Gardening

Remove this Banner Ad

Decided to put a chook run in my garden last weekend. I've sown it with wheat and will wait for that to germinate before inserting 2 x layer hens.

Pretty pumped!!

t50sgm.jpg
 
scon said:
I have never gardened but the bride is a pretty serious gardener.I am the garden's heavy lifter.
Yesterday's job was to set up what the bride maintains is a biodynamic compost.She is involved with a gardening coven who transport poop around the Sou'West,do stirrings and whatever else.Brought home some biodynamic spuds the other day from some farm in Donnybrook that weighed about a kilo each(no s**t) and were delicious.
The compost is easy peasy.I used a few old sheets of corri to make walls about 1.5wx3mx1mh.Next I got a 3m length of 100m polypipe and sliced sections out of the sides with a grinder and drilled a pile of big holes in it.This goes on the ground up the guts of the compost to allow it to continue to aerate.
Then place straw about 15cm deep on the floor make up a slurry of cow s**t to pour over it.Put about 30cm of green waste on top of that and sprinkle with hydrated lime.
Rinse and repeat:another layer of straw or what the recipe calls 'carbonaceous material',more slurry/thin layer of basalt rock dust,rock phosphates,seaweed dust more straw,more slurry,more greens...til about 1-2 metres high.
That's the basic dung pile to which the biodynamic sorceress will add "preparations".:D:eek:
Click to expand...

Should be good.

Worms will love it, until it gets hot
 
Got separate worm farm but the instructions tell you to put the pile under trees;particularly favours casuarina,grevillea or other leguminous trees.
I've seen compost piles running hot water systems.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

I'm trying to limit the use of bad language. She has the memory of an elephant, but hasn't quite grasped the rules of appropriate use in public just yet.

Although, whilst hearing a "you bastards!" is quite funny, a " you rotten F***ing **** mongrels would be hilarious! :D
 
Lach72 said:
Should be good.

Worms will love it, until it gets hot
Click to expand...
Just read the rest of the recipe and it advises that the temperature is regulated by the volume of green(nitrogenous)material.Too much moisture and insufficient green makes the pile cold.The aim according to the instructions is for the heap to heat up vigorously over 2-3 days and gradually cool over weeks.Turning it after 6 wks gets it going again on a lesser scale.
 
Kram81 said:
Has anyone ever bothered to cure olives from their own tree?
Click to expand...
Many years ago. We had about 5 olive trees on the property and dad loved his olives, so we ended up with a laundry full of plastic garbage bins full of olives pickling in brine. I don't know how they went because I was a kid and olives tasted like s**t to me anyway.
 
I love them too, but I'm pretty lazy so I buy them de-pipped (and pre-sliced half the time). Don't think I'd ever go to the effort of doing my own.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

The greatest olives I have ever eaten were whole, green and bloody huge.

Surprisingly enough they came from between Northampton and Chapman Valley.

Eagle..something...bloody wonderful
 
slicedndiced said:
The greatest olives I have ever eaten were whole, green and bloody huge.

Surprisingly enough they came from between Northampton and Chapman Valley.

Eagle..something...bloody wonderful
Click to expand...
Eagle Vale. Tried their olive leaf extract once, like most things good for you it tasted awful.

I was in the cappuccino strip on Monday and big fat olives are piling up on the footpath outside a couple of the eateries.
 
Reginald Perrin said:
Eagle Vale. Tried their olive leaf extract once, like most things good for you it tasted awful.

I was in the cappuccino strip on Monday and big fat olives are piling up on the footpath outside a couple of the eateries.
Click to expand...

That's them. Olive leaf extract? Never knew such a thing existed. Will steer clear.
 
slicedndiced said:
The greatest olives I have ever eaten were whole, green and bloody huge.

Surprisingly enough they came from between Northampton and Chapman Valley.

Eagle..something...bloody wonderful
Click to expand...

http://www.eaglevaleolives.com.au/

We used to go mushrooming out that way when I was a young tacker.

edit: hadn't read to the end of the thread. :p
 
PastiesPeake said:
Decided to put a chook run in my garden last weekend. I've sown it with wheat and will wait for that to germinate before inserting 2 x layer hens.

Pretty pumped!!

t50sgm.jpg
Click to expand...

Looks bloody great mate, but one very pointed question - what have you got around the tree trunk and roof joining points? maybe I am just misreading the photo, but it does look like the tree is either going into, or very close to the edge of, the chook pen.

Cats and foxes (even in the middle of most cities - except Hobart and Launceston - you'd be surprised how many foxes there are) will just use that tree structure as a route to your chooks, unless the roof and sides of the mesh are fairly heavily reinforced, including with some spiky barrier lines to stop them running on to the roof...

Anyway, hopefully I just misread your photo and the tree is on the other side of five fences and your neighbour's vicious attack chiuahuas.

If not, no need to chop down the tree, just build a further barrier around your chooks, so that any cats or other dudes that come to visit can't get to the pen in one fell swoop...

PM me if you need more ideas...

BpG
 
Kram81 said:
Has anyone ever bothered to cure olives from their own tree?
Click to expand...


Yep.

Easy as.

And really no more dramas than doing the laundry or washing the dishes - let me know if you are still keen, and I will get you details of someone close who can show you the simple traditional way.
 
I've got the Weber going with a shoulder of pork and have a whole day of gardening planned.

The missus has decided that this means she should sleep in and left me with the kids. They're inquisitive and slightly devious so can't be trusted.
Chances of instant death if I tip her out of bed?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Just ate my first home grown tomato ever!

One Green Zebra ripened up quicker than the rest.

I don't know what I was really expecting. BOOM!!! Is this what a tomato is supposed to taste like?

Bellissimo!

I saw this the other day which might explain my bumper crop.

http://homegrownmovement.com.au/2014/05/31/blue-banded-bees/

IMG_8105.jpg


Going to plant some lavender to make sure to attract them.
 
BeinPurplenGreen said:
Looks bloody great mate, but one very pointed question - what have you got around the tree trunk and roof joining points? maybe I am just misreading the photo, but it does look like the tree is either going into, or very close to the edge of, the chook pen.

Cats and foxes (even in the middle of most cities - except Hobart and Launceston - you'd be surprised how many foxes there are) will just use that tree structure as a route to your chooks, unless the roof and sides of the mesh are fairly heavily reinforced, including with some spiky barrier lines to stop them running on to the roof...

Anyway, hopefully I just misread your photo and the tree is on the other side of five fences and your neighbour's vicious attack chiuahuas.

If not, no need to chop down the tree, just build a further barrier around your chooks, so that any cats or other dudes that come to visit can't get to the pen in one fell swoop...

PM me if you need more ideas...

BpG
Click to expand...

Yep, there is a tree right in the middle of the pen. However, there is a roof made of chicken wire. I obviously had to cut a hole to fit it around the tree, but that has been re-enforced with more wire. Pretty sure cats cant get in.

Ended up getting a Leghorn and an Austrolorp, both 6 weeks old.
 
PastiesPeake said:
Yep, there is a tree right in the middle of the pen. However, there is a roof made of chicken wire. I obviously had to cut a hole to fit it around the tree, but that has been re-enforced with more wire. Pretty sure cats cant get in.

Ended up getting a Leghorn and an Austrolorp, both 6 weeks old.
Click to expand...
I thought I saw the netting extend over the roof. Good idea too, because you also need to keep predatory birds out.

What sort of tree is it? You wouldn't want poisonous berries dropping into the pen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top