Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Sorry simon don't have details, but they are the farm supply store out of town towards trentham.

I'll pick-up a bag if they have 6mm (otherwise the 4mm) and you can have some of that bag. I won't go through the whole 25kgs this year and it is best to use the feed within the year if possible. Will txt you when I have it.

Maybe cheaper but in my book not better each has its own merits
After 4 years running with what i have learnt doing it again i would probley have a whole lot different setup

The Haymarket Ballarat have 6mm bara feed in stock $75 a bag. Will get myself a bag this week.

Quachy

Full AP lunch! Trout was only 219g. Tried to net the big one, but too damn fast! Thinking that when it's time to cull, I'll have to drop the water level in the tank to make it easier!

Trout, carrots, lettuce and beetroot leaves from the AP system. Organic olive oil and crushed pink rock salt as dressing. Damn tasty, but my number 2 son kept on asking for mouth fulls of my food! Will have to pull out 2 next time!

I don't particulaly like the shop bought beetroot, but my wife makes a mean beetroot preserve using a S^%T load of vinegar! Smells sensational and tastes just as good!

Picked up a bag of 6mm barra feed today. Didn't feed the trout this morning so they were hungry this evening! The rainbows cleaned up three handfuls befoe slowing down. Nothing hit the bottom! The browns I am feeding a mix of 4&6mm some ae bigger than others. It will be interesting to see if they catch-up in size now the rainbows are out. Silver perch feeding on 2mm and 4mm mix at the moment. Only feeding 2 times a week in this cold weather and very sparingly. They do eat but not vey actively. Bass, cod and catfish likewise.

Can't say exactly how many trout I have in the system, but guessing at 60 odd rainbow and 60 odd browns maybe more (can't count when they swim that fast!). I got 90 of each in March, but I am guessing that the little ones became food for the bigger ones (and minus a dozen fo me) Now that they are all bigger, it is had to tell numbers but at least they are safe from each other...but not me

Note: if you read my posts and they seem a bit strange, I'm blaming it on a sticky 'r' sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Anyway, a mate of mine just ordered some hops for me. going to give them a go in the AP system. Was wondering if anyone has tried growing them before in AP? If so, any advice?

I love my homebrewing (have 2 slabs of Germany Lager lagering away at the moment, 1 month so far another 2 until ready, 2 slabs of amber ale - pretty heavy, about 6.5% but man it tastes great only after 4 weeks bottled and my old fav. 2 slabs of pale ale matuing as well. Going to do a stout this weekend and then an irish ale after that) so am pretty keen on growing the hops and using it in my beer. Mate ordered me:
Fuggles - Ales
Chinook - Stout
Hersbrucker - German Lagers
Can't wait until summer because it'll be homemade pizza in my wood oven, smoked trout and oven baked trout and beautifully bewed and aged homebew

PARTY

Spring BYAP @ Quachy's???

Got any bewtiful bewed homebew ready for this Sunday Quachy? I could be slightyly under the weather Sunday morning but could make it down Sunday arvo with that smoker and pickup some of that food.

After the bitter disappointment of inaction on sooooo many issues from the Rudd led government, today is an exciting and scary day for us Australians. I will definitely give credit where it is due and one of the most positive aspects to come out of Rudd's leadership was his apology to the Aborigines on behalf of the national for the horendus treatment of there people in the past and some would even say (as I do) present.

Today we face a scary prospect of the coalition getting into power as well as the slightly less scary prospect of Labour retaining power. Of the two, I hope Labour retains power, but struth it ain't much of a choice. The negative campaigning by both parties should leave them ashamed of themselves. It would be great to see a positive campaigne from the two major parties sometime, where they talk about how to lead the country forward in humanity, environment, local Indigenous issues, education, health and peacekeeping.

I was ashamed and embarrased to call myself an Australian during the Howard years, excited at the prospect of real change and action during Rudd's short term and am now fearful of being ashamed again but excited that the Greens vote has increased and they will now hold the balance of power in the senate. What does this mean? Well if either party gets into power (and I would rather Labour to the coalition) then any bill that makes it's way to the senate will have to have a Green tinge to it. The Greens will never (although I wish they could be a contender) be contenders for running the country, but they can influence policy and direction. Fair enough some of there policies and ideas may seem to be radical and some would even say economically ignorant (and to a small - read very small - degree I agree) but as I said, they will never actually run the country, just have a say on it's direction. I agree on the direction of the Greens on so many levels, particularly humanity for those less advantaged than us, the environment both globally and locally, education and health.

Heaven forbid if the policy of "stopping the boats" was in place in 79' then me, my family and my family friends fleeing persecution, torture and death in Vietnam, would more than likely be dead.

Go Greens, get in there and make a difference!

There is nothing more ecenomically ignorant than Capitalism
It requires constant unsustainable growth to exist.(its a Ponzi scheme)
In time the Greens policy will be viewed by the majority as conservative and rational,it may be too late, by the time, that time comes though.

Had my brother in-law and his wife and child and Simon and his better half over for lunch today. Great day, great food and great beer! Simon bought over his smoker and had smoked trout for lunch along with a whole host of other food. An AP salad, bread, roast chicken with roast vegies, lasagna and a rice salad. Very yum indeed! The two bigger trout at an easy 40cm were too fast for me to catch without stressing all the other ones out, so it was pot luck. 3 26cm rainbows weighing between 210-230grams each.

Nice going Quachy
Do you brew all grain?? I have just given away many chinook rhizomes from a plant I had to move to make way for a new aquaponics system LOL
As to growing hops in AP, I dont think it would work as the root systems of hops are massive, and would get into pipework etc.
Very nice system and results

The hops were going to go into their own half barrel to avoid the root issue. do you think this will work?