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A Visit to Shoestring Gardening

April 13, 2014 @ 21:14 By Gavin Webber 6 Comments

I had a break from my regularly busy weekend schedule, and took up an invitation to visit Shoestring Gardening in Wyndamvale, Victoria.  My friend Jabir asked if I was interested in having a look at the new aquaponics system that the group had installed at their regular meeting place, the Eco Living Centre.

The location was about 40 km (~25 miles) from where I live, so around 1.15 pm, Ben and I travelled to the site.

Shoestring Gardening gathering

When I arrived the festivities had already begun, so we joined in.  Bronwyn thanked everyone for attending, and then the local MP added the fish to the tank in their bags so they could acclimatise.  After 20 minutes or so, the 35 rainbow trout were released into the system.

Shoestring gardening aquaponics

Rainbow Trout in Aquaponics system

Rainbow Trout in Aquaponics system

When they constructed the tanks, they added a perspex window in the side so you could keep an eye on the fish and how they were growing.

So that is where the fish live out their lives until they are harvested in about six months time.  The three grow beds were already planted out, and the vegetables were growing well.

 Grow bed - Aquaponics

 Grow beds - Aquaponics

The Shoestring Gardening group had already planted out the grow beds with all sorts of leafy veg.  They told me that the plants had doubled in size in just two weeks, and that was without any fish.  Bronwyn (in the centre of the picture above) had to add nutrients every couple of days so the plants would grow, like any normal hydroponics system.  Now that the fish are in their tank, their waste will feed the plants.

Aquaponics sump

The water flows from the fish tank, through the grow beds, then into these sumps.  Within the sumps will grow freshwater crayfish, who will filter the water further, and the water then gets pumped back into the fish tank, all nice and clean.  It is a brilliant system.  The full aquaponics system was installed by Western Aquaponics & Backyard Farming (WABF), who funnily enough, just live up the road from me.  Only a few minutes walk.

Anyway, I talked to Craig Mathews, the owner of Western Aquaponics, who explained how the entire system worked.  You can make these on a much smaller scale, so I might need to investigate it further.  There are many great resources out there about how aquaponics system work, so I will not attempt to explain it here.  However, there are some great photos of the construction of the entire system on the WABF website.

Ben and I then chatted to just about everyone, who wanted to share their gardening knowledge, and I even caught up with our friend Lynda, who writes at Living in the Land of OZ.  She showed me around the garden, which is beautifully tended by the group.

Shoestring Gardening - Chickens

They even had a chook-house on the premises, and take turns in feeding and collecting the eggs.  These girls were ex-battery hens who were rescued by the group.  They looked like very happy chookies, and well-loved.

Eco Living Centre - Wyndamvale

We also had a quick lesson on how to espalier an apple tree, and how to prune it in a way that it produces flowers instead of spurs.  That lesson was from Craig Castree who runs the Werribee Park Heritage Orchard.  A very knowledgeable man indeed.

Espalier Apple

Upon leaving, my friend Jabir gave me a gift of a bag of tomatoes and basil, which we have put to good use.  Cheers mate.  Thanks for inviting me to a wonderful day out.

Both Ben and I learnt so much.  I think we just may visit this lovely community again!

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Related

Filed Under: community, Fish, Gardening, Sustainable Living

← TGoG Podcast 058 – Listener Mailbag TGoG Podcast 059 – Climate Change Beyond 400ppm →

About Gavin Webber

Gavin Webber's daily goal is to live a more sustainable lifestyle, in an effort to reduce his family's environmental footprint so we can all make a difference for our children & future generations to come.

Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Comments

  1. Michael says

    April 14, 2014 at 00:09

    Looks like you had an excellent day out Gav. I forgot it was on 🙁
    I spent the day repairing, then using, my little mulcher on some of the prunings from my trees in the backyard.

    Cheers
    MOC

    Reply
  2. Gavin Webber says

    April 14, 2014 at 09:32

    At least you put your time to good use Mick! It was good fun mixing with other food gardeners. I will definately visit again.

    Gav

    Reply
  3. Shoestring Gardening says

    April 14, 2014 at 21:44

    Great to have you and Ben along glad you enjoyed the day we would love to put your write up on our FB page if that ok
    don’t be a stranger we have our Learning Bees every 2nd Saturday of the Month so feel free to call in and check on the fish thanks the Shoestring Team

    Reply
    • Gavin Webber says

      April 14, 2014 at 21:47

      No problem. Share as much as you like. We will definitely be back. Gav

      Reply
  4. Katrina says

    April 17, 2014 at 15:44

    Looks like a great project. Would love to hear the tips given to you about the espalier apple. Always great to hear about your outings Gavin every experience is knowledge!

    Reply
    • Gavin Webber says

      April 18, 2014 at 11:03

      Hi Katrina, I am going to be attending a grafting and pruning workshop in July, at Werribee Park Orchard, so will do a full post then. I think it includes espaliering.

      Reply

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About Gavin Webber

About Gavin Webber

An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

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