Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Way ahead of you Matty. I havested a heap of coffee the day after I posted those pics. I de-husked all of them by hand which took some time. I fermented them for 4 days and now they have been drying for a couple of days. I'm away for work at the moment but when I return I'll post pics of each step and the finished product.

Hi Martin, I like the idea of ducks. Hey have you moved yet?

Great to see you have settled in. Chooks, I hope you know, are the gateway drug to real farming
I wish we were out of town a bit so I could do geese, ducks, etc, but quail and rabbits are on the cards when the daughters move out

Have fun

Cheers Mantis. Definately enjoying it.

Hi Charlie, sorry about the extra post but glad you are getting a harvest. The blender idea appealed to me as did the notion of enjoying the fruits of your labour.

Kind regards

All good Matty, I believe we stumbled across the same article anyways. Thanks.

Hey Charlie, yip landed in Auckland two weeks ago and moved into our rental place yesterday. Has a garden but I am not sure about the sun orientation yet. Looking to set up something small for starters and then expanding once I am more established here. Going to try and build something fairly portable in case we need to move it.

Martin.

It didn't take you long to pick up the local accent, Marto!

Glad the trip is over for you mate, can be stressful as I did the big move myself but probably worse for you. Maybe you could do a single barrel system.

Hi Charlie, "yip" is very much a South African thing too so I am not as up to date on the local lingo as you give me credit for.... *mate*

Yes, considering a blue barrel system for sure. Trying to see if I can place a few small systems strategically around the yard.

Yeah, the relocation was very stressful. The flights themselves weren't too bad and the kids did okay but once here we were all jet lagged for about 5 days and we all took turns to get sick. At the same time it was raining all the time with a heavy rain so we were trying to look for a place to stay with everyone seriously under the weather. So the first week was rough. Since then things have been getting better all the time.

We are now moved in to our rental and I have started work and my son has started school. So things are falling into place. Starting to enjoy the place more and more. We are going on a harbour tour this Saturday which should be fun for the kids.

Regards, Martin.

Continuing the high jacking of Charlies post - The ferry ride over to Devonport used to have a band on it and the bar on the ferry was open on a Friday evening. Don't know if that's still the case, but it was a great trip back n the early 90's. Back in those days it was a long (push) bike ride to get to the city, so the ferry was the obvious choice.

I will check it out at some point Doc. We have a harbour tour booked for this weekend and then a day trip to Waiheke island at some point in the near future.
Will try and catch the Devonport ferry in the next few months. We want to go there for a daytrip too.

Regards, Martin.

I love Sydney Harbour, but I rate Auckland's as well. I spent many years as a young fella crewing on yachts in and out of Sydney Harbour, and would love to get the chance to sail Auckland harbour.

Hey Doc, I'm hoping that once we're established I can get some time on the water. Would love to get a basic skipper license. There are so many islands close by and the beaches are all public access so if you sail/motor to an island you can moor at any beach and spend the day there if you like. That's long term though, hopefully...

Hey Charlie,

awesome place!!

Coffee: My in-laws used to make a (partial) living picking and making coffee.

Pick the fruits - lay them out on a tarp, concrete pad or metal roof in the sun and wait until dry.
Then they go into a super pylon/trough(?) to separate the beans from the spree - then into a big bowl and roasted on open fire.

To make coffee it gets ground and together with brown sugar or sugar molasses boiled up in water - sweet, smooth, strong - life is good!



You also could just eat off the fruit (not much on it, but sweet) and spit out the beans, collect them, rinse them, dry them, roast them - use them.....
- slightly less gross than Kopi Luwak, but at least as exclusive!


Good Luck and all the best in the new place!!

thjakits