Dry But Chilly

Garden Log: 30 Mar 08

It's been dry all week (again!! or should that be still!)
So much cooler now though.
Touch of Ice on Thursday
a gentle reminder of what's to come.
Since Monday the temperature hasn't gone above 20C (68F)

With two extra days last weekend (for Easter) I got Doc out in the garden to help tidy up some branches that had come off the gum trees out the front. We've salvaged the bigger branches and I noticed him eyeing them off for some future projects. I wonder what he has in mind???

This has meant the garden has more light now and also that I need to get planting a lower growing bush/shrub layer of plants to fill the gaps...no more gum trees though!
Possibly some acacias, eremophilas and melaleucas as these are tough and water-wise.

I've collected some Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) seeds from the large trees that line our main street. These aren't natives but they are very drought tolerant once established, together with some of my home saved Tagasaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis) seeds, these will be planted in the chook runs for extra shade and fodder.

I finally managed to get the oldest Wicking Bed re-built and have planted it up with some Brussels Sprout, January King and Red Cabbage seedlings that were way over-due their planting out time but I'll see how they go...the chooks will like the greens if they don't come to much.
Some Silverbeet seedlings went into the bed too for some picking and over-the-fence-food for the chooks.

I'm slowly developing the pathside beds in the Pergola Garden as a path-side-picking-bed as it's a frequently used path...it leads to the clothes line and is just outside the backdoor.
It's part of my permaculture upgrade for zone 1. I'm developing this area as part of my homework for the design course I'm studying through Permaculture Visions.

Part of this upgrade has included a new wicking tub made from an old washing machine tub.
This was made in a similar way to these wicking boxes.
It seems to be working well and I planted a rescued parsley plant into it the other day.

I've planted some greens seed into larger plastic containers with the intention of planting the whole lot into this (and another one I have yet to build) for salad clipping beds!

Seeds planted were:

• Beetroot - Cylindra and Heirloom Mixed (for beet greens)
• (Kate's) Giant Red Mustard
• Kohlrabi - Purple
• Asian Greens - Pak Choi and Wong Bok
• Mesclun Mild Mix - a mixture of Letuces - Cos/Purple Oakleaf/Red Coral, Red Orach, Red Radicchio, Tatsio and Mizuna.

I would really like some rain soon to make all this garden grow.
Please!

ICE!!

While many areas of our state have had rain this week we are still waiting...

BUT just look what was on the car roof this morning!

ICE!

Not quite a killing frost but a gentle reminder of what's just around the corner!

A Cool Change...Now A Frost Risk!

With the cool change I have to wonder if these will ripen!

Garden Log: 23 March 08

From last weekend's heatwave temps of 38C (100.4F)
the cool change has brought the temps down
considerably to 20C (68F) this weekend.
Friday's minimum of 5C (41F) was even chilly.
Being Easter weekend it was a chance
to get some work done outside for the first time in quite a while!

However the weather hasn't been quite as cold
as up in the North World
Lottie - Allotment Lady in UK - posted some wonderful photos
of her back garden during their White Easter. Brrr!

At last we've had a chance to get some more seeds in as some earlier ones either frizzled in the heat or just refused to germinate:

• Dill: Anethum graveolens
• Alpine Strawberries: Fragaria vesca
• Coriander: Coriandrum sativum
• Perennial Alyssum - Evergold: Aurinia saxatilis
• Siberian Pea Tree: Caragana arborescens
• Phacelia tanacetifoli (for beneficial insect attraction)
• Angelica archangelica

And seeds for some more...

• Motherwort: Leonuris cardiaca
• Corn Salad: Valerianella locusta
• Onions: Mini Purplette and Creamgold

• Lady's Mantle: Alchemilla xanthochlora - needs to be planted in Autumn and left outside through Winter to germinate in Spring...I hope!

And into some LooRoll tubes (because the beds aren't ready just yet...)

• Peas: Telephone
  
• Peas: Roi de Carouby Snow
  

A chance to pot up some seedlings long outgrown their cell trays...
Celpar (Parcel Apium graveolens var. Secalinum) and Silverbeet

To also see the new planting of Lucerne doing well
and catch up on the ones braving the heat on Bed 8.

To check up on Bed 2 plantings of Kale
and also note that the Peanut on this bed has survived the summer
but I fear there won't be enough warm weather left for it to mature
(I'll have to try again next year)

That little pumpkin I hand pollinated on bed 4 isn't so little anymore
and (just for Kate) the Kale next to the Clay Pot Waterer
hardly noticed the heat at all.

This week we have temps predicted in the low 20Cs
and even a chance of rain...
...but I'll believe that when my head gets wet!!!
That's all very well BUT
they even have us down for a slight Frost Risk already.
Gardening certainly is challenging these days!

Wicking Boxes and the Heat

The great news with these Wicking Boxes is that
despite that record heatwave they are going great.
I've only watered them once
at the beginning of the last weekend
when I was going to be too busy
to keep a close enough eye one them.

I've been picking Kale leaves for about three weeks now and the trimmings from the broccoli and cauliflower have been relished by the chooks.

I've removed the shade cloth cover now that the weather has cooled but will keep it handy in case it hots up again. A lace curtain has replaced the shade cloth but this is only temporary until I can make something bigger up as the moths will sting through the holes in this curtain.

One problem I've had was that some of the bulbs of the Tree Onions were beginning to rot off. They must have been too wet quite unbelievable in all that heat!

I've also dug out one of the Lebanese cress plants as I'll need to over-winter this in the hot house. I need to keep this one alive because all the plants in the garden have died off in the heat.


I've planted some Celpar seedlings in the boxes now as Companions to the brassicas.
I have noticed that the boxes might need a bit of a top up of soil as some of the bulkier materials in the mix break down.

So far I'm very pleased with the out come...

Feeding Worms in the Garden...

Having now realised that an integral part of the Wicking Bed set up are the compost worms kept in them, I was very interested in a system I saw at Nirvana farm last weekend.

Deb has a tube-like structure which is buried under the soil into which you you place the worm's food. This is covered with a moistened jute or hessian type fabric (loosely woven natural fibre) and has a well fitting lid on top.

Basically the tube is two large plastic buckets joined together in the middle. The bottom bucket has fairly large holes drilled into it on the sides and bottom.
The sides of the top bucket are left intact but the bottom of the bucket (now at the top) is removed.

The whole unit is buried in the soil with just enough exposed to enable a lid to fit for access and also to keep other critters out! The holes in the sides of the unit allow the worms to visit the feeding unit and them go off into the garden bed to leave their deposits!

The one in these photos from Deb's Garden was made using large plant pots with a lovely, bottomless, earthenware pot on top. This not only looks great but according to Deb helps to keep the worms cool.

This concept seems and ideal way of caring/feeding the worms in the wicking bed system. The size of the unit (the buckets or other containers) could be varied depending on the size of the bed you are using.
Since the wicking beds are self contained the worms won't escape although you would have to watch out that the pesky blackbirds didn't steal them and make sure the chooks don't escape and devour the lot!

I've found that worms enjoy their food after it has been buzzed in a blender. So we picked up an ancient blender at the secondhand shop just for this purpose!

Everything gets blitzed up with water to form a sloppy glug that the worms go crazy over. This makes it easy to pour down the tubes in the wicking boxes too.

Links:
Wicking Boxes
Wicking Beds
Watterright site
Nirvana Organic Farm

We've Been to Nirvana.

Some how it didn't seem quite so hot there...

...Sunday 16 March Doc and I surfaced early (before 5 am) to leave on the dot of 6 am for the trip down to the big smoke. Fortunately that meant travelling before the heat got too bad and we actually arrived at the hills site early!
Deb Cantrill was hosting a visit from The Hills and Plains Seedsavers group and gave us a delightful tour of this incredibly diverse Bio-Dynamic Farm.

Memories struggled to surface of my childhood visits to my Uncle's apple orchard in this area but they were too distant.

Some of the features that got my attention were:

The truly 'free range' poultry

Wonderful and useful water features...

...even some tadpoles!

Hebe's Possum!
(yes, that was what all that barking was about)

And even a couple of relatives!

Thank you Deb and Quentin for a glimpse of your life at Nirvana Organic Farm!

Just One Word...HOT...

Hot Chillies...just like the weather!

Garden Log: 10 Mar 08

With temperatures of more than 35C predicted
for the rest of this week it looks like this summer
just doesn't want to let go.
Just when we thought we were heading into winter
this last blast of heat will certainly spell the end
for most summer crops in the garden.

Or will it?

The Capsicum in the Dog Pen Tank Beds is thriving
but hasn't fruited much with the cooler summer
maybe this autumn heatwave will bring on some fruit.
The Ginger that's been growing slowly in a large pot
has decided to take off...
it will be moved into the houthouse before the cold sets in.

Last week I noted that Bed 8 was being visited by the birds
and the mulch was scratched up
so I cleared the tiny Lucerne plants
and placed a cut down juice bottle around them.
This should stop them being dug up.

In the main Vegetable Garden the volunteer Pumpkins on Bed 4
are deciding to fruit...normally I wouldn't bother
but who knows how long this heat will last.
The Cox's Orange Pippin apples are ripening quickly in the heat.
That Kale in the wicking boxes hasn't been watered for ten days
through this heatwave and I'm picking leaves already.
The Celpar's still growing strong.

Excitement in the shadehouse
with some Royal Leek bulblets I found in one of the tank beds
and potted up are sprouting just 5 days later...
...and some Mini Purplette and Red Stem Welsh Onions
have germinated in that time too.

BUT

The biggest surprise of all
is the fact that the second planting
of Lucerne Sequel seeds I planted on Sunday
were already germinating 24 hours later!!!!!!

Do I Spray?

Apricots

The Weekend Farmer asked:
"Do you spray your trees to keep the bugs off? We have a few fruit trees...but the fruit gets violated before they can mature and we don't get anything for the house".

I have been tempted but so far have resisted. I believe that using insecticides in an indiscriminate or prophylactic way could lead to more problems in the long run.

Having said that I have used Bordeaux and Lime Sulphur sprays on the stone fruits when they were dormant but only once with each spray about five years apart. This was to help combat Curl Leaf in peaches and Brown Rot in the stone fruits but these no longer seem to be major problems.

I prefer to increase the plants' natural resistance and general health. While this can be difficult to maintain at times of stress throughout the plants' life eg. drought, floods and other natural phenomena that are out of our control, generally healthy plants/trees can withstand some insect attack.
A good tonic for plant health is seaweed extract sprayed at regular intervals during the growing season. If you are not in a commercial situation it's often better (and healthier for you) to allow for some wastage of harvest to pests.

Gradually (and it does take time) natural predators will visit your garden and take up residence. These predators must have a food supply to lure them into your garden. They also need breeding areas so studying their life-cycles is important too. This is where companion planting comes in. This doesn't only mean grouping plants together for the benefit of those plants but also using plants/flowers to attract and house the 'good guys'.
See the Garden Helpers Slide Show on the right of the posts.

Clockwise from top left:
Elderberry Sambucus nigra
Celpar Apium graveolens var. Secalinum
Coriander Coriandrum sativum
Sunflowers Helianthus annuus

I have a post here on using Companion Planting Around Fruit Trees.
I used many of these plantings while our fruit trees were being established. The most popular ones have umbrella shaped flowers such as Fennel, Dill, Coriander, Caraway, Angelica, Tansy, Queen Anne's Lace & Yarrow also allowing carrots and parsnips to flower.

I have also found ladybirds favour the large lavender and wormwood bushes that I have growing in the edge beds of the vegetable growing areas. The Asteracae family - the plants with daisy type flowers are useful too.

Ripening Black Mulberry
and Black Sultana Grapes

You also need to build up the health of your soil.
Again this takes time but is best achieved by the use of natural materials, the best being homemade, good quality compost using a variety of materials and including some that have been brought onto your property. This allows the inclusion of nutrients that may be absent in your soil. Even bringing in straw or manure will do this but be careful these are often the source of unwanted weeds as well. This compost is used around the trees and covered with mulch to slowly breakdown during the year feeding the trees as it goes.
A basic guide to compost making is on this link.

The Main Vegetable Garden Pond; in less dry times!

Setting up your garden with nature in mind helps too.
Water is important for birds and insects...indeed many insects spend some of their life cycles in water so it is vital to have some around. Small ponds and bird baths are very useful for attracting these helpful creatures.

Clockwise from top left:
Early season photos of:
William Pears
Stella Cherry
Golden Delicious Apples
Un-named Fig

Which brings up another problem of birds stealing the fruit.
You need to see the balance here too. Lately our garden is alive in the evenings with Wattlebirds and Noisy Miner birds diving through the fruit trees grabbing moths and other insects as they go. It's wonderful to watch them 'play' much more entertaining than TV.

We get more than enough of the fruit and these helpers deserve a little of the harvest...but we do net (see here) some of the favoured trees that we don't want to share the fruit of.

We now house old girl hens (the over over ten year olds) under the fruit trees and will soon be extending their area to include most of the fruit trees in the main veg garden. The chooks work very well at reducing pests and cleaning up fallen fruit which can become a breeding ground for pests.

I guess what it boils down to is getting a natural,
balanced system going in your garden.

...edited at 7:55pm to label the photos!

The Sequel - Lucerne

Kate from Hills and Plains Seedsavers left a comment regarding my Lucerne planting...
...and this morning gave me a reminder!

Information on Growing Lucerne:
I bought this seed from Green Harvest They have 2 varieties one spring, summer vigorous 'Hunter River' and this one 'Sequel' that's winter vigorous. It comes with the necessary inoculate but once this is in the soil you shouldn't need to use it again.
They recommend planting both in March - May or Aug - Oct in Temperate areas.
I may be a bit early with this lot but I like to get things established before the real cold temps hit in May.

Up here it grows well after rain
and lately that could be anytime!
...if we are lucky!

When we first established the Fruit Tree area I sowed Lucerne between the trees. This I sowed direct and as we had a more reliable rainfall then (14 years ago) it grew with little extra watering. These days I prefer to start it off in cell trays.
Once it's established it needs little extra water due to it's very deep root system that also brings up (mines) soil nutrients from lower levels in the ground.

From the Green Harvest site's planting tips:
"Make sure you've corrected any nutrient deficiency and have a non-acidic pH Lucerne won't grow if pH is less than 5.5
Seed should be covered with 2-3times the width of seed and the soil firmed.
Should be irrigated for germination if not raining."

Inoculating the seed is important if Lucerne has never been grown in your soil before. I didn't inoculate that first crop though and it grew well. So the necessary Rhizobia must have already been present in the soil.

Reasons I grow Lucerne - Medicago sativa:

• It's a valuable companion plant,
• It's a legume that fixes nitrogen (with correct rhizobia present in the soil; it's the relationship between these bacteria and the nodules on the legume roots that do this)
• It's flowers attract beneficial insects to the garden
• Important in my garden is that it is drought tolerant once established.
• It's a multi use plant; fodder, cut-mulch, and the above, it also protects the soil from drying out and suppresses weed growth.
• It is a valuable food for the chooks!
  

That was February; That was Summer

Garden Log: 2 Mar 08

That was February

That was Summer
Roll on Autumn

The average max temperature for Feb was 28.5C
our average is 30C so it was a bit cooler than normal.
Lowest minimum was 7.5C and lowest max 17.5C
Total rainfall for the 3 months of summer was 27.6mm
Our average for summer is 63.8mm.
The weather is already showing signs of Autumn
with much cooler nights.

Planting:
No seed planting during this busy week.
Trimmed back an Elderberry and took some cuttings;
tidied around its base and cleared and planted the area next to it.

Observing:
Spent some time just observing the garden this week:

Increase in Bee activity

Strawberries are sending out runners
- these are my 'stock' plants that are not allowed to flower.
Aphids are attracted to the flowers and aphids spread diseases.

Larger clay pots are working well
- 2 of the smaller ones in the tank beds
don't appear to be 'leaking' enough...

William Pears are ripening
- a treat whilst wandering round the garden!

Something (Blackbirds??) is scratching the mulch
on bed 8 around the newly planted Lucerne;
no damage to the plants yet.

The end Cherry tree I moved in bed 8 has sprouted new leaves
- I only moved it because when I pulled it up I saw new growth
on what I thought was a dead twig!

San Marzano Tomatoes from the late planting slowly ripening!

A tiny lettuce seedling has volunteered
in one of the potted Thymes.
Another freebie!

A few Vine Moth Caterpillars are on the Grapevines
- unless the numbers build up I shall just remove these by hand.
At this time of the year they don't do much damage
and the leaves will soon fall.