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  1. #76
    Thailand Expat David48atTD's Avatar
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    ^ Mate, give me a couple of days and I'll bring that info together for you.

    I've got to chase up details.

  2. #77
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    Really enjoying this thread.
    THanks for sharing your life.
    I lived and worked on farms. It's hard.
    Up early, work all day. Eat good, sleep good.
    But yeah, not a lot of social life.
    Keep it coming.

  3. #78
    Thailand Expat David48atTD's Avatar
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    ^ Thanks Mate, appreciated the comments.

    I think was have both done some similar adventures.

    Not the extensive hike you did but tracked some of the Sarek National Park in Sweden
    in the Jokkmokk Municipality. Loved it. Many fond memories.
    Did it during 2 Summers and two separate areas.

    ---

    This photo below combines 2 things about the Farm.

    Firstly, the Boys have a great time pretending to the Dozer Driver.

    But also, it's part of the life-cycle of the pond.

    Every few years, longer if the harvests haven't been good, the ponds get re-profiled with a dozer.

    The earth banks slowly get eroded though the wind action and the waves as they lap at the edge, plus it smooths out the bottom of the pond as the fish dig nesting holes.

    It takes about 9 months from fingerling to a saleable harvest, drain the pond, let the floor dry, pray for little/no rain and hope the local dozer is available when you are ready.
    So, it takes 10 months to a year to see the sight below.

    Thailand:- Life on the Farm is kind of relaxed-1577045895654-jpg
    Great fun for the boys. They are shirtless because it's hot in Thailand ATM?

    At a rough guess, the white bags you see stacked on the pallet to the right of the push-bike most likely bi-card of soda.
    It's used to neutralise the ph as the pond becomes acidic over the years. All that fish wee.

    The next stage is below. It's a photo I nicked from earlier in this thread but you can see 2 things.
    The distinct white swirls of the Bicab on the pond walls (the the floor before the water) and the method of refilling the pond.

    The interesting thing for me if the fuel. It's an old diesel car motor but the is an LPG cylinder attached which mixed with the deisel and creates a far more efficient burn/efficiency.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Thailand:- Life on the Farm is kind of relaxed-1577045895654-jpg   Thailand:- Life on the Farm is kind of relaxed-1577045916847-jpg  
    Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago ...


  4. #79
    Thailand Expat David48atTD's Avatar
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    You can see the work completed in the background.

    Thailand:- Life on the Farm is kind of relaxed-42525-thailand-life-farm-kind-relaxed

    BTW, that's their Granddad snapping a shot on his samsung A5 phone, a gift from my partner as I bought her a new one a while back and she's gifted it to her Dad.

    He's proud as punch with the boys.

    Apologies for the emojie ... not added by me. Came on the Line photo.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Thailand:- Life on the Farm is kind of relaxed-42525-thailand-life-farm-kind-relaxed  

  5. #80
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    Thanks for the pics, dave. Your boys have grown up do fast! I remember seeing their pics as naughty toddlers with the baby powder all scattered in the car.

    Re: language, yes, it's important to learn it at an early age. I speak English & Filipino (Tagalog), and studied some German later (lived in Europe). I also know a few words /phrases in Vietnamese. I could've been brought up trilingual, but as a kid, I was lazy to learn my mother's language. For those who don't know, I have a Viet mom & Filipino dad.

    I spoke Filipino with my dad and mainly English with my mom. My parents spoke English with each other. My mom didn't speak to us in Viet bcos I think she wanted us to learn English well, since it was used in school. When I was in college, she taught me some Viet, but both of us grew frustrated, bcos it's tonal and a hard language to learn (just like Thai). Looking back, if I was more diligent, I could've picked more of it. I believe that to learn another language, one must start young. (Of course there are exceptions and one could indeed learn a 4th or 5th language with diligence). I have some colleagues whom I consider trilingual, bcos they speak English, Filipino (Tagalog) and another dialect like Cebuano, Ilocano or Kapanpangan.

    I had a friend - her kids (10 & 12 years old at the time) spoke 4 languages. They spoke Mandarin/Chinese with mom, Russian with dad, German in school and English with us foreigners. Amazing kids - good manners & well behaved! Kids are indeed "tabula rasa" when it comes to languages.

    P. S: AO's kids are trilingual, I think he's mentioned: English, Thai & Chinese/Mandarin. It's great!

  6. #81
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    Mendip's Avatar
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    Dave, a question... but first a small pedantic point! Those sacks are probably sodium carbonate. We have a sack at home to raise the pH of our pool when the water gets too acidic. Bicarbonate of soda, or sodium bicarbonate is a slightly different chemical compound, also known as baking soda.

    As you know, I have a small pond at home. I've never considered the pH of the water before. What pH are you aiming for? Is approximately neutral ok? I'm going to test our pond pH when I get back home, but I'm sure it must be very acidic being so overcrowded with fish.

    Also, do you know if it would be ok to add it to the water while the fish are in there? Any harmful effects on the fish?

    Enjoying this thread, for the pond stuff and also reminds me of how quickly my daughter adapts and joins in when we visit her Thai side of the family.

  7. #82
    Thailand Expat David48atTD's Avatar
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    Yep ... those those sacks are probably sodium carbonate.

    Things get lost in translation

    Being a Business Man and having a leaning for Business Plans, I once asked to have a casual gander 'at the books'.

    Blank stares abounded. There is nothing.


    As for what 'ph' we are aiming for ... you expect too much rigor in the Farming lifecycle.


    I thought, one time that I'd get a pool PH Tester kit ... then one of electronic PH testers.

    Meh ...


    A little background on the ponds. Farm Farther runs most of them. He's efficient. Stocking rates at near capacity.
    Farm Mother runs 'her' pond' ... minimum spend, low productivity.


    O2 saturation is more important then PH

    ---

    How to apply the sodium carbonate to your pond. Add gradual amounts to the waterfall so that it well mixed.

    I'm sure that won't be a problem.

  8. #83
    Thailand Expat David48atTD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OhOh View Post
    Good to see your growing family again, the kids look healthy, inquisitive and happy. I hope you and your girlfriend are similar.

    You mentioned there is a lack of water, presumably that has affected the farming?

    Some questions.

    How old are the prawns when harvested?

    Where do you get the new prawns from? Are the younger prawns left in the pond, eggs and juveniles or are eggs purchased from a "breeder"?

    Do you have various ponds with prawns of differing ages?
    1/ Good to see your growing family again, the kids look healthy, inquisitive and happy. I hope you and your girlfriend are similar.
    Thanks. Yep, we have a good life, not high tech, focus on teaching the Boys in and out of the classroom.


    2/ You mentioned there is a lack of water, presumably that has affected the farming?
    Yes and no. The fish are on a 9 month cycle. That is 9 months from fingerling to harvest.
    Usually you drain the ponds to catch/harvest, so water only really becomes an issue when you need to refill them.
    Occasionally you top up the ponds if there has been no rain for an extended period.

    After reworking the pond with the dozer, the Farm Father will have to refill his pond and he will have to wait till the klong has water in it again.
    He can pick his cycles though as he has several ponds he rents from his Brothers who were gifted the
    land from their Mother but choose not to live on the farm.


    3/ How old are the prawns when harvested?
    Fairly close to 3 months. The prawns are harvested differently to the fish, no need to drain any ponds.
    So, with a 9 month growing cycle for the fish, you get 3 prawn harvests for 1 fish harvests.
    Essentially, the sale of the prawns every 3 months provide cash flow to buy the fish food and the fish
    are the money crop.
    That said, they also provide some very tasty meals.


    4/ Where do you get the new prawns from? Are the younger prawns left in the pond, eggs and juveniles or are eggs purchased from a "breeder"?

    Yes, we go to a breeder. When I get some time, I'll write up the visit I took to their facility.
    Really old video below, but reproduction doesn't change much.


    From wo to go in the Phillipines
    Probably one thing of note is the size of the Prawn that this video deals with is much larger then the common white Prawn the Farm grows out to Harvest.
    The above Video was produced by SEAFDEC

    The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) is an
    autonomous inter-governmental body established in 1967.




    Just how tiny are these little suckers?
    You are looking at (apparently) a couple of thousand!



    You buy them in bags ... several at a time.



    They literally thrown into the Truck. Doesn't seen to affect them.
    Because of the many loaders they are 'counted' into the vehicle.




    Filling up the Farm Truck



    But 'heat' is their enemy. It's a good hour's drive from the Hatchery to the Farm so shade cloth
    is placed over the bags and then wetted down.


    5/ Do you have various ponds with prawns of differing ages?
    No, not usually. The ute load above of baby prawns was used in 3 ponds.
    Prawns/Shrimp are bottom feeders so once they are released into the pond, you don't seem them
    again until they are harvested 3 months later.

    Hope that covers it

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