Tyre Garden Tales

rethinking the veges

2010-02-14T07:19:00.000-08:00

my vegetables this year have been a bit of a failure. A number of reason. I had quite a successful veg plot in the back yard when I first started my blog. When I put goats and chickens in the back, I moved my garden to the front yard. It's less sheltered from wind in there, no hose in the front either although I've put a couple of baths in as water tanks to fill the watering can - and I didn't go to the same care with the soil in my tyres either. It was all a bit rushed and careless this time round and I've reaped what I've sown in terms of care and attention. (not much at all lol)

So been thinking how to improve on this and do it better, but make it easier for me too. First of all will move to a site that has partial shade - everything got too dried out with the full day sun- the sun here is strong enough that a few hours a day will do most flowers and veges. I will go back to putting extra animal manure, better compost, magnesium, selenium & zinc in my tyres - and will make the soil deeper - possibly even do two layers of tyres for each little garden. Hopefully I can return my vege garden to it's former glory :-)

It's February already - first post of the year!

2010-02-14T04:12:00.000-08:00

I came back from a summer road trip - all ready to abandon my little farmlet for the opportunities of city life. But first I was offered a job here for a while, then - my animals & garden went quietly about seducing me back into appreciating life here. I'd just about abandoned most of my garden to the weeds, but kept developing the small area around my front porch & outdoor bath area. going to have to get my camera out again soon to capture the slow transformation that's happening in my garden.

The money tree I planted before Christmas has rewarded me by putting a ton of new growth, and popping out new leaves wherever there's there's room on it's trunk & many branches. The direction of my garden has slowly been changing as I've realised that I simply don't have the desire or the energy for a high maintenance garden. So anything that needs much care & attention is out & plants like nasturtiums, succulents, cacti & daisy's & shrubs are in. Having colour in my garden inspires my soul, but having a lot of work to do doesn't!

I love all the different rose petal shaped succulents, have managed to collect a lot of different varieties around this theme - mostly from plants that have been dumped at the local greenwaste tip.Most of my garden is made up of rescued plants that others have discarded. (I found a lovely pink geranium that my goats just ate the flowers off!) The money tree has to be one of the best finds. The good thing about succulents is that they take a lot of abuse & neglect still thrive.As the small amount of nasturtiums I planted in a couple of tyres when I first came here drop seed, I've popped them in all kinds of places because they are such a colourful easy care plant. Nasturtiums thrive on poor soil & neglect - perfect :-) I'm lucky to have a variegated variety, so they have a great range of colours - reds oranges and yellows.

..promise there will be more photos soon!

2009-12-12T02:53:00.000-08:00

my cats seem to think that everything I put in my garden is for their enjoyment, they're quick to explore anything new, and dig it out if possible!

money does grow on trees!

2009-12-12T02:46:00.000-08:00

I found this money tree at the dump, bought it home and abandoned it for a month or so while I wondered what to do with it...finally planted it - thank God it has survived because my friend told me it could be 30 yrs old or more, it's big, decided to plant it whole and take cuttings to pot up later - it's also known as a jade plant, used in Feng Shui to bring luck and prosperity

Poppies

2009-12-12T01:53:00.000-08:00

The wild flower mix I used has lots of different kinds of poppies, single and multilayer and many different colours - all so pretty

wild flowers

2009-12-12T00:52:00.001-08:00

Been ages since I've posted any garden pics, my garden's been getting a bit out of control lately...a bit like my life perhaps? but if flowers as beautiful as these can emerge out of the chaos that is my garden right now...then there's hope for me?

another guinea pic

2009-11-04T22:59:00.000-08:00

awwwww :-)

getting away on me

2009-11-04T22:39:00.000-08:00

The garden has been very neglected lately, which is why I haven't posted much for a while...my neighbour suggested taking pics of other peoples gardens, pretending they were mine, (after all who would know lol)because not much has been growing in mine except for grass...lots of it. I admit I was tempted, but now, having taken a back seat to other things, the garden is overdue for some frantic attention, and when I've made some progress again, I'll post pics of my own garden again (promise ;-). Hoping to have a full time job again soon (cross fingers and toes ) so would love to get the garden into good shape before my time is cut back again. I partly blame the weather for the state of my garden, it refuses to settle into a nice ambience suited to pleasant gardening, Instead, choosing to produce deluges of rain sprinkled between blustering winds. There are a couple of things worth a pic or two though. The sunflowers I planted are doing well and should have a good show in a month or two, and some of the succulents I rescued from the green waste tip are rewarding me by producing brilliant red flowers. Overall the garden is a mess lol with a couple of redeeming features :-)

New Guinea Pigs

2009-11-04T22:30:00.000-08:00

Finally...after turning out squillions of rat coloured offspring, we have three new little guinea the colour of caramel, ginger, and honey, so cute I could eat them lol (not really!!!). hard to get a good pic cause although mum left me to it, aunty is very protective. She's due to have her little ones soon, after which they will all be moved to the new home I've been building over the last week or so. Trying not to have anymore babies after this, at least not for a while, so as soon as they are old enough to be weaned, they'll be seperated by gender

Wet and miserable

2009-10-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

well the farmers have had enough rain to keep them in grass for some time, so I hope they're happy :-) it's been good rain for down on the farm, the kind of rain that makes grass grow, without causing havoc with floods. It's rained nearly everyday for the last two weeks, and been bitterly cold after a false start to summer a month or so ago...did I really get sunburnt?? Anyway, it's cold and wet again today, and snow has been predicted. This all means that I haven't been getting out in the garden much and it shows. The grass...is growing, it's starting to look quite a mess, and even the guinea pigs can't keep up with it. They are huddled up in their hutches, gnawing on some pumpkin, and I don't blame them. It's not a nice look outside.

new bath

2009-09-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

Just picked up bath no. two, is still in the car because it was raining when we got home, it's not that pretty at the moment but I'll paint the outside soon, wondering whether to stick with pink...or go with blue this time??

cats :-)

2009-09-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

I have lots more pic to upload, but have had enough for today, will do some more later, will finish for today with these pics of my cats, they like hanging out in the backyard with the goats and the chickens, but feel a bit safer with some protection around them :-)

veges are starting to happen

2009-09-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

the first of my veges are coming up, lots more to come...plus grass, but I have plans for that lol, am going to graze guinea pigs around my tyres :-)

oops, put the wrong pic here, will put the right one later

trees, a ton of them

2009-09-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

I got a bit carried away when someone dumped a few hundred healthy trees at the green waste, took home - ALOT of trees and planted some of them around my boundary, now looking for a home for the rest lol

Blue and orange

2009-09-21T16:24:00.001-07:00

I might be shy but my gardens not! bluebells against the orange walls of the house

yellow and pink

2009-09-21T16:22:00.000-07:00

the daffodils look stunning against the pink bath!

upgrading the bath

2009-09-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

another area that's been getting a revamp has been around the bath, with the addition of driftwood and wood mulch, cost?? - free! I've found some more baths from a local farmer, so plan to have three baths, making a water feature of sorts, with the first overflowing into the next etc.

wood mulch

2009-09-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

as well as getting hedge clippingf for my goats from the green waste tip, it's also a great source of wood chips and compost materials. I use this wood mulch like bark in my garden, to suppress weeds, and preserve moisture around trees etc. It's also great in the chicken coop as a deep litter material.

succulents with driftwood and paua

2009-09-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

succulents are alway a good choice for a coastal garden, they handle the dry windy conditions well, like these ones because of their rose petal shapes

paua shells

2009-09-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

so pretty, my garden 'treasures'

daffodils?...whats left of them

2009-09-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

well these used to have beautiful yellow flowers, now just the green stems are left!

I've planted sunflowers to replace them in the summer

Going potty

2009-09-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

The front porch has become my potting area, it gets the early morning sun and is sunny for much of the afternoons too, so far have planted tomatoes, corgettes, melons and sunflowers in trays, lots more to come.

walks on the beach

2009-09-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

you know you're working hard in the garden when it involves a daily walk on the beach :-) been adding some finishing touches to my garden, for a coastal flavour, with driftwood and shells collected from the beach. I go to the green waste daily to get food for my goats, it just happens to be at the beach...so a great excuse to walk the dog and look for treasures.

Photos

2009-09-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to taking a few pics, and a couple of daffodils lol, most of the daffodils have finished flowering now, my excuse is that I lost my camera for a while, it turned up in the strangest place...

I know I shouldn't have a hole in the side of my house...but the cats look so cute when they go in and out ;-)

2009-09-07T20:13:00.001-07:00

My friend Joy is never one to say no to a challenge, and sometimes she shares them with her friends ;-). she asked me if I would babysit four chickens for her while she went to australia, no probs....but about 4pm the day before they were due to arrive, I picked up a message on my answerphone....umm make that 10 chickens!! so in the last 24 hrs I have completely fenced off an area of my back yard for the new arrivals, not sure how my little flock would handle 10 new members. - they arrived just as I was putting up the last of the netting. Turns out they are ex battery hens, and docile wee things...very easy going so that's a relief. It was much more of a drama having one wild sussex hen visit for a couple of days, much more squawking and general mayhen (lol) as she settled in. I took a little video of their introduction to our cat Sasha, which i'll post some time.. despite her factory raising, the hen stood her groud with the cat, and in the end he retreated. they are great little chickens, much smaller than my orpingtons, but have already laid an egg, there was one in the back of the ute they arrived in too, looking forward to more eggs tomorrow...Joy...I wanna keep them!!! awwwwww.

will take some photo's later

Windy world

2009-09-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

Well the main thing on my mind at the moment is the wind. Mostly how to create more shelter from the wind, so my garden can grow and it will be more pleasant to be out in it. I have trees growing very slowly, luckly the two sides that are the most windy,wont block the sun when the trees get taller. But anyway, the plan now is to section the garden off into smaller areas with lower wind breaks. There is a tree that has branches that I call "the witchy poo tree" because the branches are all crinkly. There is a lot of it down at the green waste at the mo, and I think it would make great wind breaks if I make low fences out of it. Some days it's really sunny here, and warm out of the wind, but cold and unpleasant in the wind. I want my garden to be just as inviting on windy days, so that I want to spend more time in it.

MUST PLANT MY SEEDS TODAY!!!!!! spring is here, have packets and packets of mostly vege seeds, plus a few flowers, and watermelon. will put some seed trays on my veranda where it's warm and sheltered.

daffodil photos soon....(hope there are still some left by the time I get around to it :-)

RETURN OF DA GOATS!!

2009-08-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

the goats want to come back, dog isn't happy! :-)

DA GOATS ARE IN DA HOUSE!!!

2009-08-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

Had fun making a little video today, and the goats had HEAPS of fun. I think they'll be up for making some more. Have a few interesting locations lined up for the next ones. Have stayed up WAY too late working on this video though. Short - but very time consuming....

Haven't done anything major in the garden recently, psyching myself up for the next onslaught. THE PLAN....is to start the next phase of my gardening, and plant all the seeds I've been collecting. Been cleaning up my little courtyard, which got a bit messy inn the process of making guinea pig cages there. It will be my nursery next.

Have collected about a million pots of all shapes and sizes (Ok am exaggerating, but only a little, I have heaps!) want to grow my veges in little pots and take them to the farmers market to sell. the ones that don't sell can just keep on growing :-). Time to start serious food production.

The two plum trees that I planted a few months ago are sprouting leaves, and even a few blossons, might be some plums this year? Still planting the last of my bulbs, got at least a hundred still to go. Planted about 40 in the last week.

Passionfruit, grapes and guinea pigs :-)

2009-08-14T02:34:00.000-07:00

I have had an idea that I may not be able to realise for a while, but if I write it down, it may happen a bit quicker than if it just floats around in my brain. I had always planned to create Guinea pig enclosures. I have an abundance of deer netting that I bought off someone on trademe, lying around. I used it to fence my back yard but still have plenty left. Anyway, I had planned to have an enclosure around the feojoa trees, its a difficult area to mow, and they will help with weed control etc. Now I've realsed that the area alongside the driveway is also awkward to mow, and would suit an enclosure. I realised that this area would be perfect for growing grapes and passionfruit vines, especially if I put wind netting around the outside. I can grow the vines under the roof of the enclosure, where they will get plenty of sun. and the guinea pigs would run around underneath eating the grass and "composting". eventually I would like to have a few large enclosed areas for the guinea pigs where thay can run around freely, while protected from the cats and the weather.

Daffodils

2009-07-27T02:51:00.000-07:00

planted around 200 daffodils today :-),

guinea pigs

2009-07-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

well here I am, haven't posted a pic of the first guinea pig cage I built, and now I've just moved the rest of the family into another new cage, and sometime soon I'll build cage no 3 and seperate all males and female for now anyway.

I'm refining my design, but a bit limited by using recycled wood. My next design I'll design from scratch. It will be lighter and even easier to move than the last one, with a smaller indoor area, and again with 6 wheels. (4 under the hutch, and 2 at the far end) I'll keep some of the design features of the last hutch, and improve on it. When I've come up with a prototype that I'm really happy with, I'll start selling them. (or trying to).

The guinea pigs seem to love their new cage. The new one has quite a large indoor area, probably larger than they needed, but I was using half a pallet to make it, and that became the base. But because the family is quite big (7 guinea pigs, 3 adults, 1 "teenager" and 3 little ones) they seem to be enjoying the extra space.

The indoor area is raised, so I built a wide ramp for the guinea pigs to use to access it , but there is just a little entrance to the hutch at the top of the ramp. I made the ramp wide in case some of the guineas are afraind of heights lol.Its made out of rough wood so they don't slip on it. At first they were reluctant to use it because I think they felt exposed, so I made a cover for it out of an old feed bag, which they seem to really love. So its more like a tunnel now.

I've noticed that guinea pigs seem to really like having somewhere to hide, and good cover. They like taking their food under the ramp to eat it as well. The little ones race up and down the ramp and seem to be enjoying the variety of spaces the new cage offers them.

I hope its warmer for them too, been really cold at night lately. they are really safe from dogs and cats now which is good.

Speaking of cats, had to take one to the vet after she turned up with a badly cut leg, just above the paw. it's healing well which is good, and doesnt appear to have damaged any tendons or bones.

Cat TV

2009-07-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

The cats live for a chance to get the guinea, they don't have a chance now, but they never stop hoping.

The beginnings of a garden

2009-07-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

This is the start of my vege patch, the girls helped me plant spinach, silver beet, beetroot, kale, parsley and chives. lots more to come. One row of tyres has flowers, and the inner row has the veges.

Hawera plums

2009-07-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I planted a couple of Hawera plum trees. I had to put an order in at the local garden center because they go really quickly when theyre in stock, and they only were getting 10 trees in this season. They Hawera plum trees are all taken from a local plum tree that has always done exceptionally well in the cold windy coastal region that I live in. My two are both good sized trees so should be well established in a year or two.

trimming trees.

2009-07-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

yesterday I spent an hour or so trimming some of the trees around my boundary. Still a bit more to do, ran out of steam after a while. The trees shade my front garden at some times of the day, so am trimming them to around 5 mtrs to let more sun in. I'm noticing the difference already, and the front of the house has a lighter feel to it. I'd prefer to have mainly fruit trees in the space i have available, (although it's neccessary to have a shelter belt of bushy trees for protection from the strong coastal winds).

Updated Bath with Mischa

2009-07-17T20:06:00.001-07:00

I've planted daffodils in the pink tyres, would like to add some sunflowers in spring.
I cover all my tyres with netting until the plants are established because the cats are notorious for destroying young plants!

Cutest?

2009-07-17T19:52:00.001-07:00

even cuter!

2009-07-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

awwww so cute :-)

2009-07-17T19:48:00.001-07:00

Well the Baby guineas didn't arrive the night I expected them to, instead she had them on one of the coldest nights we've had all winter. Put a couple of "hotwater bottles" (2 ltr milk bottles, filled with hotwater & wrapped in newspaper) in the cage and hoped for the best. A couple of weeks later, all are doing fine.

The fact that they have three mothers instead of one may be helping :-). All three females, which are all in milk, take turns feeding the babies, so cooperative.

Brooke and Kristal playing with Sunny

2009-07-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

Lots of new pics and more.

2009-07-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

I took a whole lot of pics which I'm going to post today...we even made a movie! My neighbours granddaughter Brooke and her friend Kristal came over and we made a movie for Brooke to take home after the holidays. I'll post the movie here a bit later, it's quite a large file, so might be easier to post it on you tube and have a link here.

Guinea Pig Videos :-) How cute are they??

2009-07-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

New life on the farm

2009-07-09T06:57:00.000-07:00

I'm expecting to find more baby guinea pigs in the morning, tried to look in the hutch but the guinea pigs were all huddled together protectively, and I didnt want to disturb them. The females seem to work together to look after the young, and all mother any new ones. was sad to lose 2 of the other three babies, the cage is now more secure so the little ones can't escape. Anyway after this lot, I'll try to avoid any more pregnancies for a while. The males have finally settled in well together and share their sleeping box, and the females will stay together, and the babies will be seperated into sexes when they are older.

After from that, I've been preparing to plant veges, planted a few more daffodils, and will start some seed trays next. Bought some chia seed, a highly nutricious seed that can be used in bread. same plant and similar nutrients to salba.

going to plant them so I can harvest my own seeds to use in bread. My friend Suzanna makes the best bread ever, so i'll get her to make some for me.

Definitely due for some more photo's soon.

abundance gardening...

2009-07-04T01:19:00.001-07:00

I'm starting to plan the vege garden now, with the aim of creating an abundance of supply, with the surplus available to sell at local markets or from home.I don't have a huge piece of land, and one of my objectives is to demonstrate how a small piece of land can produce an abundance of food.

In fact a lot of my garden could be recreated in a courtyard or in containers. When I lived in the far north I had a friend who had a commercial organic garden, he planted all his broccoli in used yoghurt pottles, and sold it at the market with the roots intact. That way it was as fresh as possible, but also could be taken home again if it didnt sell that day. I've been collecting 1000's of pots, discarded by other gardeners, and I plan to do the same for all my fresh veges - grow each cabbage or broccolli or lettuce in an individual pot.
I'll offer a discount on the sale of the next vege, for the return of a pot, or in exchange for a pot.

I'm often put off buying veges from the supermarket, because the nutrient content goes down evey hour they picking. I'd like to also sell little vege gardens, & premade herb and salad gardens.

A way to go until then though :-) taking just one step at a time......

Ups and downs

2009-07-04T01:04:00.000-07:00

Today was a mixed day in the garden. I finally started planting daffodils again, and preparing for the vege garden. I was really pleased with the progress, and was admiring the two Hawera plum trees I had planted a few days ago, when tragedy struck - as I turned toward some loud squeaks coming from one of the hutches, I saw one of the cats running across the lawn with one of the babies in his mouth. I managed to get it off him, but unfortunately it was too late. It's injuries were too severe to be fixed, and I could only make him as comfortable as possible for his last moments.
I've secure the hutch so that there won't be any more escapees. but it was pretty sad at the time.

In some ways that whole story sums up nature pretty well. Nature always produces an abundance, and already another mother to be is getting fatter every day, and soon the little one we lost will be replaced, but not forgotten.... The cats are only following their nature as predators, but as there caretaker, I try to prevent this kind of thing happening. I have the plan for next cage, to house the mothers and babies, in my head, with improvements on the last attempt. The last cage, was designed around the materials I on hand, but the next one will be custom built with function and comfort priorities.

The original cage is not very well designed, and the sooner there is a new cage the better.

The Guinea Pig Soap Opera continues...

2009-06-23T23:27:00.000-07:00

Decided to put all the mothers and mothers to be into one cage and the boys into another.

So I put "lil Sis" back in with "Big mama" and "Lil Grey Girl" and the three lil babies. Daddy went out with his son in the new cage.

First Daddy and son "Friski" had to sort out who was boss, got pretty serious for a while, lots of chattering and running around the cage.

Then Big Daddy claimed the hutch and poor lil Friski had to sleep under the ramp in the cold.

So today I made another little sleeping hutch for Friski, so he has his own territory and they share the grass. Friski stashed the piece of pumpkin under his hutch and wouldnt let Dad in. They each seem happy with their own little sleeping space, but they'd be warmer if they shared.

Friski was so happy when he was sharing with lil sis, but can't have any more babies so just has to be this way for a while.

The girls had to settle in with each other too but are all getting on fine now. Both females who have already given birth feed and care for the babies and they all work together to look after each other.

More Guinea pigs

2009-06-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, on the shortest day of the year..big fat mama pig had three babies.

I was especting that, but what we weren't expecting was that her daughter would give birth on the same day. All went well with the first lot, but I think her daughter was just too young, she's not fully grown yet and neither of her two babies made it.

The good thing is that she's snuggling up with the other babies and sharing them with her mum, which must make it easier for her. her mum was incredibly supportive when she had her babies, and did her best to help, licking them etc, but it wasn't meant to be.

Anyway the 3 babies left are doing well, and looks like I will need to start making ANOTHER cage for all these babies once they have grown a bit.

Guinea pig hilton

2009-06-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

Been building the Guinea pig cage today, more like a guinea pig hotel. It has all the features I've always wanted in a guinea pig cage but never had lol. mainly it's big and has great access. The little nesting box is small and cosy, and it has a hinged roof for easy access. The most of the roof of the outer area can be removed for EASY ACCESS!! and part of the outer roof is covered so that the guinea's have outdoor shelter from the rain when it's wet, and sun when it's hot.

Did I say EASY ACCESS?? there will also be a small food hatch in the side for quick access to put food in the cage without having to take the whole roof off. With the roof off, it's possible for a child (or even an adult) to sit in the cage and play with the guinea pigs ...as long as the cats aren't around...they usually are because the guinea pig cage is their FAVORITE place to hang out. I think they think I got the guinea pigs purely for their entertainment.

the entrance to the nesting box is protected from rain and wind. I've been surprised how easily the cage had progressed, making a lot better choices, and building in a more logical way than the chicken coop, which was our first project.
have this thing about making it up as I go along, and adapting to the materials on hand. This cage is especially cheap, it uses some roofing iron I picked up from the green waste (not meant to be dumped there but a good find), some wood I got from the waste bin at bunnings, and batons. All untreated and wont last forever but I might stain it at some point. Would've finished it today but was getting past the time the neighbours would want to hear hammers and electric saws, so will finish it tomorrow.

have a thing to about not using a plan too, just some vague idea of how I want it to be, turning out pretty well this time round. Must've actually learnt something from the last building attempt. Might make one to sell after this. keep it pretty much the same with just a few minor improvements.

will post some pics once its all finished.

not sure who to put in there yet? mum and dad, or the three kids?? probably the kids, leave mum in her cage where it's familiar.

Fejoa hedge

2009-06-12T06:17:00.000-07:00

a pic of the fejoas that have just been planted, with a row of flax behind them (the flax was all recycled from the green waste tip). I built the fence with the wind netting as well. The plan is that sometime soon this area will be completely enclosed and the guineapigs can eat the grass.

My vision for our garden is that it will be self sufficient, but also that we'll have some produce to sell.

guinea pigs

2009-06-12T06:15:00.001-07:00

rosemary and daffodils

2009-06-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

hope this will one day become a rosemary hedge. The daffs are int the tyres with sme other flower seeds. The wirenetting is to protect the young plants from the cats who think that I have made a personal toilet for each one of them...
want to plant sunflowers in these tyres as well, will look cool in the summer.

pink bath with orange house

2009-06-12T05:54:00.000-07:00

plants from the tip

2009-06-12T05:50:00.000-07:00

all these plants were rescued from the green waste tip. The pots were bought through trademe

out of "retyrement"

2009-06-11T05:37:00.000-07:00

Have just moved my first tyres into the front yard and planted them with daffodils and other flowers. Would like to plant some sunflowers in them too when I find my seed.

Zen helped me move the clawfoot bath into the front yard, it'll be used to collect water for the front garden. As water is often restricted, and watering even banned in summer around here, water from the roof will be diverted into the bath.

I want to paint some of the tyres, but the only paint I have any quantity of is bright pink, given to me by a friend. as the bath is already a similar shade of pink...it might just work lol. well the house is orange, what can I say...go with it.

Planted the last two fejoa trees today, a different kind so that it will cross breed with my other ones for better fruiting. Once the trees mature, and the flax behind them, it will be very private in the front yard as well as the back. It'll be a really nice place to sit in the summer.

As well as the daffodils, I planted a hedge of rosemary...rescued from the green waste tip, will wait and see if it takes. I also have strawberries, celery, beetroot and spring onions waiting to be planted as well as a mesclun salad mix. And I've ordered 2 Hawera Plum trees that are meant to do really well around here.

The plan is that as well as being self sufficient...we also can have some extra to sell.

The chooks have finally started laying in reasonable numbers. The most so far is four in one day... not too bad when we have 5 hens.

Will have to make a new gunea pig cage very soon, the mother is looking very pregnant. may have to take some of the last lot of babies to the pet shop, it's going to take a while before I can finish the larger enclosure, have just done the windward side, to make a windbreak for the fejoas, I need 8 - 10 mor posts to finish it, and probably another roll of chicken wire.

will take some more photo's tomorrow.

dust bath'n chickens

2009-06-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

2009-06-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

Goats and Chickens laz'n about

2009-06-01T18:25:00.001-07:00

The chicken have a coop built specially for them where they sleep at night, but by day they prefer to hang out with the goats, so I added some leanto's to the goats little hut, so that when it rains, they all have some shelter. However when it's sunny like today, the goats sit on the roof, and the the chickens love to sit in side and dust bath in the sawdust on the floor.

Mac Mac & a rooster

2009-05-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

I was trying to get a video of the roosters crowing, but one of the goats stole the show.

Blossom and Mac Mac

2009-05-22T21:01:00.001-07:00

Goats n' guninea pigs

2009-05-16T02:33:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we added five new members to our animal family. 5 little piggies....guinea pigs that is.

Somehow the cage and it's inhabitants ended up being loaded into my car during my last visit to friends in new Plymouth.

The cage was a rattley old thing, and I've spent the last few days sprucing it up for the comfort of the guineas.

They now have rain and wind protection along on side of their A frame hutch, extra netting along the other side, and I've opened up half of the cage bottom (which was all wired over) so they have access to the grass, which they love.

They are very very cute, however every animal here has to earn it's keep and I'll be putting them to work soon!

The plan is for the back yard to belong to the chooks and goats, and the front to be for food production.

I've planted a row of fejoas along the windy side of the front section, next to a row of flax that will offer more wind protection. The role of the guineas will be to eat the grass beneath the fruit trees, officially they will be in charge of weed control and compost lol.

For this to work they need to whole area to be fully enclosed, top and sides - to be cat and dog proof.

I've aquired the necessary fence posts, but It will take me a while to do all the work involved, so in the meantime their little cage is more than adequate.

Once the fejoas are sorted, I'll put olives down the other boundary, and extend the guinea pig run further. Then with the shelter in place (as well as the wind tolerant fejoas and olives, wind netting will surround the outer boundary), The less wind tolerant fruit trees will be planted. I'm thinking peaches, plums, apples etc...yumm

Eventually all the fruit trees will be securely fenced, with the guinea pigs inside with the fruit trees, protected from the goats and chooks, which will be able to graze the front yard as well as the back.

Woo hoo!!!!

2009-05-16T02:20:00.000-07:00

The girls have finally laid!!! What a surprise when my son looked in their nesting boxes today. Bought the hens in january when they were about 4 mths old. So they are now about 8 mths. They're orpingtons, with are a larger breed, so they take a bit longer to mature than other breeds, but I was wondering if we'd have to wait until after winter for any eggs. I'm wondering if the fact that I switched their food a couple of days ago had anything to do with it?? have been buying layers pellets for them, but accidently bought layers mash this time and it seems to be doing the trick. they love it, has to be mixed with water, so takes slightly longer to prepare, but from now on they will be having mash every day. I have also bought some "universal" pellts, suitable for my goats and guinea pigs as well as the chooks. So they get a feed of pellets later before bed as well as scraps during the day. have to take some more photo's soon, realised that I havent got any photo's of the goats or the guinea pigs on here yet.

Mischa

2009-04-09T02:47:00.000-07:00

it's been a long time...

2009-04-09T02:12:00.000-07:00

well the drought last summer was a bit of a killer, all watering was banned...although like many others I did sneak out for a bit of moonlit watering,
this summer I gave the gardening a miss and grew just one sunflower.

It may have also had something to do with the fact that I had a new job doing 12hr shifts and the time or energy for garden was GONE!! However that doesnt mean that there's been nothing going on in the garden.

The kittens have all grown up. Sadly one has died, but the rest are thriving and all the mice that were plaging us for ages have been dealt to. No more problems there.

And I talked in my last blog about animals and chickens, and that's now a reality. We aquired two young goats that do a wonderful job of mowing the back section, and are proud owners and 7 chickens. (two of whom have turned out to be roosters!)

The chickens aren't laying yet, just about old enough now, and the roosters have just started crowing. But a dream I've had for years is finally being realised.
Over the summer we built a coop. After a settling in period, the cat's goats and chickens all get on really well in their own way and live very harmoniously together...which is cool

Mischa

2008-02-12T03:12:00.001-08:00

Mischa was still very young when she became a mum, but she handles it like a pro. I think she looks very regal in this photo.

Animals are cool

2008-02-12T03:02:00.000-08:00

For me animals are as much part of the pleasure I get from my garden as the plants. I enjoy just watching them play, seeing them so full of life and energy, their natural exuberance is inspiring, and the garden is a lovely place to sit and watch nature doing its thing. I hope someday we will have more animals in our garden, chickens especially, even a sheep or a pig.

Hide 'n Seek

2008-02-12T00:53:00.000-08:00

The Kittens have been enjoying playing in the tyre gardens. They love to play hide and seek in the nastursiums

It's been RAINING!!!! and the now sun's come out :-)

2008-02-12T00:17:00.000-08:00

The word "drought" has been used a lot lately, but the last couple of nights it's rained just enough to take the edge off, and today it rained lightly for most of the day. The garden has sprung back to life and the sunflowers especially look stunning.

Life in the garden

2008-01-31T23:15:00.001-08:00

It's been over a month since my last post. Everythings been growing, but a water shortage has meant that water has to be rationed and were recycling water for the garden. There shouldnt ever be a water shortage here, because when it rains it pours, and the current dry spell has reminded me that we need our own water tank to collect water when it does rain so that the garden isn't dependant on town supply. We've had visitors since I last blogged, my sister and her kids camped in the garden, and the kittens have been venturing outside and enjoying their new playground outside. My sons 21 yr old brother has been staying, (his half brother same dad, different mum) and he's bought his dog, so lately the garden has been a more social place, wih lots of people and animals. The extra dog has meant I've had to install a fence and gated the back yard to keep the animals in. what I didnt count on was my cats becoming attack cats and chasing Mr Dog, (the 'fierce' pitbull) whenever he tried to pass their family to get to the back yard. So the dogs havent been able to enjoy the backyard as much as I'd have liked. While the kittens are having a fantastic time exploring and climbing everything and anything.

Cat's n Kittens

2008-01-31T23:07:00.000-08:00

Mr Dog & Sunny the one eyed wonder

2008-01-31T23:03:00.000-08:00

2008-01-31T23:01:00.000-08:00

2008-01-31T23:00:00.000-08:00

2008-01-31T22:59:00.000-08:00

A garden is a place to relax.

2007-12-29T15:57:00.001-08:00

My son now has his own corner of the garden to hang out in summer. One day it will be surrounded by fruit trees...but at the moment it's a cool place to relax and read a book.

The "fruit forest" has begun.

2007-12-29T15:39:00.000-08:00

My vision for this land is to have fruit of all kinds growing as much fruit as possible in the space available.I mentioned before that I plan to have a hedge of fejoas and olives on the front boundaries. I'm planting them there because I like the idea of future generations of neighbourhood kids being able to stop and pick an abundance of fruit when it's in season. So the front garden will be the "community garden" and the back yard will be our private garden. At the moment there is only bare land in the front of the house. I'd like to plant an orchard there. One that kids can wander through and pick all kinds of delicious treats in. berries of all kinds as well as apples, stone fruit, citrus etc. We started with one lemon tree, in a small sheltered garden at the side of the house...that one tiny lemon tree has grown heaps with the help of leftovers from fish soup, ashes from the fire and compost mulch, and something that is either a grapefruit or an orange tree. I've added a mandarin tree to that garden. It's warm and sheltered and protects more sensitive fruit from harsh winter weather. Then a few days ago bought four fejoa trees for our private garden, and five little blueberry bushes and planted them out.I've discovered a wonderful and inspiring Indian organic farmer whose natural methods of farming are stunningly simple and effective.You can find out more about him and his work here: http://www.savesanghavi.com/
his work counters the myth that organic farming is more costly than modern methods and his results speak for themselves.

We have some new additions to the tyre garden.

2007-12-29T15:34:00.000-08:00

I recently planted out leeks and eggplants, as well as some more peas in the tyre garden. As soon as I can get some more tyres, I'd like to plant more celery, and I have lots of seeds of all kinds that need to be started in trays to be planted out later.

Just one big happy family.

2007-12-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

My little cat Mischa has been VERY busy

2007-12-29T15:14:00.000-08:00

with her new family of four very cute kittens. She's a great young mum, and dad likes to get involved and helps out too

We're not only ones that've been busy though.

2007-12-29T15:09:00.001-08:00

The Tomatoes have been growing and the first fruit is starting to appear on some of the plants.

And all that's left after Alli's done her work

2007-12-29T14:57:00.000-08:00

is this :-) The Black & Decker Alligator lopper is a girls dream tool. It's so easy to use, safe and cuts through wood like a knife through butter. It does in minutes what used to take hours, and achieves in a few hours what used to take weeks or months. Cutting firewood for the potbelly has been the bain of my life, and our large power bills last winter were the result of the frustrations of that task. This winter we should be warm and cosy all thanks to Alli.

Which soon became this:

2007-12-29T14:51:00.001-08:00

That's only the beginning, I still have about 90% of the hedge left to clear so it should supply firewood for a few winters to come.The wood, with Alli's help to cut it to size, is perfect for my little potbelly, which only takes short and relatively narrow logs. The Box thorn wood is very hard wood, so once it dries out it makes great firewood that has a long burn time.

Into this pile of firewood:

2007-12-29T14:49:00.001-08:00

we then turned this pile of box thorn branches..

2007-12-29T14:46:00.000-08:00

In no time at all...

2007-12-29T14:41:00.000-08:00

Me and Alli transformed some of that wild, unsightly and very unfriendly hedge into this little pile:

Me and my Alligator...

2007-12-29T14:29:00.000-08:00

I spent much of yesterday...at least the time I had available before I had to go to work :-( , trying out my new Christmas prezzie to myself.

In the past I've spent many hours, days, weeks and months trying to tame this box thorn hedge. It was put in by as the ill conceived idea by a previous owner of my little house. Box thorn hedges are great for keeping cattle in, a cheap form of fencing for farmers, but are potentially lethal for humans and shouldnt be anywhere near a house. Their long box thorns are known for embedding themselves in human skin and then causing some serious infections. I want that hedge gone!! and to be replaced by a much more human friendly fejoa and olive hedge, to act as shelter for less wind tolerant fruit trees. Anyway this is the hedge in its unpruned state:

I love my Alligator

2007-12-29T06:31:00.000-08:00

This is my new best friend... my Alligator lopper...Alli for short. Alli has been helping me with all kinds of jobs around the house...and I'll blog some more about her tomorrow...with pics, cause it's way too late now. Have to get some zzzzz

Tomatoes

2007-12-14T03:05:00.000-08:00

I bought two packets of tomato seed and planted them in a tray. Now, after giving some away plants away to my neighbours,there are still over 100 left. Most of them are now planted in the tyre garden, the rest are scattered around the house.

The abundance of nature amazes me. Those two packets of seeds bought for a couple of dollars, could keep my family in tomatoes for the rest of our lives if some of the new seed is saved every year, for the next years planting.

I've mulched around the tomatoes with grass clippings. as well as retaining moisture and protecting the soil, it also deters my cats who think any bare earth is meant to be a toilet made specially for their use.. Many of my plans have been dug up soon after planting by enthusiastic cats.

Home sweet home

2007-12-14T03:02:00.000-08:00

You can just see my little 1890's cottage in the back of this photo.

In December 2007 I began my "Tyre Garden".

2007-12-14T02:41:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling a strong urge to grow my own food to have a constant supply of fresh greens and home grown fruit for a while now. I live 30k from the nearest supermarket, and by the time store bought veges get to my table, (sometimes days after they were purchased) most of the nutrition is depleted.

Gardening with raised beds means I can garden more efficiently.making the best use of my 1/4 acre section, getting the best result for the least effort.

I'd already planted flowers in two old tyres that were lying around,since it was important to be as cost effective as possible in establishing my food gardens, a tyre garden was the natural way to go.

So far I've been to two tyre outlets that have been more than happy to let me take my pick of the old tyres they have lying around. The tyres I like, when lying flat on the ground are slighly taller than your average car tyre, with a narrower rim.

I've got my eye on a few tractor tyres, can see them housing my compost heap, and maybe a watermelon bed, and cucumbers perhaps?? One great thing about tyres is that they store heat and warmth the soil, which plants like watermelon love. Another thing? they are so easy to work with, no stepping on plants or muddy boots from working in the garden. Even the dog can work out how to avoid stepping on the garden.

It's only small now but my vision is to have a large semi commercial organic garden on my 1/4 acre block, growing fruit veges and flowers.

Another thing I love about tyre gardening is that I can mix my crops from tyre to tyre. Having a lot of different plant species in close proximity is a great way to deter the bugs that can be are attracted to large plantings of one crop. at the moment my first plantings have been of tomatoes, beets, salad mixes and sunflowers.

I want my garden to feed the soul as well as the stomach. Mixing flowers with food crops can have a beneficial imapct on the garden as well as the spirit of the gardener. Flowers encourage pollination as well as attracting friendly bugs that will take care of some of the pests. Sunflowers for example are preferred by ants as the ideal place to "farm" aphids, and they will herd aphids off your veges to the sunflower, while the sunflower being a large sturdy plant, suffers little damage from these sometimes very destructive pests.

Ideally I'd like to have fruit and veges available to pick all year round, and I'm working towards this.