Big job

redbullhorn, how long has it taken to accumulate all that sludge?

Shaggy, thanks a lot for the pictures! They are awesome. I was wondering if you were still involved in farming? I'd love to get some chickens and don't know much. Would it be too much to ask for advice?

Thanks a lot.

Greg

Aussieruss, thanks for the photos. How much did it cost to dig that? I want to get a small fish pond.

Thanks a lot.

Big job

redbullhorn, how long has it taken to accumulate all that sludge?

(Each pond of this size, half rai) After 5 years and 5'000 sacks of feed per pond.

I only pay the backhoe (contact), at special rate = ฿5'000 per day.

Backhoe owner sell the sludge by the truck load to his contact. Average 80 dumpster truck per pond, took 4 days to complete. After Songkran I'm doing the next 2 ponds that I've just harvested.

If I were to break down the cost... ฿10'000 per pond / 5 years / 3 seasons per year / 4 months per season / 30 days = ฿5.5 per day.

I've done it 5 years ago, this is the second time I dredged. I'm planning to dredge once every 2 years and rotate all my ponds so the backhoe owner gets contracted every year from now on... because we can only dredge between March and April while waiting for new batch of fingerlings after the cold season...and between that, farmer are doing paddy.

the finisher pig farms around here do similar sort of dredging to this but by hand and shovel.......... once dried out I bet that sludge turns into ok money......... maintenance maintenance that's what im always telling the boss....

Pla Sawai (striped catfish) 6-7kg each, head bigger than my shoe... Owner put in 20 of them and harvest together with Pla duk Big Oui.

Hi RBH,

They seem to have a healthy crop of azolla growing on that pond. What do they do with it after they pull it out of the pond?

Hi all greggyz the first dam was done last year by a crap operator he dug the dam with steep sides and the walls caĺapsed PS i was in oz Wife was there i just paid B 15000 to fix other dam different story 700 bogge tippers loads 8 days

B280000 and filled a 7rai block

Hi RBH,

They seem to have a healthy crop of azolla growing on that pond. What do they do with it after they pull it out of the pond?

Hi IA,

They dump the load at the side, the light green patch in the photo... Owner is not interested what benefits it yield.

I hated it too, got a pond infested with it due to seine net transferring them lot from pond to pond...and it block the sunlight entering the water.

Well it's close to 50% vegetable protein, cleans water, reproduces biomass in a day, has a dramatic green manure effect if it is added to flooded rice paddies (Nitrogen fixing) yardy yar etc.. I would farm the stuff if I was a catfish farmer. They can get around the breathing issue. But we will talk more about this and the final use of your pond slime later (money in them there hills)

I knew all the benefits of them lot... But as a catfish grower, they thicken to a mat and we... me and wholesalers find it a hassle during seining the ponds... I've got plenty of methods boosting my catfishes' ADG but this invasive plant is really a pain in the neck...

I don't need the sludge even if it makes me money...Huge saving already from free dumpster truck loads getting rid of them...

My FCR will lower dramatically... Like before, 5 years ago...

I see things differently in investment point of view...but if I still have pigs...or Tilapias in the water catchment pond... what a treat !

What a 1kg swamp eel looks like... Even grabbing it tightly with glove on, it is so strong... I can feel it matching my strength.

One of the catfishes that I sold him 3 years ago. This one back then was only 100gm, now it is 5.6kg.

Wow that's one big Catfish, RBH! ^

Buffalos grazing... with beach view on Samui.

Definitely not Chawang! (SW Samui)

Thanks for the replies!

All the comforts of home here

At the top of this recently deepened Khlong which I estimate to be ten to twelve metres deep now.

Mango season is upon us and here is some of today's picking's

My wife was given two shopping bags full of these small but very an interesting flavour with hints of citrus and passion fruit (there is the Wino in me coming out).Really tasty and good texture.

Here they are again alongside some of the smaller ones from the 1st image.

Was delivering some grass to the farm today and snapped a few shots.

Great shoots, Isan Farang! ^

Shy bird!

and what a lovely bunch of Samui, coconuts!

Rice Paddy at sunrise

Looks like a pretty old fellow... perhaps he's a good stud?

Bantam cocks on the beach, next to the roost ...

Hoping to get his way!

Nice view from the perch, of Koh Phangan...

When this farmer planted the sugar he put trickle irrigation down each row and it got off to a good start,Then the dry season hit so last week he had

this bore and submersible pump put down. Now it is being flood irrigated and should revive, if it had been any longer he could have lost the lot.

Your ducks are not in a row Ron!

I remember when I first saw what had to have been thousand of ducks all heading to the rice paddies, presumably to eat the "hoi" (snails) ...that do so much damage to the rice crops...

Our first calf this year