Permabee: what happened next

It was a much smaller permabee than the one in December – only 7 people including me. Thankfully, Margaret of Moss House brought her partner Kris along to help and he provided plenty of muscle and practicality.

We moved the water tank, remade the compost bioreactor (chopping up the smaller pieces in the process), and planted out the front treefence.

I dithered a lot. Particularly in the planting of the treefence, but it’s done now. From the north, going south:

• seed avocado (already planted)
• kaffir lime
• elder tree
• macadamia
• lemon tree

Having discussed the removal of the jacaranda with my sister, we discovered that Margaret’s husband loves both climbing (with ropes and harnesses) and tree lopping. He’s willing to do it ‘just for fun’. That’s $1K saved! Now just have to deal with the council on the issue of the jacaranda.

I’m thinking we might do the food forest around the Flame Tree. The chiefest problem is that all the trees that we have left are evergreens: black sapote (chocolate pudding), kumquat, mango, lychee, etc. And they’ll block out the light under the tree in the middle of summer which is not the best outcome.

Perhaps the kumquat could go at the lounge corner of the house, while the lychee is at the lounge-porch corner, add the acerola cherry in as a low hedge/bush to shade the brick wall… That leaves the mango, banana circle, paw paws, pineapples, 1x avocado, and chocolate pudding tree for where the jacaranda presently is, once it’s been cut down. That should get sun all year around. Water may be a problem but isn’t it always? I can probably run a bucket greywater line out that way eventually.

The mulberry and 1x avocado at the gate corner would also work nicely: they won’t be blocking anything but each other, and the mulberry should provide the avo with some shade/protection, so long as I keep it trimmed down. Maybe?

Temporary plantings along front bed (one season)

• sunflowers
• marigolds
• poppies/poppy mixes (rake away mulch, bare a line of soil, moisten soil, sow seeds, moisten with soil)
• eggplant
• tomatoes
• broccoli

Plant (perennials, longer term)

• comfrey & borage
• lawn thyme (dig out around the water tap and plant the thyme)
• oregano
• rosemary bush
• lavendar
• parsley
• allium flower bulbs (not sure if annual or perennial)
• lemongrass
• rhubarb crowns (need to acquire first)
• vietnamese mint

Good planting days for August are listed here and I still have to think about what to companion plant with the apricot. I have asparagus which aren’t performing fantastically where they are – decent, but not amazing – but sometimes I feel like that’s the story of my garden…