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Old 12-12-2004, 10:32 AM
Chookie
 
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Default What are you doing?

What are your outputs at the moment?

We've just finished off a bunch of sugar bananas, are picking up occasional
lemons, quite a few passionfruit, late strawberries, and have plenty of
parsley and borage! Looking forward to my summer crops, which are coming
along nicely as we've had decent rain over the last few months.

What are you putting in?

Later summer crops, though I'm mainly nursing seedlings along atm. Must plant
some Brussels sprouts this week.

What else are you planning to do in the short term?

Buy a really long piece of tubing so I can direct my washing machine water to
the lemon tree. I simply can't drag our green waste bin around when it's more
than half-full, and siphoning it is a pain.

What about longer-range plans?

Autumn -- add to the native garden.
Later on -- put an extension on the house that will improve its passive solar
design, tehn rearrange half the garden!

What PC problems/puzzles are you having?

How do you get rid of snails if your hubby doesn't want poultry? How many
snail pubs would I need to cover my 8m x 4m vegie patch?

What PC problem have you solved recently?

None -- garden stuff is low on the priority list atm.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Life is like a cigarette -- smoke it to the butt." -- Harvie Krumpet
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Old 12-12-2004, 11:17 AM
pete
 
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Chookie wrote:
What are your outputs at the moment?


Veggie wise not much as I've been very preoccupied with outside
interests for the last couple of years so the vegetable production has
been left to its own devices but I've just started to rejuvinate one of
the lowest and saltiest areas of my block (all my block is salty some
areas worse than others)
this is probably one of the worst bits and it was compact and sour
looking, but now has healthy Beans, Silver beet, Lettuce, Beetroot
(shudder) Garlic chives, a patch of mint? (no idea where that came from)
and Capsicum's .... nearby in better ground has Pumpkin, Zuccini,
Tomato and chilli .... but harvestable, only Silver beet at the
moment....and maybe the odd lettuce.

What are you putting in?

Veggies see above .... also tryin to get some Old Man salt bush, wind
breaks along the Northern edge of above area and between the new small
paddocks we are establishing as rotational grazing areas.

Energy input ... way too much, the work I've been doing has meant using
the tractor and ute a lot for digging and carting of mulch etc, plus
wayyyy too much hoeing and raking for my liking, but eventually it will
be worth it as the input will be minimum apart from moving manure from
the nearby horse yards onto the garden.


What else are you planning to do in the short term?


Sort out a reliable but small solar power system to run the lights and
some of the smaller iems in my office/studio and shed.

Devise a way of getting the septic tank pump out into a holding tank
that can gravity feed an area of tall wheat grass which we are trialing
for fodder and saline area reclamation.

Establish the shade house and meat rabbit shelter (same structure)
before I die of old age.

Spend more time fishing

Try to work out how to spend more time fishing while doing all the above
jobs as well.


What about longer-range plans?


Did I mention the fishing?


What PC problems/puzzles are you having?


To convince the earwig population that cardboard and rolled up newspaper
is far more nutritious than my lettuce and S,Beet.

Devise a windbreak for my now solitary Olive tree that wont drink all
the water meant for the Olive tree, but will be strong enough to let me
keep even just one Olive on the tree .... thats all I ask ... one ....I
could make a martini maybe....


What PC problem have you solved recently?


None ..unless you count getting out of Christmas shopping by convincing
"the girls" it would be a great idea for them to have a girls day out
and do the Christmas shopping at the same time ... that was a long
standing PC (Pre Christmas) problem for me.


Pete
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Old 12-12-2004, 07:33 PM
len gardener
 
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g'day chookie,

we have our first bunch of bananas starting now so i guess some time
when? we'll be able to enjoy them.

macaranga is in fruit and trying to find out how we use/eat them the
birds are getting a bit of a feed in the mean time.

still eating brassicas from last winter crops, ah nothing like eating
fresh almost sweet juicy cabbage with no chemical residues to alter
the flavour.

at present we are still trying to finish our spring slashing, and now
the summer mowing is on top of us full on after all this rain and high
humidity, grass waits for no one hey? need to start early as if there
is no cloud cover it is way too hot outside after about 8am.

got no long range plans as we are selling, but just keeping things
running and replacing the odd dead seedling tree is plenty for us
right now.

added another grass mulch swale around on the south/eastern slope to
get more water into the area below that, that's the only newish thing
we have done. everything else is the essay that as i get time and
inspiration i will add to.

stone fruit and citrus trees need pruning got no idea when we will get
around to that chore, but everything is growing well just in some
cases not fast enough but that's nature hey?

for this season we have tomatoes, capsicums, snake beans, g/russian
cuce's, choko's (regrew from last year) and peanuts growing.

just harvested all the garlic it is now drying in the house so got a
very moorish aroma and no vampires lol. saving lots for next seasons
planting want to be self sufficient in all the onion family got an
aversion to buying that chinese garlic put all our local growers out
of business up here and organic garlic growers are getting around $23
per kilo so we can't afford to buy at those prices.

got all sorts of onions: spring, potato, red shallots, tree, perennial
leeks, bunching(?), so trying to grow enough with this varieties so we
don't need to buy any or reduce the need.

the ginger, gal-n-gal and yakon are all coming back from their winter
rest. planted the native ginger the other day. the good bugs now out
weight the bad bugs on the gooseberries so they look great looking
forward to a good feed this year the missus played a big part in
picking off the naties until the goodies took over.

have fun

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.
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Old 13-12-2004, 01:39 AM
len gardener
 
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almost forgot chookie,

we are enjoying a late strawb' crop as well and our pawpaws (yellow
papaya for those) are coming into fruit.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.
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Old 14-12-2004, 03:30 AM
Fran
 
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"pete" wrote in message

I've just started to rejuvinate one of
the lowest and saltiest areas of my block (all my block is salty some
areas worse than others)
this is probably one of the worst bits and it was compact and sour
looking,


How do you do that Pete (other than platning salt bush)?

Energy input ... way too much, the work I've been doing has meant using
the tractor and ute a lot for digging and carting of mulch etc, plus
wayyyy too much hoeing and raking for my liking, but eventually it will
be worth it as the input will be minimum apart from moving manure from
the nearby horse yards onto the garden.


Or is this how you did it?




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Old 14-12-2004, 03:36 AM
Fran
 
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"Chookie" wrote in message

What are your outputs at the moment?


peas, silver beet, garlic, herbs, lettuces, rocket and a few other things
that have escaped my mind. The tomatoes are still minute and the birds got
all the infant apples but not the pears so far.

What are you putting in?


Shortly I'll put in more beans, rockmelons (now frost danger is over) and
whatever I see in punnet form in the garden centre after Xmas.

What else are you planning to do in the short term?


Muclh my paths and try to get rid of a massive weed infestation which is
trying to strangle us in our beds.

What about longer-range plans?


Get bird netting and rig up permanent poly pipe X shaped frames over fruit
trees so that I can keep the sodding birds off.

How do you get rid of snails if your hubby doesn't want poultry?


chhoks and snails are not a good mix anyway due to one of the transferable
diseases - you'd need ducks, But try stale beer (any yeast mixed with
water) in a sauce, Cornflakes mixed with Derris dust.




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Old 14-12-2004, 07:46 AM
pete
 
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Fran wrote:
"pete" wrote in message


I've just started to rejuvinate one of
the lowest and saltiest areas of my block (all my block is salty some
areas worse than others)
this is probably one of the worst bits and it was compact and sour
looking,



How do you do that Pete (other than platning salt bush)?


Energy input ... way too much, the work I've been doing has meant using
the tractor and ute a lot for digging and carting of mulch etc, plus
wayyyy too much hoeing and raking for my liking, but eventually it will
be worth it as the input will be minimum apart from moving manure from
the nearby horse yards onto the garden.



Or is this how you did it?

Hi Fran
Yep pretty much ... the area was almost solid and hadn't grown anything
for years, some samphire had grown in a couple of the lower depressions
that held rainwater long enough for it to evaporate and leave salt
crusted in them.

Other parts where compact, smooth and sloped slightly which meant water
had no chance of soaking in but contributed to the flat bottom areas
salt build up.

I have an old 1953 Grey Fergie (although she's red and silver now) with
part of a set of harrows just wide enough to cover Fergies wheel width,
so I worked along the (slight) contours and across the slight slope to
loosen up the hard pan, this I did back in August when there was still
the chance of some rains before the hot weather (ha !!! we've had more
rain this last week than most of winter) ... anyhoo ... I shifted all
last years hoss manure down into the area and most of the spoiled hay
(we use big round bales so get a good bit of mulch out of them).

So basically it's hoss muck and spoiled hay with newspaper and cardboard
and now some bits of green vegetation as I break off half earwig chewed
silver beet leaves and add em to a compost heap and hoe up any growth
from the hay, if it has seed heads I chuck it in the compost/earwig trap
pile, otherwise I just let it rot back down where it grew.

The Old Man Salt bush I planted to the North of where I'm working ...so
its almost in the centre of the patch running in a line East/West to
eventually protect this area from the hot northerlies, this salt bush is
actually running DOWN the slight slope but at 90 degrees to the rip
lines if you can get the drift of that ....so the plants get their own
furrow rather than a line of them planted in one furrow...

The other half of the patch I think I'll try some North South Plantings
because further North yet again is the Horse stables so that area will
have some protection from that side but has a more open aspect as far as
Westerly (winter) winds go.

I've tried OM salt bush for windbreaks before and its great, although
I've usually planted it too close and its ended up taking over and using
all the water, what I tend to do now is fracture the stems as they grow
up but (hopefully) leaving them still attached and lay them down on the
ground from where they shoot maybe 4/5 new shoots upward which I do the
same with, that way I can keep em contained and as they grow I lay some
of the higher stems horizontally to intertwine with the plants next to
em ..and they form a hedge rather than straggly woody single plants.

I've yet to strike the perfect balance between windbreak and water
usage, I'm hoping this area (cos parts of it are almost always wet under
the top 6 inches or so) will sustain the salt bush while letting me
actually water only the veggies, I know I can grow this plant well
enough to be a total pain in the bum ... some old ones are 8 feet high
and a couple of plants which I had next to the old worm beds have joined
to make a huge "shrub" which is possibly 7-8 feet high and 20 feet
across, no doubt the run off from the worm beds helped a little but it
hasnt shown signs of slowing down since I stopped actively breeding the
worms and is only contained on one side because as it grows to the edge
of the driveway it gets run over ....

So .... I can grow it .... problem is controlling it to do what I want
it to do without it using too much water needed for the veggies. When we
had the goats they of course pruned whatever they laid eyes on but thats
not an option now so its a matter of me breaking off branches and
chucking em into the hoss yards for them to pick over, after that I pile
em in an area (yes another low spot) for crushing with my mates bob cat
wheels as he brings me grass clippings or firewood ... actually got Palm
trees growing in that area because of the seeds from some pruning job
.... but thats another story for another day ....

Now folks walk by this area and say "OMG Veggies" !!! and I ask em if
they can remember what that area was like last year ..some can't of
course which sort of bursts my balloon ... but some can and are amazed
that anything is growing there. ... but most can at least see that its a
low area and on my block thats low...

So to answer your question .........Yes :-)

Pete
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Old 14-12-2004, 09:12 AM
len gardener
 
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g'dat pete,

ive followed your trials and tribulations and i think you have done
wonders, as ted has with his salt porb's not to your magnitutude but
hey your doing it and winniing.

love to all in our efforts to live ad let live.

greetings to all from len n bev

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.
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Old 14-12-2004, 12:55 PM
pete
 
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len gardener wrote:
g'dat pete,

ive followed your trials and tribulations and i think you have done
wonders, as ted has with his salt porb's not to your magnitutude but
hey your doing it and winniing.

love to all in our efforts to live ad let live.

greetings to all from len n bev

snipped

Hi Len
As you know everything takes time and if I live to be a hundred I'll
never accomplish most of what I want to do .. besides having a short
whatsisname .... erm attention span ... I get sidetracked and sometimes
decide that fishing would be better for my health than gardening.

But yessum .. I'm getting there slowly, I'm trying the Tall Wheat grass
too as well as OM salt bush, theres some info on the vic govt page below
... I can't post a proper link cos its about 12 feet long but they have
a search engine there.

http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au

I find this stuff grows well in the couple of areas I've planted it I
actually forgot I'd spread some of the seeds till the other grass around
it dried out and the TW grass was the only green clumps left, so the
plan next year is to intermingle some of this grass between the Salt
Bush but this area is lower than the area its growing in now so I don't
know how it will go, the official word is that it grows to 2 metres the
highest mine has got is probably just under 1 metre but its a good plant
for bare scalds and areas of medium to high salinity, probably more
useful as a grazing plant than a PC plant but I find no matter what I do
with the salt bush I eventually get a bare area with foliage at the top
and just woody stems from the ground upto about 1/2 a metre ...so for
extra windbreak coverage low down I need a plant that will tolerate the
salt and fill in those areas ... dunno if this will work cos the salt
bush may take the available water ...but thats the plan ... I want to
get the magic water from the septic tank which I have on a sprinkler
(one of those old metal lawn sprinklers) into a holding tank so that I
can gravity feed a line or lines of windbreaks which have TW grass in
them. ...plans plans... as I say ... if I live to be a hundred....

I just get started and then the wind drops and the tide starts running
... and I can hear the fish and blue crabs calling my name ....

Pete
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Old 15-12-2004, 09:28 AM
len gardener
 
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g'day pete,

great to see you are achieving somuch i don't have the lure of the
fishing wild though i wouldn't mind, the only fish i ciould conjer up
around here would be if i grew me own which i had planned on. but
everything takes money funny that hey? they talk about sustainable
living and self sufficiency but you go nowhere without that folding
stuff that gets more and more worthless each year. like renewable
energy would love to discuss that, the continuing costs are way
outside what the average jo' can afford when matched against paying
for power through the grid. and just how earth friendly is it with all
it plastic componentry??

ted's salt prob' isn't in your catagory i don't think, but he is
winning with raised beds, i tried planting some of his casuarina's,
they looked like they were going to go but then just died so would say
they are site sensative preffering his slighty salty soil, pity i did
want a forest of cas's and free would have been ideal 'cause free is
all we can afford.

i was going to trysalt buch as a pasture back up if you remember? but
never got around to it theres' that tuit again hey but this is the
money tuit.

anyway mate as always great to talk to you again, take care and the
best to you and yours

len n bev

ssnipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.
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