Terras Patch

Discussion in 'Members' Systems' started by Terra, Aug 23, 2012.

  1. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    Hi been awhile 2 years have gone by where did that go
    I have had trouble signing in in the past guess I just got frustrated and gave up
    Forum looks good I had no trouble signing in this time

    I have a good selection of fruit trees established
    Early mid and or late - Apricots / Peaches / Apples / Plums / Prunes / Oranges / Mandarins
    Also a Lemon a Lime and a Pomegranate some seedless White Grapes a Current Grape
    We ate out first Banana today

    I have 12 Blueberries growing in Geotextile Bags (Soil is too Alkaline here) got a bit of fruit off all of them should be heaps next season.

    Finally found a Cucumber I can grow (trouble with mildew) Picked up a tip from a member from Texas in a garden group I am in .
    Suyo long cucumber they have been terrific grown in my Aquaponic system I have learnt not to plant 4 at once we were swamped with them.
    They are not pretty but don't need peeling and taste great, they can get to 750mm long

    Tomatoes were disappointing this year we had too many hot days (and nights) and they just wouldn't set fruit , the early ones went well (Allans early and Apollos)
    once the heat turned up they just stopped.

    At the moment we are swamped with Broccoli and Caulis are about to start (after 4 attempts I have the planting window right)
    Better write this down so I don't forget

    Peas are starting to set pods and have heaps of Silverbeet (Chickens love it)

    Ive worked out Brassicas , Peas and Silver Beet are the most reliable cold season crops for our area

    We have had 2 really dry years some things are hardly worth growing with water we have to buy as road side stalls sell produce really cheap

    2018 we had 5 inches of rain for the year and 1 and a half inches of that came in one rain in November.

    The first pic is the shade cover over my large aquaponic system over this really hot dry year the AP system has been terrific big water saving (only a little lost to evaporation) , Really need to get onto my final build (10 gravel beds and a couple of 10 metre deep water beds) . I have pretty well all I need to build it .

    The Driveway shade structure works well this is a nasty hot area that gets hammered in the summer , radiation off the gravel doesn't help , I hang shadecloth down the side for the hottest part of the year , there is a pond in under the cover which helps moderate it a bit as well.

    Third pic is the Suyo cucumber give these a try they were a winner for me .

    I will take a few more pics

    cheers Terra
     

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  2. 9anda1f

    9anda1f Administrator Staff Member

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    Hey Terra, good to see you! Your 2018 rainfall qualifies as arid/desert, how are you doing so far this year for rain?
     
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  3. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    Looking bad again this year 27mm total for period to 24/5/19

    A lot of the small understory plants in the bushland are looking pretty sad.

    I only grew a small tomato patch in the ground over our hot season

    My Aquaponic system is a real water saver through times like this

    While the purists will argue against them set up sensibly they can run on very little power
     
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  4. 9anda1f

    9anda1f Administrator Staff Member

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    Where's that aquaponics "smiley" we used to have?
    [​IMG]
     
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  5. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    We have had 20mm of rain in one go , 52mm for the year it was not looking good

    Put Some water in the rain water tanks we would have caught about 17000 Litres

    Ive covered my Aquaponic system with greenhouse plastic to raise the water temps im not a fan of greenhouses they fill up with aphids and white fly here , probably mid August I will take it off again and store it in the shed I have Tuna net pulled over the whole lot to stop the plastic getting wrecked in strong winds.

    If the water gets too cold the fish get stressed and are at risk of Saprolegnia Fungus

     
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  6. songbird

    songbird Senior Member

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    Climate:
    -15C-35C, 10cm rain/mo, clay, full sun, K-G Dfa=x=Dfb
    glad to see you back, wish we could send you some of our extra rains. we're well above 45cm alone just in the past month. normal for a month is about 8-10cm.
     

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