The sump tank/grow bed have been set up now... The clay
balls were all washed & a failure on the shroud around the bell
siphon was fixed...
The site where the fish tank is going has been
set up ready for the tank & the grow bed frames to be installed... Had a friend give me a hand on the weekend with the box... Thanks Mark.. The pump is in but is a bit to powerful to just run 1 bed so will have to wait until the rest of the grow beds & fish tank are on line I think... Power to the site is delivered through an extension cord to the pump & a water proof connection box is used keep it all safe... A bucket is also placed over the top to make certain no water gets in...
The barrel system is still lacking nutrients so we hope to get the Goldfish from the house into there as soon as I can get the IBC system plumbed up so the Yabbies can be added to it... It's just a matter of finding the $$ now for the plumbing fittings... I have also been told that we should have permanent power to the site within a month... **Crosses fingers & toes**
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..
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... : )»
Finely got motivated & set up the small barrelponic system using 2 x ½ drums as grow beds & a whole 44Gal/200L drum as the tank...
We used some saved metal for the stand along with recycled bolts & timbers... We felt the old Hydroponic pump (14+ years old) should be left on the mothballs & a new one was purchased along with 5 x 45L bags of Hydroton to fill the tubs... Blue metal would of been cheaper but I think the weight would of caused some problems with the barrels distorting & possibly sagging in the centre...
Will be out there daily now for a few weeks taking the Ammonia, pH & Nitrate levels just to make sure things are kicking off nicely... I do have a slight concern that the pH was up a tad today nearing 8 so will be looking into adding some Acid to lower the levels tomorrow if it climbs again... Might start with lemon as we have so many on the tree & it goes so well with fish... **nods** I have also been adding a cap full of Seasol seaweed extract to help the growth of the plants while it is starting up.. Will be searching a few forums into if it is a good idea to add worms or their "tea" to the system to help it out...
Now for the IBC's...
Have been cleaning some Besser blocks to line the base of the "trench" FT/FT's will be situated in but that is as far as I have gotten on the IBC system... I have been holding out for the BYAP IBC Manual that is coming out soon to see how different systems are set up before a decision is made on the final build...
We have been on the lookout for cheap pipe & fittings for the IBC system... Made a start a few weeks ago by buying 2 buckets of used irrigation fittings including 3 brass gate valves for $5 at the markets... Have used a gate valve & fittings already on the backup water tank for the system & a 19mm tap in the GB feed in line on the barrel system so has well & truly paid for itself already... Last Sunday we picked up 2 small drain fittings for the IBC grow bed stand pipes to sit in for $1 each...Still not to certain on the GB medium we will use.. I like the idea of scoria/lava rock but haven't seen any for sale at the local suppliers... Might just have to be blue metal if I cant find it or it is to expensive... Some helpful places to visit...
Just though I should mention the 2 places I have been lurking while trying to get sorted out... Backyard Aquaponics & Practical Aquaponics...
Both sites have on line shops as well as forums that are full of helpful info...
There are other sites out ther but haven't gotten past the forums of these 2 yet ....
On the downward slide....
As much as I love rugging up & getting comfy on the lounge with the family I really am a Lizard at heart...
Have had a few mornings at 0°C or below without to much damage to the Veggie patch...
**Knocks on wood**
Only a month & a half to go before I can start to thaw out... Potato Harvest...
I have been dying to get into the potato bags & in a weak moment the other day we emptied one....
Not the biggest harvest but they were the best tasting spuds we have grown... They went down well in a Chook, Mushroom & kohlrabi casserole...
The rest of the bags are being left as I fear we haven't been keeping the water up to them enough for the spuds to mature properly... That has been rectified now as they have been fed with some worm cast tea & now will be watered every second day...
In the patch...
Not much has gone on in the patch except for harvesting the Snow & Sugar snap peas as well as the purple Kohlrabi & other assorted leaf veggies...
A clip from the 4th of July with a catch up on the beans, Beetroot & some more Carrots...
Left is a shot of the tiny Mushrooms from the Video as of yesterday... The Peat is starting to look a bit feral with some green mould moving in so I think it will be retired & we shall chalk up the $ lost as part of the learning curve...The other box hasn't produced any fungus as of yet even though we have been keeping a close eye on it...
The black worm farm still hasn't been harvested as of yet... We should get around to it next weekend I think... Will be able to use the "Handy Dandy" Worm Harvester on it hopefully as this batch is a bit dryer than the last few... Right is a shot of today's pickings, just under 800grams of Sugarsnap peas a few carrots we are going to blanch & freeze...
Aquaponics...
We made a start on the Barrelponics system on Monday...
Left The main frame for the bench is made from a frame of an old lounge, bits from a recycled futon lounge along with some recycled timber & bolts... Right One ½ barrel was found i a park after the January floods & the other was purchased at a 2nd hand store for $4... The black barrel was bought from a local Produce supply store...
Koo has had heaps of fun helping with the build... The girls are using the Barrelponics as part of their science lessons so that should be fun...
Very annoyed with myself we the stuff up & will definitely be erring on the side of caution from now on... Feel really bad for what happened to the fish....
That's abooot it for now so Have a great one all... : )»
The site where the fish tank is going has been
set up ready for the tank & the grow bed frames to be installed... Had a friend give me a hand on the weekend with the box... Thanks Mark.. The pump is in but is a bit to powerful to just run 1 bed so will have to wait until the rest of the grow beds & fish tank are on line I think... Power to the site is delivered through an extension cord to the pump & a water proof connection box is used keep it all safe... A bucket is also placed over the top to make certain no water gets in...
