Farm in South Fort Myers using fish to flourish crops

A new aquaponic farm is opening on U.S. 41 in South Fort Myers. This innovative farm uses fish to produce natural nitrogen, aiding in the growth of vegetables.

David and Alise Bartley started the EFC Farms Event and Education Center, a collaborative community space.

“Our hope with the new education and event center is to be able to host events and educational opportunities and farm tours at a cost to help us achieve sustainability from a cash flow standpoint for the farm,” said David Bartley.

The Bartleys aim to teach sustainable farming in Florida’s challenging climate.

“We also sell produce here,” said Alise Bartley. “We are selling eggs we are also doing some cucumbers and a lot of varieties of tomatoes.”

The farm uses aquaponics, a process that combines fish farming with plant cultivation.

“This is the tank of our tilapia. We’ve got about 600 tilapia in here,” Alise Bartley said. “They secrete ammonia that through a process we turn into nitrates which feeds our lettuce.”

The Bartleys use pink tilapia, which is well-suited for Florida’s heat and supports conservation efforts.

“With sustainable farming and particularly aquaponics farming is, I think, a cutting edge way of producing a lot of nutrient-dense produce without utilizing as much water and as much soil and hope to give back,” said David Bartley.

The center will also serve as a venue for weddings and events and can be used as a temporary shelter during hurricanes.