Urban farming in the subtropics

Heres a link to an article I wrote.

Urban farming in the subtropics

29th of September

Its getting hot here really fast, we have had afternoon storms and its looking like a very warm Summer ahead should be good for growing maize and sweet potato which is exactly what I am looking at doing. The Bananas have produced monster bunches and I think its actually a plantain allegedly a sweet plantain?

My ducks are growing well and I thinking I might get my first eggs in a month or so fingers crossed. The drakes wings have sorted from the taping which is great.

I have pulled the radish and harvested about 5 or six kg of each variety I grew, the black Spanish are extremely spicy the watermelon radish are sweet and great in salads.

My Spanish onions are starting to bulb nicely ready for harvest in a month I would think

The elephant garlic is doing well and I hope for some big bulbs by December.

Today I turned the beds back over gave a good hit of dynamic lifter and organic phosphorus pellets and planted out some maize.

Organic poultry grain in Brisbane

I have found a great organic coarse layers grain mix to feed to my Muscovy ducks. Brendale produce on the north side of Brisbane stocks this and a few other similar products. Price wise its about $8 more then standard layers mix. In combination with greens fodder from my yard and azolla (water fern). I am confident I can supply my birds with a steady organic food supply. These birds are meat birds so this is very important to me.

One step closer to organic duck meat, next project is to build a more suitable run for my adult ducks and to reconfigure an area for the birds we will be processing.

Is organic duck meat production viable on a city block

 My adventures as a duck farmer are well underway.
My Muscovy ducks are now 12 weeks and growing very well, I'm almost certain I have 3 ducks and a drake which is an ideal mix for my families needs. We had a little issue with our drake Francis, he developed a condition called droopy wing however with the help of some gaff tape we have helped him overcome this. Droopy wing is a condition that occurs in Muscovy ducks and geese, when the duckling often the drake grows too fast and struggles to hold his wings in place, letting them hang down. By taping them in position you can let him get strong enough to sort it out and caught early enough they usually do.

 Even though these birds are pets I cannot get lost in the fact that they are here for meat production. I think though and where a lot of people struggle with this concept is that if you are going to eat something you really do want it to have the best possible life that it can. A happy healthy animal is a tasty one. From egg to the table poultry need a high quality of life  after all you are what you eat.

Ducks are amazing creatures and a lot of people do not understand their dietary requirements. Even most animal produce stores will tell you all you need is generic poultry mix. To a point this is true if your duck has the opportunity to free range at will, however most suburban enthusiasts have limited space and need to restrict poultry otherwise they tend to run amok. Ducks also need large amounts of water to keep clean and to help digest food.
I have been researching various options for food production and am in the process of implementing a couple ideas in the hopes of being able to produce my own true organic duck meat. I will be sprouting wheat and barley grass as a green fodder crop, I experimented on a small scale a few weeks ago and the ducks really took to the green tops not such a big fan of the seeds and roots but green fodder is what I am looking for.

After doing a little more research I have come across a really amazing green fodder crop ideal for ducks and used in organic  loop systems all around the world. Azolla or water fern is an Australian water plant very similar to duck weed. I have lotus growing in barrels in my backyard I so already have a significant culture of Azolla pinnata well established (I think this is the species).
Azolla is an attractive extremely fast growing surface plant that has nitrogen fixing properties and often used to help improve water quality in water treatment plants. Azolla as duck fodder

 Although it can become an almost pest in water ways it is a highly nutritious green fodder and also ideal as a green manure for fertilising garden beds. It is used in organic rice and duck farms where ducks are incorporated with azolla to maintain pest control and provide natural fertiliser for rice crops. Organic duck and rice farming with Azolla
Azolla is capable of creating a thick blanket on the water surface stopping mosquitos from breeding and limiting blue green algae out breaks.

In a large container it is an ideal food source for back yard ducks, I top the vessels up with the water from the duck pen and this duck poo water is an ideal fertiliser for the Azolla so utilising the "old" water very well also. Azolla is used to purify stagnant bodies of water and so again another mutually beneficial outcome for a small holder.
 Now all I have to do is source some organic poultry grain mix which ducks eat very little of if greens are provided daily and I will be able to produce organic meat at a sustainable cost environmentally and financially.

Some examples of people around the world using Azolla species as animal feed.
Azolla as cattle feed
Organic chicken farming with Azolla
How to culture Azolla

Spring has Sprung

Its September already the year is running away from us. Many projects are started some are coming together some are still getting off the ground. I have cleaned up a few beds and planted out some of warmer month crops. Sweet potato is in the ground which is great. I have a heap of radish down however the beds where very nitrogen hot so I have had excess leaf and small roots so far.

 This however is turning out to be a blessing in disguise as the Muscovy ducks have been ravenously eating the green tops so great secondary use there. Talking ducks, they are doing great we have had some good luck with the sex of the birds having 3 girls and a boy. Unfortunately the boy has a moderate case of angel wing which is caused from high protein diet and genetic susceptibility. The wing grows too fast and is too heavy for the bird to hold up properly. So unfortunately he is carrying his wing lower then he should, from what I have read it causes no pain to the animal just makes him look a little silly.

The Bananas are almost ready to harvest and there is another bunch setting so will have too many bananas very shortly.

The Elephant garlic is growing nicely and getting nice and thick stems I am mostly using this season to get some good sized seed stock so I can plant enough to sell a few.

Onions are growing nicely and so are the leaks. I really love this time of year, the place just comes alive and there is plenty to do in the garden.

 

 

 

Muscovy ducks

Two weeks ago we bought four Muscovy ducklings from the produce store. Muscovy are a great beginner duck, being very hardy, they are also excellent utility birds for those who are happy to kill there own. Muscovy meat is more like goose and often compared to good quality veal, much leaner then tradition duck meat. Muscovy's are unique in that they are the only domesticated duck not related to the Mallard. South American natives they do not quack and are extremely quiet if you are used to what "normal" ducks sound like. They are large birds with a lot of character and become very used to human company.  

Its been a few years since we had poultry. Previously we kept chooks for eggs and Japanese quail for meat and eggs, but rodents put us off and in the end we got rid of everything feathered.

6 week old Muscovy ducks

So why ducks, how will the story end any different? Ducks don't really rely on grain  as chickens and quail, particularly Muscovy's which seem more aligned with geese then standard ducks. I have to date fed them mostly greens from my work (I am a chef), and clover and kale from my garden, just keeping a small container of pellet and grain to fill in the gaps.

 

The thing is they are ravenous eaters and if I want to keep this diverse green diet up I will have to get organised. While researching I came across the green fodder concept where  farmers are sprouting wheat and barley in trays and growing up "biscuits" of fresh shoots to feed cattle and sheep. I'm going to give it a go.

Obviously on a much simplified system but  I will be trying barley, wheat oats and lupin. Very easy and a great way to produce high protein green fodder perfect for ducks, this should remove the need for me to purchase pellet food and  ensure that my birds are eating organically principled pesticide free feed, important if I end up eating their eggs or them for that matter.

Lupin

Update lucurn no dig garden bed

Well a few months ago we built some no dig beds made from lucurn and horse stable waste with a little mushroom compost added. I have put radish and red onions in the beds first up. Radish are an excellent first bed crop as they help break up the new soil. We planted the onions as I had them left over from the farm and needed to get them in the ground. So far everything is growing really well and I look forward to cropping some black Spanish radish and Chinese meat radish in a few weeks. The onions will take a little longer but are starting to get a good size. As you can see the radish are coming along really well, his is the Black Spanish radish a fairly spicy long keeping radish good as a horse radish substitute and also often cooked like turnips.

Two weeks ago.

 

                                               Yesterday.