Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Not much really to write about, no HS and nothing spectacular, just ticking along nicely.
With the warmer days I have augmented the (about 1/3) winter feed ratio a bit more.
Also feeding the SP lots of greens. Chinese greens, Lebanese cress or broccolis that were not needed.
The SPs strip everything to the toughest stalks but after pulling out the sugar pees
I gave them the juicy tops and the SPs ignored them totally.

Had further two or on some broccolis three rushes after the main one and now after the last harvest
I'm undecided if I should wait for another one or pull them out.

Worm farms are going great, regularly replacing a pellet feed with live one.

Love that splash of colour that comes from the rainbow chard, looking good as always Steve

Been a while since last update. With mind occupied by heaps of other things and quite busy as well,
I did manage only infrequent looks at this forum.

Have covered the AP shadehouse with a lighter 30% shadecloth.
Also had huge problem with birds ruining veggies behind that shadehouse so have decided to enclose it with birdwire.
It’s nearly finished.

Been picking ripe toms from outside the S/House since one week before Xmas.
Never before that early.
But much later in the S/House. The shadecloth does slow the growth by weeks.

Found mushroom plant to be excellent in AP. Grows well and unlike many other greens doesn’t go to seed.
Good not only in a fresh salads but also mixed together with silverbeat and chards, boiled and made into “tortillas”.

Somme silvers and many of the cats look already pansized.
My DW is pushing me to start getting some but I’m waiting until later in the autumn
to get the most of the growing season.

And that’s how you wash and boil those greens if the biggest saucepan isn’t big enough.

Where did you get the 30% shadecloth from Steve... seems to be as rare as hens teeth...

Took me a while to find one close (to me), it’s monbulkrural.
Their webpage seems to be still under construction, they do sell by meter and they send by curier, if I remember well.
PM them for details.
I did pick it up, nice drive to the hills.

Thanks...

Them be some biiiggg cats Steve :]

Love the wash and boil system you got there, Steve!!!

Are those CD's you have hanging up there and are they to keep birds or some other critters away?

Yes Steve, old give away CDs/DVDs from mags, do deter most of the birds
but some of those pesky rosellas take no notice of them.

Have to try that in the soil garden this year. Wonder if they'll work on the squirrels!? Little buggers chew up all my tomatoes some years.

Pulled out the first ½ dozen cats.
With herbs and spices and alfoil ready and oven on, my DW didn’t give me time
to find the scales but were a fair plate size.

Quite OK but not exactly lip-smacking, rather bland.
Next lot we’ll try on a charcoal BBQ.

Unlike the SPs, the cats are rather uniform in size.
The smallest SPs are about ¼ in size of the big ones.
That’s at 3 ½ years. I was rather cautious with the feed, feeding only at dawn and dusk
and just enough for all food to be eaten.

The GBs look rather desolate after puling out all the toms and some of the too old silverbeat and spinach but the cuks a taking off
and have more seedlings, some ready to put in.

Have rearranged a bit the mini sys. to make a space for a duckweed ½ barrel.
Diverted the back flow taken from both pump lines of the Tub FT into the barrel
and overflow from it, taken from the bottom goes back into the tub, oxygenating the water.
No more duckweed in a bucket.

Think that's the first harvest of Eel-Tails I've seen posted SS...