This Sustainable House

Posts Tagged ‘garden’

I have recently uploaded a new video on the Deep Water Culture (DWC) bed which is a part of the aquaponics system at TSH. This post outlines exactly how this element functions as a stand alone unit, and a later posts will integrate it within the whole.

Below is the week 3 video of the ongoing TSH Aquaponics Video Series. This week we are just checking on the growth of the plants, as well as checking out the new gravel grow bed.

Week 2′s video blog looks at the ongoing development of the DWC as well as a first view of the new fish tank arrangement.

Enjoy!

As regular readers of this blog are aware, a few months ago I instituted an aquaponics trial at TSH built in a few IBC’s (totes). The trial was about testing aquaponics as a system, as well as learning how to operate it. This initial trial system has been outstandingly successful, not withstanding a few errors along the way.

This video series will trace the aquaponics system over the next 10-12 weeks as I bring onboard a number of new elements such as new grow beds (including deep water culture) and improved fish tank designs. It will also demonstrate the amazing growth potential that aquaponics seems to be displaying no that the weather is warming up.

So without further ado, here is week ones installment.

A few months ago I wrote a post explaining the strawberry towers that I have decided to use at TSH (see link below). I thought that this was a good time to provide an update.

As was previously noted, I lost a few crowns when the irrigation system failed, but since re-jigging the system I haven’t had any issues. As you can see from the photo’s, the remaining crowns are doing really well.

The one change that I would like to make to the system would be to add a fertiliser ‘injector’ into the system which would make adding liquid fertiliser much easier. At the moment I periodically stand on a ladder to pour a seaweed fertiliser into the tubes. This isn’t the end of the world but it would be easier!

The other option is to perhaps integrate the system with the proposed aquaponics system, but we’ll see how that pans out as the season progresses.

Update (4/12/10) – After a week of almost solid rain another ‘problem’ has become apparent… slugs! Today when harvesting some fruit I noticed some slug damage. I think they are getting to the plants via the mint beneath which has gone beserk, and grown taller than the bottom of the tower. I think the slugs are then just bridging the gap. However there is nowhere for them to hide, so picking them off and eliminating the bridge should do the job nicely.

Photo Updates

Strawberry Tower on 7 November

Strawberry Tower on 20 November 2010

Every weekend I set myself a task to complete around TSH that keeps the vision moving in the right direction. Sometimes this task is large, such as fencing a new paddock, but at other times it can be quite small such as improving an existing system. This weekend, my task was to build a new vege garden using the wicking bed system.

A wicking bed is a marvellously efficient garden design in which you water from below. It is basically a giant self-watering pot in which you water via a filling tube. The water creates a reservoir under the soil of the bed, and the water then ‘wicks’ up to water the plants. The major advantage of the system is that there is no free water on the surface, so evaporation is minimal.

At TSH we have two beds, both located on the back verandah, which have been designated to be wicking beds. And this weekend I created one of the beds. The location of the beds was chosen so as to allow year round growing (it’s under the eaves so shouldn’t be too effected by frost) as well as to be close to the kitchen (virtually in zone 0, if you are permaculturally inclined). It should also help reduce the amount of reflected sunlight into the entertaining area during summer which should help make this area feel much more comfortable.

And let’s not forget… produce a mass of picking greens, herbs and other vegetables for the kitchen.

A video-essay of the building of this bed can be found on Green Phoenix Permaculture.

I’ll post an update in a few weeks around how it is going. Below are some time staged photos… click on them to zoom.

Wicking Bed (Week 1)

I know that the above phrase normally goes the other way around, but in this case I noticed the curse first…

A couple of months ago I decided to revegetate a sacrificial paddock. A sacrificial paddock is one in which the animals are maintained for longer than would normally be prudent.  This would normally be a landcare nightmare but in this case a small area was chosen, which was already significantly degraded, which could be intensively revegetated following the animals.

I chose to build 2 sacrificial paddocks near the front gate for this purpose as the soil in that location was already bare hardpan, and their location would be ideal for quarantine/holding/calving paddocks moving forward. They are approx. 0.2 acres in size each.

A pair of the mischevious maruaders...

The plan to revegetate was to cover the soil with straw to a depth of about 1-2cm, and then Read the rest of this entry »