She lost two batches before anyone told her she had the wrong fish entirely. The species that would have survived everything her first season threw at it was sitting in a tank two towns over — and it costs less to raise than almost anything else you can put in a backyard pond. In Episode 3 of Farm Fresh, we finally stock the tank — and we break down why tilapia is the single most beginner-friendly, fast-growing food fish a backyard farmer can raise, and exactly how to manage your first grow-out cycle from fingerling to harvest.