Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

The family system is going well, no surprise when it is powered by the favourite of winter fish, the rainbow trout, of course. They feed well and we are getting a massive crop of peas, rhubarb is going great guns, chillis are nearing their end, kale looks good, we even had it in juice this morning with celery and orange. How healthy is that?
The overview from the seedling bench shows the aviary in the background which is home to 4 chooks, supplying 4 eggs per day. They do get very well fed and lots of attention.
Two of them are Isa browns and the other two are Gold laced wyandottes, very pretty birds. I am sorry that I could not bring any bug or insect pictures today as there are hardly any to be seen. The beer traps are getting the slugs that move around with the rainy, wet conditions and there isn't too much affecting our plants at the moment, other than the odd caterpillar, which makes it quickly to the fish tank. Well thats all folks!

This is the third year that we have been running workshops at the display centre and we really enjoy sharing what we have learnt along the way. It doesn't matter if people already have a system or if they are about to set one up, we just never stop learning. Unfortunately Carl had planned a weekend chasing eels in the south west of WA and so he missed todays workshop. Joel offered to fill in as tea lady, however I felt he should relax on his scheduled day off, Raelene took over and has produced a selection of photos, thanks Raelene, there is lots to choose from today Preparation time!
This is an easy way to put a smile on everyones face, throw some feed in to the trout tank and wait for the splashes from the fish and shrieks from the onlookers.

This is the first workshop in a few months that we were not worried about the rain. The sun was shining and what a beautiful day it was outside in the gardens.

That afternoon sun was delightful!
The trial systems are going off with heaps of celery and parsley being harvested. We have been offering parsley to customers FREE, it is either that or it is fed to the rabbits.
This is the Barramundi that survived last Summers harvest and is in the display aquarium to entertain customers and show them what Barras are like. He is a bit of a character and will dance from side to side with the right encouragement. He does sometimes make me look a little silly when I tell people that, then try and show them and he does nothing There are people that will verify my story. True!!!

Barry is looking very silvery in that picture.... Nice to see you with a broom in your hands Faye...

Sorry Faye but it was written all over your face!

Were you listening Simo???
What do you mean hundreth, more like 5000th ........Royal Show, Garden week, Garden Clubs, Workshops, schools and university groups, open days and the list goes on and then there is the phone calls aah! Might be more than I first thought.
But in all honesty he didn't really make me do.. I actually do it because I like doing it

September workshop was held today and what a beautiful spring day it was too. Just a couple of pics
The tree fern is growing so large that there is much less space for viewing.

The tree fern is growing so large that there is much less space for viewing.
Slug control was discussed and as you can see a picture paints a thousand words. Beer is the attractant, they slither in and drown. Pickled slugs- I wonder if they will make good chook food

Harvested some broccoli and cauliflower to make some space to demonstrate how we plant seedlings as well as seeds.

The photo above shows a pair of shield bugs mating, well that is one pair that won't get to lay their eggs as they became fish food right after the picture was taken

The lovely spring weather has brought out the white cabbage butterflies, so I went for the big guns and brought out the Dipel before they get a chance to proliferate.

Wish I had done that dipel treatment but the fish seem to enjoy the extra protein from the caterpillars (escargot and some smaller slugs go over pretty well too ) . I'm always amazed that these cabbage butterflies find the door of the greenhouse without much effort.

Great photos....so wish I lived WA so could participate.

I have to ask Faye, do you ever get sceptics who think there is trickery involved in growing beautiful vegies in gravel ?

You know what they say Bushy, seeing is believing
And one thing that we do not do is oversell, by that I mean I won't tell people that you can grow things twice as quick in an AP system. I will tell them that after setting up a system, stocking it with trout, we were able to start picking the leaves of oak leaf lettuce at 4 weeks. Only because that is what we have done, but these things are dependant on many factors such as fish species, numbers and size, feed going in to the system and of course weather conditions. We also want people to have some patience, that is sometimes the hardest thing when they have high or unrealistic expectations, end result is they will get diappointed, and I don't want to see that, we also don't want them to kill their fish, so they need to learn to understand nature anf basic fish requirements.
I remember hearing about a garden that we were going to visit which included 100 roses. I created a picture in my head of this beatiful flower filled garden, flowering arbours and perfume, when I saw it in reality I asked myself where are the 100 roses, and I was left feeling let down. I try not to do that to other people.
There is no doubt that aquaponics is one of the biggest learning curves that I have ever, ever had and I never stop learing about all the different things that go with it. I embrace them and try to help others do the same. We hear of mistakes that people make and we also hear about the 1kg fish trout harvested last week, only to be told that the 300g ones taste better, this is a customer in their first season, so we know it works and he has had a lot of satisfaction already, which is always good to hear.
I tell them about the straight carrots that we pulled out of a system using blue metal as the media, that surpised even us

WOW, what a week it has been, I think someone has just turned on the aquaponics flood gates. Yesterdays workshop has topped off a really hectic week, training 2 new staff members, preparations for CHOGM delegates, and a fully booked workshop. Here are a few snaps of the day.


What was really different about yesterday was that we had visitors come from Japan to learn more about what we do with a view to taking aquaponics back to thier country and increasing their ability to grow their own food. (I am typing with a galah sitting on my right arm, his perch broke in half and is being replaced. He was being good till he grabbed my notepad.)

We also discovered that one of the visitors yesterday has been a forum member since the beginning, good to see you there Iwaldo
Other visitors came from as far as Woorooloo and Merridin
I am loving my new posting powers as I am no longer limited to only 3 photos at a time, lookout, there will be no stopping me now.