Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

That'll definitely get your attention, bet you heard some pretty good popping sounds as it came down, glad no one was hurt

Saturated soil I think, it's a multi-trunk tree and and there was some included bark at the base, which makes them a bit weak too.

I think we're getting there with the saturated soil as well, hopefully not. Glad every one is okay.

I'd cleared the plant nursery by lunchtime, and we had a hand from friends with chainsaws in the afternoon (ours isn't working very well ATM) to extract the Hilux, creating a large pile of firewood, a couple of large fence posts and stacks of small branches and leaves


There is still the main trunk to cut up, which we might have milled into useful slabs for the kitchen bench top, which is what I'd long planned for that particular tree.

A couple of pics, GB#5 and GB#6

The mint was in small pots embedded in the gravel, but has gone feral, but we are hoping to sell some, so I haven't pulled it all yet, but I am keeping an eye on the roots around the standpipe drain.




Lots of parsley and beetroot - beetroot leaves are great in salads

I harvested 2 on 20/9 647 and 589g, av 618g, and 3 more on 23/9 av.629g, largest 721g, so 96 now remaining in the tank.

There are quite a few large ones in there, and a few small ones maybe just large enough to process, but I drop them back in when netting them out, to give them a bit more growing time.

The peas, mint, chives, asparagus, spinach etc are growing really well, but the tomato seedlings are going backwards- leaves turning purple and dying, and one plant is dead, so not really sure what the problem is. I thought purple leaves was a P deficiency indicator, but it doesnt appear to be a problem for anything else. It has been a bit cool, but some more seedlings in small pots are ok (apart from being smashed up a bit by the falling tree)
I've put a few of those pots in a tray and embedded them in a GB, so will see how they go for a while before planting them out.
I've added some Seasol and B&B as well, but that doesn't seem to have made any difference to the sick tomatoes in the past week.

Temperature warming up a bit in early Oct, but it fell about 20C overnight from yesterday's max with the passing of a cold front, dropping the water temp by about 3C.

I think the purple leaves on the tomato seedlings are from the cold, mine are doing the same. A few warm days and they recover. Then go purple again when it gets cold again!!! Can't be good for them.

Strange start to spring here.

The 4 pea plants in GB#9, the one not under cover, are powering along, producing lots of peas, and they are sweet and delicious They've just about overgrown the garlic and chard. See earlier photo (Previous page, 61) on 17/9 for how much growth there has been in 4 weeks




There are a few quite large fish in the FT, so I think I'll harvest a few tonight and see if I can net a big one.

Sorry for lateness in reply
"Oh what a feeling Joyota"

Well it sure was a feeling of relief to find there was very little damage!

5 fish harvested tonight, largest 881g, and an almost identically sized one at 879g, and average 657g.

6 more trout harvested last night, largest 841g, average 662g. There should be 85 remaining in there now, which I expect to have mostly harvested by mid November, although I'll be keeping an eye on how the water temperature is trending.
Fortunately this spring has so far been much cooler than 2015, thanks to all the cloudy weather and rain (heavy rain again today) associated with cold fronts and troughs passing over this year, so maybe I'll be able to leave some fish in for a bit longer. I was able to go to mid December in 2013, but the past 2 years have been hotter than average, so I had to harvest earlier.

The weather has been much cooler than October last year, quite pleasant so far this Spring, with the usual variations for this time of year

6 more harvested tonight, average 722g, with the largest at 990g.

I did drop a couple of smaller ones back in for some more growing time- they may end up in the big system, which is what I did for the smallest few last year.



The one on the right hand side appears to have had its tail munched on, there was a similar one in the last catch, also with a white back end, slightly thicker than normal, with the tail partly eaten off, and bloody.

man that is so cool.

Nice do you just gut and scale before vac packing?

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