The original system constructed in 2013 consists of a buried 4500 litre fish tank (run at not quite full). This system has a ~2000 litre sump tank, with 9 500 litre grow beds, variously planted with silverbeet, parsley, celery, garlic, beans, asparagas, coriander, beetroot, cauliflower, broccoli, romaneso, spring onions, chives, ginger, turmeric, fennel, tamarillo, rhubarb, peas, tomatoes (160kg picked between xmas 2013 and 17th July 2014 from 8 plants), strawberries, eggplant, capsicum, Egyptian walking onion (aka tree onion), and a dwarf Red Dacca banana that has become huge and multiplied. Snow and heavy frosts in July-August 2015 really knocked the banana about for a few months, but by late 2015 it was looking healthy again.
In late 2018 the banana produced its first flower spike
As the flower sheath peels back, the red dacca bananas and flowers are revealed
The aquaponics systems are proving to be a lot more productive than growing in the soil, and use a small fraction of the water. In summer 2012/13 the in-ground garden had to be abandoned due to the excessive amount of water required just to keep the plants alive, meaning we were close to running out of domestic water, which is only sourced from rainwater collected from the roof.
In the first year of the small system in hot weather, keeping the system water under ~22 degrees for the trout was quite a challenge. Lots of ice was added to the fish tank on hot days, up to 65kg on a hot day, and the sides of the grow beds and grow media were mostly shaded. King Parrots discovered the aquaponics vegetables on 6th Nov 2013, so I've had to enclose the greenhouse and outside growbed with netting to prevent any more attacks on the vegetables. Outside growbeds and wickbeds in the new system have netting over them to protect the vegetables from birds, including our chooks, who love chard.
Ongoing operational details such as water temperature plots and other photos (Latest update on last page) can be found here, and the larger system is linked in my sig:
Gunagulla Aquaponics Small System on Back Yard Aquaponics Forum
Aquaponics Greenhouse 3rd Nov 2013
Aquaponics Greenhouse 30th Dec 2014
Garlic harvest Nov-Dec 2014
Celery 23/7/2014, delicious raw or in soup!
3 Tomato plants overflowing Grow Bed #8 17/12/2013
Tomatoes from the plants above 24/12/2013
Tomatoes 18/1/2014
Some older videos of the first batch of trout
November 2013 Trout having 2nd breakfast
July 2013 Trout eating 20g of 3mm pellets in 25 seconds
June 2013 Short MP4 movie of trout fingerlings (15MB)
2kg Cauliflower
Trout fingerlings 16/6/2013
Green Tree Frog on celery in Growbed #3, strawberries in background
* Comet Lovejoy & other photos on Gordon Garradd's Astronomy and Photography Page
Gunagulla is powered by the sun and wind- see a time-lapse animation of the solar trackers in action
Check out a group of sawflies communicating as they travel
Comet Lovejoy & crescent moon in the morning twilight
(more images on Astronomy page link above)
Cherry Pie 15/12/2011
Shade cloth or fruit fly netting bags used to protect the fruit trees from Qld Fruit Fly and birds, 50% shade cloth bags over cherry trees in this view.
Cherries Dec 2010
Chooks + Barney the Barnevelder rooster in the cherry orchard
Ursa, the Ancona rooster, June 2012
Merlot the Rhode Island Red rooster, June 2012
Joey in a friendly wallaby's pouch
Crested Pigeon
Green Tree frog
Gecko eating a huntsman spider
Toadstools
South Celestial Pole, with Sydney (300km away) light pollution
The night sky from the top of the hill- 22nd March 1996
An All-sky photo showing the entire sky + horizon, with Comet Hyakutake near the bright star Arcturus, and also showing The Milky Way from horizon to horizon and Zodiacal Light, with Tamworth city lights on the NW horizon
Email Gordon here or Hether here
*** But make sure you use @ instead of AT, and lose the spaces ***
Phone Gordon on: Oh Fore Too Ate Six Nein Won Six Oh 3
Hether on: Oh Fore Oh Too Oh 7 Won Won Won Fore
