We Are the Future of Smart Farming

Founded in 2018, the aim of Endless Summer Farms LLC was to make fresh produce a lot more practical for our customers, especially those who don't live in or near a large metropolitan area with more access to fresh and healthy produce.

This facility was built as a joint venture between the City of Silver Bay and the University of Minnesota Duluth to demonstrate an environmentally sustainable and economically viable method of food production in a cold climate. Aquaponics is the combination of recirculating aquaculture (the raising of fish) and hydroponics (the growing of plants in a water and fertilizer solution) to grow food or ornamental crops and aquatic species together in a system with minimal discharge or exchange of water. This facility uses a decoupled (the fish and the plants are not in the same space) Deep Water Culture method for growing plants.

Some Advantages of a Deep Water Culture  System
Easy to Set Up.

The Deep Water Culture (DWC) is one of three common methods of aquaponics being utilized at the present. In the DWC method, also known as the raft method or floating system, nutrient rich water is circulated through growbeds or troughs at a depth of about 8 inches with rafts (usually polystyrene) floating on top. Plants are supported by net pots placed within holes in the rafts. The roots hang down in the nutrient-rich oxygenated water. Generally, each trough should have a retention time (the amount of time it takes to replace the volume of water in the trough) of 1-4 hours. Deep water culture systems are easy and simple to set up and only require very few parts that you can put together in a short period. And the only moving part is a water pump, which is easy to configure.
Less expensive and easier to maintain

It is low maintenance costs and inexpensive to maintain once you set up the system. Deep water culture systems are simple and easy to monitor as long as you do it frequently and ensure you understand the basics.
The startup costs of setting up a small DWC system are minimal compared to other hydroponic systems. 
Reliable

If a power outage or equipment malfunctioning, you don’t need to worry because the DWC systems hold enough water to sustain the plants for a considerable time should the flow of water be interrupted. And after you have learned the basics of setting up and monitoring a deep water culture hydroponics system, it is relatively easy to scale the system up and use your gained knowledge to grow various plants.

The FAO FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE TECHNICAL PAPER 589 summarized the strengths of the DWC system as follows:

• More cost-effective method than media beds on large scale

• Large water volume dampens changes in water quality

• Can withstand short interruptions in electricity

• Minimal water loss by evaporation

• Well researched by commercial hydroponic ventures

• Polystyrene rafts insulate water from heat losses/gains keeping constant temperatures

• Shifting rafts can facilitate planting and harvest

• Rafts provide biofilter surface area

• DWC canals can be fixed with plastic liners using almost any kind of wall (wood, steel frames, metal profiles)

• Can be used at multiple stocking densities

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