With the high temperatures we have been having the water in the fish tank has been slowly rising to the 30°C/86°F mark... This is outside the comfort range of the Jade perch & I was getting worried about the amount of dissolved oxygen they had available so needed a quick fix.. Found a very easy fix by doing next to nothing at all..
Might contemplate adding some frozen bottles of water into the tank to try & help reduce the water temperature tomorrow..
Have a good one all...
: )»
Showing posts with label Shade House. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shade House. Show all posts
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Monday, April 23, 2012
Aquaponics, Jade perch & a bit of a roundup.....
Aquaponic update…
We finally have some table fish in the Aquaponic system… We ordered 25 Jade Perch from ANFE & picked them up on Thursday the 12th of April… Just held off posting to made certain I didn't "loose" any ;)»
We finally have some table fish in the Aquaponic system… We ordered 25 Jade Perch from ANFE & picked them up on Thursday the 12th of April… Just held off posting to made certain I didn't "loose" any ;)»
Aquaponic mishaps...
Spent the past few days playing around with the pipe work for the
system after having a few HSM's (HOLY SHIT/SUGAR/SHIVA moment's) with the FT (fish tank) overflowing due to clogged ports.. The fish are eating the algal growth & the stray bits are
causing blockages in the drilled out end caps of the SLO's (Solids Lifting Overflow) that feed the GB (grow bed) & empty back into the sump.. I added an "emergency overflow" port that runs directly into the sump as an extra precaution.. I was looking at increasing the size of the holes in the end caps of the SLO's but received a comment on the clip from a most helpful viewer that recommended making slits in the pipes instead of holes & run them vertically down the uptake pipe so did them first thing this morning.. Thanks "youronnit" A make shift cover was made up to help keep sunlight out so that will hopefully slow the growth of the algae..
New grow beds & pipe work..
Week in the dirt patch...
Made the decision to order some Veggie netting from Net Pro on Friday & it arrived 1st thing Monday morning (today) so will need to knock some frames up this week.. White cabbage butterfly eggs & a few small caterpillars have already been removed from some of the kale & cauliflowers in the patch.. Will also be used as a 20% shade cloth during summer which is another bonus as we have been looking for a lower % shade cloth..
Sunday saw us planting out a few seeds & 9 broccoli into the beds.. (Full list in Planting Diary)
Not sure of the variety as of yet but have set the task to our eldest as part of her studies for Monday..
Until next time, have a good one...
: )»
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Worms & Spuds...
Sad Worms...
Had to save some of the worms yesterday (Monday).... I had filled the top tray of the worm farm with horse manure that I had mixed some Blood 'n' Bone that contained added fertiliser without realising that they are not really fond of the B&B/Fertiliser... A few had become emaciated & passed on unfortunately : (»
I emptied out the tray onto the soil heap then put in some Mangle that had been put through the food processor as an attempted apology to the others... The worms that were rescued from the tray were put into a barrel full of fresh screened manure with no added extras to see how they will go... Hopefully they will thrive in there & I will be able to use the other barrels in the same way to boost worm & casting production... I would like to have a whole section in the proposed soil/compost bays just for manure composting with worms so as to reduce the feed bill for the Fish in the Aquaponics set up but that is a few jobs down the list at the moment...
Bags of Spuds...
Planted out the remaining Dutch Cream seed Potatoes yesterday into bags... I used a different blend this time as I think the Coir blend didn't hold enough moisture.. This batch was made up of reclaimed spoil from the garden, Mushroom compost & some of the "Safe Fertiliser" CBM Mix to give it all a bit of a boost..
Garden Preparations...
Will be setting up some more "hoops" in the garden for the shade cloth as it will have to be modified a bit to include the Aquaponic system... It will be a bit like a giant jigsaw puzzle : D»
I think we will have enough cloth so that will please the wallet me thinks...
Have a great one...
: )»
Had to save some of the worms yesterday (Monday).... I had filled the top tray of the worm farm with horse manure that I had mixed some Blood 'n' Bone that contained added fertiliser without realising that they are not really fond of the B&B/Fertiliser... A few had become emaciated & passed on unfortunately : (»
I emptied out the tray onto the soil heap then put in some Mangle that had been put through the food processor as an attempted apology to the others... The worms that were rescued from the tray were put into a barrel full of fresh screened manure with no added extras to see how they will go... Hopefully they will thrive in there & I will be able to use the other barrels in the same way to boost worm & casting production... I would like to have a whole section in the proposed soil/compost bays just for manure composting with worms so as to reduce the feed bill for the Fish in the Aquaponics set up but that is a few jobs down the list at the moment...
Bags of Spuds...
Planted out the remaining Dutch Cream seed Potatoes yesterday into bags... I used a different blend this time as I think the Coir blend didn't hold enough moisture.. This batch was made up of reclaimed spoil from the garden, Mushroom compost & some of the "Safe Fertiliser" CBM Mix to give it all a bit of a boost..
Garden Preparations...
Will be setting up some more "hoops" in the garden for the shade cloth as it will have to be modified a bit to include the Aquaponic system... It will be a bit like a giant jigsaw puzzle : D»
I think we will have enough cloth so that will please the wallet me thinks...
Have a great one...
: )»
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Organising the Yard Part II...
Monday walk through...
A bit of a walk through looking at a few bits around the yard that we did on the weekend in the yard & Veggie Patch...
Harvesting the Spice barrels...
We decided to harvest the Galangal, Turmeric & Ginger (GTG) early this year so we could renovate that part of the patch for the Aquaponic system...
We got far more than we thought we would as the soil they were planted in was of very poor quality...The Worm cast & Compost tea's gave the leaves a boost in the last few months so the rhizomes must of benefited as well I think...
I think we got twice the Turmeric (left) than the last crop, about the same from the Galangal (middle)... The Ginger (left) produced a lot more than last years crop that was grown from rhizomes purchased from the supermarket... This crop was grown from rhizomes purchased from Green Harvest & produced about double the amount of better looking ginger... Glad we paid the extra now... The pieces with stalk still on them will be given to others & some will be planted into Bed #9 with the Lemon Grass...
New Barrels & other Bit's...
2 new Wicking Barrels were made up for some seedlings in need of new homes... 2 purple & 1 Thai basil (left) were put in a barrel down in the patch & the Bell Chilli & 2 x of our Banana x Chillies (right) were put in a barrel beside the new Spice barrel by the back stairs...
All the remaining potted veggies were put on a frame around the side of the house with only a few pots & the Bromeliads, including the Pineapple, were left under the stairs with some Aloe & herbs.. The Strawberry wall (left) has had a minor renovation with some more wire cut out to allow for the plants settling down further in the wall & restricting the crown from sprouting more growth...
Have been harvesting a few Broccoli flowers (left) for salads & nibbles while walking around the patch.. Will be saving some seeds once they set..
There is only 1 white Kohlrabi left (right) & B☼ wants to leave it to see how large it will grow...Will be a week or 2 before the Purple ones will be ready.. Planted out 10 others around the patch & plan to sow some more seed when we can find some space...
The Passion fruit barrel has been overrun by feral Tomatoes & Eggplants that have sprouted from the worm cast that was placed under each of the seedlings... Shall have to thin them out soon but am thinking of leaving the Eggplant in just to see what type it turns out to be...
Some of the produce we have been picking...
Long early Eggplant, Beans, Kohlrabi, Beans, Beetroot, Lemons, Beans,Mangle Leaves, Snowpeas, Dragon Carrots, Beans, Cape Gooseberries, Raspberries, Beans, Honey snap Peas, Oh & did I mention Beans ???
Have also been trying to get a Celery base to shoot & will try to plant it once the roots come in... We do the same with store bought Shallots/Spring onions (depending on what country you live in).. Have bought a few bunches of them marked down to clear for 50cents & didn't loose any after planting them...
A bit of a walk through looking at a few bits around the yard that we did on the weekend in the yard & Veggie Patch...
Harvesting the Spice barrels...
We decided to harvest the Galangal, Turmeric & Ginger (GTG) early this year so we could renovate that part of the patch for the Aquaponic system...
We got far more than we thought we would as the soil they were planted in was of very poor quality...The Worm cast & Compost tea's gave the leaves a boost in the last few months so the rhizomes must of benefited as well I think...
I think we got twice the Turmeric (left) than the last crop, about the same from the Galangal (middle)... The Ginger (left) produced a lot more than last years crop that was grown from rhizomes purchased from the supermarket... This crop was grown from rhizomes purchased from Green Harvest & produced about double the amount of better looking ginger... Glad we paid the extra now... The pieces with stalk still on them will be given to others & some will be planted into Bed #9 with the Lemon Grass...
New Barrels & other Bit's...
2 new Wicking Barrels were made up for some seedlings in need of new homes... 2 purple & 1 Thai basil (left) were put in a barrel down in the patch & the Bell Chilli & 2 x of our Banana x Chillies (right) were put in a barrel beside the new Spice barrel by the back stairs...
All the remaining potted veggies were put on a frame around the side of the house with only a few pots & the Bromeliads, including the Pineapple, were left under the stairs with some Aloe & herbs.. The Strawberry wall (left) has had a minor renovation with some more wire cut out to allow for the plants settling down further in the wall & restricting the crown from sprouting more growth...
Have been harvesting a few Broccoli flowers (left) for salads & nibbles while walking around the patch.. Will be saving some seeds once they set.. There is only 1 white Kohlrabi left (right) & B☼ wants to leave it to see how large it will grow...Will be a week or 2 before the Purple ones will be ready.. Planted out 10 others around the patch & plan to sow some more seed when we can find some space...
The Passion fruit barrel has been overrun by feral Tomatoes & Eggplants that have sprouted from the worm cast that was placed under each of the seedlings... Shall have to thin them out soon but am thinking of leaving the Eggplant in just to see what type it turns out to be... Have also moved bits around the yard & have packed up all the composting barrels until after the reception... I might be able to take out Bed #5 , put in the bedding pebbles, cut down then place the IBC's before the reception is held but it might be a push.. Was hoping to have a little Barrel system up by then but the 2 new Wicking Barrels have taken up the spot next to the stairs where I was going to put them... Such is...
Random Pic's...
Long early Eggplant, Beans, Kohlrabi, Beans, Beetroot, Lemons, Beans,Mangle Leaves, Snowpeas, Dragon Carrots, Beans, Cape Gooseberries, Raspberries, Beans, Honey snap Peas, Oh & did I mention Beans ???
Have also been trying to get a Celery base to shoot & will try to plant it once the roots come in... We do the same with store bought Shallots/Spring onions (depending on what country you live in).. Have bought a few bunches of them marked down to clear for 50cents & didn't loose any after planting them...
That's about all until the weekend..
Have a great one...
: )»Friday, April 1, 2011
Jobbies for the patch....
WOO HOO !!!!!
I have the day to myself tomorrow so I shall be doing all the little jobbies around the yard I have put on hold because of rain or other disruptions...
There are seeds to sow, plants to plant, Barrels to Wick, a pond to make & a little bit of landscaping to do...
I have an inkling that the onions seeds I have planted out on the 17 & 18th oh march may have failed as I have only seen 1 variety sprout.... It may just be me being impatient but am going to plant out some punnets of seed just in case... They wont go to waste as they will just be popped in throughout the patch & yard if the others have failed...
- Pot out Pineapple top
- Plant out Elephant & Glen Large Garlic Saturday With B☼
- Plant out Dill with Cucumbers Monday afternoon
-Sow Broccoli seed in with Cucumbers Monday afternoon
- Sow onion & Carrot tape in bathtub bed Saturday afternoon
- Transplant B☼'s Comfrey & some Aloe vera around the Lemon Tree
- Re pot Amish Paste Tomatoes the same way Ray does on his Praxxus You Tube channel Monday afternoon
- Pot up Chilli seedlings
-
- Wick up a garden bed for family member
- Investigate for root growth on the Eggplant, Sacred Basil & Tomato cuttings we took on the 17th of March & re pot if needed
-Cut down Barrels, wash then make 3 Wicking Barrels & 1 pond from them (Video on Wicking Barrels on this in post above...) Friday & Saturday afternoons
- Attach wire to the top of chook yard roof Saturday afternoon
- Plant out Panama Red Passion fruit in Wicking Barrel in chook Yard Saturday afternoon
- Make up more Compost Tea after current brew is used Saturday afternoon Monday afternoon
- Harvest top tray of Castings from old Worm farm
- Remove some of the shade cloth
- Pot up Lemongrass for friends Monday afternoon
That's all I can think of for now but shall add extra when I think of them as there is always more...
Pale-headed Rosella...
Have a great one all...
: )»
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Shade House construction....
Thought I would do a post on the Shade house after being asked a question about it.... (Thanks Sherrie)
It is a very basic idea I gleaned from a few different places... I went to a open day at the Toowoomba organic growers club to help on the Wetpot stand & saw an Irrigation pipe Dome Arbour like structure... From memory they were going to plant Passion fruit & other productive climbers around it to create a small, shaded seating area... I then came across the idea again when investigating the Wicking beds at the Easy-Grow Vegetables website...
We used Green striped Rural pipe for the arches & mix of New & old star pickets... The older ones were made here in Australia by BHP & of a larger (in circumference), more sturdier construction... The Blue stripe Irrigation pipe is stronger but nearly double the price at the Produce/Agg store we purchased it from & not really necessary for a basic shade structure... 50% shade cloth was used due to the price involved in ordering in the 25-30% cloth we really wanted... We might look into getting the other next year if we feel the plants are not going as well as they could...
I found the new pickets fit inside the 2" pipe without a problem but had to wire the smaller1½" pipe to the outside of the pickets... I kept the Larger pickets for use with the smaller pipe as it was easier to secure the pipe between the "wings" of the picket to help hold it in place...
Holes were drilled in the pipe to match up with the holes in the pickets.... It was then secured to the pickets with wire..... I have also wired the smaller pipe to the larger in places to create another arch... These joins appear to be as strong now as when first constructed about a year ago...
The Top Hat sections are fastened to the Pipe with large screws & at the ends some extra wire for strength... The shade cloth is then secured to both the Top Hat & pipe with Large Zip Ties..... We have only just discovered (Thanks Mark B) that they can be reused if you use a small flat screwdriver or small, preferably blunt, knife to release the small tab that keeps them locked....
We have joined the sections of shade cloth together with bits of baling twine in some places & smaller Zip Ties in others...
We had some fairly bad storms last summer & never had a problem with the structure shaking or even looking like being damaged... Due to the loose weave of the cloth the wind just blows right through unlike a shade sail that has a very tight weave which adds to the wind resistance...
Hope that answers any questions but feel free to ask more...
Have a great one all....
: )»
It is a very basic idea I gleaned from a few different places... I went to a open day at the Toowoomba organic growers club to help on the Wetpot stand & saw an Irrigation pipe Dome Arbour like structure... From memory they were going to plant Passion fruit & other productive climbers around it to create a small, shaded seating area... I then came across the idea again when investigating the Wicking beds at the Easy-Grow Vegetables website...
We used Green striped Rural pipe for the arches & mix of New & old star pickets... The older ones were made here in Australia by BHP & of a larger (in circumference), more sturdier construction... The Blue stripe Irrigation pipe is stronger but nearly double the price at the Produce/Agg store we purchased it from & not really necessary for a basic shade structure... 50% shade cloth was used due to the price involved in ordering in the 25-30% cloth we really wanted... We might look into getting the other next year if we feel the plants are not going as well as they could...
I found the new pickets fit inside the 2" pipe without a problem but had to wire the smaller1½" pipe to the outside of the pickets... I kept the Larger pickets for use with the smaller pipe as it was easier to secure the pipe between the "wings" of the picket to help hold it in place...
Holes were drilled in the pipe to match up with the holes in the pickets.... It was then secured to the pickets with wire..... I have also wired the smaller pipe to the larger in places to create another arch... These joins appear to be as strong now as when first constructed about a year ago...
The Top Hat sections are fastened to the Pipe with large screws & at the ends some extra wire for strength... The shade cloth is then secured to both the Top Hat & pipe with Large Zip Ties..... We have only just discovered (Thanks Mark B) that they can be reused if you use a small flat screwdriver or small, preferably blunt, knife to release the small tab that keeps them locked....We have joined the sections of shade cloth together with bits of baling twine in some places & smaller Zip Ties in others...
We had some fairly bad storms last summer & never had a problem with the structure shaking or even looking like being damaged... Due to the loose weave of the cloth the wind just blows right through unlike a shade sail that has a very tight weave which adds to the wind resistance...
Hope that answers any questions but feel free to ask more...
Have a great one all....
: )»
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Shade house extention....
Covered the last section of the Veggie patch yesterday...... With the days Supposed to be getting hotter/sunnier I thought I would get a jump on covering the last section....
Shall be planting the next lot of Lettuce & Zucchini up the back as it just gets to hot in Bed's # 1 & 5 in the afternoon....
Have a great one all....
: )»
Shall be planting the next lot of Lettuce & Zucchini up the back as it just gets to hot in Bed's # 1 & 5 in the afternoon....
Have a great one all....
: )»
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Digging in the Shade.....
Saturday.....
The weather has started to heat up a bit of late & we were a tad concerned that we may loose the Snow Peas & Broccoli so decided to put the shade cloth up over most of the beds....
We have noticed a difference in the Snow Peas already... They are standing up all happy & the pods firmed up within a few hours... This time we did it a bit different... We sewed the sections together using bits of the straw bale twine.... 150-200mm gaps were left between the joined sections to allow some natural light in as well..... Other sections will be added when we fell the plants require it.... Some think its a bit of overkill but we are already getting about 8 hours of direct sunlight on the patch with no shading until about 2 hours before sunset... In summer it increases to 12 hours of unshaded sun....
I think the Broccoli heads will flower before they fully mature so they will be taken off for Tuesdays dinner... The Chooks love the leaves, plus we eat a lot of Broccoli stem in stir-fry & steamed with other veg so we shall keep them in for now....
Sunday....
Finally took the old spice bed down & will be using the corner posts & tin in other beds.... The corner post have already been tagged to go into what used to be the Herb bed.... The sand from the reservoir & soil is being stored in the old timber bed waiting to be used else where... The Herb bed is now being split into 2 separate beds with a bench/storage box in between the 2 beds... I have saved the perennial Basil, a tub of Shallots, small pot of garlic chives & some Lemongrass... All are in pots at the base of the stairs for now until we decide what is going into the 2 "New" Wicking beds... The plans for the bench/storage box are still swimming around my noggin & will probably surface in the middle of the night knowing me... **Sigh**
The evil curl Grubs of DOOOOOOM !!
While digging out the Herb bed we came across our old Nemeses....
We got about 60 large & over a hundred small grubs which answered some questions regarding to the early demise of some plants... We found them in groups of 2 or 3 in clumps of roots... The Chooks had a ball fighting over the first 20 or so but by the end of the day they had all had enough... Some have been put into a bucket of soil to feed to the Girls during the week as a protein treat & Bunny the dog has got the taste for them now as well so none shall go to waste....
Wetpots.....
This is why I Love using Wetpots & won't be parting with any even though we aren't using them at the moment...
These are pictures of what an Italian Parsley plant (like the one pictured below) did to this pot....
You can not see any exposed clay as the roots have totally "enveloped" any non glazed surface.....
Found a couple of legless lizards living in the beds while we were dismantling them.... The first lizard we found was about 30-40cm long & the second was only a baby at about 15cm... Both were relocated to safety away from the Chooks & the Bunny Dog....
Weekly harvest....
This week we picked,
2 large Zucchinis, Shallots, Basil, Silverbeet, a few lemons, 2 Passion fruit, & a large Mignonette Lettuce...
Also got 3 Goog's a day from the Chookies...
That's about it for now Me thinks...
Have a great one all....
: )»
The weather has started to heat up a bit of late & we were a tad concerned that we may loose the Snow Peas & Broccoli so decided to put the shade cloth up over most of the beds....
I think the Broccoli heads will flower before they fully mature so they will be taken off for Tuesdays dinner... The Chooks love the leaves, plus we eat a lot of Broccoli stem in stir-fry & steamed with other veg so we shall keep them in for now....
Sunday....
Finally took the old spice bed down & will be using the corner posts & tin in other beds.... The corner post have already been tagged to go into what used to be the Herb bed.... The sand from the reservoir & soil is being stored in the old timber bed waiting to be used else where... The Herb bed is now being split into 2 separate beds with a bench/storage box in between the 2 beds... I have saved the perennial Basil, a tub of Shallots, small pot of garlic chives & some Lemongrass... All are in pots at the base of the stairs for now until we decide what is going into the 2 "New" Wicking beds... The plans for the bench/storage box are still swimming around my noggin & will probably surface in the middle of the night knowing me... **Sigh** The evil curl Grubs of DOOOOOOM !!
We got about 60 large & over a hundred small grubs which answered some questions regarding to the early demise of some plants... We found them in groups of 2 or 3 in clumps of roots... The Chooks had a ball fighting over the first 20 or so but by the end of the day they had all had enough... Some have been put into a bucket of soil to feed to the Girls during the week as a protein treat & Bunny the dog has got the taste for them now as well so none shall go to waste....
Wetpots.....
This is why I Love using Wetpots & won't be parting with any even though we aren't using them at the moment...These are pictures of what an Italian Parsley plant (like the one pictured below) did to this pot....
You can not see any exposed clay as the roots have totally "enveloped" any non glazed surface.....
Found a couple of legless lizards living in the beds while we were dismantling them.... The first lizard we found was about 30-40cm long & the second was only a baby at about 15cm... Both were relocated to safety away from the Chooks & the Bunny Dog....
Weekly harvest....
This week we picked,
2 large Zucchinis, Shallots, Basil, Silverbeet, a few lemons, 2 Passion fruit, & a large Mignonette Lettuce...
Also got 3 Goog's a day from the Chookies...
That's about it for now Me thinks...
Have a great one all....
: )»
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