Garden plans coming to fruition

I was just reading a post on http://wifemothergardener.blogspot.com.au/ about a hedge they've just put in place and I was thinking just how important your long term plans for a garden are. It's the long term plans that help shape what your garden is to become and give your garden it's structure. When we started our garden journey we knew very little about gardening, we watched, fascinated as grass seeds turned into lawn in just six weeks and thought, "wow, let's try a garden". There was no real planing involved, we just bought plants and put them in a sat back and watched. Needless to say, our inexperience led to a lot of frustration and failures, but it was a great learning curve.
Luckily along the way we have made some good long term decisions. Our fences took a lot of our time and money to put in place, but have protected our garden and chickens from neighbourhood dogs. Our wicking beds were a well thought out and planned project to slowly replace vegetable gardens on the ground that baked dry in summer and washed away with the rain.

Our first wicking gardening bed, showing the initial wicking layer, the hedge growing behind it and the fence. All took a long time to put in place but well worthwhile

Our chicken coop, designed to fit our wicking beds and integrate our gardening system has made light work of turning over and replenishing those same beds. Our first hedge along the roadside was planted to hide the untidiness of the original garden beds, but also offers protection from the coastal winds and helps to create a micro climate the plants in the wicking beds thrive on.

My niece retrieving eggs from the chicken coop situated on the first wicking bed we built 

Our next hedge is on the house side and will help enclose the vegetable gardens, and give us a prettier view from our newly built pergola. The pergola was a long yearned for structure,marked out countless times with stakes and bits of timber, grinding through the think tank. It now gives us the perfect spot to entertain friends and family, and grow a much wanted grape vine, which will give us shade in the heat of summer and let the warming light in during winter.

The pergola under final construction, surrounded by four mini wicking beds which now hold grape vines. You can see my potting area over the back, not the most attractive thing to look at, so new plan now in place

My potting area eventuated from my desire to have a place where everything I need is in one spot, now sheltered behind our next great plan, a screen with our first flower garden situated in front. And so the planning goes on...

My parents and niece making the most of our new pergola area. Well worth the wait!

What are your long term gardening plans you're working towards or what plans have you already seen come to fruition?

Trial mini wicking bed

Our large wicking beds have been such a success for us, but are costly and time consuming to make. With the recent complete failure of my pumpkin seeds planted into a normal garden bed, to turn into anything more than weedy, bug infested miniaturised versions of what they should have been due to what I believe is just a lack of water I decided to try to produce a quick, just for pumpkins that will sprawl all over the ground, mini wicking bed. For those not yet familiar with wicking beds they are just a garden bed that has a reservoir or catchment area under them that enables them to hold water. This water naturally wicks its way upwards through the soil providing a ready supply of water to plant roots.
I have been inspired recently by the blue shell shaped plastic sand pits/swimming pools that you can buy from Bunnings. A neighbour had been using one as a makeshift pond for some ducks and ducklings that had made their way into her backyard. With an approximate diameter of about 3 foot or 90cm and at only $12.50 they seemed a good size and value for a purpose made wicking bed.
With my large wicking beds we needed to find a way to waterproof the bases to hold water and then needed a bed of sand to protect the plastic sheeting used. The shell being hard plastic meant these steps weren't needed. As our yard is on quite a pronounced two way slant and I wanted the pumpkins to base their roots here and know the vines will spread out across the yard I dug a hole to partially submerge the shell and to make sure it sat perfectly flat using a spirit level.

Shell showing spirit level, coiled socked Ag pipe and stones to fill gaps.

From there I wanted to trial using an alternative to the rock water holding sections we'd used in the large beds. The rocks were back breaking work to shovel into the large beds and because of their rough edges it meant the necessity to once again protect the plastic linings in the originals with more sand, again more shovelling  and the use of heaps of geotex fabric (fabric used in ground work which allows water to pass through but not soil or sand) to keep the water holding area between the rocks free of sand and dirt to allow it to hold as much water as possible. Our alternative was socked Ag pipe left over from a drainage system my parents had put in. Ag pipe is used in drainage systems, it's just black piping with slots cut in it to allow water to drain out. The "socking" on the pipe we used means that dirt doesn't get into it. Thus allowing us a water holding pocket without needing to use geotex to keep the sand and dirt out. We wound this into a tight coil using some wire to keep it held together, then threw a couple of rocks in to the holes around the edges to ensure as much water holding capacity as possible. An outlet pipe is added at this time to allow any excess water to be drain away and to prevent the whole shell from just filling up with rain or over watering and the plants drowning. I recommend using a small piece of weed mat wrapped around the end of the pipe on the inside, once again just to stop the loss of any dirt as the water flows out. We used some left over grey water pipe as the fill tube to take water down to the larger pipe. This isn't strictly necessary as you could just water the soil and it will drain down itself but using the pipe puts the clean water right where it needs to be. This was then topped with some left over weed mat to minimise the above layers getting down into the water collection area (not as good as using geotex but we had none on hand, and it's fairly expensive and best bought in large rolls which we aren't needing just yet). This is then topped with some sand for it's great wicking properties and then soil added.

Feeder pipe to the top left and outflow pipe to the bottom right. Shell filled and ready to go.

As pumpkins are heavy feeders we used part of the sandy loamy soil we'd dug out to bury the shell, but mostly the larger part a rich dark compost and part composted cow manure hence the very dark soil in the image above.
For the first couple of weeks until the seedlings came up each time the chooks were out we used a matching shell lid to keep them from digging, but relented and put a temporary wire fence around it as the chooks were way too interested in that dark soil.
In went a few Marina Di Choggia pumkin seeds from Green Harvest (lovely warty looking pumpkins) and in a few weeks we can safely say all seems to be going well. In fact it seemed to hold water so well I couldn't resist throwing in a couple of lettuce seedlings to take up a bit of space while the pumkins got underway.

Little garden growing well. You can see from the grass around it just how dry it's been here.

The final verdict, I'm really pleased. It holds a tremendous amount of water due to the large space provided by the Ag pipe (in fact when I fill it after 5 very hot days in will take approximately 30 litres of water before the overflow kicks in). It was very easy to do and the cost was minimal courtesy of some leftover grey water pipe and Ag pipe from previous jobs. The Ag pipe works so well and holds so much more water for the volume that I think we will use it in the next large wicking bed instead of the large quantities of rocks we normally use.If you're having trouble with dry garden beds I'd really suggest giving this easy wicking bed a go.

Rain, rain, and more rain

It's been raining heavily for the last three days which means I've been unable to get much done in the garden this past weekend. It was raining on my last day off as well. The grass that only a month ago was dried, dead and brown, is now flourishing at knee height. The only plants wilting now are those that are drowning. It's amazing how much the weather and climate can change so quickly.

A fortnight ago, after we had the first lot of deluge I pulled out the cucumber plants which had been flourishing happily in the number one wicker bed up till that first rain. They thrived, protected from the worst of the heat with a shade cloth canopy, and had enough constant access to water via the wicker bed setup, but kept free from water directly on the leaves. My first successful cucumbers! No problems with powdery mildew, no problems with them becoming dried out from lack of water. They were perfect, and delivered a bountiful crop of white cucumbers until the rain came. With the constant wet weather came the powdery mildew, and then the vine in it's weakened state fell victim to an invasion of bad (24 spot) ladybugs and their hungry offspring. I decided to cut my losses and pulled them out. Out too came the first crop of peanuts, perhaps in retrospect a little early, but I still have enough to be able to use some of the crop to replant and go again, and some for a little snack. In their place have been planted a variety of lettuce seedlings and asian greens from seed.  A fornight later the seedlings have sprouted and will soon need to be thinned out.

The chickens were moved off wicking bed number two, and onto bed three, which was already sporting a thick cover of green manure ready to delight the chooks and nourish my soon to be next planting area.
Wicking bed two has been planted out with some snake beans grown from seeds I'd struck from last seasons crop, some tomatoes and basil, edged with the rest of my peanut seedlings and accompanied by some parsley. About a week ago I also popped in some dwarf bean seeds, a mixed of borlotti and butter among others, and some beetroot. I have to say that I think the seeds may have been too old, because nothing has shown itself yet. I have to admit, I'm not feeling positive, given that beans and normally really quick to show.

On the positive, the rosellas I planted out have all settled in really well courtesy of the rain. So too has the sweet potatoes I'd started from slips from others I'd grown. These are outside the wicker beds in the ground gardens created by the retaining walls I've built to level the garden for the wicker beds to sit flat. Older plants like the pawpaw (papaya) and the artichoke that I thought had all but died off in the dry, have been given a new lease of life by the rain and are coming back strong. All sorts of things are popping up, including lots of self seeded parsley, nastursiums and even some basil right at the back door.

The first bananas were cut down a fortnight ago as well, and finally today have started to show a flash of yellow, indicating they are about to ripen. I find once one starts, they whole bunch follow suit really quickly. So hopefully Thursday will see me with some fresh home grown bananas, and by that night a well stocked supply in the freezer ready to use in home made icecream.
Today I also picked the one pineapple that had grown this season. It looked a little the worse for wear today, and when I went to investigate I discovered the base was aready blushing golden on it's way to being ripe.

In all lots coming along nicely. I am keen to make sure the three wicker beds really prove their worth over the next seasons, although with this rain, I wonder why I even needed them in the first place. How's your garden surviving the wet, or are you somewhere where you're still battling the heat and dry?

Benifits of moving house, chook house that is

Here’s a quick couple of photos that show the benefit of a moveable chook pen. The first shot is of the day the pen went onto one of the new wicker beds. The bed had been planted with a green manure crop, which had probably been left a little too long, due to pen construction delays. This was a month ago. The chooks always love moving day.  They run around and investigate every little spot. They look for opportunities where they can get under the greenery, making a instant nesting spot and will often lay an egg in here if left to it. They also get really excited when they find bugs, and in this garden there was also some wheat that had gone to seed. In all plenty of things to take their interest. So much so that for the first day or so, they are hesitant at first to leave it and wander around the yard instead. This is their second wicker bed to work over, but prior to the wicking beds they used to do the same thing with my normal garden beds. The change to wicker beds meant a new pen with some design changes to accommodate the bed construction. We are hoping that some of the design shortcomings we had with the old pen might be overcome with this newer version.

The photo below was taken a couple of days ago. All signs of plant life, caterpillars, and grasshoppers gone. The chooks eat whatever is edible, and the rest gets scratched to pieces and worked into the garden bed. I’ll give them some sugar cane mulch and lucerne over the next week or so until they are again moved on, this too will get worked through the soil. As this is happening, the soil is also getting a great dose of chook manure.

The bed will be left for a few weeks before it is then planted up. In all it makes for really easy garden preparation.

Summer heats here

Today was another smouldering hot summer day. This has been the third day in a row, with the temperatures in the high 30’s. The new wicker bed is holding up well, and now that we’ve put shade cloth over the top it should lose even less moisture and give the plants additional protection. I’ve planted the bed with peanuts that I’ve grown from last seasons harvest, some bell peppers that I’d struck from seeds when the original plants had started to die back, some climbing beans, a mixture of Blue Lake, Scarlet Runner, and a new type who’s name now eludes me. In addition to this we’ve added a couple of advanced zucchini and mini cucumbers yesterday that I’d bought as seedlings.

The potted flowers have suffered with the heat. I’ve been deadheading the cornflowers and the petunias are coming to the end. But today they played host to what seemed like hundreds of butterflies that chose today to take to the skies. Years ago we saw a swarm (I don’t think that’s the right term, but the only way I can explain the sheer numbers) of butterflies while bushwalking on Hamilton Island. Someone at the time told me they often hatch on the islands and fly across to the mainland. I wondered today when I saw these ones everywhere whether they had hatched on one of the local bay islands and made their way here.


Butterfly on the crucifix orchid.

The petunias taken two weeks ago before the heat really hit.

Finally got one sitting still on the Brunsfelia (commonly known as Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow)

The chooks have now been on the second wicker bed for approximately a week. They’ve already flattened most of the green manure crop that was planted in it, much faster than they dug over the first bed. Hubby has done some modifications today to the pen, adding some additional piping into the door frame to help block the gaps around the door further, making it harder now for any snakes to get in.

With the heat of summer comes the inevitable bush fires and the smoke from these provided a spectacular backdrop to tonights sunset.


Others watched the sunset too.