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#1
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Peach drooling
I got some of our fragar peaches before the bats this morning. Rich,
aromatic, sweet and juicy, two vanished very quickly before I poured my cornflakes. Juice, and probably some saliva, was running down to my elbows. There is just no comparison with store-bought because they tend to be picked under ripe. For those who haven't tried a properly ripened peach or nectarine, even if you have room for only one fruit tree in your yard plant one. David |
#2
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Peach drooling
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
... I got some of our fragar peaches before the bats this morning. Rich, aromatic, sweet and juicy, two vanished very quickly before I poured my cornflakes. Juice, and probably some saliva, was running down to my elbows. There is just no comparison with store-bought because they tend to be picked under ripe. For those who haven't tried a properly ripened peach or nectarine, even if you have room for only one fruit tree in your yard plant one. David well we've been trying to join you, but having a few problems & having to eat the peaches not-quite-ripe! it is a bit frustrating. something is stinging the fruits so they have brown rotting patches as they ripen. still, the edible remainders are pretty good. those which don't have fruit-fly, that is ;-) i was also getting mad at the birds for getting into them, until dh pointed out that the birds aren't causing nearly as much damage as the bugs are. good point. i'm hoping that next year we'll be having more fruit with fewer problems (getting informed might help, eh.) enjoy your peaches! kylie |
#3
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Peach drooling
We have had a 2 apricot trees for a few years. Believe it they grew from
seed. Honestly. However we have yet to enjoy any fruit as they drop before they get to a good size. Do you think it is lack of water that's doing that? I know the birds come and could knock them down, but so many? thanks Katherine well we've been trying to join you, but having a few problems & having to eat the peaches not-quite-ripe! it is a bit frustrating. something is stinging the fruits so they have brown rotting patches as they ripen. still, the edible remainders are pretty good. those which don't have fruit-fly, that is ;-) i was also getting mad at the birds for getting into them, until dh pointed out that the birds aren't causing nearly as much damage as the bugs are. good point. i'm hoping that next year we'll be having more fruit with fewer problems (getting informed might help, eh.) enjoy your peaches! kylie |
#4
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Peach drooling
0tterbot wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message ... I got some of our fragar peaches before the bats this morning. Rich, aromatic, sweet and juicy, two vanished very quickly before I poured my cornflakes. Juice, and probably some saliva, was running down to my elbows. There is just no comparison with store-bought because they tend to be picked under ripe. For those who haven't tried a properly ripened peach or nectarine, even if you have room for only one fruit tree in your yard plant one. David well we've been trying to join you, but having a few problems & having to eat the peaches not-quite-ripe! it is a bit frustrating. something is stinging the fruits so they have brown rotting patches as they ripen. still, the edible remainders are pretty good. those which don't have fruit-fly, that is ;-) i was also getting mad at the birds for getting into them, until dh pointed out that the birds aren't causing nearly as much damage as the bugs are. good point. i'm hoping that next year we'll be having more fruit with fewer problems (getting informed might help, eh.) enjoy your peaches! kylie Kylie, I wonder if making muslin drawstring bags to hang around the fruits might work? Muslin would allow the light and air in to swell the fruits, but would keep out all but the tiniest of creatures. You'd probably have to put the bags on while the fruits were still small and green: that is, before the insects got a whiff of them. I dunno... I've never grown stone fruits, but it might work? Do you have a Spotlight nearby? They keep muslin of different weights and also some of the sew-in interfacings would do just as well. -- Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
#5
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Peach drooling
"Trish Brown" wrote in message ... well we've been trying to join you, but having a few problems & having to eat the peaches not-quite-ripe! it is a bit frustrating. something is stinging the fruits so they have brown rotting patches as they ripen. still, the edible remainders are pretty good. those which don't have fruit-fly, that is ;-) i was also getting mad at the birds for getting into them, until dh pointed out that the birds aren't causing nearly as much damage as the bugs are. good point. i'm hoping that next year we'll be having more fruit with fewer problems (getting informed might help, eh.) enjoy your peaches! kylie Kylie, I wonder if making muslin drawstring bags to hang around the fruits might work? Muslin would allow the light and air in to swell the fruits, but would keep out all but the tiniest of creatures. You'd probably have to put the bags on while the fruits were still small and green: that is, before the insects got a whiff of them. I dunno... I've never grown stone fruits, but it might work? Do you have a Spotlight nearby? They keep muslin of different weights and also some of the sew-in interfacings would do just as well. -- Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia We tried paper bags this year. The organic growers society recommended them as they are cheap and you use no insecticide. The idea is you bag the fruit just after it sets and it keeps out the fruit fly, birds and bats. I was sceptical but the bags last fairly well, only now are they starting to rot and fall off having been on for 4 months, with much rain in that time. As for keeping out the vermin, two out of three might be good for some purposes but not this one. We have no fly or bird loss. The bats however are no respecter of paper bags. They are smart enough to drop by and check on the bags from time to time as the fruit develops - they know there is fruit in there. As soon as their cute little noses tell them it is ripe their cute little teeth go straight through the bag and into the fruit. Bless their little fructivorous instincts. So we have just bought a roll of netting and I will be constructing polypipe igloos over the winter to hold the net. Hopefully next year we will get all the fruit instead of about one quarter. We had some cheapo nets as a stop gap but as expected they didn't last. While releasing one of our cute little furry guests I got to check out his cute little toothy pegs. Don't let anyone tell you that only carnivores have dangerous teeth. In proportion to their size a bat has teeth better than a cat or dog and needle sharp. After they have been in a net for a few hours they will bite anything that comes into range. So I don't know if cloth bags will work if you have bats. Have you though of knitting them out of barbed wire? David |
#6
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Peach drooling
David Hare-Scott wrote:
We tried paper bags this year. The organic growers society recommended them as they are cheap and you use no insecticide. The idea is you bag the fruit just after it sets and it keeps out the fruit fly, birds and bats. I was sceptical but the bags last fairly well, only now are they starting to rot and fall off having been on for 4 months, with much rain in that time. As for keeping out the vermin, two out of three might be good for some purposes but not this one. We have no fly or bird loss. The bats however are no respecter of paper bags. They are smart enough to drop by and check on the bags from time to time as the fruit develops - they know there is fruit in there. As soon as their cute little noses tell them it is ripe their cute little teeth go straight through the bag and into the fruit. Bless their little fructivorous instincts. So we have just bought a roll of netting and I will be constructing polypipe igloos over the winter to hold the net. Hopefully next year we will get all the fruit instead of about one quarter. We had some cheapo nets as a stop gap but as expected they didn't last. While releasing one of our cute little furry guests I got to check out his cute little toothy pegs. Don't let anyone tell you that only carnivores have dangerous teeth. In proportion to their size a bat has teeth better than a cat or dog and needle sharp. After they have been in a net for a few hours they will bite anything that comes into range. So I don't know if cloth bags will work if you have bats. Have you though of knitting them out of barbed wire? David Hmmm... Bunnings sells a wonderful wire netting called petnet (or similar... I disremember the exact name). It's designed for screen doors up which your cat climbs or through which your dog scratches holes. We had both problems, but the petnet fixed it quick-smart! It's got a light metal base (dunno how they achieve it), comes in black or dark green and the sharpest animal claws and fangs won't rip it. Our bull terrier has been busily scraping away at the back screen door for years now, with nary a mark in the petnet! I can also say it keeps out mice (we had a wild Dark Mouse creeping into our mouse cage and violating all my lovely pedigreed girls!!!) and, as an aside, insects. I reckon you ought to try just one (1) cloth bag, just so we can all know whether bats can smell and/or gouge their way through cloth. In the interests of furthering scientific knowledge, you understand... I have to say, I do have a soft spot for flying foxes, but how profoundly I do wish they'd stop shitting all over my dog, who is white, and who heartily dislikes me scraping melted-caramel, sour-smelling batshit off her back! I can't say I'm that overjoyed about them dropping the foul stuff on my washing, either. Or the duco of my car. But hey! Live and let live, I say! You should be careful if handling a bat! They can be carriers of a really nasty disease called Lyssavirus, so make sure you use stout gloves if you absolutely need to handle one. If you get bitten, it'd certainly be worth getting it checked out by a doctor. Lyssavirus can be fatal. Before I shuddup, can I ask how you plan to make your nets? Will you be netting the whole tree (some local people have done that, successfully, it seems), or just the clusters of fruits? I'm interested in how you plan to construct the net... Best of luck, anyway. Do let us know how you get on! :-D -- Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
#7
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Peach drooling
"Trish Brown" wrote in message ... So I don't know if cloth bags will work if you have bats. Have you though of knitting them out of barbed wire? David I reckon you ought to try just one (1) cloth bag, just so we can all know whether bats can smell and/or gouge their way through cloth. In the interests of furthering scientific knowledge, you understand... I have to say, I do have a soft spot for flying foxes, but how profoundly I do wish they'd stop shitting all over my dog, who is white, and who heartily dislikes me scraping melted-caramel, sour-smelling batshit off her back! I can't say I'm that overjoyed about them dropping the foul stuff on my washing, either. Or the duco of my car. But hey! Live and let live, I say! Well I must be a softie too 'cause when the the little bugger couldn't get off the ground after he was free I went and picked him up again and threw him up so he could fly off and then return to steal my nectarines the next night. The prevailing wisdom here is you free them from the net (and this vale of tears) with a spade. You should be careful if handling a bat! They can be carriers of a really nasty disease called Lyssavirus, so make sure you use stout gloves if you absolutely need to handle one. If you get bitten, it'd certainly be worth getting it checked out by a doctor. Lyssavirus can be fatal. I wore really heavy leather gauntlets and my offsider distracted the patient by letting him bite on a stick during the operation. Before I shuddup, can I ask how you plan to make your nets? Will you be netting the whole tree (some local people have done that, successfully, it seems), or just the clusters of fruits? I'm interested in how you plan to construct the net... The whole tree or row as the case may be. I will make a frame out of bent polypipe mounted on waterpipe stakes. The net will be pegged over the frame to the ground. I have seen nets just hung over the tree and it really doesn't work. David |
#8
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Peach drooling
"Trish Brown" wrote in message
... Kylie, I wonder if making muslin drawstring bags to hang around the fruits might work? Muslin would allow the light and air in to swell the fruits, but would keep out all but the tiniest of creatures. You'd probably have to put the bags on while the fruits were still small and green: that is, before the insects got a whiff of them. I dunno... I've never grown stone fruits, but it might work? Do you have a Spotlight nearby? They keep muslin of different weights and also some of the sew-in interfacings would do just as well. mmm, i love spotlight :-) yes, next year we are going to do SOMETHING about the bugs. for this year, our main aim was just to see what kind of fruit each tree has (the fruits didn't make it last year), what diseases have carried over, etc. any fruit we get is just a bonus for now! they're all going to be severely pruned after fruiting, as they are a mess all around. have been cleaning up & bagging the fallen fruits in the sun, to try to limit the fruit-fly invasion. this is my children's job; it makes them very cross ;-) kylie |
#9
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Peach drooling
0tterbot wrote:
"Trish Brown" wrote in message ... Do you have a Spotlight nearby? They keep muslin of different weights and also some of the sew-in interfacings would do just as well. mmm, i love spotlight :-) Don't tell me you sew??? How remarkable! When people ask 'where did you buy that?' and I tell them I made it, they look at me funny. My favourite is making kid's school uniforms for $16 when they cost $74 to buy in the shops! LOLOLOLOL! yes, next year we are going to do SOMETHING about the bugs. for this year, our main aim was just to see what kind of fruit each tree has (the fruits didn't make it last year), what diseases have carried over, etc. any fruit we get is just a bonus for now! they're all going to be severely pruned after fruiting, as they are a mess all around. have been cleaning up & bagging the fallen fruits in the sun, to try to limit the fruit-fly invasion. this is my children's job; it makes them very cross ;-) kylie Ah, I envy you that! (The fruit, not the cross children). Our block is very poorly drained and so far, any fruit trees I've tried to grow have drowned. We're hoping to do *some*thing to fix the drainage problem, but not sure what... Main push at the moment is to get rid of the 'lawn'. I have learned that lawn is a very overrated phenomenon and I no longer want any. -- Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
#10
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Peach drooling
"Trish Brown" wrote in message
... 0tterbot wrote: "Trish Brown" wrote in message ... Do you have a Spotlight nearby? They keep muslin of different weights and also some of the sew-in interfacings would do just as well. mmm, i love spotlight :-) Don't tell me you sew??? How remarkable! When people ask 'where did you buy that?' and I tell them I made it, they look at me funny. nobody has ever asked me where i got anything, ever. perhaps i am doing soemthing wrong :-) My favourite is making kid's school uniforms for $16 when they cost $74 to buy in the shops! LOLOLOLOL! i have been a negligent in my sewing activites lately :-( but i still love spotlight! Ah, I envy you that! (The fruit, not the cross children). Our block is very poorly drained and so far, any fruit trees I've tried to grow have drowned. We're hoping to do *some*thing to fix the drainage problem, but not sure what... Main push at the moment is to get rid of the 'lawn'. I have learned that lawn is a very overrated phenomenon and I no longer want any. that is bad news (about the drainage). whenever i see those diagrams of "how to make drainage trenches" in books, i feel very sad for anyone reading them with a special interest. jackie french (rather typically!!!) breezily writes that one can "plant them on mounds" if drainage is bad. our drainage is not so good, either, & we've lost a few from waterlogging. i spoke to dh about not letting the holes be "glazed" and too smooth when planting them in. he did that a few times & i think that didn't help the problem whatsoever. kylie |
#11
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Peach drooling
0tterbot wrote:
snip nobody has ever asked me where i got anything, ever. perhaps i am doing soemthing wrong :-) Maybe I was just lucky? Most of my sewing has been to dress a late-in-life daughter who happened to do dance as well. I pulled out all the stops for her, while the early-in-life son only got practical stuff. i have been a negligent in my sewing activites lately :-( but i still love spotlight! Yeh! My fantasy is to get locked in there over a long weekend. Three things I love to shop for: haberdashery, stationery supplies and hardware (in that order). I've got an Australian botanicals quilt rolling around in my mind for this year. I'd like to work a whole lot of lesser-known native plants (not your basic waratahs and grevilleas etc) into a very large appliqué and embroidery project. Only thing is, if I think too hard, I convince myself I'm not clever enough to do it right. Can you picture an appliqué jobbie that has a large spotted gum tree up one side with embroidered blossoms and highly textured bark? The leaves would be a challenge, but done correctly I think it'd be really spectacular. OR (light bulb moment) a Red-Flowering Ironbark!!! Ooo! I'm loikin' what I'm thinkin'... Ah, I envy you that! (The fruit, not the cross children). Our block is very poorly drained and so far, any fruit trees I've tried to grow have drowned. We're hoping to do *some*thing to fix the drainage problem, but not sure what... Main push at the moment is to get rid of the 'lawn'. I have learned that lawn is a very overrated phenomenon and I no longer want any. that is bad news (about the drainage). whenever i see those diagrams of "how to make drainage trenches" in books, i feel very sad for anyone reading them with a special interest. jackie french (rather typically!!!) breezily writes that one can "plant them on mounds" if drainage is bad. our drainage is not so good, either, & we've lost a few from waterlogging. i spoke to dh about not letting the holes be "glazed" and too smooth when planting them in. he did that a few times & i think that didn't help the problem whatsoever. kylie We've thought about it for fourteen years and *this* year, we're going to bite the bullet and plant serious trees - probably casuarinas for the grass repelling and the parrot-feeding cones and the gorgeous sound they make in a breeze. I thought if we used River Oaks, then they'd be able to cope with the seasonally boggy soil. D'you reckon? I'd have loved to put in some Buckinghamia and Hymenosporum for the blossoms, but I don't think either would last five minutes through the winter. Ah well. And then, of course, some raised beds for the veggie garden of my dreams. Do you have any good ideas for protecting Blue Tongues? Our dog has found out she can kill them and despite some pretty hairy bellowing at her, continues to do it. I thought, maybe some pipe of some description... But how to keep it clear of soil and teach the blueys to use it? The other battle is with the #)%*%^^&#^ veldt grass that's taken over the place. It looks fabulous left to its own devices, but it's nearly two foot tall now! The frogs and blueys are loving it, but it gives me a pain in the face: when you mow, the cables just rise up like spikes and refuse to be squashed! Ah, the problems of the flustered gardener! :-D -- Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
#12
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Peach drooling
"Trish Brown" wrote in message
... 0tterbot wrote: snip nobody has ever asked me where i got anything, ever. perhaps i am doing soemthing wrong :-) Maybe I was just lucky? Most of my sewing has been to dress a late-in-life daughter who happened to do dance as well. I pulled out all the stops for her, while the early-in-life son only got practical stuff. aha. dancing daughter. aha. (i haven't got one of those!) Yeh! My fantasy is to get locked in there over a long weekend. Three things I love to shop for: haberdashery, stationery supplies and hardware (in that order). gasp me too! in fact, i clearly remember when hardware warehouses were invented & we went on our first trip to home hardware in ashfield. it was a wonderland! i couldn't get enough of it!!!!!!!! then bunnings came along & ruined everything for me. I've got an Australian botanicals quilt rolling around in my mind for this year. I'd like to work a whole lot of lesser-known native plants (not your basic waratahs and grevilleas etc) into a very large appliqué and embroidery project. Only thing is, if I think too hard, I convince myself I'm not clever enough to do it right. Can you picture an appliqué jobbie that has a large spotted gum tree up one side with embroidered blossoms and highly textured bark? The leaves would be a challenge, but done correctly I think it'd be really spectacular. OR (light bulb moment) a Red-Flowering Ironbark!!! Ooo! I'm loikin' what I'm thinkin'... that would be very spectacular! although i must admit i like quilts & things heavily traditional. so maybe ask someone else :-) We've thought about it for fourteen years and *this* year, we're going to bite the bullet and plant serious trees - probably casuarinas for the grass repelling and the parrot-feeding cones and the gorgeous sound they make in a breeze. I thought if we used River Oaks, then they'd be able to cope with the seasonally boggy soil. D'you reckon? ah, yes! although - and not to be provoking aus.gardens to rise as one in an angry mob or anything like that - but i love willows. i'm pretty sure that's what _i'd_ be planting. you could make "rooms" out of pleached willows!!! it would be so beautiful!!!! I'd have loved to put in some Buckinghamia and Hymenosporum for the blossoms, but I don't think either would last five minutes through the winter. Ah well. And then, of course, some raised beds for the veggie garden of my dreams. you could also make raised beds along a suitable edge for dwarfed, espaliered fruit-trees too, because then the beds would not have to be big. regardless of teh blithe j. french, "mounds" are troublesome because they eventually are not big enough & then you can't water the tree properly when you need to (which is bound to happen eventually) - it just runs off & away. this i know because we have some fruit trees on "mounds". pah. you could also raise a few areas up (in an aesthetic manner) for smaller plants which don't like bogs, too. and of course grow celery & mint to your heart's content elsewhere :-) Do you have any good ideas for protecting Blue Tongues? Our dog has found out she can kill them and despite some pretty hairy bellowing at her, continues to do it. I thought, maybe some pipe of some description... But how to keep it clear of soil and teach the blueys to use it? no idea. my dog kills them too (he thinks lizards & snakes are the same thing, unfortunately). at the end of the day, the few blue-tongues which are foolish enough to hang around our yard have to protect themselves. my reasoning is that they have a great deal of room away from the yard (47 hectares). clearly that is where most of them live out long & alarm-free lives. i just go out & try to rescue whatever it is that he's bailed up when he does his "snake bark" (does not happen much any more). the blue-tongues just don't come around so much any more. they seem to be fast learners ime, so perhaps you could train them into pipes with fruit or meat - you just don't want to be encouraging a difficult situation though where you're just luring them to their deaths. ;-) The other battle is with the #)%*%^^&#^ veldt grass that's taken over the place. It looks fabulous left to its own devices, but it's nearly two foot tall now! The frogs and blueys are loving it, but it gives me a pain in the face: when you mow, the cables just rise up like spikes and refuse to be squashed! Ah, the problems of the flustered gardener! :-D it never ends!! i'm a fan of letting things work for themselves though - fighting it constantly is just never going to work. when you decide how to work with what you have & what you want within those limitations, it will go really well, i am sure. for e.g. i spent some time frustrated beyond belief with all the rocks we have. then i decided the rocks are a resource, not a "problem". the soil is still full of rocks, but it no longer bothers me. :-) otoh, it breaks my heart we can't have a peppercorn tree, because it gets too cold here. i love peppercorn trees insanely. but there you have it! kylie |
#13
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Peach drooling
0tterbot wrote:
"Trish Brown" wrote in message ... snip I'd have loved to put in some Buckinghamia and Hymenosporum for the blossoms, but I don't think either would last five minutes through the winter. Ah well. And then, of course, some raised beds for the veggie garden of my dreams. you could also make raised beds along a suitable edge for dwarfed, espaliered fruit-trees too, because then the beds would not have to be big. regardless of the blithe j. french, "mounds" are troublesome because they eventually are not big enough & then you can't water the tree properly when you need to (which is bound to happen eventually) - it just runs off & away. this i know because we have some fruit trees on "mounds". pah. I've seen fruit trees doing well with tractor-tyre collars. I've always thought that would be a very easy way to raise a bed for a single tree, but sadly I have no tractor tyres! you could also raise a few areas up (in an aesthetic manner) for smaller plants which don't like bogs, too. and of course grow celery & mint to your heart's content elsewhere :-) Our block becomes like sponge in the wet winter weather. I've found I can't grow anything much except native violets and even they will drown if kept wet for long enough. The lane behind our house was tar-sealed and the camber has caused water to rush down the slight tilt onto our block and just drown it. Most of our neighbours have put in concrete and pavers and had professional drainage done. Can't afford that, buggerit! I *so* love your idea with the willows and that was my first thought. However, fancy putting willows cheek-by-jowl with town water and sewage! Brrrrrrr!!! Doesn't bear thinking about! I figured casuarinas would be the nearest native alternative and I do love them too. (he thinks lizards & snakes are the same thing, unfortunately). at the end of the day, the few blue-tongues which are foolish enough to hang around our yard have to protect themselves. my reasoning is that they have a great deal of room away from the yard (47 hectares). clearly that is where most of them live out long & alarm-free lives. i just go out & try to rescue whatever it is that he's bailed up when he does his "snake bark" (does not happen much any more). the blue-tongues just don't come around so much any more. they seem to be fast learners ime, so perhaps you could train them into pipes with fruit or meat - you just don't want to be encouraging a difficult situation though where you're just luring them to their deaths. ;-) Yeah, I take your point. Our dog thinks exactly the same thing. We had a Red Belly living under the house for nearly two years (didn't see a single mouse in all that time), but sadly, the dog got him in the end. (Actually she got him in the middle and for the life of me I can't see how she didn't get bitten!) The other battle is with the #)%*%^^&#^ veldt grass that's taken over the place. It looks fabulous left to its own devices, but it's nearly two foot tall now! The frogs and blueys are loving it, but it gives me a pain in the face: when you mow, the cables just rise up like spikes and refuse to be squashed! Ah, the problems of the flustered gardener! :-D it never ends!! i'm a fan of letting things work for themselves though - fighting it constantly is just never going to work. when you decide how to work with what you have & what you want within those limitations, it will go really well, i am sure. for e.g. i spent some time frustrated beyond belief with all the rocks we have. then i decided the rocks are a resource, not a "problem". the soil is still full of rocks, but it no longer bothers me. :-) otoh, it breaks my heart we can't have a peppercorn tree, because it gets too cold here. i love peppercorn trees insanely. but there you have it! kylie Yes, I thought the same thing about the recalcitrant grass. I'm going to try to reduce the lawn area by putting 'things' in at the edges and hoping some casuarinas will deter it a bit as well. Beyond that, it can just grow! ;-D -- Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
#14
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Peach drooling
"0tterbot" wrote in message news:lJgpj.10637
"Trish Brown" wrote in message i have been a negligent in my sewing activites lately :-( but i still love spotlight! I hate the one that you and I would have access to. There are only about 3 decent staff in the place who know anything about fabric and I hate most of the fabric they have because the quality is almost universally lousy. I went in there to buy some japara that I'd seen a week before and of couse they'd done a rearrangement and I had to go through 5 staff before i found one who even knew what japara was. that is bad news (about the drainage). whenever i see those diagrams of "how to make drainage trenches" in books, i feel very sad for anyone reading them with a special interest. jackie french (rather typically!!!) breezily writes that one can "plant them on mounds" if drainage is bad. It works for Paul D. who has the mudbrick house and the trout ponds outside his balcony as that is how he plants his trees. |
#15
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Peach drooling
"0tterbot" wrote in message ... Our block is very poorly drained and so far, any fruit trees I've tried to grow have drowned. We're hoping to do *some*thing to fix the drainage problem, but not sure what... Main push at the moment is to get rid of the 'lawn'. I have learned that lawn is a very overrated phenomenon and I no longer want any. that is bad news (about the drainage). whenever i see those diagrams of "how to make drainage trenches" in books, i feel very sad for anyone reading them with a special interest. jackie french (rather typically!!!) breezily writes that one can "plant them on mounds" if drainage is bad. The soil at my place is about 15cm of silt on top of solid plastic clay. Every time I read about some new fruit or vege that I am thinking of trying it says "requires good drainage". Grrrrrrrrrrr One thing that helps is the main paddock is slightly sloping. When I do plant in raised beds I allow the rows to point slightly down slope, not on contour, this means that when the rain stops the bed drains between rows and the rows drain downslope. So far this has saved most things. our drainage is not so good, either, & we've lost a few from waterlogging. i spoke to dh about not letting the holes be "glazed" and too smooth when planting them in. he did that a few times & i think that didn't help the problem whatsoever. kylie For trees I don't plant in holes. Holes become ponds in the underlying clay. I built up a mound of topsoil and amendments (manure, compost, gypsum etc) and plant into that. Even so you cannot spend your whole life building hills. Of course trees will get their roots down into the clay eventually but it doesn't seem to matter, sitting in wet clay doesn't seem to be as bad as in a pool of water. In fact I am learning to love the clay bed as when it stops raining, whcih must happen some time, the clay will slowly give up its water for months and keep the place green. It's raining again today. This summer we have had: Nov 194 Dec 117 Jan 144 Feb 73 That's La Nina for you. I just need a magic bullet for powdery mildew and sooty mould. And the car has algae. Really. David |
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