never considered for historic designation. Today 100 year old fully restored homes in Glenwood are being bulldozed. Glenwood was once under consideration to become the capitol of North Carolina. No properties in Bessemer have been given historic designation.

Yes, Bessemer was standing on its own long before Greensboro expanded its borders. From Textiles, Teachers and Troops:

In 1906  St. Leo’s Catholic Hospital opened in what was then Bessemer on the corner of Bessemer Avenue and Summit Ave. The first modern hospital in the area, St Leo's would become famous in 1914 when Charles and Will Mayo of the Mayo Clinic practiced surgery there.  Greensboro would not annex the area until at least 1946 as evidenced by the fact that prior to 1946 the United States Army operated a military base there with properties that include the site chosen for Bessemer Aquaponics.

This blueprint from 1923 shows Bessemer Park just to the northeast of our chosen site with the County Home being shown in the top right corner. Rankin Avenue would eventually be renamed Hern Ave.

Photo courtesy of Terry A Wilson

ORD (Overseas Replacement Depot) originally called AAF Basic Training Camp No. 10, opened on the southeast corner of Bessemer and Summit on March 1, 1943 and closed in 1946. The famous actor Charlton Heston was among the 9,000 men to be stationed there along with captured German POWs.

Bessemer High School made quite a name for the community as Bessemer Boys, known as the Whippets, were known far and wide for their athletics:

 "The Bessemer High School sports teams were known as the Whippets. Whippets are sleek but muscular hunting dogs prized for their speed, power and agility. 

Bessemer football players certainly lived up to the image. They were a powerhouse in 6-man football in the 1940’s, then continued the tradition after switching to an 11-player team in 1945. They were the North Carolina State Champions in 6-man football in 1941. In the 1950’s & 60’s, they made four trips to the State Finals game, but a second football State Championship eluded them. Still, being four time State Runners-Up is an accomplishment of which any school can be proud.

   1941 – 6-man State Champions   1953 – State Runner-up (lost to Massey Hill, 20-0)
   1954 – State Runner-up (lost to Edenton, 41-20)
   1958 – State Runner-up (lost to Williamston, 26-20)
   1962 – State Runner-Up (lost to Brevard, 19-13)

The Bessemer baseball team gave the school a going away present in 1963. The Whippets won the State Championship by defeating Chapel Hill, 5-2."

The Greensboro Yellow Pages from 1957 has 3 listings under Parks and Playgrounds. One of those listings is the Bessemer Community Center. Annexation was completed in 1958, the community center closed in the late 1960s and finally replaced a few years ago with Peeler Recreation Center on Sykes Avenue where the Bessemer Community had previously operated a baseball field.

The Bessemer Community Center was owned jointly by Bessemer Methodist Church, Bessemer Baptist Church and Bessemer Presbyterian Church. Built, I think in the 1950s, the building still stands today at what is now the dead end of Easton Road.

 A block away from the community center the 31 man Bessemer Fire Department, one of the first in the state, was "listed as members of the North Carolina State Firemen's Association from 1945 through 1958."

While the Lee Street Biff-Burger (now Beef Burger) was built in 1961, by 1958, before annexation was completed, the Biff-Burger on Bessemer Avenue, Tasty Freeze on East Market and McDonalds on Summit had all already been built giving east Greensboro 3 fast food restaurants before Greensboro got its first. Monroe's Drive In on Bessemer Ave was also built before annexation.

On September 11, 1958, Clarks opened the first big box retailer in the Piedmont Triad in an old tobacco warehouse just a few hundred yards east of where the Agricultural Extension Office is located today. As it was the only place with air conditioning in those days the parking lot would often be filled with more bicycles than cars on hot summer days as children from all over Bessemer went there to cool down. The old warehouse that became Clarks still stands today.

So what happened to the Bessemer Community? From the City of Greensboro website: http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/index.aspx?page=1749

 "From the turn of the century to the late 1950s, the East Market Street Corridor flourished. It was the shopping and social center for many of Greensboro's African Americans, who owned businesses on the street and provided services to those shut out by segregation practices in other Greensboro neighborhoods.

This lively community began to wind down in the late 1950s and 1960s when, under the guise of "urban renewal," thousands of people and more than 80 businesses (many minority-owned) were displaced. Most of those businesses never reestablished."

And from the book, Once Upon A City, a account attributed to former Mayor Jim Melvin:

As you can plainly see, Greensboro's greatest families, the Cones, Richardsons, Dillards and Benjamins, for which streets, parks, buildings and hospitals are named, all did their part to destroy the Bessemer Community.

And as evidenced in Bessemer Improvement Company vs the City of Greensboro, even the City took advantage of those who were working on behalf of Bessemer then passed the blame off on the state.


The site we have chosen for Bessemer Aquaponics has quite a bit of history of its own.

In the mid 1800s and early 1900s, Guilford County operated a retirement home there for people without means. On old maps and blueprints the property is referred to as County Home. A search of the Guilford County Register of Deeds indicates that the property we have chosen was bought by Guilford County in 1859 for $1140 and used as the County Home. References seem to indicate that someone else was already operating a "poor house" on said property.

In the 1940s the site was used by the United States Army as the recreation hall for the Overseas Replacement Depot-- the military base that was located in Bessemer during World War 2. As Greensboro's white USO club was located on North Elm and the Black USO club at Market and Dudley Streets this may have been the site of an officers club. Myself and many others remember the big white building that once stood behind the rock walls.

In 1950 a bowling alley was built where the Agricultural Service stands today. That building remains.

 It would not be until 1958 that the City of Greensboro would annex these areas.

In the midst of the Polio outbreak of 1948 the Central Carolina Convalescent Hospital, known locally as the Polio Hospital, opened on Oct. 11, on the very same site with new buildings being added behind the existing building. The Central Carolina Convalescent Hospital was the first racially integrated hospital in the State of North Carolina. http://yesweekly.com/article-4702-1948-polio-epidemic.html

In  1963, and 1964 the site was used as classrooms for Bessemer Jr High School's 7th and 8th grades.

Also, in 1963 the Evergreens, North Carolina's largest non profit nursing home system opened their first facility on the site.

1963 was a busy and historic year for the site as demonstrating students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technological University were held in jail at what had been the Polio Hospital as well. A historic figure known today as the Reverend Jessie Jackson was one of those to be incarcerated there.

In 1968 the Agricultural Extension offices and demonstration farms were built  on roughly 10 of the 33 acres. The rest remained abandoned. The Polio Hospital was destroyed shortly thereafter and most of the property was forgotten about. We believe because of the history and heritage of this site that no better use than an institution that not only teaches men to fish but teaches them how to build their own ponds should be built there.

Represenative Pricey Harrison Offers Support

I got the following e-mail today after inviting Congresswoman Pricey Harrison and others to a closed meeting coming up soon:

"Thanks for your continued tenacious advocacy on this.

I don't think I can be there on April 27 but please let me know how I can help.

Pricey"

It's good to know that Congresswoman Harrison, like Alma Adams, is truly interested in real economic development for Greensboro, the Piedmont Triad and all of North Carolina.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Modern Aquaponics was developed at North Carolina State University at taxpayers' expense 30 plus years ago. The world's foremost experts in Aquaponics still work for NC State. Experts are teaching Aquaponics in Eastford, Connecticut via the UConn Extension Master Gardener program.

Kentucky State University is pitching the idea that Aquaponics can create jobs and grow more food.

Folks in London, England are practicing Aquaponics on a commercial scale inside old commercial buildings.

In Chattanooga, Tennessee they are using Aquaponics to  "engage individuals with significant cognitive disabilities and provide training support in activities of daily living," and calling it the food of the future.

In Oklahoma the Indian Nations of the Seminole, Choctaw, Cheyenne and Arapahoe are all going Aquaponic.

In Berlin, Germany:

 "Berlin has opened its first commercial aquaponic farm combining aquaculture and hydroponics. The farm is still only small - delivering up to 300 boxes of organic produce per week - in a city of 3.5 million people. But as food security becomes a bigger global concern, aquaponics has the potential to revolutionize food production in cities"

I'm even trying Aquaponics in a small home built system in my back yard.

But here in Greensboro, North Carolina, in the Metropolitan Statistical Area ranked #1 in the United States for the highest level of food insecurity, in the very state where our tax dollars helped to develop modern aquaponics-- if we want Aquaponic fish and vegetables we have to import them.


If we want to be educated in Aquaponics we have to leave Greensboro. There's no place to take a class, no place to see Aquaponics in action or get hands-on experience. This is what Bessemer Aquaponics seeks to become.


Please tell our elected leaders to support this effort and share this article with everyone you know as one solution to Greensboro's food crisis and economic woes. It's time we became a leader instead of the last in line getting nothing but the scraps left behind.

So How Much Food Can We Grow?

The answer varies but the following video from Growing Power, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin non profit founded by retired ABA basketball professional Will Allen shows how they grow 1 million pounds of food per year on 3 acres.



Will Allen only has 3 acres to work with. The track of land we are looking at is over 20 acres-- 33 actually, but part of it is in use.

And remember: the intention of Bessemer Aquaponics is to teach others how to do Aquaponics so that Greensboro, the Piedmont Triad and North Carolina Aquaponics businesses, farms and suppliers can start up with qualified and experienced managers and employees be they urban or rural.

Are you a Facebook user? If yes then check out our Bessemer Aquaponics Facebook page.

Come Join Us Wednesday Night

When Wednesday: Wednesday April 8, 2014 6:00 PM

Where: Outside in the vacant lot due west of the Guilford County Agricultural Extension Office 3309 Burlington Rd (Link to Google map: https://goo.gl/maps/P9cFn ) Long time residents will recognize it as the former location of the Polio Hospital and a nursing home both torn down about 40 years ago and left vacant ever sense. Parking is available at the Agricultural Extension Center.

What To Bring: a folding chair unless you prefer to stand.

John Ivey of the Agricultural Extension Service and I will be there along with anyone else we can wrangle in support of the project. The 33 acre site we'll be meeting on is where we HOPE to place the first location of Bessemer Aquaponics before expanding to other locations in other food deserts and low income neighborhoods all over Greensboro, the Piedmont Triad and the State of North Carolina.

Our first goal is to create a learning institution where residents from Greensboro and beyond can quickly learn how to build low cost Aquaponics systems of their own while supporting our project with the products grown on site.

Our intermediate goal is to address food deserts and the lack of employment locally.

Our long term goal is to make Greensboro, the Piedmont Triad and North Carolina the world's leader in Aquaponics and a major exporter of healthy foods.

Come join us and let's talk about how we can make that possible.

And please tell all your friends to come too.

What's that, you say you don't like fish? What if I told you this project has the potential to make chicken, beef, pork and vegetables more affordable? Would that get your attention? Come on out and I'll explain how.

Our First Meeting

When Wednesday: Wednesday April 8, 2014 6:00 PM

Where: In the vacant lot due east of the Guilford County Agricultural Extension Office 3309 Burlington Rd (Link to Google map: https://goo.gl/maps/P9cFn ) Long time residents will recognize it as the former location of the Polio Hospital and a nursing home both torn down about 40 years ago and left vacant ever sense.

What To Bring: a folding chair unless you prefer to stand.

John Ivey of the Agricultural Extension Service and I will be there along with anyone else we can wrangle in support of the project. The 33 acre site we'll be meeting on is where we HOPE to place the first location of Bessemer Aquaponics before expanding to other locations in other food deserts and low income neighborhoods all over Greensboro, the Piedmont Triad and the State of North Carolina.
Please come and show your support, find out what aquaponics is all about, share in our vision and consider investing and or volunteering someday.

And please share this post with everyone you know. Let's put Greensboro to work and healthy food in our children in a for profit venture anyone can be a part of.
Thanks
-Billy

What Is Aquaponics?

Aquaponics is one of the oldest and most successful farming systems in the world. It just wasn't always called Aquaponics. Thousands of years ago the ancient Aztecs practiced Aquaponics by growing crops on floating rafts covered with soil called chinampas allowing the roots of their vegetables to always remain in moist soil. Their ability to grow more food than anyone else made the Aztecs the strongest nation in Central America keeping their soldiers' bellies full when those they fought against starved.

In Asia 5000 years of rice paddies have supported the growth of not only rice but fish, Azolla, Chinese Water Chestnuts and other crops all at the same time before being drained at harvest time. Modern Asian farmers have added Ducks, Crayfish and Prawn (fresh water shrimp) to the animals they raise in their rice paddies.

Fish provide all the nutrients necessary for successful plant growth. Plants provide the necessary filtration of nitrogen compounds and ammonia to keep water healthy for fish. This is why natural ponds and lakes are able to support wild populations of fish and other animals.

In modern Aquaponics farmers simply push the limits of nature to grow the most fish and vegetables possible without upsetting the balance of nature.

This is done through careful monitoring of water quality and adjusting as necessary.

Modern technology, lighting, electricity, pumps and chemical testing gives the modern Aquaponic farmer the ability to grow far more organic fish and produce in much less space using much less water and energy than ever before possible. As a matter of fact: Aquaponics uses only 2% to 10% as much water as conventional farming depending on how it's practiced and local conditions.

Considering the world is facing shortages of safe water, fish and vegetables, and Greensboro desperately needs jobs, how can we not afford to bring Aquaponics to Greensboro?