Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi Frog flat and Faye
Yes it is mint (I love the smell and use heaps of mint) it's contained in 1 bath and I will soon empty those 5 baths as I want to use larger gravel and check for signs of corrosion as I was initially unaware of the problem of nickel leaching (I'll blame and thank Gemmell for that) I'm not looking forward to more gravel shovelling but it needs to be done.
I have also planted Brahmi and Gotu Kola which may be a problem in the future. So will have lots of cutting for the soil garden
I have mint in nusery seedling trays that float on a few of the FT's but the holes in the trays seem to clog too easily with algae, I'll try drill bigger holes to see if that helps.
What do other members use for growing mint and do the have any algae problems in the trays?

Did a check of the system yesterday and wondered why one bed that contains mainly celery was a little slow on filling! Lots of fine Celary roots and biofilm

Now that we have some additional GB's starting to be a little more organised with our planting pulled out some carrots that were leftover seeds from last year to see how they were growing, surprised how straight they were when grown in 15-20mm gravel
Tasted good too!
will start planting more now

I enjoy looking at other members AP systems but always like seeing forum members gardens and yards.So thought I'd take you for a quick tour of the desertrat and ratess's home.
This is our pizza area don't be put of by the Big green cross it was a legacy from the previous owner and was aimed at caring for the Earth.


This was the desertratess 50th birthday present from her family. I call it the "each way bet
"

Close up of the drum oven. Very handy but not as efficient as a mud or brick oven but has cooked hundreds of pizza's and roasts

Lots of wild sunflowers

There are over forty fruit trees most are about 5-6 years old and each year we are seeing a good supply of fruit.


Hopefully this year there will be an olive glut

Keeping the fingers crossed for some fresh almonds

And of course every garden needs these

This is what powers the orchard

Also have a few silkies for eggs

And the "Boss" He thinks he's tough and he is. I'm sure he has stopped a few fruit raiders from entering the orchard

And of course the AP system

great yard, i saw your system on the milkwood site too

Great yard, In Maldives we'll probably never get such a backyard as land is scarce!

Hi Muj
I will PM the details asap when I speak to my friend.
Must confess I don't know a lot about your country
What is the population of the Maldives
Climate
Is there a lot of local food production etc
Like your setup is there a good supply of second hand materials and is it easy/cheap to buy plumbing parts
Full of questions and maybe some beverage that was given to me at the local club while watching the AFL football.
Cheers

Wow, that looks nice Desertrat!

Thanks Faye
Last week I said to the Ratess there would be no more additions to the system other than a tidying up and landscaping.
Went to the local tip shop and scored 12 SS sinks and an old cast iron foot bath all for $35
So was forced to add another GB in preparation for summer and the extra fish growth.
Ratess wasn't impressed as the list of to do jobs is growing!
Water temp is up to 19 degrees
PH is slowly moving down and is now 7.8
[flash=][/flash]

While moving some rocks nearly stuck my hand on this Redback
I was bitten about a month ago by a small one but no drama's, just a little swelling and itchyness, wouldn't like to have been bitten by this one.

Decided to catch a few yabbies for dinner in hindsight I wish I had done a cull about 6 weeks ago when the population was at its peak. Since then who knows how many have been cannibalised or gone walkabout. I'll know next time!
Took half an hour to catch a small pot full

Yabbie pizza yum!

Wow....very impressive yard DR