OBSERVATIONS:
It's early September and the weather is already hot. I complained about the cold through June and July and early August, but even now the weather is easing up. It'll be late-twenties by the end of September.
It's going to be a burning summer.
Plans:
1. make a space for the chooks under the house, limit them there on the hot summer days.
2. cover over the chicken run, and tarp the chicken yards (extra netting down the sides of the yards)
I'm thinking of taking off the roofing on one part of the chook run and angling it in the direction of the slope. It would have to be done before tarping the chicken yards, though.
CHOOKS:
All the girls are laying, Hangyan did a double-yolker the other day. Hangyan also tends to try to limit the other two's eating. If she's eating at the trough, the other little girls are chased away. If they're eating at the hanging feeders, she'll hop up to take over. It's why we have multiple feeders – to make sure that everyone gets a feed.
COMPOST:
Need to dig out the compost in the 3rd bay – find somewhere to put it at least...
I bought a load of soil from Flower Power. pH is somewhere in the 12 range, I think... Unsuitable for planting straight off, and likely to poison anything I put it on. *sigh*
The goal right now is to move it into containers and spaces where it can rest and the pH can restore. I'm adding sulphur to it by the spoonful, but it's going to be pretty bad. My regular compost is easily pH 7 – almost neutral.
PREPARING:
What to do about the Flower Power soil – ph of at least 10.
1. Add Sulphur to remediate the soil.
2. Get it into holding containers to sit for the next few months
- sand bag
- black adjustable composter
- compost bays
SEEDING:
Planted some more Golden Acre CABBAGES – last week in August
Planted BEANS in the various beds where I'd already put the FlPw soil – partly to check for those pesticides that linger in the soil, partly to act as a soil regulator, partly to check if beans will grow in that degree of basic soil.
Wax (butterbean? black seed) in the Triangle Bed wicking bed.
Tigers Eye in the AVO-SHED
[the other bean] in the LOUNGE ROOM WATER-UPs
PLANTING OUT:
- Elephant GARLIC (about 3 cloves)
COFFEE plants in the bed in the backyard. It should do okay through most of the year, but might struggle a little in winter with less sun. We'll see, I guess.
HARVEST:
CABBAGE – don't know what kind this was, but it had long leaves like a wombok, but also slightly spicy, like a Chinese mustard variety
BROCCOLI – still going with a head here and a head there.
FEEDING:
Fed the GARLIC in the pathway VEGEPOD
PRUNING and NETTING:
1. Neko-Peach is netted (but some fruit is already stung, will need to dispose of these).
- I need to toss the net next year.
2. netting for FOUR-STONE PLUM
- needs to be all the way around the branch to try to keep the possums out.
THOUGHTS: Thoughts on seasons:
TO DO:
soil
1. Clear out compost bay
2. reform compost bays
3. Line compost bay with panels
4. move soil (remediating along the way)
- compost bays
- black compost
