Hi Fellow Gardeners Gabrielle and John have been running their upholstery repair business from home in for about thirty years. They met up in Townsville when they were both in the forces, she was in a corporal ain the Air Force and John a private in the army, she outranked me then he said! After a stint in Darwin they made it to Geraldton and worked and raised a family of three here. They shared with us that they love the rustic lifestyle that they have been able to create.
Victoria and Holly are the two resident Saanen goats, one is being milked and the other is pregnant. The milk is used for drinking and cheese is made from the residue. Sitting around their kitchen table sharing yarns I told them many years ago as a young married couple we had a pure bred Saanen goat tethered to a post out in the bush next to humpy we lived in. Her name was Esmeralda Tasenalda the Third and had a pedigree that was of a higher order than the position she found herself in!
They only have had goats for about eighteen months; both are very quiet, like pets. People said to them don’t get goats as they will destroy the whole property but these two hardly ever leave the yard even though they can. Half a bucket of manure from the goats is collected each day and spread around. Before the goats they had rabbits for meat production and before that the sheds were used for horses. The first people on this property were Macedonian tomato growers who lived in the little cottage which has recently been renovated inside and is used as a guest room.
John showed us his bath tub veggie garden covered with a beige shade cloth, worms are thick in the soil here and the drained off liquid can be recycled back through the tubs. The shade cloth is easily whipped off or put back on depending on the weather. Nearby was a contraption made out of an old freezer, a mirror leant against the wall reflected the sun onto the collected rain water therein and they used that water to have a good old pulley operated daytime open air shower under the tank stand.
On the North side of their healthy citrus trees and adjacent to the chook pen was a little hutch with a Perspex lid. John had some shallow glass trays in there full of collected sea water. After a few weeks the sea water evaporates and leaves beautiful crystalline flakes of salt. There is always a small residue of liquid which will not evaporate. He told me this contains a wide range of minerals and nutrients and by adding a spoonful or two to a watering can it can used on the garden.
We left with a bundle of fresh green produce and the lingering taste of fresh homemade cheese.
Readers Questions and my answers!
ODD Orange leaves: Robert from Beachlands asks what to do about small white trails on the underside of his orange leaves?
Answer. Most likely caused by citrus leaf miner. So called because at night the small moth lays its eggs which dig into the leaf, leaving white trails. Mostly when growth is slowed. Not a lot we can do about them as they are inside the leaf. Will not cause a lot of damage in older trees and tend to be not present when rapid growth of plant leaves is happening. Citrus leafminer, Phyllocnistis citrella, is a small moth pest of citrus. Damage is caused by the larvae as the mine immature foliage.
Red tomatoes: Steve from Geraldton asked how do you make tomatoes ripen faster?
Answer; If you hold back water from tomatoes they will ripen quicker.
Car washing and dish washing: Richard from Point Moore wants to know if there is any benefit in using dish washing or car washing water on plants?
Answer. A lot of non-wettable soils benefit from surfactants that break down the surface tension of water to allow it to penetrate better. That is what common detergents can do and wetting agents have similar properties. Be careful of contaminants in the water though.
LAWN SOIL Ph Test: Helen from Greenough wants to know what’s the best way to test soil’s ph for lawns?
Answer; most nurseries or garden shops sell a reasonably priced simple PH tester that comes with instructions for the home gardener. They are easy to use and give a good indication of the PH of soil.
No comments:
Post a Comment