Its mid Winter here in the patch so last weekend I knocked over a few jobs that needed doing before the weather starts to warm up.
The asparagus plants got a good trim & the beds were feed some home made compost & aged horse manure. Also planted out a few extra broccoli to see if we can squeeze in another crop before summer.




This weekend it will be a few beds out the back that get the same treatment. Also have some ginger & turmeric to harvest so am looking forward to that.
Cheers all.

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Did another backyard aquaponic system update last week.. Its all travelling along rather nicely at the moment & am happy to report there have been no dramas as of late..  **knocks on wood**
Plant growth is still coming along nicely even though the temperatures have been dropping a bit.. Thinking we are still right to plant out a few more seeds though..

Should have the site for the mini fish farm all sorted by the next update hopefully..

Have taken the first 4 perch from the system to share at a bit of a family get together over the weekend.. 3 were not the largest but wasnt expecting too much.. Might pull a few more over Winter but not sure yet, shall see how we go..

Information on the iki jime method of despatching fish can be found here
http://www.ikijime.com/
& is well worth the look I think.

For more regular updates & pictures from the patch come visit us on our "Bits Out the Back" Facebook page..
Have a great one All...
Rob..

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After

Before

We decided it was time to harvest the collard greens.

As you can see, the 2 plants got quite stripped!

See the bounty below!

And chopped into the pan ..... It was tasty !

 We harvested the leaves a week ago, and cooked them right away. The collards are keeping on growing ! More for later!

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Was a bit of a wet weekend with over 40mm of rain since Saturday morning according to Weather zone... Didnt feel like 40 mm but I shall take their word for it...
 New Toy...

Saturday was spent cleaning up my hidey hole under the house so I could find the work bench & make some garden toys... I made up a sifting box/cradle, that sits on top of the wheelbarrow, for separating out the worms from their castings... The tumbler I made needs a redesign & I am waiting some cheap parts to turn up in the local op shops... I am also planing to use it to break up the horse manure "clumps" before I add it to the composting barrels so it will break down better... The bags it is sitting on are full of Horse Manure... I fear I have a new addiction & B? will host an intervention for me soon... I went to return some bags on Saturday & just couldnt leave without purchasing 2 more... We now have 8 bags + 5 composting barrels full of the stuff...

Harvesting the castings...

We got stuck into the worm farm on Sunday as B? had promised some to a work mate  so he could start up his farm again... The shot to the left shows 4 eggs & what we think is a pregnant female... You can tell by the size of the "bulge" in the in the banded section about 1½cm below their heads... Worms are hermaphrodites that can fertilise their own or other worms eggs... From what I have read can carry up to about 10 eggs at a time with around 4-5 being the average amount...


We also found lots of Black solider fly larvae & a couple of the just hatched adults... The one in the photo to the right was hatching as we discovered it in the castings...
    The castings got put to use straight away with a few scoops being mixed with some compost as fertiliser for some seeds that got planted in the afternoon... Left is the food we have been processing & freezing as we have been withholding food for the last week getting ready for the casting harvest... A nice treat for them after the trauma of yesterday me thinks...


Plantings...
Wednesday 16th,
10 x  White Vienna Kohl Rabi, seedlings (Eden seeds)
1 x 2 meter row of Mangold-wurzel, seed (Boondie Seeds)
1 x 2 meter row of Nates Carrots, seed (Johnsons Organic) Just to use them up...
1 x 2 meter row of purple Dragon Carrots, seed (Boondie Seeds)
2 x meter row of climbing Sugarsnap peas, seed (Eden seeds)
Thursday 17th,
9 x Sugarloaf Cabbage, seedlings  (Eden seeds)
3 x 1 meter row of  Lockyer Gold Onion, seed (Green Harvest)
2 x cuttings of Yellow pear Tomato (Chook yard)
2 x cuttings Cherry Tomato (Chook yard)
2 x cuttings Asian long Eggplant (from Bed #4)
Friday 18th,
4 x 75cm rows of Lockyer early White Onion, seed (Eden seeds)
4 x 75cm rows of Mini Purplette Onion, seed (Green Harvest)
Sunday 20th,
8 x Bush Beans, seed (Aldi)
4 x Brown Beauty Bush Bean, seed (Eden seeds)
2 x  Marketmore Cucumber, seed (Eden seeds)
7 x Purple Vienna Kohl Rabi, seed  (Eden seed)
1 x meter row + random sowing of Bright lights Silverbeet, seed (Boondie seeds)
2 x Brussels Sprouts, seedlings (Johnsons seeds)
25-28 cloves Glen Large Garlic (??)  (Purchased it from a local market gardener last Nov)
 Below is a walk through showing where seeds/plants have been planted out & a some other bits...

Have a great one all...

: )»

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