What is oyster gardening?
Oyster gardening is the practice of growing oysters at one's pier, typically using a device known as a Taylor float (so named for Jake Taylor of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences) to contain the oysters while maintaining them near the surface of the water.
Why would I want to garden oysters?
There are plenty of reasons to cultivate your own oysters:
- your oysters will help improve water quality,
- your Taylor floats will provide habitat for a myriad of other marine life (such as shrimp, minnows, and crabs) to help attract gamefish to your pier,
- you might elect to use your oysters as a food source,
- and to top it all off - you might even be eligible to claim a tax credit to pay for it all !
Who can do it?
Anyone with access to saltwater and a few spare hours each month can cultivate oysters. In Maryland and Virginia, waterfront landowners typically have riparian rights to cultivate oysters in the waters under and/or adjacent to their pier.
Where can oysters be grown?
While oysters are extremely tolerant of many environmental variables and fluctuations, they are very intolerant of extended immersion in freshwater. Water suitable for oysters must have a minimum salinity of roughly 3 parts per thousand (ppt). Generally speaking, the majority of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidewater tributaries exceed this threshold. If you have any doubts about the salinity of your water, here's an easy way to determine its suitability: examine the pilings of your pier for the oyster's cousin, the common barnacle. If barnacles are present, you're good to go. If no barnacles are present, it's likely your waters lack the necessary salinity to support either barnacles or oysters.
When can I grow oysters?
You can start your oyster garden anytime of year, provided that you can locate a supply of seed oysters. However, practically speaking, you'll be constrained by your ability to locate oyster seed - typically seed is available only during the warm months of the year (April through October in the mid-Atlandtic region), these months being the time during which oysters actively grow and reproduce. However, once you have 'planted' your garden, the oysters will 'take it from there'. Oysters are robust and tolerate environmental extremes very well, so unlike a vegetable garden, an oyster garden requires no special protection or consideration for the weather. Winter is no problem for your oysters - they can literally be frozen into the surface ice without damage.
How long does it take?
Typically, your oysters will grow about 2" in length during each successive 'growing season' (the warm weather months). Oyster seed established during the springtime can reach 4" shell length by autumn of the following year (a 16 month period spanning 2 growing seasons). The key to this phenomenal growth is the Taylor float, as it maintains the oysters near the water's surface, where algae and oxygen are most plentiful, as well as protects the oysters from common predators - all combining to maximize oyster growth rates.
How do I get started?
The easiest way to get started is to simply purchase completed Taylor float(s) pre-stocked with seed oysters, such as our "Just Add Water" System. And remember, in Maryland, the purchase price of Taylor float systems may be recoverable when you file your income taxes - see our tax credit page for more details on how you can garden oysters for free !
How much maintenance/care is required?
Your oysters will largely take care of themselves - all you need to do is ensure their Taylor Float doesn't become choked with marine growth. This is a relatively painless procedure that involves periodically "flipping" the raft to expose accumulating marine growth to the atmosphere, thereby killing it. Full details are provided on the Caring for your Oysters page