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...

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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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..
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How we grow Kang Kong/Chinese water spinach.. (Ipomoea aquatica)

Kang kong is a short vining, water loving plant that is used in many different Asian cuisines.. It is related to sweet potato & Morning glory with flowers very similar to both.. Mainly grown in boggy areas & have become a pest weed in some water systems where it has been introduced..Should be very easy to grow this plant in the heat we get here & can't wait to get our first large harvest..



 We are growing it as a leafy green to be included in salads & our fruit 'n' veg "Smoothies" as well as for stir fries & Asian curries..

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Have a great one all...

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Aquaponic IBC system update, Cooling down the fish.. 191th January 2013..

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...
: )»