Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

But where were they... at the primary site or all over the places ...

I have never grown Sweet Potatoes, and am being overrun with the vines and wonder what tubers are growing
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Just now perusing your system: Magnificent all round

Can't wait to read into the next few years. Thank you

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Indeed, when Gordo does something, it is done well...
and oh to have the real estate ...
that does make a difference..
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They were all around the spots where we planted the sprouting tubers. I don't think the vines put down any more roots where they touched the ground.

The remains of the sweet potato, which had been thick and bushy down to the ground. The netting is back over it now, so it will cover the nearby small tree onions

The "dwarf" red dacca bananas are about to burst open the pot they are in as they power up towards the sky- all thanks to the power of fish poo!
If I can get them through winter with no damage due to cold, I reckon they might produce some fruit later this year. I'll probably wrap some air foil insulation around them to protect them on frosty nights- the warmer air rising from the GB should offer some protection if it isn't blown away by the downslope winds on calm nights.

The system water had been gradually cooling this month with a few cooler nights, but a hot spell over the past few days saw it get back up to 26C yesterday afternoon. I'm not running insulation or covers on the GBs, as I'm keeping the passive heating to the max ATM, to keep the Murray Cod eating lots of ox heart.


I've picked over 50kg of Tomatoes so far this season, and those that aren't eaten fresh go into tomato sauce for use later in the year. A couple of the tomato plants have the leaves dying off, so they'll come out soon, as will the high rise white fly city, aka Peruvian Ground Apple. Next season it is going in the wicking bed system outside, where the greenhouse white fly wont be such a problem.
The black passionfruit has taken off lately, and put out a few flowers, but not sure if I'll get much from it this late in the season. The strawberries are still producing quite a bit of fruit, although they are mostly smallish fruit now, and the beans are still producing plenty, depsite a fair bit of white fly damage to the leaves.
The blueberries aren't doing much now, after a couple of them popped out some new branches soon after planting, and I've been running around pH6.1-6.3 for a while now.
I need to fill in a few large holes in the GBs where I removed some media to help start the new WB system.

Lots of these and other varieties accumulating on the kitchen bench, so I'd better make some more sauce today

Another visitor to the AP system with the Murray Cod and a few frogs in it


and after I lifted it out, and it had warmed up a bit, it's a smallish one, a bit over half a metre long


Yellow-faced Whip Snakes are poisonous, but not deadly, unlike the Eastern Brown Snake that went between my feet (and bare ankles and legs) last week - no photos of that encounter!

Yikes! Gordon, you sure know how to attract the critters with your system. I am still chuckling over the early morning episode with the wallaby, although I am sure you didn't find it funny at the time. The only thing I have had to fish out so far is the SLO that the fish knocked out, and a toddler who went headfirst into the ST trying to reach the yabbies (gates on the AP system are now a priority!!).

Yea, there are just so many critters around out here in the bush, I'm bound to have some end up in the drink I just hope none of the huge male wallaroos or Eastern Grey Kangaroos that hang around nearby fall in- they are huge lumps of muscle!

I'd better get back out to the shovelling- putting in another bed for system #2

A cooler air mass and the first strong cold front of the year came through just in time to cool the water for the newly added (on 3rd April) Rainbow Trout, although it has warmed up again now.



The trout are doing well in their temporary 1000l tank, and are eating well, but the cooler water means the Murray Cod have been eating very little. I've tested the water a few times, and the past few days show a trace 0-0.25ppm NH3, and zero NO2.

I've pruned the tomatoes back quite a bit, and planted cauliflower, brocolli and parsley.
The passionfruit is still growing really fast, but I haven't spotted any fruit forming, despite the one or 2 flowers that are out each day.
The butternut pumpkin has 4 decent sized pumpkins on it now, with luck the wildlife wont be sampling the taste of any more of them. The largest one had a real fast growth spurt recently, and developed a few splits, but they appear to have healed over.

Checking to see if the Murray Cod would eat much ox heart with the water up to over 21C in this warm spell of weather, I spotted this one on the bottom near the SLO. 225mm lopng and 185g, it looked healthy enough, nice slime coating, no evidence of being attacked by the big ones, getting a bit stiff, so it had been there for hours rather than minutes. The eyes are nice and clear, it looks good enough to eat, apart from being a bit small. The stomach felt like it was empty, so I assume it hadn't eaten anything today.

It is now in the fridge in case I decide to cook it up.
Water has been running around pH6.2 to 6.3, NH3 around 0.25 and NO2 zero, NO3 was ~10ppm last I checked a couple of weeks ago, but will check it again shortly.

Bugger
Looks great apart from the fact that its dead
Voldermort

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Looks like a classic Anoxic pose.. Text-Book..

You then have to wonder how and where it was caused..

BUGGAR, would be the cry from GG's Crater..
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