Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey DR, I really love that bridge over the pond, is that a natural rock or man made?

Love it desertrat

Hi DR,
I hate to be trying to find a bath tub in Alice now!!! (you have got them all)
cheers
Doug

Hi EB the bridge is a piece of local sandstone and was carved by "Bardius" a local stonemason/artist and well know local who owned the block before I purchased it 12 years ago there are still examples of his work around town and on the block. Unfortunately Bardius passed away but amongst his legacies is the "Maree Man" which was attributed to him but is still regarded as an unsolved mystery, see the link below if your curious.

http://www.uforq.asn.au/casefiles/marree.html

Below is a photo of our little cottage that is lined with cut sandstone and even the front support columns are carved sandstone. there is also carved bench seats and tables scattered around the block


http://www.uforq.asn.au/casefiles/marree.html
As for the bath TUBs Duggeeeea
It started several years ago when a friend grew a few vegetables in 3 baths that were sunk into the ground
After he left I replanted and was surprised by the growth, water saving and weed free gardening I expanded the baths around the perimeter (15 baths) of the orchid then along came AP from then on I was on a mission and baths appeared from friends, family and plumbers but mainly from my regular visits to our local tip shop
I have 9 baths left and a 4 person spa ready for future projects

Looks great DR, Those bath tubs in the ground has just given me an idea how to make my wicking beds

Hi Chainsaw
I recently was involved with a group in Alice called "Permablitz" and one of the projects was a wicking bed, I thought the idea was good but didn't like the use of plastic to line the bed so I would be interested in how you utilise the baths it would be great if you could keep me updated when you start and of course pic's would be great
,

Love the pictures of your yard and pond and such. Really cool.

here's a good link for you DR, Very good explanation on wicking bed:

http://www.waterright.com.au/wicking%20 ... nology.pdf

Next time I get a bath will try it out.

At last Goldfish are off the menu
With a special thanks to Stuart from Adelaide the Silver Perch arrived after their 1500 klm flight and what seemed to be the slowest drive from the airport to my place in one our rare but most welcome downpour of rain. Upon opening the box I was expecting lots of gasping fish and even the odd deceased one to my surprise and relief all were healthy and very active with no signs of stress


Once the SP were placed in the pond they looked as if they were in fish heaven and having a ball exploring the new home.

My GB's have been progressing but not as well as I would have liked or as healthy and productive as some of our forum members but with the new SP additions I am hoping to see better growth.

I am keen to see the growth improve especially
the strawberries, Rhubarb and Tomatoes


The basil is definitely the best performer to date

your grow beds look pretty good in those pictures to me.

I really love the pictures of your place. Makes me want a pond like that but rocks are terribly costly here as ya gotta buy them all since the ground is all sand.

Anyway on getting the fish!!!!!

yay!!!

for the fish...

And nice job getting them there Stu...

Nice one, those silvers look great, very similar to the ones we have. Get that feed into them and you'll see them grow very quickly, that will definately pick your plants up.

I've really noticed recently how increasing the feed levels make your plants take off...

Will be keen to see the fish growth and the improvement in the GB's with the additional fish/feed EB.
I have some pellets that Stu sent but interested in supplementing their diet with duckweed, worms, insects, silverbeet etc and from my very limited observation of the SP they seem very aggressive towards the yabbies and smaller goldfish so I think these will eventually be part of their diet.
My pond has a light coating of algae and I'm hoping that this will also be a good source of food (I wonder about the nutritional value?)
Its great to have some real fish in the system and though it has been a long time coming I feel that the extra wait has allowed the system to become more established and refined.
Which in no small way can be attributed to the knowledge and assistance of the forum members
So a big thanks to the forum

Hey TC many years ago I had a fantastic garden in another area of Alice Springs it had lots of rock retaining walls and a small pond (if only I'd known about AP then) most of the rocks were gathered 2 or 3 at a time whenever I went out bush for work or camping with the family it was amazing how the rock collection grew, many of the rocks had some sort of memory/story about the places they came from which added to the "feel" of the garden