Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Veggie garden walk through.. Pineapple, turmeric, okra, nematodes & chooks...

Have been meaning to do a clip for the past week but just haven't gotten around to it... Today was a sick day for the girls (dreaded cold/flu has set in here) so I went for a wander with an umbrella..



Root Knot Nematodes..
Here is a bit of a look at what root knot nematodes did to the beetroot that were grown in the barrel before the okra was planted out in there.. These nematodes set up home in the roots of your plants reducing plant vigour & in some extreme cases, suck that much nutriment out of the plant that they can die.. We have had a bit of a problem  in a few beds but think that we have them on the run with the molasses mix..
Molasses mix for root knot nematode..
1L/1quart of molasses
4L/4quart of water
Mix well together & water into 2m²/2yrd² of infected garden bed.. Once this mix was applied to the barrel the warrigal greens bounced back surprisingly quickly.. I was extremely impressed to say the least..
Hope that helps anyone else trying to battle these tiny pests..

Hopefully there will be more in the next walk through clip in the way of winter plant starts
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Have a great one All...

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Harvesting worm castings from the Bathtub Worm farm..



Decided it was time to harvest ½ of the worm castings from the bathtub farm on the weekend.. As always, I was surprised at how well they break the manure down into castings that the garden will love.. Planing on using some to make up worm cast tea in the coming weeks as well..

If you haven't seen how the worm bathtub was set up this might help.. While I was lucky enough to have enough material to make a waste high frame to sit ours in, many just sit them on bricks or small wooden stands to give them enough room to be able to collect the leachate from the plug hole in the bath..



Also did a "How & what we feed the worms" clip a while ago...
I think this is the fastest way to turn veggie scraps into a useful garden fertiliser.. I also think that it helps the worms breed faster as they are able to consume more food & are in better condition.. I could be wrong but that is my observation..


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Have a great one All...
: )»

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Aquaponic IBC system, Air system & Radial flow 14th February 2013

Been a few additions to the set up over the past week.. A new air compressor & filter were added to the system... Both are a bit of overkill for now but will come in handy when the system expands..
Had a bit of a scare with the fish the other day.. The water became murky for no apparent reason & all the fish went off the feed for 12 or so hours but they all look to be OK & are feeding well now.. Think they need a break after all the tinkering that has been going on around them..



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Have a great one All...
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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Aquaponic radial flow filter for solids removal..

Due to the continually high nitrite levels I thought it might be best to remove some of the waste load from the system.. While a system this size normally doesn't need a solids filter I thought it was the quickest & easiest way I could think of doing this.. It will also come on handy when the extra tanks are added.. Took a bit of playing with the pumps to get it flowing well but other than that it was a quick & easy build..
Would like to thank Paul from Earthan group for dropping off the Uniseals & for giving me loads of pointers over a coffee or 4..
The idea for this came from Earthan Group's DIY Solids Filter from their website..
They also have a You Tube channel &  Face Book page for those that are interested..




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Have a great one All...

Monday, February 11, 2013

Water Chestnut crop update Feb 2013..

A look at the water chestnut crop for this year.. Third time lucky as the first 2 attempts were dismal failures..
The first went into the bathtub pond & we think the leachate from the bucket was making the fish ill so pulled it out..
The second attempt was with buckets placed into drums full of water.. That wasn't exactly a stunning success either with the soil becoming rather acidic..
Third attempt was the easy "toss them in a box & let them grow" method & it appears to have done the best so far... Funny that ;)
Think they will give us a few to eat & will be setting some aside for next years planting for certain..



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Have a great one All...
: )»

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Vegetable garden update clip 4th Feb 2013

A bit of a catch up on how the patch is going now we are coming to the end of summer.. Many of the plants are doing well but we are still having  few issues with nematodes & grasshopper attacks in the patch..
While cleaning out a few beds I found one that was extremely hydrophobic..  Below is a link that explains what hydrophobic soils are..
http://geography.swansea.ac.uk/hydrophobicity/soil_hydrophobicity.htm
Was an easy fix that involved a bag of composted horse manure & a garden fork with the rain well & truly re hydrating the soil mix in the bed..

Hope to finish cleaning out the beds tomorrow & sowing some seeds later on in the day..


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Hope all are well & happy..
Have a great one..
: )»

Friday, February 1, 2013

Growing Strawberries from Runners..

Propagating strawberry plants is really easy.. Once they stop producing fruit the plants throw all their energy into "Runner" production & it is a great time to extend your patch &/or take some off for friends & family.. They are one plant that once you buy you will have them for life..



For more regular updates about the patch come visit us on our Face Book page..
Have a great one All...
: )»

Cheap Chicken feeder 2, Living greens feeder for chickens....

I have finely make up a "Living Green Feeder" for the girls pen.. A friend, tar Rosie, put me onto them a few years ago but I have kept putting it off.. This was a very easy build & only took me about an hour to make & install.. I think a basic one could be made from items such as upturned bread crates or wire baskets from an old fridge/freezer..




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Have a great one All...
: )»