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...
Showing posts with label garlic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garlic. Show all posts
Sunday, May 5, 2013
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...
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...
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...
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Aquaponic garlic…
Decided to have a shot at growing some aquaponic garlic after some prompting from a fellow Aussie Tuber, Shaun.. I already had some sitting in the fridge chilling out so it was only a 2 min job.. Took me 4 days to get to the 2 min job but such is :D
Shaun has an Aquaponic system & a great soil garden as well that he posts about on You Tube..
http://www.youtube.com/user/thehittmann1981
For more regular updates & pictures from the patch come visit us on our Bits out the Back Facebook page..
Have a great one All...
Monday, January 21, 2013
Hot stuff from the patch.. Sambal oelek & Chilli Paste..
We have been very lucky so far this year in that we have had no
**crosses every digit * fruit fly strike any of the chillies in the
patch.. The bell chillies near the house were my big concern as they
have no protection unlike the the large chilli in the hoop house..
A few weeks ago I decided to use up the collected chillies in a chilli paste so went searching on the interwebs for some inspiration.. An online friend (Tar Joy) pointed me in the direction of one she had tried & liked.. It looked promising but we were missing a few ingredients so I decided to make up my own using the recipe as a rough guide..
Below is what we came up with & am quite chuffed to say that the sugar & vinegar are the only ingredients we didn't grow ourselves :)»
Sambal Oelek...
Add all ingredients, except for the sugar & vinegar, to
the food processor & chop on high for about 30 seconds.
Slowly pour the vinegar in while the processor is on high until a smooth paste has formed.
Move the paste to a saucepan & bring to the boil.
Slowly add the sugar & stirred through until dissolved.
Reduced the heat & let simmer on low for 5 minutes. Adding a lid at this stage will aid in the clean up later as I found out ;)»
This batch filled 3 sterilised 500ml jars.. 2 of these were added to a hot water bath for 10 or so minutes so they could be stored for later use with one being gifted to some friends..
We have been very pleased with the fresh citrus flavour off this paste.. We
have used it to spice up some leftover roast pork & also to make an AWESOME coconut prawn curry.. Can't wait to experiment with the next batch we make up..
Nice & easy Chilli paste..
A simple no frills recipe to make up this basic yet versatile paste..
Thanks to Granny Mel for a few pointers on the paste..
250g/½lb Chillies, chopped in ½
125ml/½ cup Vodka
15g/½oz salt
2Tbsp water
Process chillies on high for 30 seconds or until finely chopped.
Add to saucepan with water & salt then bring to the boil.
Reduce to a high simmer for 4-5 minutes.
Turn hotplate off & allow past to cool for 5 minutes.
Stir Vodka through paste then add to sterilised jar & seal.
I would recommend storing it in the fridge.
This is such a basic recipe that only takes 15 minutes to whip up & can be used in so many different styles of cooking..
Shall post the other chilli paste recipes later if I think they are tasty enough..
For more regular updates about the patch come visit us at https://www.facebook.com/Bitsouttheback
Have a great one All...
:)»
A few weeks ago I decided to use up the collected chillies in a chilli paste so went searching on the interwebs for some inspiration.. An online friend (Tar Joy) pointed me in the direction of one she had tried & liked.. It looked promising but we were missing a few ingredients so I decided to make up my own using the recipe as a rough guide..
Below is what we came up with & am quite chuffed to say that the sugar & vinegar are the only ingredients we didn't grow ourselves :)»
Sambal Oelek...
- 500g/1 lb chillies, chopped
- 300g/10½oz galangal, peeled & chopped (some ginger would be nice as well as or instead of the galangal)
- 300g/10½oz garlic, peeled
- 4 stalks of lemongrass, chopped
- 2tbsp of grated lime skin (we use our kaffir fruit)
- small hand full of Kaffir lime leaves
- 350ml/1.5cup coconut vinegar
-
200g/7oz rapadura sugar
Add all ingredients, except for the sugar & vinegar, to
the food processor & chop on high for about 30 seconds.Slowly pour the vinegar in while the processor is on high until a smooth paste has formed.
Move the paste to a saucepan & bring to the boil.
Slowly add the sugar & stirred through until dissolved.
Reduced the heat & let simmer on low for 5 minutes. Adding a lid at this stage will aid in the clean up later as I found out ;)»
This batch filled 3 sterilised 500ml jars.. 2 of these were added to a hot water bath for 10 or so minutes so they could be stored for later use with one being gifted to some friends..
Nice & easy Chilli paste..
A simple no frills recipe to make up this basic yet versatile paste..
Thanks to Granny Mel for a few pointers on the paste..
250g/½lb Chillies, chopped in ½
125ml/½ cup Vodka
15g/½oz salt
2Tbsp water
Process chillies on high for 30 seconds or until finely chopped.
Add to saucepan with water & salt then bring to the boil.
Reduce to a high simmer for 4-5 minutes.
Turn hotplate off & allow past to cool for 5 minutes.
Stir Vodka through paste then add to sterilised jar & seal.
I would recommend storing it in the fridge.
This is such a basic recipe that only takes 15 minutes to whip up & can be used in so many different styles of cooking..
Shall post the other chilli paste recipes later if I think they are tasty enough..
For more regular updates about the patch come visit us at https://www.facebook.com/Bitsouttheback
Have a great one All...
:)»
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Spring time fun & Jobbies.....
Had a great weekend in the yard doing some jobbies, socialising with ADULTS & playing with a family heirloom that has been "lent" to me...
BBQ, Good Friends & Spuds...
My farther has passed on custodianship of the family BBQ to us... He built this BBQ for APEX outings before I was born (40 or a few less years ago) & it is still going strong with a few minor alterations like the tin side panels being replaced with Stainless steel & some Aluminium covers to keep the plate clean when stored & not in use... It had been out of service for the past 10 or so years as family gatherings had migrated to other relatives places so it needed a bit of TLC... The plate needed a bit of a touch to remove a bit of rust build up as well as replacing the regulator & lines just to be on the safe side... Not as flash as a newer model but we know it will last another 40 or so years if looked after.. I like that we can remove the burners & use them to boil the presure cooker (when we get one) for canning our produce in the near future...
We got to use it for the first time on Saturday when we had friends visit for a bit of socialising...
Was a great day & got a bit of help in the yard... We needed to harvest the 4 potato bags from around the side of the house as the stalks were all dying back so the young kids all got a go at digging through the soil to see what they could find... Wasn't the best yield but we are still learning with spuds... I think the mix we used was to free draining & it was a struggle to keep the water up to them...
Also got a bit of a hand with the framework to finish off the AP site... Can set the fish tank & other grow beds up now... Thanks Guys & Girl's...
Fertilisers...
We bought a couple of bags of fertiliser last week from Safe Fertilisers as we are starting to run low on the rock dust & have a few beds/barrels that need to be revitalised before they are plated out.. The last batch we got was an all rock dust blend but decided to try a "BFA Certified" "Enviro Blend" this time..
CBM
Chicken manure, blood & bone, and minerals. This 100% organic blend provides the full
spectrum of macro and micro elements.
N 2%, P 2%, K 0.4%, S 2000ppm, Ca 8%, Mg 2%, Fe 1.4ppm, Mn 370ppm, B250ppm,
Cu 55ppm, Zn 120ppm, Co 10ppm, Mo 40ppm, Se 3ppm, C 20%, Si 5%
Not the most pleasant smelling blend but should help kick things on a bit... Will still be using the horse manure & worm castings as added organic matter to the beds/barrels, this is just to help add a few nutrients that were used up in the last crop or just not there...
The main crop of Beetroot is not preforming as well as the others planted out at the same time & it was suggested to us that it could be a boron deficiency so they will get a nice top dress of fertiliser too...
Harvesting & Planting out...
Have been picking a fair of Kohlrabi, Carrots, Spring Onion & Mangle to turn into coleslaw lately & it has become a bit of a favourite... 4 bas of potatoes were also harvested (see picture above) as well as the garlic that is in the clip below... The stems went a bit soft on some & others had already dried out but were missed amongst the Onions so we though it best to harvest the lot..
The Silverbeet/Chard & other leafy greens are still being used to supplement the chooks diet.. They now look forward to their morning/evening treats & come running as soon as they see us in the patch...
Below is a list of what was planted out last night to take advantage of the full moon...
Carrots, a mix of Nantes (Johnsons seeds- organic) & Dragon (Eden seeds) x 2 rows in Bed #1
Carrots, Mini Round (Diggers seed) x 2 rows in Bed #1
Carrots, Heirloom mixed (Diggers seed ??) x 2 rows in Bed #1
Tomato, Broad Ripple Yellow currant (Diggers ??) in Lime Tree bed...
Tomato, Wapsipinicon Peach (Diggers ??) in Lime Tree bed...
All but the Nantes & Dragon Carrots were from the gift we received from from our You Tube gardener friend Watsamadoing last week... Thanks again :D»
Garden walk through Clip...
Bit of what was said above & other natterings...
Weather...
It will start to heat up here a bit by the weekend we are told, hitting about 29°C by Friday, so we are thinking about putting up some of the shade structure to try & stop some of the Broccoli from premature bolting... Will be trying to incorporate the mesh we got to try & keep the White Cabbage Moth/Butterflies from getting to the Brassicas & depositing their eggs...
Have a great one all...
: )»
BBQ, Good Friends & Spuds...
My farther has passed on custodianship of the family BBQ to us... He built this BBQ for APEX outings before I was born (40 or a few less years ago) & it is still going strong with a few minor alterations like the tin side panels being replaced with Stainless steel & some Aluminium covers to keep the plate clean when stored & not in use... It had been out of service for the past 10 or so years as family gatherings had migrated to other relatives places so it needed a bit of TLC... The plate needed a bit of a touch to remove a bit of rust build up as well as replacing the regulator & lines just to be on the safe side... Not as flash as a newer model but we know it will last another 40 or so years if looked after.. I like that we can remove the burners & use them to boil the presure cooker (when we get one) for canning our produce in the near future...
Was a great day & got a bit of help in the yard... We needed to harvest the 4 potato bags from around the side of the house as the stalks were all dying back so the young kids all got a go at digging through the soil to see what they could find... Wasn't the best yield but we are still learning with spuds... I think the mix we used was to free draining & it was a struggle to keep the water up to them...
Also got a bit of a hand with the framework to finish off the AP site... Can set the fish tank & other grow beds up now... Thanks Guys & Girl's...
Fertilisers...
We bought a couple of bags of fertiliser last week from Safe Fertilisers as we are starting to run low on the rock dust & have a few beds/barrels that need to be revitalised before they are plated out.. The last batch we got was an all rock dust blend but decided to try a "BFA Certified" "Enviro Blend" this time..
CBM
Chicken manure, blood & bone, and minerals. This 100% organic blend provides the full
spectrum of macro and micro elements.
N 2%, P 2%, K 0.4%, S 2000ppm, Ca 8%, Mg 2%, Fe 1.4ppm, Mn 370ppm, B250ppm,
Cu 55ppm, Zn 120ppm, Co 10ppm, Mo 40ppm, Se 3ppm, C 20%, Si 5%
Not the most pleasant smelling blend but should help kick things on a bit... Will still be using the horse manure & worm castings as added organic matter to the beds/barrels, this is just to help add a few nutrients that were used up in the last crop or just not there...
The main crop of Beetroot is not preforming as well as the others planted out at the same time & it was suggested to us that it could be a boron deficiency so they will get a nice top dress of fertiliser too...
Harvesting & Planting out...
Have been picking a fair of Kohlrabi, Carrots, Spring Onion & Mangle to turn into coleslaw lately & it has become a bit of a favourite... 4 bas of potatoes were also harvested (see picture above) as well as the garlic that is in the clip below... The stems went a bit soft on some & others had already dried out but were missed amongst the Onions so we though it best to harvest the lot..
The Silverbeet/Chard & other leafy greens are still being used to supplement the chooks diet.. They now look forward to their morning/evening treats & come running as soon as they see us in the patch...
Below is a list of what was planted out last night to take advantage of the full moon...
Carrots, a mix of Nantes (Johnsons seeds- organic) & Dragon (Eden seeds) x 2 rows in Bed #1
Carrots, Mini Round (Diggers seed) x 2 rows in Bed #1
Carrots, Heirloom mixed (Diggers seed ??) x 2 rows in Bed #1
Tomato, Broad Ripple Yellow currant (Diggers ??) in Lime Tree bed...
Tomato, Wapsipinicon Peach (Diggers ??) in Lime Tree bed...
All but the Nantes & Dragon Carrots were from the gift we received from from our You Tube gardener friend Watsamadoing last week... Thanks again :D»
Garden walk through Clip...
Bit of what was said above & other natterings...
Weather...
It will start to heat up here a bit by the weekend we are told, hitting about 29°C by Friday, so we are thinking about putting up some of the shade structure to try & stop some of the Broccoli from premature bolting... Will be trying to incorporate the mesh we got to try & keep the White Cabbage Moth/Butterflies from getting to the Brassicas & depositing their eggs...
Have a great one all...
: )»
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)