tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22129760551449322912024-03-14T12:52:10.838+10:30Zucchini IslandFollow a family on a journey towards self sufficiency. Is it possible for a suburban family with no gardening background to produce 80% of their own fruit and veg?Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.comBlogger139125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-31307750462732051512014-07-29T17:14:00.003+09:302014-07-29T17:14:50.870+09:30Weeds - always there to welcome you home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-esiv-JlSAIw/U9dOJy1nYeI/AAAAAAAABQY/Cgj_M8RbMPQ/s1600/20140727_113345%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-esiv-JlSAIw/U9dOJy1nYeI/AAAAAAAABQY/Cgj_M8RbMPQ/s1600/20140727_113345%5B1%5D.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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For the last 3 months my family and I had been away house sitting in a beautiful straw-bale home. And wow! It was amazing how well it performed thermally - it put our brick veneer home to shame. I have always heard straw-bale performed well, but feeling it was believing. Anyway, while we were staying cozy and warm and enjoying a beautiful winter rural landscape from the living room window, our vegetable garden through the window at home was being overrun with weeds. Luckily with all the wet weather they were easy to pull, and with a day of focused effort from everyone we got the garden back into shape. While doing so, what I found interesting was noticing the change in weeds.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-idYuqErX6ec/U9dPDKTr-HI/AAAAAAAABQg/h_q7KUoyWws/s1600/20140727_113519%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-idYuqErX6ec/U9dPDKTr-HI/AAAAAAAABQg/h_q7KUoyWws/s1600/20140727_113519%5B1%5D.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Prior to going away I mentioned we were experiencing an <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/mallow-weed-whats-it-telling-me.html">epidemic of mallow weed</a> in the vegetable garden, and that I suspected it to be an indicator of the soil being low in calcium. Well prior to leaving I threw some powdered limestone on one of the beds in an attempt to replace the lost calcium and rebalance the pH. So what was very interesting three months later, was that while most of the garden was still rife in mallow the one bed I had applied lime to was now covered in nettle instead. Out of pure curiosity I thought I might take a pH test of that bed to see if the nettle was a sign that the soil had returned to a balanced level. Sadly not, the pH was still at 5.5. But despite the measurement I do feel the nettle is a positive sign that the soil fertility is returning, as nettle is well known for liking fertile soil.<br />
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While on the topic of nettle... Apparently, somewhere in England they hold a stinging nettle eating championship. What began as an argument between two farmers over whose field had the highest nettles, now is a challenge to see who can eat the most in one hour. Now if they are eating them raw… ouch!<br />
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BTW after a day of pulling weeds, does anyone see weeds when you close your eyes? Like the image has been printed on the back of your eyelid.<br />
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Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-4755005219974244462014-05-23T21:37:00.001+09:302014-05-23T21:37:13.245+09:30Where did my Calcium go?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fovboff1ueM/U37nBpW2EfI/AAAAAAAABPs/xSsBTOl4Kv8/s1600/calcium-cycle.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fovboff1ueM/U37nBpW2EfI/AAAAAAAABPs/xSsBTOl4Kv8/s1600/calcium-cycle.PNG" height="273" width="320" /></a></div>
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Despite the garden being reasonably <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/feb-mar-apr-2014-summary.html">successful over recent months</a>, I have been noticing and feeling the overall health of the garden to be declining. Many plants seem to be growing slower and performing poorly, with a greater increase in disease and pests. Last year I was drowning in zucchini and silverbeet, this year barely enough. Corn performed poorly despite being planted on compost sites, beetroot are all quite small, broccoli look terribly sick, and peas are wilting away before they have reached maturity. However the topsoil still looks and feels beautiful.<br />
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In April I blogged about how I was having an <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/mallow-weed-whats-it-telling-me.html">infestation of mallow weed</a>, and how I questioned what this was telling me. From a bit of research, and some great reader comments, I started to believe the problem was related to a calcium deficiency. To help confirm this I decided to do a pH test.<br />
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The children helped me perform a pH test using a chemical based kit with a colour chart. According to my son it was 5.5, according to my daughter 5. Considering males are not as good at colour identification as females due to having less eye cone cells, I thought it best to trust my daughter. Regardless both 5 and 5.5 are considered quite acidic, with 6.5 considered best for most vegetables.<br />
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Soil pH is a measurement between how much hydrogen the soil contains compared to the amount of other nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, etc. When one or many of the nutrients are out of balance the pH level shifts from neutral and becomes either acidic or alkaline. The really important thing to understand here is that a pH test does not tell you which one of these nutrients your soil is deficient in. It is only an indicator to a possible imbalance. And this is where you have to be really careful. Adding dolomite because of assuming you have magnesium deficiency, when in fact you only have a calcium issue, may result in raising magnesium to a toxic level. But it gets even more complex...<br />
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From what I have been reading, calcium is in competition with other nutrients such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, ammonium, iron, and aluminum for uptake by the plants. Meaning what appears to be a calcium deficiency may in fact be one of the others blocking calcium uptake. For example a high level of sodium can displace the calcium and cause calcium leaching. Iron and aluminum can combine with the calcium and form insoluble compounds. And that’s just a couple of examples of the complexity.<br />
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So with all this complexity how was I going to know if I had calcium deficiency?<br />
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Well… in one of those lightbulb moments the answer dawned on me. I was collecting the chicken eggs, as I do, when I noticed that both eggs were cracked, and it was at this moment the lightbulb went on. You see... for a number of months now I have been aware that the eggshells have been becoming weaker and weaker, sometimes even breaking under the light pressure of being picked up. And of course why would the eggshells be weak? You got it… lack of calcium. This also helped to explain a major drop in production.<br />
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One very important thing about keeping chickens that I had failed to understand, was that chickens need a heavy source of calcium in their diet, such as shell grit. I felt like a bit of an idiot - it now sounds so obvious that constant egg production would require considerable calcium. I do hope the recent death of Panda was not also caused by this.<br />
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After pondering all this, I have come up with the following theory (refer to above picture):<br />
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The plants consume calcium from the soil. The chickens then eat the plants, and calcium direct from the soil. The calcium is then used to make eggs. The eggs are cracked open and the shells returned to soil - making a perfect loop. However the inside of an egg also contains considerable calcium - enough to create the whole skeletal system, claws and beak of a baby chick. This part of the egg is eaten by me and other members of my family, and thus never ends up cycling back into the garden. Considering chickens have been working this garden without shell grit for over three years, and have probably laid around 1000 eggs, I feel my theory sounds quite plausible.<br />
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Following <a href="http://witcheskitchen.com.au/">Linda Woodrow's</a> advice, my long term strategy is to do what I should have been doing in the first place and feed the chickens shell grit. In the short term to quickly get the garden back to performing, she recommended I apply agricultural lime. Which I have now done. I am now looking forward to some happier plants, and I am sure so much happier chickens.Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-91605440419402832322014-05-16T18:00:00.000+09:302014-05-16T18:00:03.213+09:30Feb, Mar, Apr 2014 Summary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aC0WOq-l89E/U3V5bSuMQLI/AAAAAAAABPY/xLszPUJhqqs/s1600/DSCN6519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aC0WOq-l89E/U3V5bSuMQLI/AAAAAAAABPY/xLszPUJhqqs/s1600/DSCN6519.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Over the last three month we averaged over 50% vegetable self sufficiency. Not the goal of 80%... yet. But still a figure I am proud of - I can honestly make the claim that we produced majority of our own vegetables. Laying all the food out to take the above photo was uplifting to say the least. It felt like I could have opened up my own market stall. And you should have seen me trying to get in the fridge ;-)<br />
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Putting these harvest figures together can be rather monotonous, thus is a task I have increasingly come to procrastinate over. Despite it being a less then enjoyable task I do find measuring the gardens performance very useful. I source motivation through goal setting and one of the key tricks to successful goal setting is to make the goal measurable. As three months have slipped past and the task is only getting bigger I thought it time to take my procrastination by the horns and just get on with it. So here are the results for the last three months.<br />
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<b>February 2014</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> Grown (g) Purchased (g) Grown %</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Avocado 450 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beans 90 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beetroot 1,000 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Broccoli 770 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Basil 140 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cabbage 750 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Capsicum 540 590 48%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carrot 790 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cauliflower 300 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Celery 500 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cucumber 3,040 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Coriander 15 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Eggplant 390 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Garlic 40 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Kale 1,350 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lettuce 1710 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Onion 2,440 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pea 400 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Potato 1,110 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pumpkin 6,150 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spring Onion 310 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweetcorn 400 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweet Potato 780 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Silverbeet 410 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Tomato 4,765 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Zucchini 2,600 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Total 17,130 14,700 54%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Average 50%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Money Spent on Garden $126 </span><br />
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<b>March 2014</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> Grown (g) Purchased (g) Grown %</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Avocado 900 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beans 1,370 570 71%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beetroot 80 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Broccoli 1,460 1,010 59%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Basil 195 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Capsicum 570 970 37%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carrot 1,560 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cucumber 2,580 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Coriander 40 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Eggplant 960 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Garlic 60 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Kale 1,120 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lettuce 840 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lentil 900 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Onion 130 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Parsley 85 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pea 150 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pumpkin 3,050 900 77%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Radish 730 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Rocket 220 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spring Onion 200 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweetcorn 940 500 65%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweet Potato 1,030 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Silverbeet 500 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Tomato 4,345 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Zucchini 700 100%</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Total 19,985 8,680 70%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Average 63%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Money Spent on Garden $</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">32 </span><br />
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<b>April 2014</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> Grown (g) Purchased (g) Grown %</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beans 900 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beetroot 390 250 61%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Broccoli 60 535 10%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Basil 75 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cabbage 400 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Capsicum 550 1,165 32%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carrot 615 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Celery 500 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cucumber 860 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Coriander 40 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Eggplant 400 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Garlic 55 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Kale 225 500 31%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lettuce 765 100 88%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Leek 845 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Mustard 195 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Onion 1,985 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Parsley 20 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pea 100 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Potato 1,955 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pumpkin 2,380 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Radish 230 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spring Onion 25 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweetcorn 875 150 85%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweet Potato 840 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spinach 200 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Silverbeet 570 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Tomato 745 600 55%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Zucchini 875 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Total 8,420 12,555 40%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Average 50%</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Money Spent on Garden $107</span>Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-6610970862209561432014-04-07T19:12:00.000+09:302014-04-09T09:37:03.933+09:30Mallow weed, what’s it telling me?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q-iibmp13f4/U0Isns_FWaI/AAAAAAAABPI/JnOOJVnyFPg/s1600/DSCN6621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q-iibmp13f4/U0Isns_FWaI/AAAAAAAABPI/JnOOJVnyFPg/s1600/DSCN6621.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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In my last post I raved about how successfully I had planted out in the heat of February and I was so pleased at how healthy all the plants were looking. But while I was distracted preparing the March bed this bed became overrun with a weed, and the vegetables seem to have declined in health. I had never seen this particular weed in the vegetable patch before and became intrigued as to why it decided to all of a sudden start growing - in mass - in this one particular bed.<br />
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Despite gardeners being in constant battle with weeds, if you stop take a breath, calm the anger and hatred you feel towards them, you can often glean some valuable information from their mere presence. Well that’s what I am told. Weeds are meant to be excellent soil indicators. Simply by observing the most prevalent weeds you can deduce the quality and condition of the soil. They can tell you if the soil is too wet or too dry, whether the soil is healthy and balanced or depleted. They can even indicate if the soil is over rich or deficient in specific nutrients.<br />
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So what was this weed problem telling me?<br />
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Before I could conduct my investigation I needed to know ‘who’ I was dealing with. One of the best tools I find for identifying plants is Google’s image search. Search for an obvious characteristic, in this case leaf shape was the only one I could think of. I searched for ‘round leaf australian weed’. Surprisingly I recognized my weed quite quickly there on the first page, among many other “weed” images I recognised ;-)<br />
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Known for crimes in many countries my weeds name was: Small-flowered Mallow (Malva parviflora L.) belonging to the Malvaceae family, and going by many other names: Mallows, Marshmallow, Ringleaf Marshmallow, Whorled Mallow, and Whorlflower Mallow. Described as an erect or sprawling, annual or biennial herb to 1.5 metres with round lobed leaves, heart shaped cotyledons, small, 5-petalled white or pink flowers that swell into 4-10 mm fruits that look like tiny pumpkins.<br />
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Now that I had its name, the next step was to conduct a bit of research. Majority of online resources seemed to indicate that mallow enjoyed highly fertile soil. But like all the gardening research I do, why does it never turn out black and white? A few sources contradicted each other with claims ranging from wet to dry soil and cultivated to compacted soil. Like with all research it is important to compare what you read to your own experiences and observations. I have often seen mallow growing in my driveway, seeming it is gravel and highly compacted it seems to indicate it likes nutrient deficient, dry, and compact soil. I recently even saw it growing on gravelled road sides and walking trails. And growing in dry compacted soil does seem to make sense to it having a very deep tap root.<br />
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Turning back to the vegetable garden has me observing something quite different and very interesting: the mellow is only present in one isolated garden bed. So that got me thinking about what is different about this bed. Well… it is on the same irrigation system getting the same amount of water as all the other beds, it gets about the same amount of light, is on the same slope, and is prepared using the same method as the others. The only things different I can think of is that it has been recently cultivated by the chickens, and I added, as an experiment, two bags of commercial composted cow poo. This would concur with the majority of references claiming it thrives in rich fertile soil. And such a conclusion about my garden I am more than happy to accept.<br />
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There is also the other possibility that the mallow seeds were eaten by cows, and end up here in my garden. I do question whether this would be possible though. I would have thought commercial composting to be quite intense - killing off all seeds. But I am also open to accept that the soil is becoming compacted, or maybe I am over watering, or not enough.<br />
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Sadly understanding what this weed problem is telling me is not clear, but what I have learnt is that they need to go. Apparently mallow serves as a host for insect pests and viruses that cause diseases in neighbouring plants. One of the common pests it harbours is caterpillars. This clearly explains why so many of the plants in this bed are being eaten to shreds, particularly our precious kale needed for our morning smoothies. The good news is that they needn't go to waste. Apparently South African natives have used mallow for various medicinal reasons, including as an astringent, an anti-inflammatory and antiemetic agent, and a treatment for tapeworm. So following the advice that it makes a good alternative to spinach it has become a temporary substitute in our smoothies while the kale picks up.<br />
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Out of this research I came across this potentially valuable resource that may help with understanding other weed problems: <a href="http://oregonbd.org/Class/weeds.htm">weed and soil table</a><br />
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Do you get mallow in your garden, and if so under what conditions does it seem to thrive?Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-75440092457610202892014-02-28T10:11:00.000+10:302014-02-28T10:19:30.066+10:30Planting in hot weather<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3Ka2Ck8n6vA/Uw_M176J0pI/AAAAAAAABOs/E05W4mxn5Lo/s1600/DSCN6454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3Ka2Ck8n6vA/Uw_M176J0pI/AAAAAAAABOs/E05W4mxn5Lo/s1600/DSCN6454.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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If I told you that I was planning to plant out seedlings on a hot summers day in early February with the mercury soaring in the 40ies (Celsius), and was going to plant them out in the morning so that they would have to injure the blistering heat for the entire day, would you think I was mad?<br />
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Well until recently I too would have thought I had lost my marbles. But pushed by necessity this is what I was forced to do, and just look at the results - the entire bed is thriving.<br />
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As those of you who follow the progress of my garden would know, I changed the rotation of the garden from a spring and autumn planting to an all year round monthly rotation. Along with not knowing whether the chickens would survive the change to being in full sun over summer, I was also apprehensive of how successful planting out would be. When I told my grand plan to one of my good gardening buddies - Debbie - she too questioned the feasibility of this idea. But I was determined, or possibly pig headed, that this idea was going to work, and was willing to put the lives of our chickens and seedlings on the line to prove it.<br />
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Through my personal observations I have come to believe that plants can survive quite high temperatures as long as the plant can continue to maintain its moisture. Plants just like us can keep themselves cool through perspiration, or as it is more technically known in the plant world as transpiration. The risky problem that a plant faces though is hot days usually mean dry soil, and thus a risk of running out of water. So in the harsh game of survival, if a plant fears that it is going to run out of water it will close off its stomata in an attempt to prevent water loss, inhibiting transpiration. In extreme temperatures this of course can result in the plant getting cooked.<br />
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So the trick to planting out seedlings in extreme heat conditions, is to not only insure the soil is well wet, but to also convince the plant that water is in great supply, and that it can happily go on transpiring as much as it likes without fear. To convince our seedlings of this, I simply left them soaking in a tray of water the night before. They probably all assumed there had been a flash flood and thus plentiful supply of water to last. Of course after such a trick one must supply them with the adequate water now promised. I gave the bed a good soaking with a sprinkler before hand and then set the auto drip irrigation to run for an hour every morning.<br />
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There is also one great advantage to planting out in the height of summer: the more light the more photosynthesis, the more photosynthesis the more energy, and the more energy produced the more growth. Again as long as there is adequate water to do this. Photosynthesis is the process of synthesizing carbon dioxide and water together to make sugars, so again water will be consumed.<br />
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Have you ever planted out in summer?Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-22838570505308963782014-02-18T20:16:00.000+10:302014-02-18T20:16:00.500+10:30January 2014 Summary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6kK-bN7UanY/UwMBl9bPhHI/AAAAAAAABOc/evBDjWcqiVg/s1600/DSCN6402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6kK-bN7UanY/UwMBl9bPhHI/AAAAAAAABOc/evBDjWcqiVg/s1600/DSCN6402.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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January this year wasn't as successful as last years. Last year we managed a 68% vegetable self-sufficiency, this year only 42%. Some of this I believe is due to changing the rotation cycle and making it a continues yearly cycle, rather than two cycles - a winter one and summer one. I am however expecting the continues cycle to provide a more constant output, with less glut. If the garden does keep pumping out 42% each and every month I will be very pleased.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> Grown (g)Purchased (g)Grown %</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Avocado 600 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beans 250 1,200 17%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beetroot 700 450 61%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Broccoli 590 225 72%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Basil 210 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cabbage 500 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Capsicum 40 1,275 3%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carrot 1,835 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Celery 200 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cucumber 4,300 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Eggplant 100 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Garlic 40 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Ginger 65 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Kale 620 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lettuce 2,030 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lentil 400 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Onion 2,585 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Parsley 90 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pea 850 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Potato 100 1,585 6%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pumpkin 4,200 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Radish 600 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spring Onion 380 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweetcorn 190 1,300 13%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweet Potato 665 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spinach 200 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Silverbeet 695 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Tomato 3,140 1,815 63%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Zucchini 1,480 100%</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Total 14,915 20,590 42%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Average 42%</b></span>Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-15344602429555059112014-02-12T19:55:00.000+10:302014-02-13T13:51:16.570+10:30Spill and dirt proof chicken drinking container<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On one recent scorching hot day the children and I escaped the heat at our local swimming pool. On the way home later in the afternoon it suddenly hit me I had forgotten to refill the chickens drinking container that morning. Fully prepared for a saddening sight I was relieved to find them all ok, panting but still alive. Luckily I had gotten the <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/roast-chicken.html">insulation installed in their home</a> only the week prior. As a result of this scary incident I decided a back-up drinking container was in order.<br />
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It is however not only me who results in drinking container incidents. Sometimes the chickens themselves will tip the water out. They dig under it, then stand on the edge and flip it over. So the new solution needed to be spill proof. The chickens also quickly dirty the current drinking solution with all the scratching and kicking, and washing their feet in it for that matter. So the new solution also needed to be dirt proof. This is what I came up with...<br />
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It is a lidded bucket with a couple of holes in the side (see first picture) of which the chickens can stick their heads in and have a drink. With the only access to the water being through two head sized holes it’s much more difficult for the girls to contaminate the water. Mind you they still manage it, so it’s not a perfect solution but way better than the open tray.<br />
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To enable topping it up with water without requiring one to get inside the enclosure and remove the lid, I also put a hole in the top to pour the water through. Unfortunately dirt does collect on the lid and gets washed in. It has just occurred to me though that I could insert a small piece of PVC pipe to create a lip around the hole, which should solve the problem.<br />
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I cut the holes with this simple and inexpensive tool that I found in Melanies tool box. It's fundamentally a hack saw blade with a handle.<br />
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To insure it wasn't tipped over I fastened it to their enclosure via a couple of small holes in the back of the bucket and a piece of string.<br />
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Do they use it? Well they did stick their heads in when I first installed it - chickens are quite inquisitive little creatures for such vulnerable animals. But since then I haven’t seen them drink from it yet. Mind you, their old drinking container has not run out of water since. I can only hope that if it ever does, god forbid, they are smart enough to remember the new option.Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-84746815339677516342014-01-31T19:00:00.000+10:302014-01-31T19:00:02.222+10:30Pink Mini Popping Corn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g_HIhru7rVs/UursvleeN0I/AAAAAAAABNY/grWKpHdnrho/s1600/DSCN6391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g_HIhru7rVs/UursvleeN0I/AAAAAAAABNY/grWKpHdnrho/s1600/DSCN6391.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Probably 5 years ago now I came across a seed packet labeled ‘Pink Mini Popping Corn’ and got quite excited. Yes I too enjoy cute things. When I was a child I use to collect Tic Tac contains because they were so tiny. Anyway the popcorn was planted and grew amazingly well and abundantly. The cobs where only about 3 inches in size and had these adorable red tuffs of hair. If my memory serves me correctly we let them dry out on the plants before harvesting. When we did pick them Melanie, the children and I were all very excited to see them pop. The big question on all our minds: was the flesh inside pink? Sadly that day we never found out. Using the old fashioned method - oil in hot pan - they failed to pop. Feeling disappointed we stuffed them in a cupboard and they were forgotten about. Until…<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4S-x-iCJ1oA/Uursvlv5opI/AAAAAAAABNc/NfIn6-LEOpA/s1600/DSCN6392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4S-x-iCJ1oA/Uursvlv5opI/AAAAAAAABNc/NfIn6-LEOpA/s1600/DSCN6392.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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5 years later I was trying to make space in the cupboard and was about to ditch them in the bin when Melanie stopped me - she too finds it irresistible to hold on to cute things. But then I remembered within that time we had been given a popcorn machine, and this time they were a raving success. Sadly the flesh is white, however the dark red rusk does cast a pink light on to it. And the taste is excellent! - better than the regular stuff. They have more flavour and as the husk is so small it doesn't get caught in the back of your throat.<br />
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Initially it was quite an ordeal getting the seeds off the cob using a knife, until quite by accident I snapped a cob in half. With the cob snapped in half I found by just using pressure from my thumb toward the snap point they easily push off. Making it possible to prepare a batch of popcorn in a few minutes.<br />
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I have now just got to find some mini Jaffers then I am ready to go to a mini cinema.<br />
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Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-70606081218836648282014-01-02T20:25:00.000+10:302014-01-02T20:25:00.289+10:30December 2013 Summary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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October and November's results weren't worth the time and effort filling in my spreadsheet or writing a dedicated blog about. At a guess we would have produced only about 5% of our vegetable needs. This was due to <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/putting-chicken-tractor-into-lower-gear.html">changing the chicken rotation schedule</a>, and a change of focus from doing to planning. Both I am hoping will yield even better results in time, and make up for the couple of lost months. The success of my new process however will depend on how well I manage to plant-out in the two hottest months - January and February. My fingers and toes and crossed.<br />
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The garden is currently looking magnificent and December saw the start of the garden ramping back up, with a vegetable self-sufficiency of 39%. Had our first two tomatoes for the season and bounty of fresh potatoes for Christmas.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> Grown (g) Purchased (g) Grown %</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Avocado 750 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Bean 215 1,510 12%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beetroot 2,260 1,350 63%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Broccoli 1,235 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Basil 70 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Capsicum 1,295 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carrot 2,018 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Celery 300 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cucumber 690 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cabbage 550 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Garlic 80 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Kale 590 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lettuce 1,005 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lentil 400 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Onion 2,305 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Parsley 200 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pea 1210 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Potato 2215 2,505 47%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pumpkin 2,175 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spring Onion 430 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweet Corn 1,120 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Silverbeet 500 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Tomato 100 1,805 5%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Zucchini 530 100%</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Total 8,805 20,608 30%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Average 39%</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Money $ 135.00 (excludes water)</span><br />
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Heres to successful gardens in 2014. May your garden nourish your body and soul.Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-30786388829334356702013-12-30T20:41:00.000+10:302013-12-30T20:41:00.166+10:30Roast Chicken<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I made the decision to keep the chickens working the garden beds all year long I knew I would have to come up with method to keep them cool over the hot months. As we are about to hit those months - January and February - I had to come up with a solution, and fast.<br />
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When Melanie and I purchased this home the previous owners had the roof newly painted. Following the ridiculous trend in Australia they opted to paint it black. As I am sure you are well aware black absorbs heat, and in this hot country our roof and subsequently house got rather hot. Keen for a solution that didn't require a bigger airconditioner I did some research into what options were available. One option was to repaint the roof a light colour. But an even better option was to line the underside of the roof with aluminium.<br />
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Aluminium is a metal with a very interesting property: it will not radiate heat. This means radiant heat like that from the sun cannot penetrate it - or at least 97% of it can’t. An astronaut suit is made from it for this very reason. On the moon temperatures can reach 123 degrees celsius and it is aluminium that prevented Neil Armstrong from being cooked alive.<br />
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“So why does food wrapped in aluminum foil cook in the oven then?” I hear you ask. Well while aluminium is an extremely good insulator of radiant heat it is hopeless when it comes to convection of conductive heat. Because the aluminium is in contact with the food, heat is conducted straight through. There always must be an air gap between the aluminium and the item you are attempting to insulate.<br />
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Now even though the home of our chickens has a light coloured roof you can still feel an awful lot of heat radiating through. So based on the same knowledge I used to cool our home I retro fitted aluminium insulation to the chook dome. And the difference was quite amazing.<br />
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I installed the aluminium layer under the fabric as this is how it is recommended to be installed and does mean I am not blinded every time I enter the garden.<br />
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My son and I also insulated the nesting box (see first photo). But as my young but very bright son wisely pointed out, I must remember to keep the opening to the nesting box facing south as to not let any direct sunlight in. Otherwise the reflective nature of the aluminum will probably do the opposite to my intention creating an oven that roasts the chickens instead.<br />
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Surprisingly Melanie gave me a funny look when I told her the good news of how the chicken dome is now fully insulated and ready for summer. I am thinking the fact that I haven’t yet completed the insulation job on our own home might have something to do with it.<br />
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Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-59312084740442912572013-12-10T20:35:00.000+10:302013-12-10T20:35:00.137+10:30Organic snail control<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For a number of weeks I had been watering a set of native plants in pots - kindly donated - while Melanie and I thought of where to plant them. When we finally decided on the place and started planting out we discovered 40 odd snails hiding amongst the plastic pots. Not wanting to turn a blind eye and let them make a run for it back to the garden, they had to be gotten rid of, but how?<br />
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The occasional snail that I find I usually throw to the chickens. Sometimes they eat it, but often they just give it a nonchalant peck - depends how hungry they are I guess. So there wasn’t much point feeding them 40 of the slimy things. If my conscience didn’t get in the way I would have crunched the lot beneath my feet. But despite them eating our prized vegetables I just couldn’t do it. I can however justify killing for food if done with minimal suffering, and by the size of these snail they sure looked liked they had had a good life with minimal suffering. But if the chickens weren’t going to eat them there was only one option… The family and I were going to have to do it.<br />
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Before doing so I did my research thoroughly. Turns out the common garden snail found in Australian backyards is the same variety used in fancy restaurants. I also learnt that the Italian method for farming them is almost equivalent to the way these have been raised: roaming wild in a vegetable patch. The only difference is that on a farm the vege patch has a snail proof barrier surrounding it - only this time to keep them in. Regardless I couldn’t be certain what they had been eating so the recommendation is to put them on a cleansing diet for a week.<br />
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We gathered them up and kept them in large plastic container with a few air holes in the top. We kept them in captivity for one week fed on a diet of nothing but polenta.<br />
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Every couple of days the children took great pleasure in giving them a wash under a cool running tap. The cool water sure makes them active and very friendly.<br />
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After saying a small prayer out of respect to living creates that were about to be killed at my hand, I threw them into a boiling pot of water - hopefully the most humane method.<br />
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After a few minutes we cooled them off under the tap and began what I thought was going to be a very difficult task… pulling them out of the shell. To my pleasant surprise they simply twist out with a fork or skewer.<br />
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The kids and I then cooked them first simmering for 30 minutes in wine.<br />
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Followed by a quick fry in garlic butter.<br />
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And the verdict… Ok. Nothing spectacular, but definitely palatable. Considering they are apparently fat free, high in vitamins A, C and D, together with a large number of essential amino acids, they might just become a regular at this dinner table. Have you eaten snail - what did you think?Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-8634310157962468682013-12-02T20:00:00.000+10:302013-12-03T11:31:30.389+10:30Choose your mulch carefully<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This autumn, winter and spring I had a shocking amount of grass growing in the vegetable beds. Shocking because I hadn't had this problem in the previous years. Now I have always had a bit of grass, that’s to be expected. But this year it was just excessive and strains of grass that I don’t normally see around our garden. In fact a number of visitors asked if we were growing wheat.<br />
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I initial blamed the horse poo I was collecting from a local stable, and I even gave the chickens a stern talking to as it is their responsibility to eat any stray seeds. But then one day when I was at the fodder store collecting some more barley straw to mulch the next bed with, the store keeper this time asked: “What are you using it for?” After I replied “garden mulch” she laughed and said: “Oh, you don’t want to use barley or wheat straw in your garden. You will have nothing but grass growing. You want to use pea or sugarcane straw for that.” Of course! I thought while mentally slapping my forehead and feeling like an idiot. At least the cause of the problem had been found.<br />
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Attracted to the certified organic labeling I initial tried sugarcane straw. I did however find as it is cut into short 1cm pieces it requires allot to give a nice thick cover. As a result I switched to using pea straw - thick and spongy. Would you believe this is what I used though all the previous years. Sometimes you just have to try new things to simply learn why the old way was best.Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-15761616127318604632013-10-15T20:05:00.000+10:302013-10-16T11:40:24.003+10:30Sometimes you struggleAs with all things in life sometimes you are doing well, other times you struggle, and the garden is no exception to the rule. Over the last few months I have found gardening a struggle and felt myself feeling disheartened and frustrated. If I hadn't been gardening for some years now I might have interpreted this slump as time to quit. But over the years I have had many ups and downs in the garden and I have come to understand that every down is actually a hidden opportunity to learn and grow.<br />
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Raising seedlings has been one of my toughest learning paths to tread. And is it any wonder? Seedlings after all are baby plants and like all babies require a great deal of nurture. I guess plants don’t produce hundreds to thousands of seeds at a time for no good reason. But after my <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/the-great-seedling-experiment.html">great seedling experiment</a> I thought I had it licked. So it was with great disappointment and frustration when all my seedlings died following, what I thought to be, the exact same method.<br />
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One of the greatest tools I have in my gardening tool kit... is never hesitating to ask for help. I know this is often easier said than done. When feeling like a failure asking for help takes a great deal of personal strength. But time and time again I have found that the moment I reach out for help the feeling of failure just washes away leaving behind the calm of relief. In this particular case I sort help from <a href="http://witcheskitchen.com.au/">Linda Woodrow</a>. She suspected it was something moisture related. One of the her thoughts was the seedlings not getting good enough root to wet soil contact at transplant, due to me not packing the soil around the roots adequately enough. I had questioned this myself at the time of doing it - I was trying to simplify the method thinking watering would do it on my behalf. Sometimes shortcuts don't pay off.<br />
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After Linda had given me some clues it got me analysing what other things may have gone wrong. I had been using a small pump action hand sprayer (right) that probably was only giving the plants a light water. I have now swapped that for large pressurised sprayer (left). Much better! With any spray bottle I highly recommend labeling its intended contents.<br />
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The final possible issue I believe was caused by a combination of hot house and pot size. My <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/mini-green-house-version-12.html">mini greenhouse</a> really works a treat but the raised temperature does seem to cause a lot more moisture loss. Combine that with the little pots I am using and I think they were simply drying out. Why would I be so silly to use such small pots then, you ask, especial as my great seedling experiment revealed that <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/bigger-is-better.html">larger pots do indeed work better</a>. The reason is simply limited space. In order to meet my goal I have calculated I need to have around 200 seedling on the go at all times. Currently the only space I have is a single seedling table.<br />
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I have now removed the plastic cover off the seedling table and my new batch of seedlings, still in little pots, are doing great. As you can see I have learnt from this failure. The last few days especially, have been very rewarding in the garden indeed.Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-87531499484386271552013-10-15T20:00:00.000+10:302013-10-15T20:00:03.226+10:30September 2013 Summary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The vegetable self-sufficiency pick up a little from last month - up to 35%.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> Grown (g) Purchased (g) Grown %</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Avocado 1000 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Bean 300 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beetroot 550 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Broccoli 970 1,200 45%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Capsicum 2,350 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carrot 4,700 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Celery 550 300 65%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cucumber 620 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Corriander 100 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cauliflower 910 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cabbage 1,300 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Garlic 35 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Kale 490 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lettuce 831 150 85%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lentil 400 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Onion 3,170 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Parsley 240 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pea 40 600 6%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Potato 85 1,290 6%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pumpkin 3,400 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Rocket 140 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Radish 500 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spring Onion 510 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweet Potato 1,500 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spinach 340 600 36%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Tomato 1,960 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Zucchini 730 0%</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Total 5,756 26,105 18%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Average 35%</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Time 13 person hours</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Money $ 55.00 (excludes water)</span>Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-35589527178904932692013-09-23T19:00:00.000+09:302013-09-23T19:00:00.554+09:30Are sunflowers allelopathic?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With self sown sunflowers spring up all over the garden I was reminded to tell you about my sunflower experiment that I conducted earlier this year. I have found sunflowers to be great companions to the vegetables - offering valuable shade over the hot summer. They seem to love the heat and even their large leaves seem unaffected by the harsh rays. Their height means they give plenty of room for other plants to grow beneath, even climb. <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/growing-shade-part-ii.html">You can read more about their use in our garden here.</a><br />
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Contrary to my experiences I have found a number of references claiming sunflowers to be allelopathic. Meaning they produce chemicals the inhibit the growth of other plants around them. As this has not been my experience I thought I would conduct a little experiment.<br />
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I took some fresh sunflowers and shredded them up in blender, making a highly sunflower concentrated potting mix. The thought being that if sunflower was indeed allelopathic its effect would be strongest and most noticeable on the germination and development of seedlings. Not knowing which part of the sunflower plant is apparently allelopathic I included flower, seed, leaf, stem and root in the mix. I sowed from seed a set of 4 plants - a flowering (broccoli), a root (beetroot), and a couple of leafy (lettuce and spinach). Along with a set of control plants grown in a various soil mixes.<br />
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What was amazing is that not only did the plants germinate, they did amazing well - equal to that of the control. Which I found quite surprising. Even though I have not noticed any negative effects from growing vegetables alongside sunflowers I was expecting there to be a bit of truth to the allelopathic claim. With the mix containing such a high concentration of sunflower - one third - I thought even a minor effect would have been noticed, but there was none. Concluding sunflowers as non-allelopathic.<br />
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As with all experiments I have made some assumptions: 1. The effect would be strongest on germination and seedlings; 2. It would affect one of the chosen plants; 3. The effect would still be present after the sunflower had been killed and shredded. Regardless my findings do confirm my observations and personal experiences, and as a result I will definitely continue to grow them as a shade providing and beautiful companion.Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-65950380137763408962013-09-11T20:05:00.000+09:302013-09-11T20:05:00.967+09:30Weed brew<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Who’s up for a nice cool glass of weed brew? What! no takers. I know it smells bad, but it is highly nutritious. Or is a hot cup of weed tea more your style?<br />
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This winter and spring we got allot of nettle among many other weeds growing in the garden. I blame two things: the raw horse poo that I covered the beds with, and not mulching with straw. Now I can’t be sure if either of those contributed to the mass of weeds, but this year was the worst it has ever been and they are the only two things I have done differently. Regardless of the cause... what was I to do with all these weeds?<br />
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It is not recommended to put weeds into the compost incase your compost becomes a means for the weeds to spread their seed. It is possible to kill most seeds with hot composting but that is an art all to itself. I have occasionally been successful at getting a compost burning at a temperature almost too hot to touch. But it takes building the compost from scratch with just the right mix of ingredients, and a bit of luck. I however tend to use a compost bin where I just keep adding whatever scraps are available at the time. This method is very easy and convenient but seldom gets hot, thus not an option for disposing of the weeds.<br />
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Many weeds especially nettle are filled with highly valuable nutrients for both humans and plants so simply tossing these weeds in the green bin would be a massive waste. So I gave drinking nettle tea ago. It was quite nice, nothing to rave about, but had a very mild clean refreshing flavour. And knowing it was meant to be good for me got me drinking it daily. I even found I became immune to their sting as a result. My sister volunteered to push me in them as a true test of my new found powers.<br />
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Unable to drink them at the rate they kept springing up in the garden I decided I needed another method of processing these weeds. So I borrowed an idea from my gardening friend Debbie. You take a plastic bin, put a porous bag inside and fill it up with a bit of water. The weeds then go into the bag and decompose into a liquid rich in nutrients, making a great fertiliser for the garden. And all the unwanted seeds are captured in the bag. It is similar to making weed tea except letting it brew for a few weeks/months. Melanie would comment that this is how I always prepare tea. Debbie I believed used a bag especially made for the purpose, I have just used an old chicken feed sack - it seems to do the trick.<br />
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How do you dispose of your weeds?Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-75626993174967733142013-09-11T20:00:00.000+09:302013-09-11T20:00:05.309+09:30August 2013 Summary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MG1bJhcasvQ/UjAWyoehCHI/AAAAAAAABI4/Ajvi3rlcylE/s1600/DSCN6140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MG1bJhcasvQ/UjAWyoehCHI/AAAAAAAABI4/Ajvi3rlcylE/s1600/DSCN6140.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The vegetable self-sufficiency didn't pick up as much as I would have hoped, but at least we managed to grow a good supply of green leafies.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> Grown (g) Purchased (g) Grown %</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Avocado 1200 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Bean 250 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beetroot 515 200 72%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Broccoli 2,410 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Basil 20 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Bok Choy 590 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Capsicum 2,620 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carrot 4,595 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Celery 600 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cucumber 765 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Chives 20 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Corriander 100 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cauliflower 1,160 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cabbage 1,000 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Garlic 35 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Kale 215 300 42%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lettuce 1,650 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lentil 400 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Leek 500 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Onion 2,855 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pea 35 550 6%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Potato 85 1,340 6%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pumpkin 3,610 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Rocket 230 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Radish 500 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spring Onion 125 150 45%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweet Potato 1,255 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spinach 535 560 49%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Tomato 2,125 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Zucchini 775 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Total 7,650 26,225 23%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Average 27%</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Time 12 person hours</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Money $79.00 (excludes water)</span>Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-1344069743368333382013-08-26T20:39:00.000+09:302013-08-26T20:39:00.163+09:30Putting the chicken tractor into a lower gear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3luMKHgGqBE/Uhqi8j-v9kI/AAAAAAAABH0/MZsG7VnoMyw/s1600/Chicken+Tractor+Rotation.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3luMKHgGqBE/Uhqi8j-v9kI/AAAAAAAABH0/MZsG7VnoMyw/s1600/Chicken+Tractor+Rotation.png" height="294" width="320" /></a></div>
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As guided by <a href="http://witcheskitchen.com.au/">Linda Woodrow</a> in her book 'Permaculture Home Garden' the <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/chooks-on-garden-go-round-and-round.html">chicken tractor</a> has been rotating around the garden in a 3 monthly cycle, twice a year - once in Autumn and once in Spring. On each rotation they spend 2 weeks on each of the 6 beds. For the other two 3 monthly periods the girls spend their time in the outer chook run patrolling the perimeter of the garden. Linda advises moving the chickens to a second mandala garden during this off-period, if you have got one.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0mhV4TXFt0E/UhqjC7sUCiI/AAAAAAAABH8/xsiSu8TX7v0/s1600/Chicken+Tractor+Rotation+New.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0mhV4TXFt0E/UhqjC7sUCiI/AAAAAAAABH8/xsiSu8TX7v0/s1600/Chicken+Tractor+Rotation+New.png" height="280" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sometime ago my mother and I were enjoying a nice chat in the garden when she indicated her desire for a similar garden. She continued to say however that she would use a different rotating tractor cycle. Her idea was to continuously rotate the tractor with no off-periods and as a result the chickens would spend one month on each bed instead of just 2 weeks. I instantly said without even giving it a thought that that wouldn't work - as children often do to prove their superiority over their parents. I must remember I am an adult now. Anyway… I have had considerable time to rationally think through mum's idea, unbiased by my ego, and I think it is a good one, well worth a try.<br />
<br />
My thoughts behind why I think it is a good idea is as follows… The current 3-month-on 3-month-off cycle has proven to have a few issues in my situation:<br />
<br />
As I don't have a second mandala for the chicken tractor to go and work, the girls spend the two 3 month off-periods in a chook run that spans the perimeter of the garden. And it is this very outer enclosure that when compared to the tractor has a number of downsides common to most fixed enclosures.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Even though quite a large area for 4 chickens, they have the entire area converted to a mud pit in just one month. That mean for the remaining 2 months the girls are pecking around in what I consider to be unhealthy conditions. And it can get a bit on the nose.</li>
<li>The kitchen scraps that we like to feed them are not always eaten and are instead dug into the ground. This is great when they are in the tractor working over a garden bed, but in the outer enclosure all they are doing is nourishing the soil for weeds. The same goes for the wonderful and highly valuable poo, for 6 months of the year it wasted being mostly unsalvageable.</li>
<li>And that brings me to the next issue where this highly fertile soil becomes a weed heaven. Now not that I care that weeds grow in the chook run but it's their seeds that spread into the adjacent garden beds, and that does concern me.</li>
<li>While in the outer run the girls need somewhere to sleep and they do this in typical hen house, which brings another set of issues with it. For safety against predators the hen house door has to closed at night and opened up again in the morning. Without employing a high-tech automated door this is a task I have to do. It’s not a biggie but one of the goals of this garden is efficiency. The removal of a 5 minute daily task does add up. It also becomes tricky when we go away on holiday.</li>
<li>The other issue with the hen house is that it doubles as a toilet and requires me to clean it weekly. The chook tractor doesn't have this problem as the house is frequently moving.</li>
<li>The highly necessary fence that surrounds the garden preventing the chickens from helping themselves to the vegetables does mean we too are unable to access the rear of the garden beds. It then becomes necessary to walk on them - compacting the soil.</li>
</ol>
The outer run does have a couple of benefits. The girls do get a very large area to stretch their legs. But that said the tractor is dome shaped - they can run around in circles, as they often do when chasing other birds that try and get their seed. The other benefit is that they have successfully kept the garden perimeter mostly free from grass. Which I will miss.<br />
<br />
My mum’s idea of keeping the chickens in the tractor full time however, will remove the need for the outer chicken run and house entirely and free me of the above mentioned problems. But the biggest motivator for putting the tractor into a lower gear is all about creating a consistent rhythm for the gardeners (us). I have found 3 months on, then 3 months off, means my routines change every three months. And even the types of tasks that I am performing are quite different between the two phases. I am a big believer in consistent and frequent routines are a key to success - ask any athlete. I also believe the 3-month-on 3-month-off method has partly contributed to the dips in the gardens productivity. So I am looking forward to what will hopefully be some positive results in both efficiency and productivity.<br />
<br />
My only concern is how the girls will keep cool in summer. Currently they spend summer in the outer run and can seek shade from a number of trees. The tractor will be in full sun for a good part of the day, and even though it has a fabric cover I am sure it is not as effective shade as a tree. I have spent considerable time working out the best starting point for the tractors rotation to ensure the tractor will be located on the most shadiest beds during the 2 hottests month of summer - January and February. I would love to hear of any other ideas to keep them cool.<br />
<br />
If this idea does workout all credit goes to you mum - the humble brains in the family. And if it doesn't workout I have got someone to blame ;-)Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-51940468011924443202013-08-13T20:00:00.000+09:302013-08-13T20:00:04.277+09:30Are you ready for spring?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ptqc4bkOeMg/UgnCdux_L7I/AAAAAAAABG0/kbh0JxuLDqs/s1600/DSCN6130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ptqc4bkOeMg/UgnCdux_L7I/AAAAAAAABG0/kbh0JxuLDqs/s1600/DSCN6130.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coriander flowering</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In Australia seasons are known to begin on the first day of a calendar month, and in the case of spring it’s the 1st of September. In other countries such as Britain they go by significant points in the earths orbit around the sun - equinox and solstice. This year (2013) the Spring equinox is September 23rd. It is the time when the number of daylight hours are increasing at their most rapid rate, and it is this increasing light that triggers allot of plants to flower. And one can clearly see this starting to happen in my garden already.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-brlKOT9q2Ws/UgnDVS5eHsI/AAAAAAAABHM/D_nKt8DBUgY/s1600/DSCN6125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-brlKOT9q2Ws/UgnDVS5eHsI/AAAAAAAABHM/D_nKt8DBUgY/s1600/DSCN6125.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bok choy is bolting to flower.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zxtNrIcgWkM/UgnDCJaW8KI/AAAAAAAABHI/3cwmh_MLH5I/s1600/DSCN6128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zxtNrIcgWkM/UgnDCJaW8KI/AAAAAAAABHI/3cwmh_MLH5I/s1600/DSCN6128.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even this small late planted broccoli is flowering. Dam!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The thing with spring that always surprises me though... is how it always manages to spring up on me. So with all this spring fever going on in my garden I feel I’d better get ready, and quick. The first step I believe one should always start with is a bit of planning. A new piece of paper is allot easier to come by than lost money or time. So Melanie and I started by writing out a list of plants and quantity that we would require in our first month of spring planting. Here is what we came up with:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Basil<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Bean<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sow Direct</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beetroot<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>8</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Broccoli<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cabbage<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Need seeds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Capsicum<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carrots<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Lots<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sow Direct</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cucumber<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Corn<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>12<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sow Direct</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sunflower<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>4<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sow Direct</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Eggplant<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Kale<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Leek<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lettuce<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>16<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Need Cos seeds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Mustard<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>4<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Need seeds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Parsley<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Need seeds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pumpkin<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Radish<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>8</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Silverbeet<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spring onion<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>8</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spinach baby<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>8<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Need seeds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Rocket<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>4<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Need seeds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Tomato<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Zucchini<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2</span><br />
<br />
From this I could quickly determine what seeds were missing from our collection and promptly put in an order to <a href="http://www.edenseeds.com.au/content/default.asp">Eden Seeds</a>. I was also able to determine we were going to require a whopping 96 seedling pots.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8AFHtn6VtFo/UgnGk478NXI/AAAAAAAABHc/kYBZCw5PSc0/s1600/DSCN6108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8AFHtn6VtFo/UgnGk478NXI/AAAAAAAABHc/kYBZCw5PSc0/s1600/DSCN6108.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Despite there being allot more daylight, the temperatures can still get quite cold, and even though rare, the occasional frost is known to happen in my garden this time of year. So to insure some of the more warmer season plants like capsicum successfully germinate I have setup the <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/mini-green-house-version-12.html">mini-greenhouse</a>. And after tomorrow when I prepare the potting mix everything will be ready to start sowing seed. Looks like you are not going to surprise us this year spring.<br />
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Are you ready for spring?Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-33652260372369134942013-08-02T20:00:00.000+09:302013-08-02T20:00:01.215+09:30July 2013 Summary <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3l6Mj0gT70k/UfnU6J8z6NI/AAAAAAAABGk/k43vCpEjtRA/s1600/DSCN6102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3l6Mj0gT70k/UfnU6J8z6NI/AAAAAAAABGk/k43vCpEjtRA/s1600/DSCN6102.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The down side to recording your results is that you can't hide behind ignorance when things aren't going so well. Recording your results regardless of the goal and task reveals the cold hard facts. And in this case how poorly our vegetable self-sufficiency has gone for the month of July. But that cold hard slap in the face from the below figures is just what I needed - a wakeup call to take notice and take action.<br />
<br />
What has become very clear is that things grow slowly over winter and as a result I have come up with a couple of solutions that I hope will help to overcome this: First is to start planting earlier. This will involve changing the schedule of the chook tractor rotation, something I will talk about in more detail in an up and coming post. Second is to plant more densely, and harvest young plants. With plants like spinach and kale I really have no excuse - we should have never needed to buy some. They both grow great over winter, it was purely an error in planting too few.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> Grown (g) Purchased (g) Grown %</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Avocado 750 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beetroot 1,075 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Broccoli 775 2,005 28%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Bok Choy 530 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Brussel Sprout 745 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Capsicum 2,125 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carrot 2,030 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Celery 500 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cucumber 1,125 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Coriander 85 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cauliflower 1,800 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cabbage 750 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Garlic 135 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Ginger 65 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Kale 745 600 55%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lettuce 1,430 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Leek 1,000 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Onion 3,820 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Parsley 300 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pea 150 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Potato 75 1,480 5%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pumpkin 1,985 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Rocket 295 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Radish 300 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spring Onion 300 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweet Potato 1,245 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spinach 175 410 30%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sprouts 150 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Tomato 410 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Zucchini 460 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Total 4,260 25,565 14%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Average 21%</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Time 12 person hours</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Money $ 145.00 (excludes water)</span><br />
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What strategies do you have for dealing with the winter low?Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-81444651422808937652013-07-31T20:00:00.000+09:302013-07-31T20:00:03.125+09:30Still a great garden path material<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-va8KYVtSsVw/UfiWQ8O5iNI/AAAAAAAABGM/CCa1jb7Xzyg/s1600/DSCN6109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-va8KYVtSsVw/UfiWQ8O5iNI/AAAAAAAABGM/CCa1jb7Xzyg/s1600/DSCN6109.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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With my mother paying we a visit I thought I’d better get the garden looking nice, and if the garden paths look nice the rest of the garden tends to look nice too. So I made it a high priority to pay the rather neglected garden path some attention. In truth I had decided to do something about the path before my mums announced visit, because I was getting tired of scraping mud off my boots, something that I though a path was meant to prevent. Her visit did however provide me with extra motivation and a fixed date to work towards.</div>
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After 2 years the sawdust mulch covering the path had finally broken down and needing replacement. It probably was six months overdue, but still 1.5 years I feels is quite a good stint, and allot longer than I thought it would last if you consider how fine it is. Over that time it required very minimal weeding and provided a lovely clean and soft path to kneel on when working in the garden.</div>
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Previously I sourced the sawdust in bulk from a wholesaler, <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/great-garden-path-material.html">and an embarrassing and funny story goes with it.</a> This time I wanted a quick and easy source that didn't require me to hire a trailer or a place to dump it. So this time I sourced it just down the road at the fodder store in convenient compressed blocks. The sawdust itself was allot more expensive - $25 per block and I used 3, compared to $30 for the lot. But when you take into count the trailer hire and the petrol at around $50 it was in fact a pinch cheaper.</div>
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I did try and find a free source. Our community has a man shed - a place for man who enjoy tinkering in a shed but don’t have one of their own, maybe due to a need to downsize. I contacted them thinking they would surely produce a large quantity of sawdust and probably would appreciate someone taking it away. And I was right. However they don’t separate the raw wood from the MDF, and as MDF is toxic I didn't want it in my garden.</div>
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So once again the garden is looking beautiful, my boots and knees are cleaner, and my mother was suitably impressed. Allround sawdust has turned out to be a great garden path material.</div>
Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-32416729972387297292013-07-22T20:00:00.000+09:302013-07-22T20:00:02.803+09:30Best seedling raising method<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In my <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/the-great-seedling-experiment.html">great seedling experiment</a> I trialed three different methods for starting seedlings:</div>
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<li>The standard - bury seed in a pot of soil.</li>
<li>First germinate a group of seeds together in a large container, then transplant to pot.</li>
<li>Place seeds on soil surface, then cover with a seed raising layer.</li>
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So which one did best?</div>
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For the most part they all did quite similar. In the above picture circled in blue is method #3 - covering the seed with seed raising mix; and circled in yellow is method #1 - poke a hole with finger and drop the seed in. As you can see they both look fairly comparable. Covering with seed raising mix, made of sand and dry horse poo, probably did a touch better, but not noticeable enough to recommend it.</div>
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But for broccoli - well that was a whole other story. In the above picture and circled in pink you can see all six broccoli seedlings doing really well. These where all done using method #2 - germinated in a separate container in one big group, then transplanted into pots.</div>
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Compared with method #1 or #3 - where the seed was planted directly in the pot - only 2 out of the 6 even germinated. And with these I had even sown two seeds in each pot. It appears the broccoli has a very low germination rate and benefits greatly from first being germinated separately.<br />
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With such a big difference on the success of the broccoli it does look like method #2 - germinate the seeds before potting - is the clear winner, and well worth the effort. So what is the effort involved?<br />
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To germinate the seeds I used a polystyrene container filled with a seed raising material, <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/what-is-best-seed-raising-mix.html">you can read more about that here</a>. The best material for speedy growth proved to be a mix of crushed dried horse manurer and river sand. However when it came to transplanting it was impossible to dig the seedling out safely - the material clung to together too tightly. So despite the peat and sand mix being slightly poorer for growth it was a breeze to extract the seedlings from, thus the one I would recommend.<br />
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Transplanting the seedlings required first making a deep hole in the soil of each pot. I found a pen lid perfect for this task.<br />
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Next was to loosen the material around the seedling and gently dig it out. I tried using the almighty pen lid for this task however it wan't quite broad enough. Instead I found a wedge cut from a plastic container worked wonders.<br />
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Despite being very little the seedlings didn't seem to mind being carried by their stem.<br />
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The pen lid did find another use, it came in handy for packing the soil back in and around the seedling.<br />
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It may appear like it was a fiddly task, but once I got into the groove, it was quite easy and fast. It took me 45 minutes to transplant 52 seedlings - that's less than a minute each. And I would say it was well worth it. The results speak for them selves - every one of these seedlings survived. The key to this methods success is you get to be selective, choosing who gets to grow up into a plant and who gets to become a sprout in tonight's salad.Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-51834542470487429602013-07-15T12:30:00.000+09:302013-07-15T12:30:16.873+09:30June 2013 Summary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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June's vegetable self-sufficiency score is 33% - same as last month. Sadly this sees the end of the summer vegetables like eggplant, tomato, and capsicum. We do have lots of winter greens on the way though.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> Grown (g) Purchased (g) Grown %</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Avocado 400 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beans 2,535 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Beetroot 275 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Broccoli 1,175 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Bok Choy 1,610 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Capsicum 95 1,230 7%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carrot 1,705 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Celery 500 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Cucumber 1,610 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Corn 200 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Corriander 90 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Eggplant 1,485 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Garlic 195 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Ginger 205 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Kale 110 500 18%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lettuce 1,010 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Onion 2,640 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Parsley 700 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pea 785 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Potato 3,915 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Pumpkin 2,270 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Rocket 35 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spring Onion 260 100%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sweet Potato 685 0%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Spinach 155 620 20%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Tomato 810 800 50%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Zucchini 1,670 0%</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Total 6,635 23,640 22%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Average 33%</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Time 15 person hours</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Money $ 71.00 (excludes water)</span><br />
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<br />Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-85594733575680372862013-06-28T17:30:00.000+09:302013-06-28T17:30:01.062+09:30How to kill lawn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For the last five years our front garden has been pretty much nothing but a lawn, and a reasonably sized one that could be put to much better use. With a desire to grow our own fruit and berries we decided it was time for the lawn to go and the orchard to begin. But how do you get rid of such a robust plant? We didn't want to poison, particularly as we intend to eat from this garden. Some time back I attempted a grass killing technique called ‘solarization’. My interpretation of the technique however was probably better named ‘greenhousing’ and did the complete opposite to killing the grass. <a href="http://zucchiniisland.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/how-not-to-solarize-lawn.html">You can read about that failure here</a>. But thanks to advice from a gardening friend we have managed to solarize the front lawn with great success.<br />
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The principle behind solarization is not totally about cooking it, rather forcing the grass to grow until it exhausts itself. Covering it with black plastic film forces the grass to grow and send out shoots to look for light. Every attempt not only is faced with impenetrable darkness but also scorching heat. I am sure you can image how hot it must get underneath that plastic on a hot summers day. Meanwhile the grass in its struggle to survive is consuming all its stored energy right down to its roots.<br />
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To help kick start the process it was advised to first fertilise the law. I used a cheap artificial liquid fertiliser from the supermarket, that in itself would have given the grass a short lived sugar high then left it exhausted and probably with a headache. Chicken manure is another good option, it’s high in nitrogen triggering great growth but when applied directly is so rich that it burns.<br />
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Six weeks over summer is all it is meant to take but due to other priorities, or possibly slackness, we left it for 4 months. The neighbours must have thought we were a real classy bunch. Anyway... the extra time probably helped, when I pulled it up the grass was completely dead. Except along some of the edges where it had managed to creep out and find light. So I did end up killing those off with a bit of poison, but a fraction of what would have taken to kill the whole lawn.<br />
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The final touch was to cover it with mulch, and I would like to give a big thanks to Ashley and Sam for their much needed contribution with that. After a long time of looking at black plastic it felt amazing to have it completed.Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212976055144932291.post-58120246977344152422013-06-20T19:30:00.000+09:302013-06-21T10:22:19.980+09:30BIGGER is better<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In my recent experiments I believe I have proven that when it comes to raising seedling... BIGGER is better. This may come to quite a shock to many gardeners not endowed with large propagating equipment, me included. Luckily a gardener does not have to be stuck with what they inherited ;-)<br />
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As you can see from the photo seedlings that were raised in large pots grew to around double the size. This is a massive difference and one I can not igone. It is a real shame though, I was expecting bigger pots to be better but I was hoping the difference was going to be negligible. In order to get anywhere near producing 80% of my own veg I need to constantly have a large quantity of seedlings on the go - I was hoping my current seedling table would be enough. With the small pots I can fit around 200 seedlings on the table, with the large pots only about 70. The small pots I find are also so much quicker and easier to plant out - I can usually manage to quickly dig a hole with just my fingers.<br />
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I am curious though, the commercial seedlings available from garden stores often look quite impressive, and their pots are even smaller than the ones I trialled. I suspect they are liquid feeding with artificial fertiliser, so I think a few more experiments are in order before I throw away my small pots. I don’t want to use artificial means to stimulate growth but I might try a regular dose of fish emulsion and see how that goes.<br />
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Oh and... Happy solstice to you all - bring on the longer days.</div>
Jason Dingleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13332208335330160649noreply@blogger.com6