Friday, August 26, 2011

Moving on slowly...

Have knocked over few jobbies from the list ...
Clips & updates...
Aquaponic Update...

Still haven't progressed from here during the week & have a busy weekend ahead so it may have to wait a while longer...
Worm harvest...

Got the top layer of the Worm farm harvested & hope to get to the other layers in the next few weeks...
Quick wander through the patch...

This was taken last Sunday with a bit added Monday morning...

This weekend...
Hope to get all the seed planted out for the spring crop by the end of this weekend... Some will be sown directly & others will be planted into punnets... Will try & do a full update by Monday night...

Happy harvesting...
Harvest our biggest Beetroot to date & plan to use it in a Beetroot & potato salad for dinner...
The Dragon carrot is one of the biggest we have harvested so far & are very impressed with the flavour as well... The Spuds gave us around a KG from one so cant complain about that really...


Have a great one all....
: )»


Thursday, August 11, 2011

Off to a flying start...

Ready, set,     GO!!!
Had a great weekend in the patch with a few jobbies being knocked over...
Took out the 2 "Washing Machine" Wicking beds from the garden to make room for a few chairs & a small table.. Is nice to be able to sit in the patch with B☼ away from the spawn for a chat over a coffee on the weekend.. Well, that's the dream anyway.. I like to dream.. **nods**


 
Sick Fish & Aquaponics...
On Saturday morning the goldfish were moved  into a small "hospital tank"  then treated with a commercial anti fungal treatment...  1/3 of the water in the system was also replaced to counter the growing Ammonia levels as I didn't want to loose any Yabbies... On Sunday morning I hopped onto the BYAP Forum  & it was suggested that we salt to 10ppt for 1 hour then do a 50% water change to reduce it to a 5ppt concentration... Thanks Freoboy & all.. The fish picked up overnight & now only have a few spots of "growth" on them... Will do another 10ppt treatment today for an hour & see how they look again tomorrow... Not to keen on using the anti fungal treatment after reading the warning on the back about it containing carcinogens...
  Update shots... Left is from the 19th of July & the Right is from 10th of  August... As you can see there is a bit of growth & will continue to get better from here with Nitrates now being present in the system...The Nitrites are still fairly high but they should settle soon as they are  converted into Nitrates..
Today's readings are pH-below 8.2, Ammonia-.25, Nitrites-5+ & Nitrates are 80-160.. Added some Broccoli seed yesterday as it seems to be a plant we just cant grow enough of...
 Yabby Bum Left & Nippers, Right. They appear to be happy in there by themselves so all is good...





 Barrels of fun...
Made up 3 new Wicking Barrels on the weekend, 2 for the Mary Washington Asparagus, Left & 1 for the Jerusalem Artichokes, Right... 2 Asparagus crowns went into each Barrel while the Artichoke corms are still in the fridge for 2 more weeks...




Spuds...
Planted out the Green harvest Potato bags just over a week ago with the Dutch cream Seed Potatoes that were purchased with them.. Decided to plant out another 2 of the black bags on Saturday with some more.. We used one of the removed Washing machine beds & a ½ Barrel for some Kipfler Potatoes..The Desiree up the side of the house are looking rather good as are the 2 bags behind the Tomato Trellis...





Spice Wicking bed... 
Started to put this together on Friday afternoon & finished it off on Monday... Was a straight forward build & means that I can now get stuck into the Aquaponic set up during the afternoons this week.. This bed acts as a retaining wall for the gravel bedding... Will be letting the Spice bed settle down for a few weeks before planting out...



Compost...
Made up what I think will be a few great blends... The first lot was made on Saturday... It has Horse manure, blood 'n' bone, Mineral dust, & water from the Aquaponic set up... It was steaming when I used it in the soil blend for the Spice bed on Monday so I think it will cook down nicely thanks to the AP water & all the goodies in it... 2 bin loads were made up yesterday with a blend containing 2 shovel loads of Mushroom compost thrown in to see how it goes...


Happy harvesting...
**Does HUGE Happy Dance**
We got our first Capsicums off that didn't contain Grubs from a couple of feral plants that live in the Lime bed.. Can only put it down to the cooler weather... Will be making up some bags to cover the next crops of Capsicum with some bags that we will make up from an old Mozzie net the kids had over their cots.. That should keep the little buggers out this Spring & Summer.. Might have to make some for the Tomatoes as well for when the Turpentine Mangoes fruit.. A lot of people let them drop & rot which causes an explosion in the fruit fly numbers.. The pic also shows some of the first Amish Past Tomatoes we have harvested as well as some Caped Gooseberries & assorted Chillies..
We have also been getting some rather sweet Nantes & Dragon Carrots... Looking at pulling them all from the Bath tub bed soon & freezing them for use later as the I have plans for the Bath... The Mangles (Right) have been used in a few stews.. We are looking at freezing the rest of the large Kohlrabi for stews & casseroles.. The Broccoli is still producing but fear we have lost the climbing Beans due to my negligence & a rust.. 

Have a great one all....
: )»

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Time to get going...

I just realised that we have only a few weeks to go until Spring & I really need to pull my finger out... There are are a few seeds I could start to sow in trays to get ready as well as a growing list of small to large scale projects I really need to make a start on...
IBC Aquaponic system... This one is the big one that really needs to be done but unfortunately there are a few other jobs that need to be completed in order to set it up...
Here is a list of the most important Jobbies as I see them...
# 1.Spice Wicking bed... This is going between the Chook yard & the AP system as an extra level of "scratch" protection... Don't really want Chook poo in the fish tank... Really need to get this in so we can move onto...
#2. Preparation of Aquaponic site... Part of the area where the Fish tank is going has been roughly levelled & some Besser blocks are cleaned & ready to be mortared in place, still need to pick a dozen or so up... We will be putting down some stone in the area on top of some used weed cloth & old feed bags to keep the weeds down...
#3. Cut & set up IBC's... To tell you the truth we are still a bit undecided as to which style of system to make... I like the idea of the grow beds that run on flood & drain using bell siphons that feed back into the fish tank directly with the pump running 24h... This will only need a basic pump & should be fairly cheap to build... If we go with one of the CHIFT PIST (Constant water Hight In Fish Tank, Pump In Sump Tank) system we need a pump with float switch & extra plumbing but I do like the idea of this system as the sump can be used as a separate tank for the Yabbies/Marron the real reason for getting into Aquaponics in the first place... (I don't like eating fish, go figure : D») To make it worse Backyard Aquaponics have released a Free Download Manual on how to build a basic IBC system as well as including HEAPS of the forum members own IBC systems... Heaps of ideas but really need to get it up & running for Spring...
#4. Harvest worm castings... This really needs to be done 3 weeks ago but haven't gotten around to it... A couple of new farms need to be set up too in preparation of using them as a supplemental fish food...
#5. Build Black Solider Fly Larvae farm... This will be a great addition to the patch... These guys will look after all our meat scraps as well as veggie scraps... After our Dog Bunny passed we have been cringing as we toss out all meat scraps into the general waste bins... I see it as a waste of energy that could be used to feed other animals or plants... The Larvae can be used as chook or fish food& the wast they leave behind can be put through the worm farm...
#6. Age/Compost more Manure... Will be needing a fair amount of this for Jobbie #7... I almost bout a $30 120L composer new last night & am glad I didn't now... Will be pulling out the Carboy barrels again & might even make up a wire unit lined with weed matting... Will need to get some more blood & bone to add to the blend...
#7. Front yard Wicking Garden... We are letting the girls have a bed each in the front yard as well as a few for ourselves & a few barrels... Looking at some dwarf stone fruit for the barrels as well as a grape vine... Need to start to look at providing more of our own fruit...
There are more jobbies to do but that is a list of the ones I feel are important to get us off to a good start for the spring/Summer growing season...

Oh, & during all this it will still be life as usual with the girls schooling & general house duties or my chain will be shortened again by Queen B☼......

Feel free to crack the whip & keep me motivated...
Have a great one all...
: )»
**Removes self from Puta & makes a start...**

Monday, August 1, 2011

Casual weekend planing out the patch...

Getting ready for Spring...

 It's that time again when we start deciding which winter plants are ready to cull, which beds need a good feed & which if any need to be moved or removed... If we don't make a start now we will be behind the 8 ball for the Spring plantings...
This is a rough plan of what we would like to have done by the end of Spring... There are a few more beds I would like to add in the next few months but they will have to wait until the Aquaponics system has been set up.... Have also started to look out for plans to make a Black Solider Fly farm to grow some more food for the Fish & Yabbies to make it easier on the wallet & healthier for them...





 Decided to start with the Brussels Sprout barrel as it just wasn't preforming very well... Have also made a tentative start on the IBC Aquaponic system... Well,  moved the pavers, levelled off some soil & pondered the layout over an ale with B☼...
Will be laying off the fish feed for a day or so to see what happens to the levels...

Also cut up a few barrels to turn into Wicking barrels but really didn't accomplish as much as I wanted but that's always the way... Such is...

Harvest Shots...
The Swiss Brown Mushrooms have been a tad slow in producing so I am hoping that moving them into a warmer spot might aid in better growth... Have only gotten 300 or so grams in the past 2 weeks...
I might try a method I read about in the Simple Savings forum where you grow your own using chopped up "ripe" Mushies that are dropping their spores to start up another farm... Always up for playing around...
We harvested the last of the Dragon Carrots from Bed #1.. They will be vacuum sealed & frozen.. The lemons are being picked every few days & many a Lemony treat has been made for home & B☼'s work in the past couple of weeks.. Always nice to share with work mates & family... The Sugarsnap Peas are starting to get woody & are not as sweet as the past few harvests so 1 lot was pulled & the second has been left after getting a good feed with Fish, Seaweed & Rock dust fertilisers to see if we can pick them up a bit... A large handful of baby Spuds was taken from a bag

  We also got our first bug/maggot free Capsicum!!!!! **DOES BIG HAPPY DANCE**   It will go well in a roast Lamb & Quinoa salad me thinks... The Cape Gooseberries are slowing down a bit... We are getting 5-10 every few days so its a race down to the patch to see who can gobble them first at the moment...
Feel free to ask questions or offer advice...
Have a great one all...
: )»