Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Dammit!

Joel, I was in there yesterday! Didn't even think of asking, when I asked a few weeks ago I was told that you didn't have them and no one knew where to get them.

That said, we might have noticed them yesterday if we weren't busy loosing our 3 year old...

Sigh!

I guess it's lucky I have to come in and pick up stuff this week.

And it was lucky you found him in the toilet.....

Yeah.

You need a creche.

(Or at least a cage.)

Bugger - wish I'd seen this a week ago - woulda got some while I was there

Picked up some water chestnuts today from BYAP... Thanks Joel!
Now trying to decide the best way to plant them.
Had intended on taking out of soul entirely and planting in floating raft a la my mint. Side note: after today now have 3 types of mint going. Peppermint will make 4 and then have to stop
Back to the point... Anyone had experience with chestnuts? What works/doesn't work? Growbeds? Fishtank?

I was wondering this myself. Just how do you grow them in AP?

I just shoved the bulbs in a gravel bed, and they seem to be going well. caterpillars love the new shoots though, so dipel early is necessary. the growbed ones are going much better than the ones that I put in a barrel of dirt and compost, and grew the way green harvest suggested. (ie, let get 10cm high, then cover with water)

I guess I'll know sometime around winter next year when they die off and I have to try and get them out.

I can imagine fishing around in the beds for the corns might get tricky.

What about growing them directly in the tank?
Do they need a medium (sand/hydroton) at all or will the roots go fine straight in water from a raft?
Tempted to buy one of the floating baskets that Joel has for sale and have a go with that filled with hydroton.

When 2nd system is up and running might get a few plants and try one of everything.

http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/impor ... f12899.pdf

suggests that barrels of perlite/vermiculite kept topped up with old hydroponic nutrient water should work. no reason aquaponics wont, but you might need a barrel that you can keep flooded above gravel level. I dont at the moment, but i'm willing to see how it goes without it.

Mine are doing well in blue metal ,flood and drain ,I will try to post a picture of it soon.

I've been growing some in shallow mortar tubs that have gravel in the bottom. I planted them in the gravel with water above the gravel but I had an algae problem so I've been testing out different things. One bin now has plastic drink bottle caps in it which stopped the brown string algae and the green algae doesn't seem to be giving me any pH problems and the plants in that bin seem quite happy.

I topped another one up with gravel and it seem ok but the plants don't seem quite as happy.

They are all getting constant flow constant flood from the AP system.

Purchased my Chinese Water Chestnuts from CERES Nursery in Melbourne. Seem to be growing Ok in AP. Trying to add pic and instructions for growing.

Hi all, I have some for sale if anyone wants any. I'm in Denmark so would have to express post from here. nnpattinson8@gmail.com.