Aquaponics

I bought this beautiful lettuce plus two other heads of green lettuce at the Farmer's Market at Rice. The lettuce is grown using the aquaponics method by Sustainable Harvesters in Hockley Texas. In case you don't know what aquaponics is (I didn't) here is a brief definition from Wikipedia: Aquaponics refers to any system that combines conventional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. In normal aquaculture, excretions from the animals being raised can accumulate in the water, increasing toxicity. In an aquaponic system, water from an aquaculture system is fed to a hydroponic system where the by-products are broken down by nitrification bacteria into nitrates and nitrites, which are utilized by the plants as nutrients, and the water is then recirculated back to the aquaculture system.
This lettuce is as tasty as it is beautiful. I bought this particular head because of it's resemblance to a rose.
The lettuce comes with the roots left on and can stay fresh in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
The third picture is from an article in the Houston Chronicle.