Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

A few weeks ago when we were harvesting and cooking up the trout Jenny told me about a comptetition that was announced in the Australian House and Garden magazine and said I should enter. There were six categories small, medium and large garden, pretty, edible and sustainable garden. You had to describe the garden and challenges in 150 words and send six photos, pfft. I wrote a few words in limerick form and scrapbooked a hundred odd photos taken over the last twelve months. I have been working on my garden for more than six months and it has responded well and is becoming more productive and beautiful everyday.
Well yesterday I got the call I was hoping for and "yes" we won the Sustainable garden category, yay! We will also receive a designer outdoor chair and table worth $1135.
I was told that on the strength of the entry and the beautiful photos, they would not need to send a photographer, so my photos will appear in their magazine next year, woah! That was the first round of judging and the overall winner will be decided next year and the prize is a trip to the Chelsea Flower Show, my fingers are crossed.

This is pretty close to what I sent, a friend wrote some of it when I turned forty and I had to tweak it to update the story and fit the bill.

There was a DIY mum named Faye
Who stumbled upon four acres one day
In an outrageous confession
She admitted botanic obsession
The family now live in Jandakot WA

The temperatures range from 0 – 45
No problem for their beehive
To harvest honey and food from the garden
To recycle and hunt for a bargain
Cutting trees down to mulch the gardens just thrive

People began to notice and start raving
Of Faye’s ideas like crazy paving
With such a small budget
She managed to fudge it
And complete all tasks with a huge saving

She cut tree trunks in three sizes
To others they held disguises
With chainsaw in hand
They became a plant stand
And she won some sustainability prizes

With a pile of old verandah bricks
Repurposed grand and magic tricks
Faye laid a path
without any staff
contributing to the garden mix

Thats soooo awesome Faye! Congratulations

Hope you win the grand prize as well Faye, sounds like fun

Excellent Faye, just excellent - love it!

Awesome Faye! You deserve it!!!

Outstanding Faye!!

Bah humbug!
Just kidding! Awesome job.

Well done Faye.

Lovely Faye. When you're famous don't forget us little people!

Nice work. Your photos are always so pro

Hi there everyone, just thought I'd stop by and say hi Well over the last few months I have very much traded my time on the computer for real life gardening stuff and my garden is feeling the love. Though I must say much of it is not really like gardening Yesterday Eddy and I cleared the native garden path of a tonne of tree trunks sawed in to manageable sizes and stacked them in the new (secondhand) wood shed. We have had so many butterflies hatch out this year due to the fact that I have been farming their food plants. There is about 4 families of blue wrens and yesterday a western spinebiil was at home in Eddys workshop. The vege garden is going off and we have fruit on two apple trees, grapes, passionfruit, peaches and figs the citrus are also loaded. New chicks hatched recently I fished out 4 dead rats from a pond in the vege garden, keep in mind a dad rat is a good rat, but they are eating the tomatoes in my aquaponic system, time to feed more poison, since the bannings trap flipped off the pergola batten and still didn't go off. Grrr My roses are awesome due to our cooler than normal spell and of course fertiliser and water. At least I am here to hand water the garden when it needs it. I still have perch in my big fish tank, no barramundi for me this year - first time since 2007 I haven't put them in. I don't reckon my water has been hot enough for them and oh - I will be trekking through the jungle of Borneo in 3 weeks so not fussing too much - going for the kiss principal with the garden. I'm only on a short break while sprucing up the pool garden today - news just in -the House and Garden photographer has been booked and I have less than 2 weeks to get things ship shaped. Lots of deliveries due this week coming. Oh well -time is up- back to work otherwise I wont have earned my drinks tonight, but geez- I go to tidy up and I just make more mess, why is that? Take car yo'all.

G'day Faye - sounds like you're doing exceedingly well !

Couldn't agree more on the rat - got the same problem - had a very large oxheart tomato coming ripe that I was looking forward to eating

Enjoy Borneo !

Hi Faye, thanks for the update. It sounds very busy but if you have the chance don't be scared to load some of your gorgeous photographs.

Good luck in Borneo, is it a vacation? Sounds like you're some kind of Dian Fossey or Jane Goodall.

Looking forward to some underwater pics @ Borneo to tour the jungle with David Attenboroughs guide Faye!!

Pics when you get home please!

Faye, I tried your recipe for the rollmops. Followed the recipe to the tee. Using my smaller trout that had to come out due to the heat. Possibly the greatest tasting treat to ever come out of my AP. up there with smoked trout. Very impressed and can't wait till next season to make some more.