Autumn Beckons

It's October now and autumn has definitely begun. Although the garden is still looking very lush and only a few plants have just started changing leaf colours and shedding them, preparations have begun for the coming colder months.

First things first, start treating and shifting our pots of succulents. It wasn't easy to break up the display we created for the summer but I took a deep breath and just went on with it.

I really ought to get a potting bench. This squatting malarkey isn't good for my back long term. Still one has to smile...

For the whole of last week it was sunny and dry, albeit with significantly cooler temperatures than the previous month. The week before though we had so much rain which helped most of the succulent to bulk up even more.

But there are lots of pots to shift so one must carry on.

As expected we didn't get to finish moving them all. We weren't expecting to anyway. Autumn preparation usually goes on for weeks but we've had a good head start already.

I'll miss the succulent display we had last summer...

But they don't look too bad under cover either.

They'll keep me company as I spend more time once again, during the colder months in the koi shed.

Mark :-)

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Not Much Left Now!

As we enter summer and the growing season continue to progress (yes, even when summer solstice has just gone past) the potted plants under cover tend to also go on an exodus outside.

That includes the potted succulents in the koi shed. Not much is left there now. It started off like this during the winter:

By last week it was like this:

This weekend:

The only ones left are the ones that are either too small to make it outside and needs to grow on a bit first, needing TLC, or simply just waiting for a pot appropriate for it.

So where did most of them go? Those who are 'friends' with me on Facebook will have a clue already. Let's just say I haven't been collecting these goodies without a plan all along.

One thing that has piled up inside though are the plastic dishes that used to line them. Quite a nice happy looking tower it is I must say, very rainbow and very appropriate for the current turn of events too!

Mark :-)

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My Favourite Shed

Not that we have many, we only have two. Okay only one proper shed, you know the sort that is a wooden structure that is utilitarian and where you keep your garden tools and other odds and ends. The other shed, my favourite one has the growing on pond in it. And lots of plants too!

The plastic box is not normally there but I was using it to keep the hosepipe in place as I do a partial water change.

As regular readers will know this project took a while to come to completion, with the project delayed by the garden fire in 2013. However things were back on track last summer and we built this shed late last year. Following on from that we have been enjoying spending time in it since it was finished in early January. Whilst doing a partial water change this afternoon I took some photos and thought of giving a quick update on how this new shed of ours is doing.

Some fresh water for the fish

We have tweaked the setup recently. The main filter is now an Evolution Aqua Eazypod, and this filtration has been enhanced by an Oasis Clear Pond filter that has a UV clarifier that clumps algae, prevents green water, and greatly helps with the water clarity. Plus it provides extra biological filtration too. In theory the Eazypod could more than handle the volume of water in this pond, but as you can never really over-filter a pond any filtration added can only benefit the pond and its residents.

Setting up the filtration has been very simple. The system is pump fed to a splitter where 75% of the water passes to the EazyPod and 25% to the Oasis filter with the UVC.

The Eazypod therefore does the bulk of the filtration - both biological and also mechanical. The inside of the Eazypod is filled with static K1 which has a huge surface area to encourage the bacteria that break down the fish waste. This also allows solids to settle which are flushed to waste (more on that in a moment).

The water from this filter is then returned by 3" pipe to the pond.

The second filter takes a smaller volume of water, this contains sponge filters and flocor, again providing mechanical and biological plus the UVC to reduce algae in the water. I think we will probably remove the flocor and add kaldnes K3 instead as this has a higher surface area, and thus can be home to more of the good bacteria needed in the system.

Another thing is that as the filtration is now maturing nicely improving fish healtj and water clarity, not only removing solid wastes but neutralising the toxic byproducts produced by the fish. I have to say I'm especially most impressed with the main filter of the pond which is an Eazypod. It filters very efficiently and is very, very easy to clean and maintain. You only need a few minutes to clean the filter and no need to be touching fish poo. Highly recommended if you're thinking of a filter for a pond!

The waste from the pond is fed to a large clump of bamboo just behind the filter house, I'm sure the bamboo wont object to regular watering with concentrated fish waste.

The other inhabitants along with the fish are a number of plants, enjoying the warmth and shelter the shed provides.

As for the plants, all are doing well and have noticeably grown since we placed them there in January. None have migrated out as of yet but it won't be long now when most of them will, now that the growing season is well and truly here.

Mark :-)

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Horchata and Tapioca Pearls

Mmmmmm....tapioca pearls....

in cold horchata and what you have is my favourite exotic summer drink! I love the chewy texture of the former mixed with the light milky and ground almond flavour of the latter. It may come across as a strange combination, sort of a Spanish/Latin/Asian fusion drink. The resulting mix however is not that dissimilar to the flavour of bubble tea drink that is popular in Asia which some of you may be aware of already.

Sweet daydreams of summer after making a brief cold journey from the house to the koi shed to feed the fish and seeing those 'pearls' above that look so much like tapioca pearls.

Alas, those 'pearls' are not edible and are actually beneficial bacteria laden balls and you certainly wouldn't want to put them anywhere near your mouth despite its innocent and chewy appearance. We add them to the pond filter every so often to help with the biological filtration as the filter is new and yet to mature. Basically they help keep the pond healthy until the filter can sufficiently do what it's supposed to do on its own.

Bacteria balls in the filter, it was time to inspect the other residents in the shed which are the succulents. Last weekend I was able to move in the remainder of what's supposed to go there after a quick trip to Ikea to buy more of those colourful bowls.

I'm loving the bright colours, makes the shed a more cheerful place to spend time in. 

Lined like that on the steel shelving they look like laboratory specimens too. Quite apt as I guess a lot of those succulents are products of tissue culture.

Now let's have a closer look at some of them...

Aloe 'Sparkling Burgundy' but not looking so burgundy at the moment

Aloe brevifolia to the left and a couple of Aloe suprafoliata in the middle

A trio of hybrid Aloes at the front

A couple of white variegated Aloe brevifolia at the back amongst hybrid aloes and some agaves

Other residents not on the those shelves are doing fine...

One of the Tillandsias on the left vase did perish so is now gone. The Aloe ferox on the right was given by the kind folks at Jersey Plants Direct

Sat on the chair, a quick look back up to the succulents before I head back to the house...

Come to think of, why wait till summer to have some horchata?? I'll make myself some over the weekend, ice cold enjoyed in a warm house! Even better that I have uncooked tapioca pearls in the larder.

Dreaming of summer? And what's your favourite summer drink?

Mark :-)

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Respite from the Cold

At first I wasn't sure whether the title of this post would refer to me or the Tillandsias I've moved in to the shed last week but with the stretch of cold weather we're currently having it's safe to say it would be both.

The temperatures in our area have been hovering between +2 to -2C so the mild warmth and shelter of the new shed makes spending more time there than outside extra appealing. We haven't finished moving plants in there yet (we ran out of those coloured bowls) but the Tillandsias that were previously in the jungle hut are already in and enjoying the respite from the cold. Assuming that they are all actually alive still...

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Breath of Life

Amazing how putting plants in any space suddenly gives the area an instant breath of life. You put life, you get life back. That's how it felt when we moved plants in to our newly built shed and suddenly it's become a very nice place to hang out in.

Our Shed O'Fun is almost finished with just the final connections for the electrics still needs doing as well as some painting on the door and exterior wood. Both can wait for awhile when weather is much more favourable. It is however finished enough that we have put in some fish over a week ago (to also help kick start the filtration) as well as moved in some plants last weekend.

Before I proceed further a quick recap on how we got there starting from where we left off from our last update:

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Building Ponds - Again

It seems like we always have a construction project on the go in the garden. The current one is the "shed of fun" we have blogged about recently. To add to our large koi pond, the shed of fun will house a growing on pond.

The initial idea behind this is to create a place that new fish can be kept before moving into the main pond. A sort of quarantine so we can check for parasites or disease and treat as appropriate before the fish enters the main pond. Treatment is much easier (and costs less too) in a smaller pond.  

As well as a quarantine pond we will also use this to grow fish on. We tend not to buy large fish, and often buy very small ones, to be able to appreciate the smaller ones in a large pond is difficult as they can get lost. 

The new pond will be about 2,500 litres (550 imperial gallons), and filtered by a Nexus Eazy Pod - an eBay purchase we will be collecting next weekend. We had considered a number of different filter options. Wanting to combine a number of factors such as ease of use, the space available, filtering qualities, initial costs and running cost.

Our first plan had been to use black box filters, and we actually bought one for this purpose, but having spent some time considering the set up we decided this was not for the best and went with an Eazy Pod. Fortunately a second hand one was for sale close to us, so that will hopefully work well (on both the pond and our wallet).

We were so busy working inside we didn't take any photos of the koi house. The door is has been made, and hung, along with a sturdy lock to keep unwanted visitors out!

Inside has been where most of our time has gone this weekend, with the front of the pond finished off and clad in uPVC tongue and groove cladding. We are quite fortunate to have a fantastic family owned builders merchant close by who have helped us through out our projects, either in suggesting products to use or just talking the time to chat us through some of the techniques to complete whatever project we were on at the time.

With the clear plastic sides this building will also be useful for over wintering some of our tender plants, and to that end we will add a shelving unit along one side to house them.

The pond liner will go in next weekend, and with any luck we will have the wooden surround finished around the top of the pond as well. The filtration will take a little longer to set up, we will need to pick up a number of additional items, pipes, connectors etc. However i'm sure this will be a lot easier to connect up than the filtration on the main pond.

Some of the connections on the main pond.

There's still quite a bit to do but we are on the final stages now. Pond liner and filters in next then we can start to play with the space.

The space next to the new pond will house a small table and chairs as well as also provide space for a number of plants to over winter. I can see us spending quite a lot of time in here over the winter months!

Gaz :)

(hopefully we will have more photos to share in the next update)

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Shed O'Fun 2

The construction of our 'man cave' continues...

We started the project in the middle of August and although that makes it sound like a very long time frame to finish off a shed, it's more than just a shed. Most of the work are also almost exclusively done over the weekends only and there were weekends too that we didn't do anything to it at all. Plus, with the ever shortening length of daylight it makes it harder to do anything after work hence weekend becomes the only suitable time.

Enough with the rambling...

The quarantine pond within the shed was mostly built last year but we opted to add a few more blocks later on to make it deeper and hold more water (and more fish). The final layer of blocks was cemented in last weekend. Going back in time, the decking that was on the top patio (where the sun room is now) has been reused and is now the flooring of the shed. When we restarted the project in mid August the framework of the shed went up quickly and was finished in one weekend.

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Shed O'Fun

Not many people get excited about sheds. The name alone denotes a garden outbuilding that is functional and rarely a thing of beauty and a space to spend time in, apart from when you store and retrieve ones garden implements. There are loads of exceptions out there of course but for a majority the aforementioned descriptions holds true.

But I'm glad to say that the shed we have been actively building since mid August is one we're both very excited with. The structure will still be and look functional, tucked away within the working area so will not be very visible (you'll get a glimpse of it as you walk past the koi pond towards the koi filter house) but the bit we're both most excited with is that it is potentially a space we'll spend lots of time in especially during the winter months.

The jungle veranda - nice during the warmer months but too exposed during the winter plus it is used for plant storage. Same with space beyond the patio doors (curtains are removed in the winter to let as much light in)

A sort of a 'man cave', that's what it will be.

Man cave? Don't we have one already? Funny enough no despite all the existing garden structures we have. Sure we can spend some time in them during the warmer months (like the jungle veranda) but rarely during the colder months. Those spaces are usually utilised for plant storage during the winter and are usually both too crowded and uncomfortable to hang out in at that period.

I found that the larger of our two greenhouses is actually a nice place to sit in and hang out during the summer when it had more free space as most if its winter residents were outside

I suppose our home really is a very comfy man cave already so there was no need to have one to start with. But a space to hang out in, separate from the house still isn't such a bad idea to have and sounds fun. We had been looking at ready made sheds such as these at Shedstore but with the pond partly built and wanting to build to the maximum the space would allow we opted to make our own.

It started out first as an allocated space for a quarantine pond which we started to build early last year but stalled as we prioritised our house renovation and sorting out the garden after the fire. When we finally resumed the work last August it quickly dawned on us that this quarantine pond will be much more than just that. That the shed we'll build over it is a potential space to spend time in during the colder months.

Thinking about it, this enclosed space:

Will have a mini koi pond.

Will be insulated and gently heated during the winter.

Will have space overwinter some plants.

Should have enough space left for a small table and a couple of folding chairs.

An enclosed space with a koi pond and plants in it, some of our top favourite things! We can both hang out in it and I'm sure the cats can join us too, even better!

A man cave, a shed o'fun!

The pond will hold about 2,800 litres of water, we want to make sure it is very well filtered. As a result we have spent quite a lot of time planning the filtration and choosing between options.

Our current plan - which may still change is to use a combination of a home-made vortex filter with K1 filter media in it - this will provide biological filtration as well as also encouraging solid waste to fall out of suspension to be drained away from the bottom of the vortex. There are lots of ways of making these home made filters, but having seen one at a fellow member of our Koi Club we will use a water butt as the vortex and then house the media within a smaller canister inside.

In addition to the large DIY filter we will use an Oase Filtomatic 6000, this is a new self cleaning filter with built in UVC. The filter itself will be pump fed with a gravity back into the pond. These filters are suggested for ponds larger than this one will be, so with the combination of the vortex and Oase filter we expect to keep the water in pretty good condition. With any luck we will have the pond up and running before too much longer!

But before that, a little refresher on our preparation for the area last year

So here it was first, foundations for the quarantine pond being built in the merry month of May 2013

Ballast and concrete for base poured in

Alas, with space a premium this border had to be sacrificed. Sorry Forest Pansy but the bamboos should be fine

In building the shed over the quarantine pond we have recycled a few items like:

Remember our decked area, adjacent to the house and just outside our back doors?

That area is now the sun room. We saved most of the deck boards and will now be the flooring inside the shed

We also reused most of the clear corrugated plastic roofing that was on the rain shelters. These panels have been stored away for years as we don't use rain shelters anymore.

As the clear roofing above indicates, sections of this shed will be translucent to let in as much natural light as possible. But there will be air gaps which will act as insulation and improve heat retention.

Anyway, rather than make this post too long and photo intensive I'll feature the various stages of this little but fun project of ours in separate installments (perhaps two or three more). Most of the main structure is now done except for the door which will be a day on itself to do.

Oh and our project manager...

Mark :-)

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