Bore da

Continuing the introduction of new friends to old friends, cwtch (hugs) to Cheri from a valley in Pendam, West Wales, UK.


Is your accent anything like Alfie's, the cousin from Wales in the TV sitcom "My Family"?  Wonderful lilting accent - so soothing to listen to.


Cheri's has a gorgeous Great Dane, Max - who reminds me of a (still) sorely missed friend of mine, Baron.  She has also posted some wonderful photo's of her area on her blog.  Cheri - a tip - next time you have a glass of chilled wine why not try and find Hartenburg Chardonnay - it's delicious :)

Cheri, I reply to all comments (even those placed on old postings), but given the size of this planet, and the different time zones, it may not be today by your time, but will certainly be by tomorrow  LOL

Getting going, getting growing... part 3

Wow - we only meant to go for Saturday and Sunday, but instead we had another unplanned four day weekend - but we had to get finished LOL

True to form it was blowing a gale as we started to erect the shade cloth roof. But, working from the wind direction made the process easier - the wind just spread the cloth out over the structure - the hardest thing was keep it from blowing away - into the neighbours land...

Fighting the wind to erect the roof...

We managed to get the roof on, and using some of the battens RMan got at the auction, we, firstly, used them to install some top side supports and then, secondly, we used them to give extra strength to the shade cloth on the walls.

Then came the door...  Bear in mind that RMan is not a carpenter, of any sorts. In fact I'd say he's more of a 'reluctant' handyman.  But what he has created is absolutely, ruddy marvellous!

Measuring for the door

I can't believe the thought, planning, effort (as well as an occasional bit of blue language when something didn't go exactly to plan), and physical output that he expended, to achieve this masterpiece :)  But he persevered and this is what he created!

We have left the excess shadecloth at the base of the structure.  Behind it, and under the lowest wooden cross brace I have jammed in rocks of all shapes and sizes.  In front of that is the excess shadecloth which has been wrapped in long (pretty heavy) gumpoles - the "extra" we ordered and didn't use.  This will hopefully prevent snakes from gaining access to the cooler interior - and boy -it's much, much cooler in there!  Eventually, we will dig a trench around the structure and bury the surplus shadecloth - that should make it impervious to snakes / slugs / etc.  It will be wonderful to be able to grow veggies without the need of any kind of pesticide.  Am I being too optimistic?  I hope not.  There is no reason why anything should gain access to the interior.  Certainly no flies, beetles, moths, locusts, grasshoppers or snakes.  Slugs, I'm not sure. We'll have to wait and see...

A perfect door :)  We still need to add a lock to
prevent uninvited visitors from helping themselves
and to stop the door from blowing in or outwards
in high wind.  For now it's secured with a piece
of wire LOL

I even had time yesterday afternoon to plant some seedlings (tomatoes - about 12 different plants), onions and basil inside - and beans, aubergines and borage outside.  I also sowed some carrot, lettuce(three different types) and rocket seeds in the internal well composted bed.

Finally, it was time to install the porous pipe... But that I'll tell you about in my next posting.

All in all, beating the wind, 33oC (92oF) temperature, and my, in comparison, pathetic assistance, we finally completed everything by 5.00pm yesterday. Driving back to town exhausted by physical effort and from the draining heat we were both elated and happy.  Finally - my shadecloth veggie patch is finished.

Thanks RMan - I'm blown away.  And I reckon it's fantastic :)

Welcome

Continuing the introduction of new friends to old friends, welcome to Stephen from Woodstock, Il.  On Stephen's blog he shares the images of photographs he has taken of moments which visually caught his eye - on a whole range of themes.  You have some stunning pictures there, Steve :)

Stephen, I reply to all comments (even those placed on old postings), but given the size of this planet, and the different time zones, it may not be today by your time, but will certainly be by tomorrow  LOL

Getting going, getting growing... part 2

After the digger / loader had finished mixing 2 cu. mtrs of compost into the soil, we sent it off to dig whole bunch more holes for our lemon orchard whilst RMan and I got busy.


Well, RMan got more busy than I did...

We forgot to get the digger loader to dig
two holes, so we tried coring them.  Ended
up being quicker using a "stamper" to loosen
the compacted soil and an empty tuna tin to
remove the loosened soil.

... me, I spent most of my time holding poles in place (and letting them clonk on my head now and then) whilst he drilled and fixed them into position with thread bar, washers and nuts.  And, at pole securing time, I walled up the  little reservoirs (using some of the bigger stones) for the concrete to be poured into - can't have it leaking into my veggie area ;)

So, whilst RMan was busy doing man-things I climbed into removing all the loose stones that the digger loader had churned up.  Boy, was that a thankless task.  Every time I raked, I exposed more stones which had to be removed... Reckon it'll be a while before it's totally stone free.  I'll just have to focus on one area for the carrots, can't see lettuce / beans / peas / tomatoes being too badly affected by a bit of stony ground.

All those stones / pebbles.
Took me 20 wheelbarrow loads to remove them

Our neighbour, CGuy had borrowed our scaffolding, so we had to make do with the odd pieces which were left.  RMan need to climb high, and then higher still...

After a sweltering hot day, the late afternoon was perfect working weather, so we continued working until sundown.

The next morning, what greeted us was the sight of what we had accomplished the previous 3 days - standing there in all it's glory...

So many stones already raked up that I've
created a ruddy great berm in front

.... my future 8 X 4 mtr (26 X 13-odd foot) shadecloth vegetable patch!  Hopefully, it will be locust proof, not too sure about slug proof, and it will definitely be sheep and cow proof, should they gain access to our smallholding.  And, it will offer some extra protection for my vegetables from the harsh conditions which can be experienced there - 38 - 40oC (100 - 104oF) heat in summer, plus the south easter which can blow a gale, is no joke for vegetables.

Just a tad of the compost showing. Reckon another 3 cu. mtrs won't go amiss.  And at ZAR160.00 (US$ 20.00 / €14.40) cu. mtr it's not too bad.

I plan to use this area for growing mealies (corn),
potato, sweet potato and pumpkin.  No doubt it'll
grow as I require more space LOL (but please
don't tell RMan about that plan yet...)

I just love it.  It's not too far from the house, and not too close that it will be in the shade due to the shadow cast by the house because of the sun's northern position in winter, either.  All year round sun - brilliant!

The big hole...

And it's right next to the "big hole".  What's the hole for?  Ah, well you'll have to wait to find out...

I've replanted some potatoes in the little berm
in the foreground of this photo

And this is my plan for the vegetable patch.  And it will, hopefully, be irrigated by Porous Pipe - that way I'll ensure that not a drop of precious water goes to waste... :)  And the porous pipe should also be able to work with the water from the new rain water storage tanks - it only requires 1 to 1.5 bar water pressure to work :)

And, for all our trouble, and after 3 days of solid work in the garden, I woke in the middle of the night feeling something crawling down my arm.  I sleepily rubbed my arm, and felt something.  Panic!  I KNEW what it was.  I immediately broke out the torch and, lo, and behold, there was a nice large nasty tick!

Well, he / she got squashed quick as a flash!  No mercy, not as far as ticks are concerned.  NEVER!


Thank goodness neither RMan nor myself appeared to have been bitten!  All that got squashed out was the tick's own bodily fluids - no blood.  Close though.


Now - to put the shadecloth cover on, build and hang the door, lay the irrigation pipe, connect it to another solenoid on the irrigation system (until my rain water tanks are full) and plant the veggie seedlings I have been nurturing (impatiently) at our town house for the last few weeks...


... that's exactly what we are going to begin today.  Off to the farm we go.  So, see you next week...

Getting going, getting growing... part 1

Travelling to the farm a just over a week ago the scenery was completely different to that of a month ago.  It had turned the normal summer brownie colour, as the rains are fewer and further between.  The winter crops / animal fodder for next winter is steadily being harvested by the farmers too.  I just love the picture of all those straw bales lying in the fields :)


But, we had b-i-g plans for that particular weekend.


This is the "before" photo... before anything started happening.

Notice the two rows of clay in the centre of the photo
 - well, that's where the action is about to take place...
and we also moved the two sad-looking conifers on the
right hand side of the photo

A big hole (plans for that too), a patch of grass,
clay in between and my t-i-n-y part-time
shadecloth covered veggie patch
in the background - it looks different now...

As you know, we purchased a trailer.  Well, it was time that that trailer began to fulfill it's function.


I phoned ahead and pre-booked a digger loader for Saturday morning.  We all met at the place that we were purchasing the compost from, and the digger loader proceeded to "fill 'er up".  The trailer took two cu. mtrs and then the digger loader carried an extra mtr3 in it's 'loader' shovel.  3 cu. mtrs should help...

The compost was gorgeous, and steaming...

it took an hour for the digger loader to arrive on the farm with it's 1 cu. mtr load - which I got the driver to dump it next to the lemon tree orchard. Because the digger loader had another chore...

He scraped up the clay and put it to one side.  The he scraped up the wild grass and weeds and dumped that at the back of the property.  Then, ever so gently, he scraped the compost out of the trailer....  We only had to sweep out the balance with our brooms - yes, I had to use the house one.  But a good wash sorted that out :)

I am always amazed at how dexterous these digger / loader operators are with their machines.  It's as though the digger arm is an extension of their own arms - just a bucket load stronger LOL.


Using the loader bit, he scraped and mixed the compost into the ground.

Up and down, up and down - 2 cu. mtrs all mixed in easy-peasy LOL  He then proceeded to excavate some holes for posts...

But, oh, what a lot of stone there was lying in the newly churned up soil...

Hiya

Continuing the introduction of new friends to old friends, welcome to Ali from Bellingham, Washington (we have a wine farm here called Bellingham LOL).  Ali's blog is about gluten free cooking and contains many delicious recipes - I'm sure a welcome source of information and inspiration for all those on a gluten free diet.  Her most recent posting, a Lentil & Dal recipe, looks, and sounds, very yummy!

Ali, I reply to all comments (even those placed on old postings), but given the size of this planet, and the different time zones, it may not be today by your time, but will certainly be by tomorrow  LOL


Thank you for following my blog.  It's so nice to have you with us... :)

Census details

We have just had our most recent population census take place.  Well, sort of.  For there are many reports of people who haven't been counted...


But, following the census, this article appeared in our weekend newspaper:

I reckon that if there was ever time and a reason to be growing your own produce, and, where possible, raising your own livestock - even if it's just for their milk / eggs / etc. then I'd say, given the above, that time is now.

Funny enough, one of the questions asked of RMan when he answered the doorbell was: "Do you have a veggie patch?"  Bear in mind that this census took place at our 'town house', and, RMan, mindful of what I have read (and shared with him) from overseas blogs, answered, "No".  Why, I asked him? His reply to me: "Well, it's not 'my' (his) veggie patch" (so he wasn't technically lying).  But the question struck him as strange.  So he now thinks that the government may try and tax us on our potential additional "privilege" (as is happening overseas where small time growers (as opposed to full-on farmers)  have to have a permit to grow crops for their own consumption / bartering), etc...?


Dunno.


I don't subscribe to conspiracy theories, and was a trifle miffed that my veggie patch wasn't included in the census LOL, but with all things, I guess time will tell.


But interestingly, they didn't even ask if we have / use any alternative source of power - i.e. wind turbine / solar water heater / power / oven, in order to ascertain if you are part of the growing group of people who are trying to become self-sufficient, and are trying to reduce your dependency on the parastatals.  A far more pertinent question I would have thought, and one which may have given the government information regarding it's ongoing power supply shortfall and electrical power production planning.


And the answers to the questions were recorded in pencil!?  Dunno - have they done away with erasers....????


It thus appears that the results of the census, which are going to be available only next November (2012) will be terribly flawed.  Reckon (given all I have heard about vast numbers not being counted) that it was an unmitigated waste of time, energy and fuel.  The only one's who've gained are the printers of the question sheets, those individuals who have been paid to "walk" the streets for 6 weeks with pencils in hand, and, finally, the people who are now going to be employed for over a year, to assess the information on 40-odd million forms...


I wonder if they have heard of computers....?

Growing pumpkins / squash 3 ways

I am determined to grow some squash, and at least a pumpkin this year, so I am trying three different ways in my town garden.


Firstly, I have planted a pumpkin and squash plant in a straw bale - yeah, I know it should probably only have been one of the plants, but my space here is limited.

Secondly, I have planted one of each (providing the snails don't eat the damn plants before they've had a sporting chance) into a big hole in the (rooty) ground which is filled with compost, and a thick layer of shredded paper from our office, and with still more compost on top of that, and finally some shadecloth to protect it all...

The bricks are there to ensure that the
shadecloth doesn't blow away in our
 summer South Easterly wind

And, finally, I have planted a pumpkin plant into a compost filled large pot, which is situated right next to an irrigation sprinkler.

Which one will work?  Time will tell.


But, I mentioned in this posting that my neighbours tree roots are encroaching on my vegetable patch area - here are the trees / bushes in question...

Metrosideros / Eugenia hedge

And here are the roots.  The Metrosideros / Eugenia are situated roughly 3 mtrs (10 feet) from the boundary wall to where I have planted my sweetcorn - the only place I have in my town garden...

Roots!

I wonder if I will get any corn this year...?  To "weed" this area would take more than I am capable of digging up - the amount of roots below the soil is horrific


On the farm - well, I reckon that the broad beans were such a success that I'm going to try the same with pumpkins LOL  So I am also growing a couple in b-i-g buckets filled with neat compost on the far, with timed irrigation running past them... Let's see what happens.