"Self-sufficiency does not mean 'going back' to the acceptance of a lower standard of living. On the contrary, it is the striving for a higher standard of living, for food that is organically grown and good, for the good life in pleasant surroundings... and for the satisfaction that comes from doing difficult and intricate jobs well and successfully." John Seymour ~ Self Sufficiency 2003

Monday, 18 April 2016

New project - part 3

I have mentioned before that there are plenty of stones in our area.  Not many large, useful ones, but many, many, many small irritating ones.  The size that are just perfect for distorting carrots which are trying to grow, or prevent RMan from raking up freshly scythed oats.

The stones on the road wash down whenever we have heavy rain (something I have a vague memory of - we have had exactly 1.5mm of rain thus far this month.  Previous years: 2014 = 33mm, 2015 = 53mm) - all different sizes of stones.  And, serendipitously, some of the stones are exactly the right size for my purpose. 
Soil test results.  The yellowed in area's show
deficiencies 
When we had our soil tested back in October 2014, the knowledgeable gentleman we saw told us that we should be grateful for those stones, as they contain valuable trace minerals which are beneficial for the garden.
The small pebbles were boiled for 10 minutes
So, off I toddled to our gate and harvested stones (pebbles) from the road.  I never thought I would import additional stones onto our property...

 I boiled up the stones to make sure that they didn't contain any unfriendly pathogens.
To assist in water reaching inside the pot,
 RMan hauled out his drill
Then RMan, drilled some holes into the plant pots we had purchased...
I used the drilled plant pots to sort out
 exactly the size I required
... and I lined each pot with a thin layer.
Pebbles line the base of the pots
They will prevent the soon-to-be contents of the pots from leaving the pot, whilst still adding some of their trace minerals to the water as it flows through and past them...
Posted by Dani at 15:25:00
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8 comments:

  1. Sharon in Surrey18 April 2016 at 22:55

    Aquaculture!! Growing without soil.

    ReplyDelete
  2. possumqueensa19 April 2016 at 09:00

    On Easter Island, they use "rock mulch" to stop the topsoil blowing away. I've made peace with all the millions of rocks and pebbles, I use them around my trees to stop the water flowing away, chicken wire gabions around the veggie patch, weed suppressant, channels for water. I don't want any more, but the ones I've got are mighty useful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dani19 April 2016 at 12:04

      pqsa - Dunno - we have so many stones here. We've used them in gabions as a gate entrance, and to prevent washaway on rainwater channels. But, I never thought I'd be harvesting them from the sand road outside our property...

      Delete
  3. Dawn19 April 2016 at 09:37

    it is aquaponics isint it or auaponics without the fish bit :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sue19 April 2016 at 11:25

    WE have that here as well. A lot of the homes in the area (including mine) are stone, so they are put to good use.
    I admit, I love them but yea-it makes for an interesting carrot-Ha!
    Have a great week

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dani19 April 2016 at 12:05

      Sue - Wish that the stones were of a size that walls / structures could be built with them!! These are just irritating and sized (and smaller) stones. The kind that play havoc with lawn mower blades etc...

      Delete

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