Aquaponics Update

Well its been a few months, and I got to say its been pretty stable, had a pump die on me but have redundancy  built in so was no big deal.
As you can see the plants are doing great, they seam to favor that we are now in the cooler months and thriving.
 Most of whats growing was from seeds than I just dropped into the grow beds in no order or pattern.
the result is an amazing jungle assortment of plants.
My goldfish are double the size of when I placed them in.
no blockages or block bell siphon to report, water seams to be very clean and full of the right nutrients.
Plants Growing
Green Bell Peppers ( capsium)
Basil
Parsley
Cilantro ( Corrianda)
Tomatoes
Celery
Bok Choy
Strawberries
Mixed Lettuce
Peas

After trying several methods of food production I think Aquaponics is a must in garden growing.
If I had a yard I would concentrate on bigger and more Aquaponic systems than any other form.

Chook Died

Very Sad
one of my 2 chooks just suddenly died?
it was fine in the morning, fed them as usual in evening its laying on its side barley moving, little latter its dead.
The remaining chook is very distressed and seams to be missing his buddy.
Any advice on the cause.
Is it ok for one single chicken to be on its own!
could it have started its first egg which got stuck!
oh well thats nature but still dosent feel good!

Dehydrator

I purchased a Dehydrator, have wanted one for ages, as after reading up i think its a more preferred way to store dried food.
I was most interested in drying corn, carrots and strawberries which I loaded up on my 5 trays.
It went all night a total of 12 hours and its amazing how small it looks after its dried, the best of it is that all the nutrients are still there .
After drying some stuff I couldn't wait to try it, The Strawberries are like leathery to taste but flavor is awesome.
next a bowl of soup dropped the peas and carrots back into it and after about 3 mins you have perfectly good tasting veg,
Will be adding to my stored items with this new found skill, its a must have, smaller more compact packets and no additives.
Oh I forgot to mention I also got a vaccume sealer and bags to pack and store the things i dry.
Great resource for Dehydrating http://www.dehydrate2store.com/
and of course I got the Dehydrator and the vaccume sealer from my favorite place ebay.com

2 Trays of Strawberries 

Carrots, Corn and strawberries 

My 5 Tray Dehydrator

Vaccume sealed Strawberries

Chooks

I finally got My Chooks ( Chickens)
2 Silkie hens, I went for this type as they are more domesticated and because of their silkie feathers they are unable to fly.
I used a plastic fence mesh to cover any gaps on the balcony, then i let them loose.

First off they mad a mess every where and on a tiled floor it was hard to keep clean from chicken poop, and no matter how many times i placed a bowl inside a tray with food they would chuck it every where, so I decided that I would need to make a cage.

This was better but still very messy.

then after a little gardening and changing some pots over i thought of a great idea!

i used the end section of my balcony and placed a small wood coop about 2 meters from end and closed it all in, I also placed my worm bin on top to make it higher.

Then i just tipped soil all over the deck in the pen area. now when i feed them they make as much mess ass they want, and poop back into the soil so they have created a perfect compost pile with them doing all the work.

Now I will rotate the soil into my planters as i replant autumn and spring and place old soil back in pen, perfect.
I did leave some of the veggies in the pen area of which they destroyed the rhubarb leaves and my spring onions striped to soil, but dont ever touch Tomato, Basil , Rosemary or gooseberry plants.

all in all i am happy with the outcome and there is no smell and very little noise just the odd cluck

Balcony Garden Update

Have got my Garden all prepped and ready for summer!
Started harvesting my first Asparagus, with one measuring a whopping 27"
organic fertilizer added, Mulch added.
Fist year for Raspberry bush x 2, Black currant, Gooseberry, Rhubarb, and my blueberries dont look like they have made threw the winter.
second year for Blackberry bushes x 2, and Asparagus x 2, Rosemary, Parsley
planted 3 Tomato bushes, 2 capsicum/ bell peppers, chili peppers, Basil, Coriander, spring Onions, Marigolds, cucumbers, and potatoes

Aquaponics How to Video

I have just made 2 new videos on Aquaponics.
the first one shows my working system and the 2nd one shows how to make and set up the aquaponics system along with information on the Bell Siphon

Aquaponics System Update

Finally got my aquaponics system up and running.
it was quiet a lot harder than i was expecting to get it right, but at the end I should have keep to the golden rule KISS " keep it simple stupid"
TIPS!
Dont use cheap plastic storage containers, they shatter very easy at the bottom
Dont make the grow beds to shallow,  22cm high is ideal for small system, I used 2x 35LTR
Get a good strong Tank for the bottom and get it colored to keep out light, I used a large patio flower container 105LTR
use 1/2 inch (13mm) and 3/4 inch (19mm) garden irrigation hose and fittings is more practical and cheaper than plumbing fittings on such a small system
use 2LTR soda bottle as filter grates around bell siphon
I made my bell siphon with  60mm pipe, and silicone a piece of 1" on top to make handling easier
make sure you allow about 2" gap above overflow pipe and inside top of siphon.

anyway heres a few pictures, I will publish my video soon.
I am now going to regulate the PH of water ect before adding some fish

Small pump and filter, I use this to filter the tank and pump to my green wall hanging garden, available from  $17.85 from Hong Kong on ebay! (Click Link)

Air stone, I am using 2 of these,available from ebay each $6.50 Free shipping from Hong Kong (Click Link)

Air Pump with back up batteries for power outage, available from ebay $29 including postage from Hong Kong (Click link)

Expanded Clay pebbles, (You can use gravel ) but I prefer these clay pebbles they are so much easier to work with, purchased in Australia from ebay 50 LTRs $22 (Click Link)

This is all the plumbing I needed!

13mm irrigation pipe, 2 x 13mm Flow control taps, 1 x 13mm T joiner, 2x 13mm End caps, 13mm tube, small pond pump (350Ltrs per hour)

2x 19mm tank fitting, 2x 19mm tank fitting extenders, 2x pieces of 20mm tube, 2x 19mm Corner connectors, 2x  60mm plastic pipe, 2 x 60mm end covers, 2x 2LTR soda bottle, 2x 35LTR plastic containers (Grow beds) and ix 105Ltr garden grow box ( Fish Tank)

My fittings I got online from Ebay in australia but are readily available in Bunnings, Home Depot ect

Bell siphon = 60mm wide x 165mm long, cut out groves either side to allow water into siphon and a hole just above to break cycle, allow about 2" from top of overflow pipe to top of inside of bell, the overflow height should be about 2" lower than the layer of clay pebbles.

my tank set up and including my green wall garden

some plants in place with netting at end for cucumbers

looking down from above

their is no need to sprinkle the water like this you can just have a pipe feeding in, just a personal choice

my green wall filled with clay pebbles and strawberry plants gives me additional grow beds by using vertical space.

My set up with fish tank underneath

I purchased the Aquaponics made easy DVD from Murray Hallam, $33 plus shipping this is very good look into aquaponics and recommended set ups

Hanging Bottle Wall Garden Part 2

Part 2 of my Hanging Bottle Wall Garden,

video of the whole system working and full with 27 strawberry plants.

Hanging Bottle Wall Garden

My new Design
Hanging Bottle Wall Garden

New Bottle Garden design

I am working on the old green wall / living wall concept I had and used the new hanging garden idea to come up with a free standing Hanging Bottle Garden Farm wall panel that can be moved anywhere.
I intend to make it part of my Aquaponic set up .

video update will follow soon.

Solar can heater update

Slowly working away on my solar can heater, just got to add a solar powered electric fan and exhaust pipe .
will put together a video once its complete and working.

all the cans mounted and ready to paint

A nice black Matt paint finish

Solar cells

I have just got my first batch of solar cells.
I was very surprised how thin and light they are as they are printed on a thin metal sheet and not silicon
I intend to cover all the inside of my conservatory windows that are facing sun exposure.
but project will have to wait as I have 3 others in progress
heres a link to the ebay store in florida, free worldwide shipping and great service.
Click here for Solar cell ebay store!

Hanging Bottle Garden Farm Update

Just a look at the progress of my hanging bottle garden farm and a new idea of 2 holes in the bottle , 1 in front and 1 in back.

Aquaponics Update

I did some work on setting up my aquaponics set up! after watching the DVD i learnt the basics, I did break one rule of having a too small set up, but my experiment is for small spaces so will go forward and see what happens.

My 2 grow beds above the fish tank.
i used two plastic under bed storage containers from a KMart, they were $16 each and are 35Lt's, the fish tank is a 120 Lt's plastic storage bin cost about $22

I built a wood frame around the fish tank to support the grow beds, including a chook (Chicken) coop.

the wood was from an Ikea futon bed that was recycled.

I driled a 1" hole in bottom of grow bed to add a bell syphon, to flood and drain system, I wanted to see if I could create my own version using plastic bottles, I will update latter once the silicon seal is set.

Pumps are very expensive and i wanted to keep the cost low so I went for a cheap filter /pump combo that sprinkles water on surface and filters, this was $17.85 from Hong Kong on ebay!

I also picked up a small aquarium pump at the garden center for $15

Worm Farm

I went to a compost and worm farm community talk and class, anyway it was very informative and got to watch the worm farm put together.
at the end there was a raffle for 2 worm farms.
I am now the proud owner of 1 of them.
it was my intention to make one out of recycled stuff , but hey whose complaining.

The class given by Steve Batley of Sydney Organic Gardens

The new Worm farm tower

Far right! The base with legs, and tap, 1st tray, 2nd tray, and lid

2 composting bins, will only use one , as it fills up with worm castings will start using 2nd one, the worms make their own way up.

the first bin is filled with a peat coconut coir soaked in water till its expanded, not wet just damp, place cardboard at bottom of 1 tray to stop the dirt falling threw, spread the mix and add the worms , cover with damp news paper. the brown bag was just  temporary added at the class!

The first tray is placed in the bottom of the tower where the worm tea will collect and the tap for harvesting.

add the 2nd tray but will remain unused for time being.

Place the lid on

You dont feed the worms for the first week, just cover with damp paper, then slowly add the scraps of food under the paper, there is no smell, but if you add more than the worms can eat at one time this will rot and start to smell, or if it gets to wet! so dont over feed or make too wet!

also add some bits of card paper with the food to keep a good consistency.

DONT: feed meat, fish or dairy products, (egg shells are ok) or onion or garlic.

It will take about 3/4 months before 1st bin is full and can spread the castings in the garden or in my case on my planter boxes, the worm tea can also be diluted and used as a plant growing tonic.

It will also provide additional food to feed the fish and chooks they will love the worms!!

As my worm farm only came with a sample worm set up, i went to a local garden center and purchased 500 red worms.

FACT: did you know out of 100s of types of worms there are only 3 types that will compost food, the red worm being best?

Hanging Bottle Garden Farm

Hanging Bottle Garden farm video now finished. Step by step guide for making a Hanging bottle garden farm.