Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

DogDoor- I love the asthetics of your system. As a landscape designer, I gives me all kinds of ideas that I could incorporate with my Koi ponds. Is the felt wall home made, or did you buy it? how does the AP water get to and drain from it. I looked through some of your thread, but if it's there, I missed it. Some people get offended if you ask them something that's in their thread(I'm not one of them btw).

Looks awesome- well done.

Love your bonsai also. I had a bunch years ago. We left for vacation and our Golden Retriever ate all of them. There were probably 30 plants in pots. He only destroyed the ones that I had spent years training.lol Smart damn dog he was.

Thanks Coachchris.
Happy to answer any question. I don't mind at all. Aesthetics were a primary part of my functional design brief from the get go. It made every aspect of the build more difficult than normal but i like a challenge.

The vertical garden is from here:
https://www.jamiedurie.com/shop/garden- ... ket-large/
I shopped around and this one was the right dimensions for my wall. There are cheaper alternatives around.
It took 5 weeks to ship though...

I can do a vid detailing the install and irrigation if you like.

It has a trickle poly irrigation line running horizontally across each row of pockets.
Installation is easy. I just used masonry spaghetti wall plugs and attached to these with roofing screws.

I have a timer that pumps from my mineralisation sump for 15 minutes in the morning and again in the evening. The water returns straight back to the pond. I used vermiculite perlite mix as the growing medium as it is very light and free draining. It also retains moisture so in theory i can just trickle water twice a day and the plants should be fine the rest of the time. I will find out if this theory works in practice in summer i geuss.

Shame about your bonsai. The great thing about scotties is the are stumpy and cant reach the bonsai... i have been working on some of these trees for 20 years so i would be shattered if the dogs got into them.

Cheers and thanks.



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Just noticed this thread great
With you auto pots is the fish water plenty or did you have to add something

They work ok with just fish water however i add nutient and whatnot in summer to increase the tomatoe production.

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When you were building the pond I was concerned about the rocks you were putting inside, thinking that rotting food, fish waste etc would build up under them. Do you need to clean under and around them from time to time or is it not necessary ?

Beautiful system, how old are the banzai trees. They are gorgeous.

Not an enormous issue, there are a couple of eddy's that the solids gather in and I give em a blast with the hose once a month.

Thanks Brian,

They vary. The Chinese elm was 10 or so when I started on it.. so probably 35 years old, the others are between 5 and 15.

"They vary. The Chinese elm was 10 or so when I started on it.. so probably 35 years old, the others are between 5 and 15." I never thought about Chinese Elm as a bonsai, very cool. I always wanted to try it, another one of those projects that fell through the cracks. I'm going back in your posts to look again at the Chinese Elm

Will try to get a happy snap in daylight for you tomorrow, it's just starting to push some buds through this week, will look better in about a month.

Sorry about the double post. Where is the delete button?

Not sure but don't sweat it. It's not a problem Brian.

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"Twin-trunk style
Two trunks emerge from the same root system. The division between the two trunks should be close to the base. Their thickness and high should be different. The shape of both trunks should have the same general line. Because one of them is smaller this style is often called “Father and Son” or “Mother and son” or “Mother and Daughter” style. The shaping of the branches is similar to a single tree"

The intent is that of a mother (larger trunk) cradling a daughter (smaller trunk), with the juxtaposition of the daughter embracing the mother but also reaching out for the world.

Brian, given that you have the ranch, you probably have some great candidates for Bonsai right on your doorstep. If there are any old trees around that are low set or grazed on by goats or animals these can be great candidates and a relatively quick way of getting something really weathered and aged.

Some examples:
http://raisiobonsai.blogspot.com.au/200 ... cting.html
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=coll ... lAodP0MK_w

I do love bonsai, but I don't think I have it in me to learn another craft right now. I'll be happy admiring yours. Perhaps my wife would be interested in learning. She just said after seeing your Elm that she always wanted a cottonwood. There's always hope, right