Swales

We have been digging swales in the place of our original narrow trenches, at the front of our property. These trenches proved too small to deal with the heavy loads of rain we were receiving with summer storms. They would overflow quickly and send gushes of water towards the house.

So we decided to make large, wide trenches instead. Or in permiculture terms, we're incorporating swales.

Below, we began to widen the trenches which run between the compost bins and the back of Hilltop chicken coop. They still need more work, but it's a start. In the picture, you can also see the expanse of land we still have to dig the swale into. Dead ahead Captain!

This will help divert rainwater that comes down from the road and our driveway - but we're also going to be planting an orchard in this area. Fenced off, we should be able to run the chickens from Hilltop to freerange for insects and fallen fruit. To make use of the passing swales we've dug a small (shallow) pond for two recently planted pear trees.

The pond still has water in it 3 days after a significant rain event. Compost we've dug under the pear trees have sprouted yet more volunteer vines - tomatoes and borrage too. We still have to broaden the trench in the lower corner of this photo, plus extend the trench towards our white driveway in the background.

I'm hoping to get grass to grow in the swales eventually to reduce soil erosion further. The other essential part to this strategy though, is vegetation. Without adequate roots to suck-up the moisture, we're only losing nutrients and a good water source.

With all our projects around here the swale and orchard will take time to complete. Not just the hard physical yards, but the time for plants to grow as well. It's actually quite difficult to draw strength from what you're endeavouring to do - knowing it will be at least 12 months before you get to see if it's working or not.

Time seems to pass regardless, so we'll endeavour to do our best. Hopefully it will all come together as a working system.

The great shading experiment

To refresh my memory, here is a picture taken of the trellis erected on the western side of the house.

The sole intention behind this trellis was to shade it from the harsh western sun. It was heating up the house, even with a 1.8 metre verandah around it. You can see from the image above, how far the sun actually comes in under the verandah. The concrete is acting as a heat sink if anything. Great in winter - terrible in summer!

After much trial and error with the luffa seeds though, we finally got them to start covering the trellis.

I think I'll put it down to a false spring, which prevented the germination of the seeds originally. False spring, meaning we got warm temps during the day but night-time temperatures still dropped low enough to chill the seeds again. Luffa seeds only germinate in temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius, consistently.

But how did it achieve at shading the western side of the house after all? See for yourself...

This picture was taken at approximately 1.30pm, yesterday afternoon. Clearly, the sun is still getting through to the verandah. I have noticed a slight change in temperature however, but only when a breeze passes through the leaves. Perhaps even the shaded and moist bed itself, is acting to reduce the heat the concrete absorbs initially?

From the above picture though, it's clear that I need an overhead trellis (or pergola) to do the kind of job I'm after.

Now this brings up another two important questions. Firstly, do I risk growing a vine from the ground which contacts the roof, in a termite prone area? Secondly, do I risk an increased fire risk which contacts with the roof, in a fire sensitive area?

Either option doesn't seem like a safe risk, so I'm in a bit of a conundrum at the moment. What strategy do I try next?

Lattice attached directly to the verandah posts - without contacting the ground, does seem like a better option. But then again, it won't be easily moved in winter to allow the sun in, and made of either wood or plastic, it still becomes a fire hazard attached to the house.

Lay your ideas on me people. I'm ready for any suggestions...

Summer garden update 2010

Wow, it's the second week of January already, and it's amazing what a bit of rain does for the garden. While we missed out on the Spring rains after our traditional dry winter, they certainly came back with a vengeance at Christmas time! It will be our third year here, and we're just coming to grips with how the weather patterns work.

Summer is our monsoon season in South-East Queensland. Lots of storms with deluges of rain! For us it presents a particular problem with soil erosion, but we're developing strategies to minimise it. On the garden front though, we're cultivating an increasing jungle!

This picture of our veggie patch, was taken from above (near Hilltop chicken coop):

It's a tangle of pumpkin, watermelon, rockmelon, zucchini, sweet potato, corn, beans and sunflowers! I didn't really plan how things went in, as our design is constantly evolving. We did manage to grow some sweet corn cobs, but something ate it before we could! Oh well, the chooks loved the leftovers.

Speaking about Hilltop chicken coop though...

Some volunteer pumpkin vines from the compost have taken over! It's creating a cooling effect around the coop, along with the shade-cloth I was given recently, which covers the exposed areas of the run. I have another choko vine to plant here, and I hope with the pumpkin vines for protection this time, it will end up growing. Maybe by next summer, I'll have a choko covered run instead?

At the moment though, many of our retaining walls are being covered by vines!

In the background are the watermelon vines and in the foreground are the rockmelons. I hope by the end of summer, we have some yummy fruit to eat. The sunflowers are always a bonus! These were planted from the sunflowers I grew last year. They always add such a lovely splash of colour in the garden.

And finally, to show what a bit of rain does to a garden - here's an earlier picture taken in Winter/Spring. We hadn't planted out the batter of our newly constructed wall, but you can see the veggie patch in the background.

And here is the same perspective a few months later!

See how everything seems to green up! Yes, we have even MORE rockmelon (or watermelon) vines which sprang up voluntarily from our compost. There's a persimmon tree in that tangle of vines, planted on top of a mound - where the compost was used. Thankfully, we've managed to plant extra trees this year: a black mulberry, astringent persimmon, 2 pears, avocado (fuerte) and a kumquat and pummelo tree to go in soon. Just trying to find the right space to plant it!

We've identified several problems this year however, which need addressing in our garden.

1. We need to mulch all areas of exposed soil, whether we are finished moving dirt or not. It's a strategy to reduce erosion by improving the structure of the soil. Moist mulch allows for increased microbial activity, where exposed, compacted soil only repels moisture.

2. Digging swales and a series of small ponds to slow down the flow of water. In addition we're planting trees close to these water stores to soak up moisture. We've already started digging the swales by hand, as the summer storms have enforced the need for better run-off strategies.

3. Integrating animals into our planting systems. These most obviously are our chooks, but recently our daughter also received some guinea pigs as a Christmas present. Our neighbours also have goats which we can share our "weeds" and overgrown grass with. This requires fencing however, something we need to work on this year.

Anyway, more on the garden in my next post. I want to share how my luffa trellis went.

Striated pardalote

I'm bringing back an old post of mine, regarding a burrowing bird we had visit our fly-screen one day. A reader (Hi Sue) asked recently if I ever found out the name of this interesting little bird. Ironically, I was given the answer by email a long time ago, but promptly failed to update the entry.

Naughty I know, but all is fixed now. Many thanks to the person who did provide me with the answer all that time ago.

As way of helping Sue with her research, I thought I'd link to some interesting facts about the Striated Pardalote (Pardalotus striatus, in Latin). It has a beautiful call and it's nesting habits have interrupted many a retaining wall project here. But as this gorgeous native bird is an insect eater, it's always welcome in our veggie garden.

This is what Wikipedia had to say. And follow what Birds in Backyards bird finder had to say.

Thanks for your patience Sue.

The truth about Christmas

Our Christmas get-together turned out to be a good day. Just to prove it, here's an adorable picture of Dave (aka: chef) with a little red number his sister bought for him, LOL.

It had "Merry Christmas", written on the apron & "Christmas Cook" on the hat. He even liked the matching rubber gloves. His sister bought it as a joke, but then Dave has never been one to turn a challenge down. A lot of fun was had by all.

Having shared how wonderful the day was, I also feel I need to write about my changing feelings towards Christmas. Growing up, it was always a difficult time with separated parents. My dad would promise to see me on Christmas day, but then he wouldn't show up. Not even a phone call. Maybe three days later I'd get one, only to arrange a quick drop-off for presents. The older I got, the more I realised that Christmas was a day of fallen expectations. I tried to be brave for the day itself, then I'd get hit with all this sadness the day after Christmas.

I really thought I was over those sentiments this year. Certainly, I have come a long way. I wasn't filled with as much angst leading up to the day, or maybe I was deflecting that angst with all the cleaning I had to do beforehand, LOL. Nonetheless, I still experienced the after Christmas blues. But I don't think my experience is so unique now.

Even our daughter was more inclined to cry over something after Christmas. I'd asked what she was crying about, and she put on a happy face and said, "nothing". It eventually came out that she felt let down by the fact she didn't get a bedtime story for the second night in a row. We had a few late nights so we said their wasn't time for a story.

Anyway, it got me thinking about the whole lead up to Christmas. Is it an artificial state of happiness, we're all expected to take part in? If you're caught feeling sad, then you're the Anti-Christmas spirit! If you're caught not buying presents or eating copious amounts of food, then something is wrong with you?

We had a very subdued Christmas this year. I very much enjoyed it. But still - the after Christmas blues came. Even to my little girl who had a lovely time and was loved by all. It got me thinking that maybe Christmas isn't something we should save up for one day towards the end of the year. Maybe we should be focusing on making each day special and enjoying the people we meet, when we get the opportunity.

A present can be your smile and a genuine hello.

It's funny that we appear to borrow from the year, chances for happiness and community, only to be paid back on one day - and one day only. I realise now I think, it's not just about taking the commercialisation out of Christmas. It's also about bringing meaning to the rest of your life in between.

Anyway, I did manage to make a couple of gifts by hand, which I was very proud of. Each bundle consisted of 4 knitted cloths, a bar of soap and a Christmas themed tea-towel. Oh yes, and 12 hours worth of knitting time. Each cloth took me 3 hours to finish. But I'm glad I did it. I hope they work well.

I'm actually indulging myself now, and knitting my very own dishcloth, LOL. All those hours knitting and I haven't made one for myself.

To everyone, a safe and happy New Year.

Winding down

I've been absent from blogland lately, only just catching-up with blogs in my favourites list today! You see, we've had a sudden change of venue for Christmas this year. One of Dave's relatives who normally hosts Christmas for the family, decided to spend it in another part of the state. Which is okay, but then Dave stood up to the plate and offered our house for the next venue.

Which isn't a bad thing either. It means we don't have to travel an hour away in Christmas traffic, as we normally do. And we've been meaning to host a Christmas day, "one year" too. But I guess we weren't expecting to make the decision 2 weeks away from Christmas, LOL. So as you can imagine, it's been a little chaotic around here.

I probably won't be around much, until after New Years. We're still going through with our no spend year in 2010. In fact, the commercialisation of Christmas has made us all the more determined to change the way we do things. The stuff we have decided we don't need any more could fill a few wheelie bins. As wasteful as that sounds, it's better to have realised this now, than waste another year (or ten) being blissfully unaware. We will re-home what we can, but as I place stuff into the bin, I remember the waste - our waste - we still own it, even as we disown it.

This time of year though, I can't help but think about what's important. I mean, what's REALLY important. I grew up with a single parent who was forced to live green, purely for survival's sake. She used to make my dolls for Christmas - I loved them because they came from her hands. No one else had a doll like me. Even though it meant I got teased at school for being different, those kids had no idea the difference that went into making my gift, to the plastic ones they received.

I guess I learned to loathe plastic toys early, LOL. Yet how many am I giving away to the secondhand shop now, which our daughter has accumulated? I don't buy them for her, relatives do. Even my husband has no qualms picking up a plastic toy, as long as it's on sale.

Grrrr!!!

But he's made vast improvements on how much he used to buy. And he's even agreed to the no spend year. Twelve months ago, he'd probably look at me strange - raising an eyebrow, wondering if I was having a laugh at his expense, LOL. Bless him! We're making progress...

Anyway, I just wanted to remember all those single parents doing their best for Christmas. All those fathers and mothers who may have to work on Christmas too. The elderly who may not have a family to spend Christmas with - or those who have lost loved ones before their time. I choose to remember these people because they have more to offer Christmas, than any present under the tree. They know what sacrifice is all about.

Bless you and yours.

Christmas capers

A few days ago, we decided to pull out the stash of Christmas decorations from hiding, and get into the spirit of things. Guess what we ended up doing?

Yep, we put up the Christmas tree and some festive Christmas themed lights, as seen below:

This light (on top of the bookshelf) is a Christmas tree shape, and a glowing star will be hung above the chest freezer soon. Ooops...did I say chest freezer?

Sprung! Okay, we did get a chest freezer and new fridge recently. Our old fridge (after 11 years loyal service) wasn't keeping her temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius. So we decided to do a package buy, and hopefully I'll be able to give the old fridge away to serve as a cooler for someone. It still works, it just shouldn't be used for perishables like meat.

I'll do a post on how we came to our decision on the fridge and freezer later, and how we saved on energy consumption over all. But now it's off to make Christmas presents and all round festive activities.