Thursday, May 23, 2013

Time for an aquaponic system update & the first fish harvest..

Did another backyard aquaponic system update last week.. It's all travelling along rather nicely at the moment & am happy to report there have been no dramas as of late..  **knocks on wood**
Plant growth is still coming along nicely even though the temperatures have been dropping a bit.. Thinking we are still right to plant out a few more seeds though..

Should have the site for the mini fish farm all sorted by the next update hopefully..

Have taken the first 4 perch from the system to share at a bit of a family get together over the weekend.. 3 were not the largest but wasn't expecting too much.. Might pull a few more over Winter but not sure yet, shall see how we go..

Information on the iki jime method of despatching fish can be found here
http://www.ikijime.com/
& is well worth the look I think.

For more regular updates & pictures from the patch come visit us on our "Bits Out the Back" Facebook page..
Have a great one All...
Rob..

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

How to make a chicken waterer with nipple drippers..

Made up a chicken waterer for the girls cage over the past few days.. This one is 25L/6½gal in size & should last the 4 of them for at least a week if not longer I think..



A closed in water feeder like this will also help to keep their water cleaner.. It was a constant battle with them scratching dirt into their old feeder so it needed cleaning at least every second day..  I think the closed in feeder will definitely take some of the "AWWW DAAAD" out of the daily chicken choirs..
I have already started to work on another design that I will have a crack at at a later date..

There are also the "Chicken feeder, Living greens feeder for poultry or rabbits"
& the "Cheap chicken feeder, how to build a bulk chicken/poultry feeder" clips that might interest you if your into doing some basic DIY jobs around the chook pen..

For more regular updates & pictures from the patch come visit us on our "Bits Out the Back" Facebook page...
Have a great one All...

Sunday, May 5, 2013

A couple of updates on the patch...

Backyard Aquaponic update, more plans & jobbies. 29th April 2013
Not much happening with the aquaponics of late other than plants growing & fish swimming.. The radial flow filter is yet to be included into the main feed line to the grow beds.. It needs a few minor alterations so it can be cleaned out more effectively before that can happen though..



Have been inspired to start off a small 2000L/530gal fish farm so am making plans to clear some space to include it next to the aquaponics.. Hope to make a start on that as soon as I can save up some extra coin :)

Wicking bed & Straw bale garden update.. 1st May 2013
Really love the growth the garden puts on at this time of year but with the milder weather creeping up on us I think I will be wishing it was spring soon enough.. The hay bale bed looks to be working just fine & am looking forward to planting out some spuds soon using Peter Cundall's no-dig potato method ..



Have made a proper start on the hoop house extension & hope to have all the frame up by next weekend so you should see some progress on that in the next update..


For more regular updates & pictures from the patch come visit us on our Bits Out the Back Facebook page..
Have a great one All...







Friday, May 3, 2013

How to make a straw bale garden bed.. Our 1st Lucerne/alfalfa hay bale bed..

Have wanted to make up some straw/hay bale garden beds for a while now & am happy I finely have..




The second bed is in the process of being planted & have also started a small no dig straw/hay bed for some potatoes to go into.. I love the idea of being able to grow in the straw as it slowly turns into compost & humus that can be added to other beds once it finishes breaking down...

For more regular updates & pictures from the patch come visit us on our Bits Out the Back Facebook page..
Have a great one All...

Planting out vernalised garlic... Tips for the subtropics & warmer areas..

Am trying out a few different methods of growing garlic this season to see if I can improve on previous years crops.. The garlic being used has been saved from the past two years crops..  As we are in the sub tropics & don't get the chill that other areas get to help kick their garlic off I decided to vernalise (chill) the majority of our seed garlic..



Am glad I decided to as they are already out preforming the traditionally planted cloves... Think that this will be my preferred method of preparing seed garlic from now on..
Most have gone into the soil, some into the aquaponics & the rest weree planted into the straw bale bed out the front...

For more regular updates & pictures from the patch come visit us on our Bits Out the Back Facebook page..
Have a great one All...