Progress of a New Shed.

We have two metal sheds in the back yard, one is full of tools the other was the chicken roost, egg laying area. It is now been over a year since we had chickens and if we get anymore can move them to the top level. I have had thoughts of quail recently as much easier to look after and only take up a 30cm (square foot) of space each, compared to chickens at a square metre. It may not happen as our Daughter in Law is getting 2 chickens this week for the now 6 year old twins to experience. Eggs aren't big in that family due to Miss G being allergic to them and so the other children have grown up not really liking eggs, odd as that sounds. Cakes and such are usually made with an egg substitute.

Old chicken shed, just after it was put in 2016

 We have now pulled down the picket fence and the shed, the chickens got old and our son dealt with them, then we went on  long caravan holidays, so never got back to it all.
This below is the other shed.

It had all the compost bins in front which have now been moved to the back garden, which I have written about before. John pulled everything down and now the gazebo is holding all the "stuff" mainly from my old garden shed. Bits of the chicken shed are all over the place.

This is the new floor that is going in, the ground at the corner end is very uneven.

The two sheds are roughly back to back so the idea is to move the chicken shed to the fenceline, as it has a roof and needs to face in towards the house, and the tool shed to where that was. Our son has been organized to help when the time comes. Such awkward things to move too.

The red bridge is going to the Comunity Garden over a  rock river bed.

The whole thing will be roofed over and the middle for my potting area hopefully, John has an idea to fill the fence with more tools, I see it as a seedling working area, more table than anything else, and the chicken shed filled with pots and such. The other shed is filled to the knocker with tools as well and unusable for me. Living with a hoarder is not easy. There is always the gazebo I suppose, to use.

It has been raining most of the week and quite chilly, so I have lit the fire every night, just love sitting by it. I dashed out, between rain and the odd bit of sun, to bag the tomatoes as caterpillars are getting into them, and finally picked the two pumpkins, but surprised at how heavy they were, one was 1.8k and the other 1.65k. Other than that haven't done much outside, not really feeling myself, whether it is just the cold or I need a stronger medicine for the Rheumatoid, don't know,  just working on crafty things.
 

Hope you all had a good week.  Till Next Time

Brisbane Trip

We drove up to Brisbane this week to see my Rheumatologist, who has moved there from Coffs Harbour. A bit of a pain but not much alternative and it is only for every 6 months. Good excuse to call in at Ikea for some great kitchen knives they have, and a Yarn store for some chocolate brown wool which is quite hard to find.

Although my blood tests are settling down Dr. wants me to start back up on my infusions, sadly also he has recommended that we don't go to Vietnam in November, due to being  Immunosuppressant. Hows that for a big word! Means my immune system is compromised and basically for  Vietnam you have to have at least 3 vaccinations which may not take for me, so that means I have to have more blood tests to see what percentage, then maybe another lot to boost what you just had, 6 months later. 
It is recommended that most people only drink bottled water or alcohol. No salads as they are washed in tap water which has a few nasties like typhoid. Cooked meals only. etc you get the drift. Mosquito viruses are also a problem.  So I have cancelled the trip. Very disappointed.

Chook roaming area.

While in Brisbane we stayed with our niece. Her vege garden is looking great. Still a bit of work to do, but the fruit trees my sister and I  helped choose are coming along nicely. Nice to see chooks again, who just love roaming around the area they are allowed in as well every afternoon.

The 3 big raised beds are all covered now, which is great. Her seedling area is still producing.

We were given a branch from a yellow frangipani, which I will plant in a pot to start with. Plus some lovely eggs, and mangoes off the tree next door for my sister.

Just a quick trip, but great to get away.  


Till Next Time.

Is It Permaculture?

Lately I have been refreshing my knowledge on permaculture principals, mainly through youtube, which has an abundance of short videos. I say abundance because that word is bandied about by all who have large properties and just as large variety of plants and animals that can provide for your needs.

Those that live in the suburbs are whom I am focusing on, often again their piece of land is still on the big size of  1000sq.metres, but still it is more realistic of  your average home in today's world. The word abundance is still used.

Pond

Bill Mollison started Permaculture ideals to try and stop Governments from turning this world into a dry desert though overuse of chemicals, over fishing, bad management of the use of water, and chopping down all the forests.

 I am at that age where I remember him starting all this in Tasmania back in the 1970's, it seems to coincide in my mind with that wonderful show The Good Life. Thanks to him these principals are growing and being taught World Wide, and hopefully one day Governments will have in place a better way of helping this planet feed and support us.

So what is Permaculture?

“Permaculture offers a radical approach to food production and urban renewal, water, energy and pollution. It integrates ecology, landscape, organic gardening, architecture and agro-forestry in creating a rich and sustainable way of living. It uses appropriate technology giving high yields for low energy inputs, achieving a resource of great diversity and stability. The design principles are equally applicable to both urban and rural dwellers” - Bill Mollison

For me this means, growing our own food without using chemicals, as vegetables, herbs, fruit trees and vines, keeping  a few chickens, a worm farm,  letting nature help itself against bugs, with providing habitat for birds and bees, and a source of water. Feeding the soil with organic matter including compost from the garden. Using plants as a deterrent against pests in the form of sprays. I also use the word abundance.

This is abundance

Saving run off water as much as you can into tanks, using grey water where appropriate especially in times of drought. Using solar power, and energy saving appliances. Living simply and avoiding consumerism. Learning the art of making do, old fashioned home economics like cooking from scratch, preserving, mending, home crafts and DIY where appropriate. Leaving no waste. 

One of Three

 Design Principles for permaculture is what is being taught around the world. Food Forests, Composting, Zones, Working Together and keeping things Local. If we think of ourselves and where we live as and island, nothing can come in and only what we have together is it. All food, waste, water is shared and working together in harmony and you have got it.

"If you have learned the skills to prune apple trees, mend a computer, play the guitar, cook for a crowd, entertain children, operate a printing press, fix a downpipe, draw and paint, drive a tractor, use a word processor, install a wind generator, give a massage, juggle, run a photography workshop, and build a compost bin, not only are you better able to earn a living in a variety of circumstances; YOU also become more valuable in terms of what you are able to OFFER to others "( Permaculture ; A Beginners guide )

In the Beginning- Front yard

 Food Forests: A forest having several layers of Canopies from tall trees down to the lowest ground cover, in suburbia,  this means Fruit and Nut trees down to the ground of strawberries.

Zones. Zone 0 is your house or unit, 1 & 2 is your garden. Plant your kitchen garden near the kitchen, herbs being closest. Put your fruit tress further away, chickens and animals in another distance area. When you are on a huge acreage, the fruit trees are probably further than my back fence and the chickens beyond that. On you average block it makes sense to put fruit trees along the fence line and chickens near the trees.
 This all coincides with  replicating a Food Forest. Smaller permanent bushes  like gooseberries and blueberries a bit closer, under planted with strawberries, or perennial things like leeks, scattered around with lettuces or even flowers to bring the bees. No need for long straight lines of the same thing. Think in groups and then plant a few weeks later another of the same group and you have succession planting. The Old fashioned Cottage garden.

Current Front Yard

Zones 3 & 4 or more tend to get into growing your own firewood, or bamboo for structures, Nature habitats, with some fruiting vines like vanilla, or rubber trees, plants for selling in bulk like bananas, maybe even areas for a few cows or sheep. It is an area that usually suburbia is unable to do, although  I use branches pruned off trees, for fencing and starting the fire in our Nectre Bakers oven, every year.

Apple and Mulberry Twig fence

To us this is looking for recycle things in the district. As an example John pulled up at a house replacing its wood fence with a metal one and ask for the fencing, which is now cut up for burning, a week later the fence next door to that also got pulled down, and now we have wood for building another potting bench for me plus extra.

 We are now keeping an eye on the third fence next to the others it is also falling down lol. All for free. We buy very cheap Sugar cane mulch instead of expensive Hay. Save our own seed. Use comfrey as a mulch as well as homemade compost. All this is under permaculture, but really it is what my parents did so its a very natural thing.

Well if you read this far I am glad you stuck it out, till next time.

Finished up in the Chicken Area

Now that I have got over my illness, which was viral gastroenteritis, followed by viral meningitis, apparently quite common, and out of bed, I am  catching  everyone up on the finished path and garden down the back area. I gave it, its last sweep for a while and took pictures to compare the progress. Below is the pathway I am talking about, which was the chicken run, as it used to be .

Before

New pathway and garden on left.

 The next photo is the garden that was the old waterfall, full of weeds and generally unkempt. As it has lots of rocks and impossible to move, I have planted rock garden plants, that are very hardy. The soil is clay mostly, and rock hard, so I dug a bit out enough for a plant and added some rich vegetable soil to give each plant a head start to establish themselves.

Old Waterfall

 The chickens I let out and they had a wonderful time in the weeds, following me around and getting in the way.

No name chickens.

I am in two minds whether to paint the fence or not. Traditional  white or dark grey like the main fence. The area between the new and boundary fence is open enough for the chickens to run up and down. We created a door for them from the hen house.

Reverse view.

Looking towards chicken shed. The fence can be pulled apart at the joins so if the fruit trees need dealing with,  we will have room.

View over the pond, need rain to fill it.

It hasn't rained in so long, the pond needs a good couple of heavy rainy days to fill up, and cover the plastic. This was our old pool, and is now 4 foot deep, and full of plants and fish.

Once the rock garden gets going and a few more plants it should look lovely without too much weeding.The leaves from the Tibouchina, over hanging all of that corner drops its leaves, which is why the waterfall never worked plus water evaporated to fast.

I lit the fire for the first time, last night. We have had such a warm winter this year, finally it is getting cold enough. So nice to sit by it and read or sew. It is good to be back. Till next time.

New Chicken Shed and a Picket Fence.

It has taken a while to get to this stage, with the 36C plus heat and  then rain storms and hot again this week, finally, the picket fence run is finished and the enclosure of the shed itself all done. John still has to cut a hole in the side to make a flap door in order to get the eggs but, it is no problem to actually go in and get them.

Enclosed  and Safe

 One good thing I saw somewhere was to make the door, a double swing door. This enables you to open the top one and throw vegetable and fruit scraps in without physically getting in the shed itself. The chickens always want to escape.

Extra Door for Easy Feeding of Scraps

Perch Inside the Shed Itself

Seed Tray

Without the turkeys and all the pigeons eating the seed, it is lasting a lot longer. The tray is to catch all the seed being thrown around while the chickens look for the sunflowers seeds. They go nuts over them, but are not allowed to have too many.
 

New Picket Fence along the Fruit Trees.

The chickens will be allowed to run  along the inside of the picket fence once John has built  the opening for them.

The other end has its gate ready in case we need extra access. The fence is bolted together in sections and easily removed should we need to get to the fruit trees.

Far End of Run with its New Gate.

The water tank was added plus a bit of extra roof and shade cloth. We realised during the hot weather and rain storms,  they didn't have enough shade or rain protection

New Water Tank on the Chicken Shed.

 The tool shed is still to be moved, and the bridge put back, and I will need to get someone in to help do the Rock garden wall. This was an old waterfall, but we lost a lot of water into the atmosphere,  while it was running, so we hardly put it on, which in my mind defeats the purpose of having one, as lovely as it was. Now with it all open, we can build steps into the garden and weed and look after it  easily, once it is done. The rocks are really heavy to move, which is why we need help.

Future Rock Garden.

  At the back of the above photo is the wall to my back vegetable garden and I would like some steps of some sort there, getting to old to climb up it, and down it. It was the only access I had before.

View over Pond.

I haven't decided how to paint the fence yet, whether to go for traditional white, or dark grey which all the other fences are. I started painting them last year. The sheds will also be painted that colour as well, and hopefully disappear into the background. John has worked really hard on this, and it is looking really neat.

Till next time.

Moving the Chicken Shed

While my brother was here he helped us move the chicken shed from where it was as they have been digging up the earth in their area and it was like a moon landscape. On top of that the Brush Turkeys have been eating the seed along with every pigeon in the district, plus the Goanna attacking one of them, so it was time to seal them in an area of their own. and with a protected chicken tunnel, I have been reading so much about lately, that we will run around the trees.

The Chicken Shed as it was, and the area looking tired.

Normally we only have two chickens at a time, as if they lay an egg a day that gives us 14 eggs a week, and usually we get Isa Browns. At the moment we have two old Isa Browns and a black Australorp that our grandaughter bought home from school as it got too big in class, and get about 10 eggs a week, if weather doesn't get too hot. When we let them roam a bit further than their area I get 3 eggs a day, so happy hens love to lay.

Moving the Bridge

This bridge is at the end of our old swimming pool, which we have converted to a pond. The Grevillea next to it has been cut in half and the area cleared somewhat as this is where the chicken shed is being moved too. The other shed is a tool shed.

Einstein inspecting the area.

This area had the compost bin, the galangal and a few odd bits and pieces. I am glad we are attacking it as it too was becoming a bit of an eyesore.

Remaining part of the tree.

Most of the tree I was able to get into several green bins to be picked up the next day. Thank goodness for good neighbours. The rest I will put in for this week.

Area now empty.

The old wire barriers are all going as I need access to what used to be a waterfall, and which is a steep bank so I am hoping to change all of that to a rock garden with aloes and other plants that like heat and not much water.

Old Pathway for Chickens with lots of Well Dug Holes

Happy Chickens

 The path way will be condensed to just along the tree and fence line and I will hopefully pretty this up and fill in all holes. John is looking at doing a small picket fence along the tree line.

New position

The chicken shed in this area can be enclosed with wire both on the roof and along the edge with a barn door gate so I can throw food in without having to open the whole thing as they do like to escape.

Entrance View

I don't like the way the two sheds line up so decided  the tool shed had to be turned around back to back.

It has been really hot and sticky, so work is a bit slow, still a fair bit to do, and will keep you up to date. Happy Australia Day for tomorrow.