Dear Diary: 26th April

OBSERVATIONS:

I want to dig up the entire FRONT FENCE bed. In part because there are mugwort MUGWORT seedlings popping up everywhere in it, in part because I think the ELDER TREE roots are in there somewhere. Also, the SALVIAS have gone a little cray-cray. As has the THAI BASIL. And the GERANIUM.

But there are DAHLIAS in there that are doing beautifully, some LILIES and some COSMOS - a deep magenta one, not just the orange ones! I need to save the seed from that ASAP.

I fixed a wheelbarrow! Okay, not entirely - it was mostly put together by a friend, but there was some angle-grinding required to remove wheels and bolts and trim down axles. But it's done! With a new wheel! And it rolls! *pauses to admire*

CHOOKS:

Haami is back to normal - as normal as she gets. She needs some special feeding (she gets a lot of human-level food) and all the chickens are getting enriched water. Kerry's egg shells are no longer quite as fragile as they were, which is good.

COMPOST:

I've started sieving the compost I made...last year? Longer? IDEK. But I'm working my way through it pretty slowly. It's always slow.

The presence of the wheelbarrow makes sieving the compost much easier. It would be even easier with a second person there to help, but that's not going to happen anytime soon, I think. Or maybe I could get one of the sistren to do the spinning of the sieve while I shovel in the soil?

PREPARING:

In the last week, I set up the two metal-frame beds in the front - ESPALIER-STONE - plastic on the bottom, then woodchips, then chook manure, comfrey, some lucerne, more woodchips, compost soil, some worm castings, and pea straw on top to keep the moisture in. Don't know how well they'll do if we end up having a dry year. I think it's more likely to be a wet year than a dry one, but still...

SEEDING:

The second sowing of BRASSICA seedlings are sprouting - all the F1s are coming good, the heirlooms? Not so much. That's not comforting, in fact. Then again, I also can't be entirely sure how old these seeds are. They don't come with a date on them (which they really should). So they might be older than viability can manage.

PLANTING OUT:

BEETROOT seedlings are going strong. They'll need to be planted out very soon. I might have to do them on ANZAC day - most likely in between the existing BRASSICA plantings.

HARVEST:

I think the AVOS are ready again. I picked one, but it's taking its sweet time to get soft.

FEEDING:

I haven't beeen feeding the BRASSICAs much, but I think I should do some more. Need to work out what they need for the fruiting stage that's coming along.

PRUNING:

I got the lawn guy to trim down all the fruit trees, so I have a giant pile of chipping to do. There needs to be some neatening of the clustering branches, and trimming down, but I can do that in bits here and there on days that I have the time.

THOUGHTS:

Thoughts on where the fruiting/longer term plants should go.

1. Grape
- front yard in front of LOUNGE ROOM
- front yard in front of PORCH

2. White Sapote, Black Sapote, Ice Cream Bean
- under jacaranda, with intent of succession planting. Issue might be the jacaranda crowding them out of deeper nutrients. (How do you kill a jacaranda?)
- what if I dug a hole deep enough for a watering tube next to the intended tree locations?

3. Lychee
- along chicken yard?

4. Apricot
- along chicken yard?

5. Kumquat
- along chicken yard?

dear diary: not in format, because it's kind of busy, 15th April

Apparently I already posted most of this...

UPDATE: The BRASSICA seeds that are sprouting are the ActiveVista F1 ones. *sadface*

For the planned “front garden bed”, I'm absolutely going to need to have plastic laid down to keep the tree roots from getting through too easily. maybe even dug out a little, with gravel over it, and then the pond liner plastic for the wicking section?

UPDATE: The ROOT VEGIES seeds are not sprouting - one shoot, and nothing else! I think the seed is too old.

I need to make a plan for where things are going to be planted out this winter:
GRAPE
HOPS
WHITE SAPOTE
ICE CREAM BEAN
LYCHEE
CHOKO
APRICOT
BLACK SAPOTE
KUMQUAT

...that's a lot of trees, actually. EEP. I really might have to get rid of the extra nectarine that doesn't really do anything but grow nekos that go moldy...

dear diary: 10th April 2025

Lots of rain in the weather. Lots and lots of rain. Enough that I think the tank is full. I rerouted the carport roof tanks out to my brassica garden under the frangipani and that’s been doing kind of okay.

So after the egg a couple of weeks ago, Haamyu was feeling very full and solid. B1 (sister) was particularly concerned about Haamyu, and took her to a vet on Saturday. It turns out she has egg peritonitis, somewhat caused by an overactive ovary and severe vitamin deficiency, to the point where all her bodily reserves of vitamins are depleted. Chances are that the other chickens are also somewhat vitamin deficient – apparently our soil is not great at some point? Which, damn.

So she’s been removed from the general flock (who are digging around in the ground) and is being fed particular foods, clean and not-in-the-dirt, along with a vitamin regimen and some antibiotics.

PHEW! Anyway, this is a very expensive chicken, and I do not recommend this if you have a day job! TBH, I’m not sure how much of the situation is because B1 feels vaguely guilty for Haami not being a favourite of the flock, and because we take the chickens to actual avian vets who love these animals, rather than the more pragmatic vet practices.

Anyway.

We’re heading for winter, everyone is going light on the laying, and we’re getting eggs only at the rate of maybe one a day. Once again, Kerry is laying soft-shells, her issue might be the same vitamin deficiency; she’s very scraggly, although that can also be because she plunges in to get food and the others will pick on her to get her to move away.

We have ALL THE FLOWERS right now. After a couple of years of failures, the dahlias have finally come good! Beautiful large blooms, adding colour to the fringes of the ‘bee garden’ section over by the front fence. Wonderful!

I have two walking onions/leeks that I need to work out where to plant. I’m thinking on the step space, so they can grow out and not dry out. Drying out is a big problem around the place through the dry seasons we sometimes have.

Planting for spring: SPINACH, CORIANDER , KALE, maybe time to plant the BUK CHOI, need to work out where to do the JAPANESE RADISH (can’t remember the name right now), also CHINESE CABBAGE (WOMBOK). I just ordered a bunch of seeds from Diggers, hopefully they come through before the growing season is done!

For the planned “front garden bed”, I'm absolutely going to need to have plastic laid down to keep the tree roots from getting through too easily. maybe even dug out a little, with gravel over it, and then the pond liner plastic for the wicking section?

I planted out a slew of LEEKS and ONIONS a week ago in a tray but I don’t know how many of them will take, they’re all rather old.

Mulch half the ASPARAGUS (upper bed, I think), maybe plant Zja’s ASPARAGUS wherever there is space.

Mulch the POTATOES in the small VEGEPOD.

I planted a bunch more seeds yesterday (9th April):

CAULIFLOWER: Macerata Green (HVS)
CAULIFLOWER: snowball early (HVS)
CABBAGE: Early Jersey (HVS)
BROCCOLI: Aurora F1 (AV)
CHINESE CABBAGE: Matilda F1 Early (AV)

Put up a netting frame around the backyard BRASSICAs (APPLE-CREPE, and CREPE-APRICOT)

Sprayed pyrethrum over the BRASSICAS (found a bunch of teeny tiny caterpillars).

This weekend, more chook manures, water in with the biogrow solution.

House: closing the gaps

The windows are in but the job isn't yet done!

There are a lot of gaps:
Gaps between the architraves and the walls:

Gaps between the glass settings and the window framings:

And then the standard gaps in the floor:

All of which pull drafts up through the walls under the house.

I was linked to this really great site called GIY - Green It Yourself: Australian, full of practical advice, perfect for those of us who live in gappy old houses that weren't built for anything below 10C or above 28C (ie. most of Sydney). We may not want to run the a/c all summer, and the reverse-cycle a/c (heat pump) all winter - we might just want our houses to be liveable without needing to burn more energy...

I wish I'd found this site sooner, it has some really good advice!

First things first: How to Caulk. Get thee a caulking gun and learn how to use it! Anyone can use it, you just need to get familiar with it. Learn not only how to use it, but also how to clean up after! Also, trim your nails right down and have the hand-cream ready! You can wear gloves, sure, but there's nothing to beat your fingers doing the walking.

Second things second: the actual type of caulk to use. If you only have options from Bunnings, use options from Bunnings. Better to be draft-proofed than not! However, the stuff at Bunnings is for your average DIY - their bread-and-butter is the weekend DIY warrior. Tradies tend to use tradie-specific hardware places and the stuff there tends to be better quality. My local tradie hardware is Hardware and General, but I got the white gap filler from my local Reece hardware and plumbing down the road.

My new double-glazed windows are white, so I'm using the white caulking (Soudal Gap Filler) around the edges, and to seal any gaps between the window frame and the wooden architraves themselves.

However, my skirting boards are white, and my floors are natural wood - polished floorboards done (rather badly by sub-contracted "professionals") after we pulled up the carpet. I used the white caulking for three floor gaps and...well, it doesn't look great. But that's done now and can't be undone, and they're in 'bedrooms' rather than the main room. Which was pretty intentional. It's gonna be clear caulking (HB Fuller - Ultra Clear Caulk) for the rest of the floorboard gaps!

Also, might try to fill in a few of the spaces between the floorboards - wood putty might do the job if it can be neatly cleaned up.

Third things third: I'm doing this now is because we have all the furniture and stuff out, and it's easiest to do when it's all out of the way. Moving furniture is a PITA and no fun, especially when you're doing it all by yourself.

Plus if I get it done this autumn, then when full winter turns up, at least it won't be quite as bad as it used to be...

The downside is that I've been basically exhausted the last two weeks. Painting the window architraves, sealing them up. Sealing up the floors, putting up curtains (where the windows are ready)...

On a personal, I think I might also have come down with something. It might even be COVID, although very mild and largely asymptomatic thanks to full vaccinations and all the boosters. But I've been absolutely shattered for the last week and probably should have gone for a PCR or a doc visit. I might do that this week, if I can scramble the time.

Dear Diary: April 2023 - the one with two fewer chooks

WEATHER:

Cold change in early April, after a warm and lovely March.

RAIN

Spatters here and there, at one stage there was enough to fill the tanks, but then I opened the stopcock on the carport tanks and they've been pretty much empty since. Stagnant, too. Once the windows are done, I should disconnect them and clean them out.

CHOOKS:

Coldie died on Easter Monday, followed a week later by Shan. They were both sick, both had gone to the vet in the previous month but died overnight.

RIP 'The Banquet': our 'lockdown chooks'.

Q1, now known as Carambah (Caramel), is laying decent sized eggs. Q2, now known as Choquette (Choux Pastry) hasn't even got her comb in! it's really weird. She looks like a large-sized pullet, while Carambah looks like a full layer bird!

It's a bit weird without any of our 'older' chooks. I can't explain why, it just is.

OBSERVATIONS

Everything is dropping leaves and dying. The backyard is full of things mulching and it's not idea. I really need to hire those JW kids to come round, pull up the grass, put the cardboard down, and cover the paths with mulch.

PREPARATION:

Winter is coming: need to think about what I'm going to plant where and for what purpose...

I might just pull up the tomatoes in the APRICOT-AVO bed, because they're not actually producing anything, and maybe pull up the bed itself so it can go back to the grassy/herbal area that I'm planning for it...

PLANTING

Planted out a bunch of brassicas in the APPLE-CREPE bed, watered them in with brassica water (rotted purchased brassicas) so they get the nutrients to grow and flower.

RIPENING

Pomegranates: not sure when to harvest them.

Tomatoes - some of the late varieties I planted - might be the Blue Smurf, or the other ones I got from Elisha (I think; look it up)

HARVEST

Pomegranates. Persimons. Pumpkins. Lots of Ps in there.

Also: Avocadoes!

PRUNING

EVERYTHING needs pruning and chipping and digging up. All the grass in the backyard.

THOUGHTS

We have the windows in as of ANZAC day and that's a relief. There's still some sealing up to do: both along the skirting boards and along the undersides/tops of the windows. I need to find somewhere that sells the kind of filler that they were using (turns out it's Anywhere That Isn't Hammerbarn). Also need to pry open a skirting board somewhere where it won't be too spotted and see what it looks like there... Could be a bit hairy!

Maybe leave that for Saturday.

dear diary - april with it's showers sweet

CHOOKS

dug out bits of their yard, they're not fully using the back.

PRUNING & PREPARING

DINING WINDOW VEGEPOD
Edge composted: comfrey, worm castings, pea straw, watered in with worm wee and seaweed brew

PLANTING

in DINING WINDOW VEGEPOD:

RIGHT SIDE
main crop: GARLIC Valiant
side crop: RADISHES confetti and watermelon, SPRING ONIONS

LEFT SIDE
main crop: GARLIC Monaro
side crops: LETTUCES italian mixed, mixed heirloom, CHIVES and SPRING ONION mix

NOTES

dear diary: 12th April

CHOOKS

Currently on the APPLE-CREPE bed, having been on the PLUM-STONE bed.

I really want to put the netting around the triangle bed and to leave them in there during the day, but it requires guarding from the local dogs.

The coop needs a second, follow-up spray. And now that we have a product called Alphamites, that might give the chooks individual protection against the mites. Which would be really really good...

PRUNING & PREPARING

Wondering if I should sever the peach and nectarine branches from the STONE tree (and maybe the smaller grafts from the APPLE). They're not really thriving or producing, and things have gotten out of hand. That's my fault for not bringing things along more evenly, but now that it is where it is, maybe it would be best to just end that part of it? And what I want from that tree are the apricots and the plums, not the donut peaches (I get those from the DONUT PEACH or NECTARINES (two trees already that produce those in significant numbers).

The downside of cutting down the two apples is that I don't have either of those types

If I do that, midwinter would be the best time, I think.

PLANNING and PLANTING

Still need to get the GARLIC and the BRASSICAS into the ground. This week would be best so it doesn't rot.

NB guild: Garlic, coriander, onion, leek, lettuce - although with Garlic as the main product, apparently it would be best to do

Guilds from Wollondilly shire: a little further south than here with cooler weather, but some good guild ideas:
Broccoli, chamomile, Dill, lEttuce, Lovage, mustard, Oregano, Parsley, Parsnip, Rhubarb, Rosemary, Sage, Silverbeet, Snow pea, Thyme
Carrot, chilves, katle, leek, lettuce, Marigold, Onion, pak choi, parsley, radishes, sage, silverbeet
Beetrooot, cabbage, cauli, chamomile,Dill, hyssop, lettuce, marigold, onion, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, spinach, snow peas, thyme
Beetroot, Broccoli, brussel sprouts,carrot, chamomile, dill, garlic, hyssop, kale, lettuce, onion, parsley, sage,
borage broad beans, carrots, calendula, dill, garlic, lettuce, marigolds, parsley, parsnip, rocket
amaranth, comfrey, mizuna, mustard greens

There's a mix of perennial and annual in there, which might work because I'd grow the perennial with an eye for the chooks to take it down the next time they're in the space.

Also need to look up planting guilds under fruit trees - specifically the AVOCADO and APRICOT and PLUM for the backyard. I know I had some flagged a while back, but finding them is the trick. maybe this post...

RIPENING

pumpkins, which might be golden nuggets if they go properly orange. Or might just be those round orange ones that look a bit like halloween pumpkins. Whatever they are, I hope they're tasty. Also, I've spotted a streaky butternut or two that have just been pollinated and are now growing. Whether they make it before the vine dies? Another matter entirely.

HARVEST

At least one ear of corn. Not sure what's going to happen to the rest of the corn stalks. I think most of the ears came out during the rain, which means they're not really going to produce anything, I think... And are a bit too hard to be baby corn.

NOTES

Sunny week, ending in a Friday holiday.

garlic: explicit planting plan 2022

1. PLant 1/2 Valiant, 1/2 Monaro Purple before 13th April
2. Plant 1/2 Valiant, 1/2 Monaro Purple during 18th-19th April
3. Plant 1/2 Spanish Roja on 25th-26th April
4. Plant 1/2 Spanish Roja in late May root planting time

Will want really well-draining beds b/c of the expected rain this season and risk of rotting. Except I already used the bathtub garden...

Using any of the wicking beds feels like a supremely bad idea, too.

I feel like the cheap metal frame I set up in the front garden bed might be a pretty good option. But I'd have to dig out all the soil, pull out the weeds, put some cardboard/black plastic down to reduce the weeds growing through, and fill it all back up again before I could do that.

Hm. I wonder if I could put soil in the medium-large black pots and stick a olla in it, fill up the olla if we ever reach a point where things start getting dry...

diary: I know we'll grow again some sunny day!

WEATHER

SUNNY! There is sun, there is breeze, things are drying out pretty well. It provided me with enough warmth and a break in the weather to do a number of garden tasks, and get involved enough that I lost track of time... Lunch will be a little later than I planned.

CHOOKS

Hainan, Shantung, and Goongbao keep getting into the neighbour's yard. I have no idea how, but I am trying to plug holes in the fencing.

PRUNING & PREPARING

I did edge composting on the BATHTUB and the BACKYARD WICKING beds. I videoed it, in landscape so it can be used to make a video on Edge Composting.
BATHTUB: Comfrey, gutter tailings, sifted compost, pea straw
BACK WICKING: comfrey, worm castings, pea straw, indian borage water

Pruned back a large proportion of the COSMOS in the front triangle bed; need to run the chooks through there this year.

PLANTING

Sowed BATHTUB out with CORIANDER, ONIONS (red spanish, white spanish), and SPINACH (viroflay).

Planted out BACK WICKING with a LANDCRESS (tiny). Future thought: probably more silverbeet/spinach.

RIPENING

Still the PUMPKINS (whatever type they are) all across the front yard. Tomatoes in the APPLES-DUALSTONE.

HARVEST

Several potatoes from the front bed (APPLES-DUALSTONE), rather knobbly, a couple were green but I cut the green parts off. A couple of new potatoes from the

NOTES

I dug up a couple of COMFREY plants, but have a feeling I didn't go deep enough to get the small roots, so I'm probably going to have to dig a bit deeper maybe. Or just live with comfrey popping up everywhere. As though it wasn't already.

There's a guy advertising for work hours on the local group, I'm thinking I might be able to use him to help with a) moving wood mulches, b) turning composts, c) sieving composts, d) chipping prunings... IDK.

diary: rain rain rain yet more rain

CHOOKS

I think there's a few mites who've come back. Once the weather clears sufficiently, I'll give the coop another spray, along with the triangle coop and the small shelter. I might leave the bottom tray off the chook roost since, according to Hannah from Goodlife Permaculture, the chooks don't need it - and her chooks are down in Tassie where they do get occasional snows.

But putting together a new coop is a priority, just as soon as I manage to gather the pieces, and the weather is decent enough to build the damn thing. Hopefully before next spring.

PRUNING & PREPARING

Trimmed down the picket fence bushes; they're going to need a whole lot more trimming. And maybe I'd be better off going at them with an articulated saw instead over the winter.

Going to need to make a decision about the passionfruit and where I should be encouraging it to grow. I have fencing, I just haven't set it up and I'm debating if I want to. If that's the place to be doing it.

Raspberries need tying up and fencing in. I should put a hook into that fence, suitable for binding up the canes, because they just end up crawling everywhere. Also, probably no autumn berries this year, dash it.

Was planning to do edge composting re: Limestone Permaculture around the bathtub garden. It just feels so bloody COLD right now!

SEED SAVING & PLANTING

I found a leek that has seeds, so that's seed saving. I used the leeks in a kedgeree - still have the green leaves, need to make a potato and leek soup. It'll use up some of the chicken stock in the freezer anyway.

I might end up planting my garlic in mid-April; now I have to work out where...

Otherwise, I haven't planted out my brassicas at all. I don't know where to put them since the beds I was planning for are all overgrown with pumpkin and melon and sweet potato vines. Need to plan that one better next time!

Garlic: planting guide at FB: I have Spanish Roja (Creole, possibly Rocambole), Rojo de Castro (Creole) Valiant (Turban), and Monaro Purple(Turban)

Glass Gem Corn seed saving: I saved a lot of seed and was originally planning to share it at the crop swap at Eden Gardens on the 3rd, but that's been cancelled. ARGH.

RIPENING

I have five pumpkins that have finally pollinated and are steadily growing. at least one appears to be a butternut, but the other three are likely sugar pumpkins. The pumpkins are always late in my garden, I don't know why. I'd really like an early pumpkin for storing.

I don't know about 'ripening' but the hops have flowered, but not very well.

The ginger is waterlogged and on the verge of rotting. I pulled out a piece yesterday, and it was sodden, but seems to be drying off quite nicely.

HARVEST

The taro plants have gone beserk. Seriously beserk. I'm probably going to have to cook some of it at some point. Trying to work out what I can make with it. Taro chips looks like a possibility.

NOTES

The Crop Swap that was planned for this weekend at Eden Gardens has been cancelled. ARGH. All the things I was hoping to swap are now defunct.

I had plans to pick up a wooden wardrobe for pumpkin and melon and potato storage but that's kind of fallen by the wayside due to no energy and no room.