Ebay Deals

[Mark]

I haven't had any issues but I do buy from highly rated sellers and research feedback, which is another good thing about eBay the crap sellers get sorted out.

Prices are good compared to Daleys just from observation and that's probably why Daleys also have their own eBay shop called Fruit Tree Nursery Australia. To be fair, I haven't really compared Daley's online prices to their eBay store though...

 

[Kasalia]

Ebay for seeds is quite good. You don't get a huge amount but for the rare and unusual worth a try. $2.- $3 is the norm. I feel they buy a big bag somewhere or grow, and sell off, but that's fine with me, always get heirloom so if successful save seeds, you get your own Big Bag.

 

[Mark]

Just while I remember - speaking about Daleys in my last post... They've contacted me and starting tonight if you buy plants off Daleys and enter in the promotion code "selfsufficientme" upon checkout they will discount your order by 5% - this offer will only last until 1st March 2016

 

[stevo]

Just while I remember - speaking about Daleys in my last post... They've contacted me and starting tonight if you buy plants off Daleys and enter in the promotion code "selfsufficientme" upon checkout they will discount your order by 5% - this offer will only last until 1st March 2016

hah, I wonder if because I mentioned the name, it came up in their search and they came across it that way, yes.. it's probably "all me"

 

[Mark]

That reminds me to answer your packing question I took a few pics:

The trees come tightly packed in tube boxes

Most sellers cover the pots to preserve moisture loss

I put my plants in a bucket with shallow water to rehydrate the plants as soon as I receive them in the post.

Here's my latest fruit tree addition the Carambola the other tree I got was a Lychee and the two smaller plants int he bucket are eggplants I got from Bunnings and just haven't planted them out yet...

The eBay seller I got these trees from is: inanda64

 

[Mark]

Do you reckon I could find one of these 25mm to 13mm tees at Bunnings or Masters or anywhere? Nope!

Thank God for eBay

 

[ClissAT]

You must have been at the wrong B's. I'm sure I saw some where I was at Noosaville.
The 13mm is for adding those little sprinklers or drippers isn't it?
I did notice that they are reducing the variety now that they are cornering the market.
I try to shop locally but I have to say that I was hard pressed to find a certain primer preservative & 2pack for the kitchen bench I'm doing right now. I tried several hardwares & paint shops none of which were very interested in helping me.
They were basically forcing me to go to B's. I had 2 paint shops left to try at Noosaville having been to all between Gympie & Nambour & was determined to check them before resorting to B's.
Luckily I got exactly what I needed at one paint shop at Noosaville & the guy was keen to help me with good advice like we used to be able to get at any hardware store.
These stores all whinge about B's but they are pretty much just giving in.
I don't know what will happen when they are all gone & B's decided to limit it's range to only those brands that will deal exclusively with them.
We will all live in houses that look the same with gardens all planted with the same plants. It's nearly like that already.

 

[ClissAT]

Just getting back to your Carambola. When I was a kid we used to walk through the bush to get to primary school & there were heaps of 5star fruit trees (Carambola), figs, guavas, mangoes, pawpaws, custard apples, various passionfruits, sour sop, wild limes & lemons, along with plenty of native fruit types (mostly called jackfruit or emu apples!)
We were never short of fruit to eat at any time of year. Just a quick walk into the bush would yield a basket of various fruits.
Of course all those tropical fruits got there because birds took the seeds into the bush.

 

[Mark]

The 13mm is for adding those little sprinklers or drippers isn't it?

It can be yes, but I needed this particular tee to fit onto my 25 mil poly hose on our envirocycle.

Once the water has been treated it gets pumped onto the orchard or grass via this hose which is about 25 metres long and at the end it has sprinklers.

These sprinklers are about 25 years old and corroded away - they don't sell the sprinklers that fit 25 mil hose anymore they only sell the 13 or 19 mil ones now (that snap on). Therefore, this 25 to 13 mil tee bar will enable me to attach the new sprinklers at the end of the outlet pipe around 3 feet apart so it waters about 5 or 6 squares whenever our system is pumping out.

That should work good.

wild limes & lemons, along with plenty of native fruit types

My mother used to love the wild limes they used to hunt for them in the scrub on the way back from school - I've never seen or tried one... They must have been native hey?

 

[Letsgokate]

I got my new Sunbeam Food saver Vacuum Sealer off eBay at a far cheaper price than the shops were selling. EBay had a 10% at the time so got it at even a better deal. I buy my vacuum sealer bags off eBay too.

We have ear tagged several items that we have wanted at Masters and then have waited for the 20% off through eBay and then done a click and collect at Masters

 

[Mark]

We have ear tagged several items that we have wanted at Masters and then have waited for the 20% off through eBay and then done a click and collect at Masters

That's another great tip!

 

[ClissAT]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/131665900788

Its not a Sumerzby treadle feeder but its the next best thing & has been reduced by 10% apparently plus free postage.

 

[Mark]

Its not a Sumerzby treadle feeder but its the next best thing

What's your assessment of these feeders @ClissAT - I quite like them personally even though I'm technically not qualified as I have not used one.

BUT, I do own a (very expensive) Grandpas Treadle feeder and after years of use it unfortunately never impressed me because the top autofeed had a design flaw whereby as the hens raked the feed out it would fill and overflow the feed chamber then spill out onto the ground.

Whereas these simple treadle feeders don't have an extra gravity fed storage chamber so although they don't hold as much feed they actually are less messy. Well, that's what I would assume anyway.

 

[ClissAT]

Yes Mark I really like the Sumerzby treadle feeder. It has been a real comfort to me knowing there is no feed scattered around for rodents to feed on.
It took my hens only a few days to get used to it. The white hen was into it within a few hours & once the lid was not being propped open anymore (as per the instructions) she just walked right onto the treadle, no problems.
It is worth it's $60 odd dollars no worries.
Some people swear by the Grandpas feeder & the newer ones have a set of vertical bits added to stop chooks flicking feed out as you described.
But for my money the simple Sumerzby treadle wins hands down. So what if it doesn't hold a ton of feed?
My opinion is, if you are too lazy to check your poultry daily & top up the feeder then you probably shouldn't have that many.
It always amazes me when a person says "my chook just fell over & died, I didn't even know it was sick"!
Well, duh! check them daily & take an active interest!

Another really good thing it shows is exactly what they are & not eating.
I can put a dipper of feed in & in just a day or 2 it is quite apparent what they are picking out first & what they are not eating at all. Then it's a matter of deciding whether to not top up until they actually eat those components they dislike or whether to give in & empty that stuff out & refill with feed they will eat.

Mine won't eat any sort of brown stuff in any form or brand of chook food. They are by their own doing, soy free.
Interestingly they love blood & bone & used to eat copra although they don't now. They won't eat any sort of pellet or kibble or brown mash. I wonder whether it's the smell of the mineral component in the feed that puts them off. Since the lid is normally closed, the smell of some brands & forms of chook feed can be quite strong.
Unless you have such a feeder, it would be impossible to know for sure exactly what & how much they are eating.
The left overs would be getting scratched into the ground or bedding, eaten by rodents or wild birds & your pocket would be very empty.

Currently I give them scratch mix in the treadle feeder to fill up on upon rising, a thin scattering of soaked barley on the ground when letting them out in the arvo, blood & bone in a little tray 2 days a week & before roosting every evening a cube or 2 each of my own 'spam' meat mix of offal, calcium, mince, home made bread all put through the food processor & frozen in ice cube trays for ease of portion control.

 

[Mark]

Unless you have such a feeder, it would be impossible to know for sure exactly what & how much they are eating.
The left overs would be getting scratched into the ground or bedding, eaten by rodents or wild birds & your pocket would be very empty.

That's a very good point!

My opinion is, if you are too lazy to check your poultry daily & top up the feeder then you probably shouldn't have that many.

Or, just get a few of the feeders if one isn't enough because for that price it's pretty reasonable.

I should buy one to test it out for myself so I can write a review on my blog about it...

 

[stevo]

geeesss ebay sucks for selling stuff, I sold a camera for $550, paypal take their cut which I thought .. yeah ok.. but I just got a bill for $57 from ebay as their fee! My fault for not checking first but they don't make it obvious anywhere along the process of the cost. I went through the process again just to see and saw a tiny little link for checking fees, like they try to hide it. phht.

 

[Ash]

Great for buying, shocking for selling - you never seem to get enough net profit from any sale.

 

[Mark]

Agreed... I hardly ever sell on ebay because it mostly sucks unless you get lucky or own a popular store.

Not just the fees but also dealing with the idiots who bid and don't pay or ask stupid questions etc...

 

[Steve]

We lean towards GumTree now. The wife knows more about it than me but it seems like a better deal from what I've heard.

 

[Mark]

The problem with GumTree is the amount of false ads and items left on the system that have already been sold I find it frustrating to browse...