How our Aquaponic system works...

Made up a bit of a clip on Sunday just showing how the aquaponic system is configured for now.. I think it will always be a work in progress as there will always be something to play or experiment with.. Have already got a few ideas on how the new beds will be made, arranged 7 plumbed up.. Just need to wait for some plants to wind down before I can start moving the bed to make some room :)»

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



For more regular updates about the patch come visit on the Bits Out the Back Face Book page..
Have a great one All...
: )»

Aquaponic radial flow filter for solids removal..

Due to the continually high nitrite levels I thought it might be best to remove some of the waste load from the system.. While a system this size normally doesn't need a solids filter I thought it was the quickest & easiest way I could think of doing this.. It will also come on handy when the extra tanks are added.. Took a bit of playing with the pumps to get it flowing well but other than that it was a quick & easy build..
Would like to thank Paul from Earthan group for dropping off the Uniseals & for giving me loads of pointers over a coffee or 4..
The idea for this came from Earthan Group's DIY Solids Filter from their website..
They also have a You Tube channel &  Face Book page for those that are interested..




For more regular updates about the patch come visit us at http://www.facebook.com/Bitsouttheback
Have a great one All...

Water Chestnut crop update Feb 2013..

A look at the water chestnut crop for this year.. Third time lucky as the first 2 attempts were dismal failures..
The first went into the bathtub pond & we think the leachate from the bucket was making the fish ill so pulled it out..
The second attempt was with buckets placed into drums full of water.. That wasn't exactly a stunning success either with the soil becoming rather acidic..
Third attempt was the easy "toss them in a box & let them grow" method & it appears to have done the best so far... Funny that ;)
Think they will give us a few to eat & will be setting some aside for next years planting for certain..



For more regular updates about the patch come visit us at http://www.facebook.com/Bitsouttheback
Have a great one All...
: )»

Veggie garden walk through, worm barrels & saving a few Okra seeds 12th ...

Has been a tad warm here over the past week but nowhere near as bad as some of the southern states.. The garden worms chooks & fish have pulled through just fine with only one casualty (daughters pennyroyal) so happy about that..



Now the weather has cooled off a bit I will be planting out some seedlings & tackling some odd jobs to get the patch ready for Autumn.. Will be pruning the rest of the Chinese elm & some of the mango them running it through the mulcher... This will be mixed with some horse manure & left to compost a bit.. It will eventually become Autumns top up mulch for the beds...
For more regular updates about the patch come visit us at https://www.facebook.com/Bitsouttheback

Have a great one All...

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...
: )»

Wicking Beds & Barrels for a water wise garden..

As it is getting nearer to spring I thought I would post some Wicking clips for anyone interested in making up some new beds.. There will be more posted in the future as I haven't filmed a complete clip while making a full size bed, only the barrels..

The whole idea behind the wicking system comes from a gentleman by the name of  Colin Austin...
http://waterright.com.au/wicking-bed-history.html
I came across it while we were in the tail end of a drought here in South East Queensland here in Australia & though it was one of the best ways to go to save water in a fairly large back yard veggie patch..
Wicking Barrels MK II..

The above clip is how we now make the Wicking barrels... They are a big improvement on the original design as the water holding capacity of the reservoir has doubled... As the existing barrels finish their crops they are slowly being swapped over to this design...

Wicking Beds...

I have ever only made clips after the fact with the beds so made up a bit of a sideshow clip to show how we made one of the earlier Wicking beds...

Wicking Bathtub...

This was a relative easy build with a free bath we collected from a member of a  local Free Cycle Group..  I must say the plants we had in there were probably a bit too large for the small reservoir in the bath...I think plants like small cropping herbs, leafy greens would probably do better than 5 foot tall lemongrass... Lesson learnt..

Wicking up IBC's (Intermediate bulk containers)...
These guys are a really easy build that could easily be done in a few hours if you were more organised than I...

That's about it for now...
Have a great one all...
: )»

Have fish will grow..

This is one post I am very happy to be able to do as I think we are finely there… It has taken us a while but I am now happy with the way the Aquaponic system is going… The last 2 grow beds have finely been plumbed into place after being used first as de chlorinating trays then being invaded by tadpoles… Although it was great to see 2 different species of frogs use them to grow into fully functioning members of the amphibian community it is great to see them used for their intended purpose…To begin with we were tossing up with the idea of using gravel in the grow beds but as We already had 3/4 of a bed worth so it & had been very frugal in other parts of the budget we decided on splurging on Aqua Clay for these 2 beds…  The pipe work was another part of the system that I had been undecided on… Initially I wanted to stay away from ridged pipes but found them the best way to plumb up the system.. The clip bellow brings you up to where we are up to at the moment…

Something I didn’t mention in the clip is that the Ammonia & Nitrites are only showing trace readings at best & the Nitrates are not really showing up at all.. The pH has been stable at 6.5 so that's also good.. Fairly happy about that as it means all the nutrients are being used up by the plants.. It will be something I shall be monitoring over the next week though with the added grow medium..
The first thing that was planted into the new beds was some purple Vienna kohlrabi & some rainbow chard seedlings… The first bed had some of the strawberries thinned out & moved over with all but 1 green onions also being transplanted as well..  I must say that I had no idea how many strawberry runners had taken hold I the original bed.. There are now over 25 from the original 5 or 6 that were planted in there originally.. All the smaller spring onions got a trim then were planted out into Bed #1.. All but 1 of the larger ones got a trim & were planted into a new Grow bed..  The one that was left is being  used as a guinea pig for a detergent based aphid spray along with the bulls horn Capsicum & the Chinese red shallots we got from a You tuber on the Sunshine Coast.. I think the Strawberries shall be pulled soon & added to a grow tube or 3 to make room for more greens in the beds in the future..
The only part left of the system that really should have been completed is the backup air system for the fish tank just in case of a power failure.. We have the pump & the Relay used to allow power from the car battery to run the pump... All that we need is the battery itself & a small 9v adaptor to run the Relay..  We have the sparky lined up to set up a permanent power supply to the patch & a utility light for night time viewing as well as attracting fresh insect food for the Jade perch.. The only thing stopping the power being laid is my motivation & a few extra coins in the jobbies jar to pay the sparky..

That's about it for now... Shall try to post at least once a month for anyone who is still following..
Have a great one....

: )»

Autumn & Winter plans...

Exclusion bag on Capsicum..

Pests & rain...
Has been quite some time since I last posted... No single reason, the holidays came & went, School started back up for the girls.. I  think I also became complacent about gardening after loosing most fruiting crops to combination of fruit fly, too much rain & a plague of mini grasshoppers... We still have been harvesting a variety of veggies that didn't get targeted my the grasshoppers or fruit fly..  We did manage to save some fruit by covering them with pest exclusion bags so am thankful for that.. I think we have learnt some valuable lessons & are already planing a defensive strategy to deal with them for next summer...

Plants for the coming months...

    We are looking at Autumn & Winter seasons so have put all the pests & deluges behind us.. We sowed a selection of broccoli, cauliflower, as well as some kale, rainbow chard & tatsoi.. The are also a small tray of tansy that will be used to deter  the ants that love colonising the wicking beds & barrels..  Some roma tomatoes have been planted into one of the top IBC beds & we also have a tray of unknown variety of tom's needing to be planted out as well..
Barrels have been selected for this years garlic crop as well as the onions sets we grew last year..
 
 Tadpoles/Froglets & Aquaponics...


We have some movement in the tadpole "ponds" with a few metamorphosing into frogs & disappearing into the garden.. So far we have seen ½ a dozen advanced tadpoles with legs & 2 that are wee small frogs with stumpy tails attached like the little feller to the left..
As much as we love watching them grow & change we would really like the trays free to turn into grow beds for the Aquaponic set up..

The 1 grow bed we have is slowly filling up with strawberry runners which is great as we are looking at trying to build "strawberry wall MKII" in the next month or so.. We still only have the 7 large goldfish & a single Pacific blue eye in the fish tank... We have our name down for 30 Jade perch at one place & have another we still need to check out.. Really want at lest one more grow bed before we put any more fish in just to make sure there is enough medium to filter out the waste...

Below are a couple of the latest clips done of the garden & Tadpoles...

That's about it for now but will be back a lot sooner this time as we have a few little projects on the go...
Just to finish, here is some of the udumalpet, White & Long Asian purple eggplants we have been harvesting over the past few months...

Have a nice Day!!!


: )»

Catch up time...

Have been doing a few small bits & pieces around the patch since I last posted...

Wicking Bathtub...
An old bathtub came up for offer on Freecycle  a few weeks back so we grabbed it to try turning it into a Wicking Bed...

 I wanted to set the bed up as a Thai curry bed but as we have enough Chillies already for what we need a Capsicum was planted in there instead...

 Seeding & planting update...
The morning the Bathtub bed was made we went to the local markets & purchased,
2 x Thai Mint, 1x Giant Capsicum & a Calendula seedlings... They were fairly advanced & very healthy looking so a bargain for $4 all up (if memory serves me right)... 1 of the Basils along with the Capsicum went into the Bath along with the volunteer Lemongrass we had growing in a pot...

Last Sunday (16th Oct) Bianca & I potted up all the seedlings that were advanced enough into 10cm (4inch) pots to allow their roots to develop a bit more & for us to make space around the place or find new homes for the leftovers... We now have the below thriving quite happily in their new pots,
Eggplant, Long Thai Purple  x 6
Eggplant, Udumalapet x1
Eggplant, Rosa Bianca x 2
Tomato, Black Russian x 6
Tomato, Brandywine Pink x 6
Cucumber, Mini White x 3
Rockmelon, Minnesota Midget x3
 The remaining Mini white Cucumbers & Minnesota Midget Rockmelons (3 each) went into 2 different barrels with cadges on them.. The Cucumbers should vine up alright & it will be interesting to see how the Melons will go...
B☼ also planted another 4 Amish Paste Tomato Seeds as we are really enjoying the ones we have already eaten fresh & turned into sauces.. The plants in the lime beds just are not doing as well as they could so we are going to try them in a Wicking bed where they will have constant water & see how they go.. Just need to find the room now... 

Aquaponics...
Not a lot has been happening with the IBC system other than the occasional Yabbie shedding its exoskeleton &n an influx of Mozzie wrigglers.. Some of them were taken care of quickly today after we introduced about 30 Firetail Gudgeon feeder fish into the Sump Tank... The Yabbies were put in there a few weeks ago & the Goldies from the house were put into the Barrel system along with the Pacific Blue Eyes we had in the Barrel pond in the patch... The Barrel system has still only got a trace reading of Ammonia & no readings that I can see for Nitrite or Nitrates... The tank is being supplemented with Seasol as well as Chelated Iron while the pH is above 8 as high pH locks out Iron which can appear as a yellowing of the leaves like a nitrogen deficiency...
I have been collecting bits for the plumbing work & think most of what is need has been found as well as buying a 2500LPH back up pump that is running during the day at the moment... 
Did a bit of rearranging of the AP site today & will be trying to knock off the rest of the set up in the next few weeks...


Potato update...

We have had a few problems with a Spotted Potato Ladybug infestation in the Kipfler drum... They are on all of the plants but really hooked into the barrel plants.. We started to spray all the plants with Neem & these are the only specimens I could find today but from the 

shot on the Left you can see the difference between the 2 plants...
I think we may just harvest the Barrel this weekend if the plant dies back to much... The Kipflers on the right in the shot have been left alone for now so we will be keeping the Neem up to them until harvest time...




A little Carrot experiment....

Mmmmmm.... Well, I did try to save to poor little feller...
The results can be seen at the start of the clip below.. : (»

Garden Walk through...

Tried to cram in as much as I could but still miss a fair bit out... The Patch just keeps growing which I can't really complain about..

New project....
Here is a sneak peek of a new project we will be starting today or on the weekend...

Going to be fun, messy but Fun....

Have a great one all....
: )»

Gift of Seeds !!!!

THANK YOU !!!!!
Yesterday I got a little package From a fellow Aussie You Tube gardener & was blown away by by what it contained...
All the seeds are from Diggers...
Tomatoes...
Tommytoe Red
Powers Heirloom 30th Anniversary
Brandywine Pink
Wapsipinicon Peach
Yellow Pear
Broad Ripple Yellow Currant
Black Russian
The other seeds we received were,
Hunter Valley White Onion
Heirloom Carrot mix...
Also in the package was a "Baby Vegetable Collection" which includes,
Beetroot, Mini Gourmet
Carrots, Mini Round
Cauliflower, Mini
Cucumber, Mini White
Rockmelon,  Minnesota Midget
Corn, Baby Pop    (This was a big surprise as we were just talking about buying some Pop Corn seeds on Monday...)

She has put a lot of effort into this & has even used some little envelopes that she has made up herself when splitting the seeds up... The packets include all the info needed to plant out & must of taken quite a while to do... I am so greatful...Have got a few already picked out to go in this weekend but will need to get a few more wicking barrels ready for others...
***Does a big HAPPY DANCE**
 Thanks so much Watsamadoing.... Your small measly package is on the way & hope they grow well for you...
Her Spring Preparation 2011 Video for your enjoyment...

She lives in South Australia & has a great Channel featuring Gardening,  Hoop/Hot house & Chooks...

Sowing the seeds...
Got busy in the patch owing some seeds in trays & a couple of rows of Carrots to fill some gaps left by the last lot of seed tap that didn't germinate...

 Seeds planted into punnets were,
Zucchini, Lebanese (Mr Fothergill's) x 4
Rockmelon, Hales Best (Mr Fothergill's) x4
Water Melon, Sugar Baby (Mr Fothergill's) x4
Eggplant, Rosa Bianca (Select Organic) x 6
Eggplant, Udumalapet (Eden Seeds) x 6
Eggplant, Large White (Saved seed from Market purchased fruit) x 6
Cumin,  (Eden Seeds) x 6
Capsicum (Bell pepper), Perennial (Eden Seeds) x 6

 Sown/planted into the ground,
Carrot, Nantes 2 (Johnsons Seeds) x HEAPS
Cucumber Marketmore (Eden Seeds) x 2
Cucumber Muncher Burpless (Eden Seeds) x 2
Pumpkin, Kent (green Harvest & Saved seeds) x 2
Turmeric (saved rhizomes) x 2
Galangal (saved rhizomes) x 2
Ginger (saved rhizomes) x 2
Sunflower, Sunbird (Green Harvest) x 12


 Aquaponics...

Have made a bit of headway on the Aquaponic system...The sump has been dug in & the plastic has been painted... The Tin that was riveted to the cage has had the sharp edges covered with pipe to keep the resident OHS inspector happy..
; )»
Looks like I may get to plumb up the grow bed by the end of the weekend... Might even get some gravel & water into the system... Hoping  the Yabbies will be moving in sometime next week...
I hope...
Maybe...
Will be running the system with just the sump & grow bed for a week or so until the fish tank is made up in a few weeks time...
 The Barrel system has stalled on the nutriment side as I just don't think the Yabbies Poop enough  to keep the nutriment load up for the bacteria to process... Have been supplementing the system with water that had been removed due to the high Ammonia & Nitrites in the hope of keeping the bacteria going until the Yabbies get moved & some other Fish can be put in there...

 

Have a great one all...
: )»

Moving on slowly...

Have knocked over few jobbies from the list ...
Clips & updates...
Aquaponic Update...

Still haven't progressed from here during the week & have a busy weekend ahead so it may have to wait a while longer...
Worm harvest...

Got the top layer of the Worm farm harvested & hope to get to the other layers in the next few weeks...
Quick wander through the patch...

This was taken last Sunday with a bit added Monday morning...

This weekend...
Hope to get all the seed planted out for the spring crop by the end of this weekend... Some will be sown directly & others will be planted into punnets... Will try & do a full update by Monday night...

Happy harvesting...
Harvest our biggest Beetroot to date & plan to use it in a Beetroot & potato salad for dinner...
The Dragon carrot is one of the biggest we have harvested so far & are very impressed with the flavour as well... The Spuds gave us around a KG from one so cant complain about that really...


Have a great one all....
: )»

Casual weekend planing out the patch...

Getting ready for Spring...

 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...
: )»

Aquaponic start up with Barrelponics...

& we're off !!!

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 ....


Have a great one all...
: )»

Half way there, BRING ON SPRING !!!!

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...
: )»

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... 

 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...

 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...
 

 That's about all until the weekend..

Have a great one...

: )»

Organising the Yard...

This weekend was meant to be spent getting the back yard ready to hold our reception in it... Saturday morning saw B☼ & I wander around & find some locations to put the migrating Sweet Potato bed & spots for 2 barrels that will have our new Berries in them... This took longer than we thought it would due to grub harvesting from the Brassicas, spending some quality time with our Pumpkin dwelling Lizard friend & general garden maintenance...  After that was done with I set about finishing off the Worm harvest from the barrel that had been flooded... Some timber was then routed in preparation to be installed as chair rails in the dining room then ½ a Wicking Barrel was put together & placed down the back to plant the Blueberry bush into... Not a bad days work but still had heaps to do Sunday, before & after a trip to visit the celebrant... That was until I reached for some Muffin trays to make some mini Sticky Date puddings in & sliced open the knuckle of the index finger of my right hand... Not a deep cut but it is in a position that I can't bend my finger for the next 4-6 days so all the little jobs that were planed to be finished during the week like the Wicking Barrels, painting the back stairs & fitting the chair rail & painting the Dining room will now have to be put off until next weekend...
Such is really... At least I have time to sit & blog I suppose... : )»

Worm Barrel...
I started to harvest the worms from the half barrel farm Monday last week but got side tracked with the solar panel installation & painting the back stair area... The idea of the barrel farm was to have no drainage & run it as a "dry farm"... The tower farm was run like this last time as the semi composted horse manure blend that went in there was moist enough... The problem came when we had some heavy rain accompanied with strong wind gust.. Some of the water from when I water blasted the back stairs ended up in there as well but not much...

I finished going through about 3 quarters of it & used the last ¼ to top up the trays in the tower farm... It is a bit hard to gauge how many worms were in there by weight as I probably pulled out five 5-25mm (1/5 - 1inch) long worms for every adult + the hundreds if of eggs as well... Was very slow going as it was basically mud...

Solar Panels...
Just a quick clip on the Solar set up we had installed just over a week ago...

Still need the get the Feed in Meter installed by Energex but it is good to see the meter running backwards...


Wednesday Walk through with Potato & Tomato update by Moo...

Moo took the camera for this one & I only butted in once...
Or  ½ a dozen times, but who's counting...

This weeks harvest...

This week we got heaps of green beans, a few Eggplants, a couple Kohlrabi, Mangel leaves, a Mignonette Lettuce, a few handfuls of Snow Peas, A couple of Beetroot, Assorted herbs, & a very small Sugarloaf Cabbage...

 

 B☼ made a great Warm salad last night to go with a roast Leg of Lamb using Our Beetroot, Sweet Potato Kohlrabi, Sweet Basil & Dill... She also added some Asparagus, Capsicum & Red Onion we bought at the shops...

That's about enough nattering from me I think...
Have a great one all...
 : )»

Sweet Potato Bed...

Got a bit busy in the garden today & removed the Thai Green Eggplant while wandering around the patch as well as trimming back a few leaves on a few of the Brassicas to feed the Chooks...
When I came to Bed #5, or the Sweet Potato bed, I decided it was time to make a start on clearing it out to make way for the Aquaponic set up... I started to dig up what I thought would be just a few Sweet Potato's but was pleasantly surprised with about 4 kg of usable tubers...  The big surprise was the roots from surrounding trees that I had to dig through to get to them...

I have been planning a few things for the side "yard" but have been putting them off until the solar power system has been installed as they need access to that side of the house... I got a call today saying that it will be going up tomorrow so I can start with the Black Mulberry & Blueberry Barrels & will also start planing where I can put 2 beds that will be made from the old Sweet Potato bed...  Can't wait to dig up more yard !!!

Have a good one all...
: )»

Grow Bucket Update with a quick walk through the patch....

Just a update walk through Clip....

& an update on the Bucket experiment... (lazy I know....)

Shall do a proper post soon on what's been going on in the patch later this week...

Have a great one all!!!

: )»

Little bit busy...

Has been a tad busy here with the realisation that a wedding is but a few weeks away... We have stairs to fix/paint, a yard to tidy & numerous little odd jobs on the go so the Blog has been suffering a bit...

Was a bit frustrating trying to paint this week...



New additions...
I finely caved & let B☼ get a Mulberry tree on one condition, It gets planted in an adapted Wicking style Barrel & gets espaliered on a trellis up the side of the house...
We also found a Bell Chilli (not to be confused with a Bell Pepper) at the markets on the weekend just on closing... The Lovely people that ran the stall gave it to me so I was mighty chuffed... We had grown a few at the last house but like so many seeds they were misplaced in the move... They are a mild Chilli that are great for salads & not too hot for kids...
We have had mixed results from the seeds we planted just over a week ago... The Cauli's, Kohlrabi, Cabbage & I think a few Kale have shot but no sign of the Lettuce, Parsley, eggplants or Broccoli... We do now also have 3 Onion shoots in the Onion tray that was sown a few weeks ago... Think I might just bite the bullet & go buy a punnet of seedlings...
I am starting to think it may be either the seed raising mix or the seed supplier that may be faulty & not I... Have never had so many misses over such a short period...
Aquaponics...
A site has been found for the set up, where Bed#5 is... It shall be removed slowly over the next 3-5 weeks (unless a Wedding gets in the way)... Some gravel & large pavers put down as a base & some conduit dug into a trench to provide power to the set up... Would be nice to have some goldfish or Blue Eyes in there & the system cycling to start up the nitrogen cycle but I fear I may be dreaming...
The totes are still in the same place in the yard, one of which has the Strawberry Wall tied to it while the stairs get painted... I need to purchase some special security "bits" to undo some of the screws so we can start to cut them up...

What's on our plates...
The first 3 pumpkins were picked on the weekend... We have been trying to cure them the past few days but sun doesn't want to cooperate unfortunately...

 Aside from the herbs & Shallots, we have started to harvest the Snow peas, Lettuce, Kohlrabi & the Broccoli as well as having an Eggplant for the table every other day so we are very happy... There are a few Beetroot's that will be picked for a Friday roast if they are lucky... The remaining Cauli's Are starting to form tiny heads & we are about a week out from our first meal of Silverbeet...


Well, the last ½ of this week has been flat out so so didn't manage to do much other than get the stairs ready for painting, doing the top coat around the Strawberry wall then host have a family get together today...
Shall hopefully be more entertaining & insightful later in the week...
Have a great one all....
: )»