tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post762786770326303549..comments2024-02-10T18:50:01.193+10:00Comments on Gully Grove: Accumulative workChris http://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-26903687404118683322017-11-28T10:01:52.729+10:002017-11-28T10:01:52.729+10:00That's certainly the goal - to get more abunda...That's certainly the goal - to get more abundance from the garden. Nature changes things up and down, all the time, and we have to adapt. I can understand the morphing of the vegetable areas. While we have always had the vegetable area, it's too exposed. So my growing efforts are being downsized, to more shady areas, on the same level as the house. As needs must. :)Chris https://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-17661619380764730482017-11-27T11:38:47.389+10:002017-11-27T11:38:47.389+10:00No, Chris, you're not being nosy. We're he...No, Chris, you're not being nosy. We're here to learn from one another after all.<br /><br />We planted fruit trees right from day one, but the veggies have morphed from built up beds in wire rings in between the fruit trees to wicking boxes and tubs (close to the house....P/culture Zone 1).<br /><br />So I suppose the food forest and the idea of zones resulted from the PC design course and that was 8 years ago. <br /><br />Change is always occurring. New things get tried and either work or not. The ones that work get repeated. Ideas come from reading other blogs and general permaculture stuff. I've learned that not everything works everywhere, even though it might come under the permaculture label. Climate and soils are the big variables. So one can only read, see an idea, try it and see what Nature thinks. It makes gardening life interesting if nothing else and all the time (hopefully) more and more resources are coming from the garden.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-22145142130133780222017-11-26T14:04:38.993+10:002017-11-26T14:04:38.993+10:00Absolutely. It can be potentially damaging work, o...Absolutely. It can be potentially damaging work, on the back. We always consider moving the big rocks carefully. Some we're not even physically capable of moving, between the pair of us. Our largest one to date, wrecked a wheelbarrow. Better to wreak it, than our back. We employ tools for walking those hefty rocks, forward now, very slowly, rather than lifting.<br /><br />But timely reminders about safety, can sometimes avoid cavalier attitudes too. Better to save our backs. Thanks. :)Chris https://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-21248308503397069982017-11-26T13:55:53.033+10:002017-11-26T13:55:53.033+10:00Thanks for sharing Bev, how long have you been ins...Thanks for sharing Bev, how long have you been installing your food forest now? It must be a least a decade, if not more. Was it something you started with your husband when he was still alive, or only when you did the permaculture course? Sorry for being so nosy, I just love provenance - or the historical events behind certain things, which are carried forward.<br /><br />I agree with you that nature works is out. Kind of like provenience (different to provenance, above) where the fate is decided by different elemental forces. Some call it God, some call it Mother nature - or Gia, and it's even called science, when studied and documented afterwards. But really, it's the different play of elements which determine where plants will succeed, or not. Ultimately. I love those self-seeded, successes. They often do much better, than our planned ones. ;)Chris https://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-56931085263162454842017-11-26T13:44:56.966+10:002017-11-26T13:44:56.966+10:00Oh wow, 20 years!! That's fantastic. I know th...Oh wow, 20 years!! That's fantastic. I know they last much longer than that too, but what a sense of personal gratification to know, it's still standing after so much time has passed. Well done you two. Thanks for sharing.Chris https://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-62102999834495109592017-11-26T13:43:03.280+10:002017-11-26T13:43:03.280+10:00Definitely enjoy downing tools, but I also enjoy t...Definitely enjoy downing tools, but I also enjoy the hunt for resources too. I found a bunch of petrified wood on our north facing slope, yesterday, and plucked a whole barrows worth, down. They were small to medium sized. So the workload varies daily. Thankfully, it's not all lifting big rocks. :)Chris https://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-14009173048250993022017-11-26T13:38:39.590+10:002017-11-26T13:38:39.590+10:00Whenever I hear the lamentation of rocks being on ...Whenever I hear the lamentation of rocks being on someone else's property, I often think to myself - if only you knew, how much we could use a resource like that! ;) Not that it's wrong for them to lament, but just how useful it would be for us to have so many rocks, on site. I get what you're saying.<br /><br />We often use the eucalyptus saplings we remove (they're like weeds) and lay them across a slope, too. It does stop things going downhill, and allows opportunities for plants to exploit. It's a sensible method, using a resource we both have in abundance. Even if only temporary. We always have more saplings where those came from. :)Chris https://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-81570192373345110652017-11-26T13:32:38.948+10:002017-11-26T13:32:38.948+10:00I wondered about them for ages too, and then did s...I wondered about them for ages too, and then did some research to see if we could construct them. Coming into a lot of rocks, when we were looking for land fill, kind of sealed the deal for us. I'm sure I would be shocked to know how many hours we've actually put into it - but it's time well spent. ;)Chris https://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-20231479743305805752017-11-25T19:44:43.032+10:002017-11-25T19:44:43.032+10:00What back breaking work, Chris. My husband wrecked...What back breaking work, Chris. My husband wrecked his back lifting huge rocks to put on each side of our driveway so do be careful. We have never had to build any walls like you have but what a sense of achievement you and your hubby must feel!Nanna Chelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07500527266771727074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-28623639473888477072017-11-25T11:31:26.566+10:002017-11-25T11:31:26.566+10:00I've always loved your walls. When I first fou...I've always loved your walls. When I first found your blog you were doing the pinky-coloured block ones and I was so impressed! I had no idea you had put in so many dry stone walls as well. How lucky you are to have access to lots of rocks. I have none on my property and no access to any. Fortunately while most of my block is flat the only sloping areas are not steep ones.<br /><br />The only long-standing project I can think of here is my food forest. I've given up any idea of conscious design with it. I just plant something in the nearest available space and see how it goes. Things have died and other things have self-seeded. Nature will work it out! I just sit and watch.<br /><br /><br /><br />I love it when moss colonises rocks and logs. It's nature's way of finding a habitat for something and slowly breaking down the substrate. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-55425505120577708852017-11-25T08:44:48.799+10:002017-11-25T08:44:48.799+10:00Nice job! I can only imagine the sore, achy bodies...Nice job! I can only imagine the sore, achy bodies. We, mostly my husband, built two small walls at an old house of ours. The last time we drove by, they were still standing. (Over twenty years.) They are very much a long term addition. Like you said, it saves a bundle of money. It brings great satisfaction, too.<br />DebbieUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11719499030188672096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-44546179851079588662017-11-25T07:02:08.553+10:002017-11-25T07:02:08.553+10:00You must love downing tools after the last rock is...You must love downing tools after the last rock is placed in the section you've been working on. Lots of time and hard work there and probably a couple of sore backs too!! Meg:)Meghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11573371198907761962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-61507369179732476822017-11-24T22:59:58.911+10:002017-11-24T22:59:58.911+10:00I love rock walls, and while many folks lament hav...I love rock walls, and while many folks lament having so many rocks on their property, I lament not having enough! Our land slopes too, though not quite as steeply as yours but enough to need retainers to keep the soil (and soil moisture) from heading downhill. Like yours, ours is a very long term project! And since we're using mostly fallen pines, our solution is pretty temporary, but something is better than nothing. I just figure the decayed wood will help feed the soil.Leighhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02435811789823712254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8284944855633609232.post-72537256080112072472017-11-24T22:09:05.627+10:002017-11-24T22:09:05.627+10:00Totally fascinating - I have always wondered about...Totally fascinating - I have always wondered about dry stone walling and you have given us a gripping essay on the subject. The sheer hours of labour but....!Phil Poggeauxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10528068263542083696noreply@blogger.com