Green & Gold

The wattles at the back fence are in full bloom now. We are treated to the green and gold pageantry of a southern Australian winter. On sunny winter days I am delighted to hear the hum of bees steadily working the pom-pom flowers of the wattle trees.

The soil here is building into a deep, rich, black earth. It has taken some time. Years in fact. With what I have learnt here I aim to build the soil for the New Garden much, much faster.

A compost pile lies almost forgotten in the back garden bed. Shaded now in mid-winter by the ever climbing wattles as they begin to block out the precious sunlight. I am hoping that in summer they will be an advantage as the sun will be a bit higher in the sky. We shall see. The bacteria and fungi and subterranean miracle workers do their magic under the black plastic sheltering the composting mass. 

Of our new chickens, the roosters revealed themselves today. At about 6am.

Two of them are no longer with us at the close of day. I'm not happy about it, but it's a responsibility I took on when I accepted the eggs for hatching under Clarice, our Orpington Cross Bantam. Of those that are hens we will hopefully start to see eggs from them soon given that they hatched in March.

I find myself overtired after work and then coming home and looking after family matters. As I fall into bed I have started to find a great comfort in dreaming of the New Garden and of how I will plant out the garden here for spring and summer. I lose myself in thinking of trees growing and bearing fruit. I realise that I am constantly thinking of my own newer version of the garden here. A Petit Paradis that is relocated, but which is growing in form in the mind as I fall into a slumber.

Rejuvenation

There is change in the air here.

With the progression of our plans to build and renovate I have decided to at least capture the journey towards our new destination as well as the journey out of our current situation. Our house here has evolved over the last four or so years and the garden has changed from season to season.

This year I plan more changes now that our first son will be nearly three and is able to do so much more in the garden. It is also a period of transition for us as I start to propagate plants for the eventual set-up of the new garden.

The theme is very much one of a transition into abundance, hence I have changed the sub-title of the blog to reflect this. It is a new chapter with a new destination. Still along the lines of what we have done here, but leading more into my original plans and ideas and incorporating what I have learnt along the way and concepts and strategies for how I want to live in the future.

I am excited about the journey and delighted that the destination will keep evolving, allowing the journey to continue along its progressive path.

More soon.

Compost Worms - Adventures in the Toxic Environment

The topic of using newsprint in the edible garden is one that raises its head on a regular basis and is something that I like to monitor. I use newsprint in the garden with the following considerations.

• I don't like to burden an area with either a great heap of newsprint at any one time or over a period of a year or so.
• My main indicator to the health of my soil is the soil life itself - and the most visible, easily identifiable  and more immediate indicator for me personally is the compost worms. If there is an abundance or even seemingly an over-abundance of worms in areas of composting with newsprint then I am relatively assured that there be no harm.

 This piece of information is from the Ecobaby website. I like it because it explains the process of conversion quite simply.

"As long as the worm composter is working properly, the worms will be able to handle these substances. Heavy metals become soluble and therefore potentially toxic in acidic environments. Worms prefer a relatively alkaline environment. Normally ground garden limestone is sprinkled into the composter. (Only use garden lime, NOT Quicklime, of course!). Worms carry out fine grinding of the lime particles. This neutralises any excess acidity and liberates plant nutrients stored in the rock. Heavy metals are also fixed in the soil and released slowly avoiding toxicity. Worms develop and maintain a culture of effective aerobic bacteria by culling pathogens, fungi and anaerobic bacteria. They also ensure the organic mass is well aerated."

My own experience is that newsprint and cardboard are exceptional materials for building up soil and are enhanced by the actions of soil microbes and worms. This is from my own observations of the materials breaking down, the abundance of worms found in the compost and the masses of tiny, tiny worms and cocoons which more often than not is found in conjunction with cardboard, particularly corrugated cardboard where the worms can move into the ridges and tunnels. There are many gardeners who have used newsprint and cardboard in their gardens for years now, particularly since the shift to soy-based inks and more environmentally considerate paper products and processes.

I choose to put the coloured printed material in the recycling bin instead of the garden mainly because it takes longer to break down and I personally have a dislike to the stuff and don't trust it. The other consideration is that the worms are not as attracted to it either because it takes a while for water to penetrate it and assist in breaking it down or because of the coatings used.

I also found an interesting article on the Mercola website which features the use of GE crops and soil fertility.

 GE Crops Affect Soil Fertility - Mercola.com

And this here is the link to an article with a little more depth to it than the normal articles found, but I still am having to scratch around to find some real statistics or studies indicating the dangers of toxic build-up in soils, particularly dioxins. There is some research into heavy metal conversion by compost worms and microbes, but dioxin appears to be a different matter.

City Food Growers article on "Is newspaper toxic for my organic garden?"

The other method I have found very efficient for converting large quantities of newsprint is ripping it into long shreds, a few cms wide and putting it into the chicken's strawyard where they dig it into the soil and scratch it up. The worms get to it a lot faster along with the action of the chook manure and it breaks down with a regular, gentle wetting. I like to do this in autumn when light showers keep it damp but not saturated.

Aspects of Petit Paradis

The garden is such a wonderland of surprises at the moment. There are tomatoes hiding deep in bushes along with pumpkins that were self sown and have fruit forming. The corn is doing well given it was sown early and then planted out just as we copped another few weeks of cold, wet weather. With any luck I will have managed to get three crops in this season, all staggered, providing we get the usual decent autumn weather that we usually get.

With the recent feeding up of snails, the Koi and goldfish have put on some good growth and are looking super healthy.

After the removal of our previous passionfruit we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Banana Passionfruit.

I have however, made a huge job for myself. I have been going through my seed collection and having a good cull of seeds. There are many that have been saved over the years that I do not have any records for and so it is a bit hit and miss with what will grow from them. Given that I have limited space in the garden I have put some seed aside to use for green manure. Others I am sowing out into pots to see what really germinates. If nothing comes of them, so be it. Otherwise I will plant our strong seedlings in the back garden bed when that is ready to utilise - at the moment I am waiting for some plants to finish setting seed, then I'll put in a new crop.

Other seeds I have grown from as little as five seeds and am gradually building up my numbers so that when we move there will be a good quantity of quality seed to sow a decent few rows of particular vegetables. For example I am building up numbers of bush beans and climbing beans, peas and zucchini. I have a small crop of popping corn on the go as a bit of a project for my son and to hopefully keep us in popcorn for another year or two.

In previous years I have grown several types of tomatoes along with several that have self sown in the garden from our composting - either from the shops or the Farmers' Market. This has given me a good variety that seem to do well in our location and climate. This year I also have a few heirloom varieties such as Periforme, so I am trialling these to see how they go.

Red Aztec Corn with its wig!

My Ongoing List of Plants for the New Garden

This list is for me to add to over time as I collect or think of plants to add to the New Garden  
D - Deciduous

Food Forest Plants

Tamarillo
Babaco
Thornless Youngberry (Mainly as a forage crop for the kids)
Thornless Blackberry (Same as above)
Youngberry (plenty of thorns but a good producer)
Fig (Green) D
Fig (Striped) D
Mulberry (M. macroura 'Shatoot') D - smaller growing mulberry tree with long white fruit. It is said to be the best mulberry for home gardens as it is a small tree which does not produce fruit that stains. It is native to India, Pakistan, southern China and Sri Lanka. This variety is on my wishlist.
Cherimoya
Roseapple - Syzygium
Capulin Cherry  - Prunus salicifolia
Jelly Palm - Butia capitata
Cavendish Banana
Avocado
Passionfruit -
Passionfruit - Banana
Choko - Green
Choko -  White
Guava
Grape - Dark (currently growing, will need propagating)
Grape - White
Grape - Sultana
Grapes - Currant (rescued cuttings, variety still to be confirmed
Loquat


Lower storey Food Forest
Turmeric
Cardomom
Galangal
Borage
Comfrey
Lemongrass
Yacon
Strawberries





Fruit Trees for Swales
Apricot  D (Grown from seed from a local tree, produces small but tasty fruits)
Lemon - Eureka - on my wishlist
Apple -
Apple -
Apple - Golden Blush - on the wishlist.
Persimmon - on my wishlist
Tahitian Lime - to replace the current one we have
Blood Orange - on the wishlist.
Navel Orange - on the wishlist
Imperial Mandarin - on the wishlist




Pioneer Plants
Tagesaste
Tagetes marigolds
Nasturtium

Herbs
Oregano
Lavendar
Fishmint
Salad Burnet
Mints - various in pots
Basil
Coriander
Dill
Bergamot


Insect Attractors & Bee Pasturage
Buddleja - trimmed to produce a profusion of flowers as butterfly feeder
Milkweed - interplanted amongst other plants to attract butterflies and nurture caterpillars esp. Monarch
Buckwheat
Salvia
Cosmos
Valerian
Echinacea
Carrot
Dill
Coriander
Borage
Comfrey
Bronze Fennel