late summer preparation 2013 – d.i.y. worm farm

In our sharehouse the scrap container is always overflowing and the compost bins are so stuffed full that it takes three or more inhabitants to turn it. (It is amazing how difficult it is to find the requisite crew, twice a year if we’re lucky!) And why do we have the world’s most finicky chickens? I’ve detailed my trials with their refusal of snails before, but why do they refuse perfectly good veg scraps? Spoiled little beggars!

So it was with desperation and a rising swarm of vinegar flies that we made a worm farm!

But one wasn’t enough, oh no to handle six people we had to expand the enterprise! And with our never ending supply of broccoli boxes we could do it all for free!

The Drainage Container

This is where all the excess water from the worm farm goes to prevent the worms drowning. You can collect “worm juice” by placing a plastic container underneath. Dilute this juice to look like weak tea before applying to your garden to prevent burning your plants.

The jury is out on whether “worm juice” is the miracle elixir people claim it to be, but as it is in effect diluted worm castings it is still beneficial for the garden, just don’t expect your plants to sore skywards with a backing choir of angels.

The Worm Residence

Protected from the elements, sun, rain and cold. The worms within are not your hardy garden variety earth worm, their delicate little red worms that live at the surface of forest floors in places like the Amazon. They need things Well drained, but moist, well-ventilated, and protected from extremes of heat and cold.

Placing the farm in a sheltered corner close to the house is a good idea. Being from the southern hemisphere we chose the south side of our house, under an eave, protected from the western sun and next to our back door.

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ingredients

2 polystyrene broccoli boxes + lid
plastic bottle
electrical tape
6 bricks
plastic container
shadecloth/hessian
shredded paper
coco coir
compost
cow manure
garden soil
compost worms

tools

scissors, knife
pen, ruler, screw driver
bucket, trowel, watering can

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step 1

Cut the end off you plastic soft drink bottle, this is your drainage “tap”. Un do the lid when you want the jucie to flow into your container. I tend to just leave it off and empty the container underneath regularly. Just make sure your worm farm doesn’t dryout by regularly watering it.

step 2

Mark and cut a hole the same size as the bottle mouth in the centre of the bottom of the drainage poly box. Thread the top of the bottle through the hole and tape in place on both sides.The lid side should face outward.

step 3

Elevate the drainage box on bricks high enough to easily place the worm juice collection container underneath.

Place two bricks inside to weight the box down, and to create “worm islands” for any worms that fall through so they don’t drown.

step 4

In the second box punch drainage holes 6cm apart with a screw driver in the bottom. Place a piece of shadecloth or hessian in the bottom to stop the worms falling through before the farm is established, you won’t have to worry about the hessian breaking down because these worms are surface dwellers and as the worm casting build up they will move upwards.

step 5

Punch ventilation holes in the top edge as well at a similar spacing to allow the farm to “breath”.

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step 6

Mix together the ingredients for the worm bedding and place in a 6 cm layer on the cloth. This will be both their bed and all they food they need for the next two weeks while they get settled.

Coco coir, shredded cow manure, aged compost, shredded newspaper/paper and garden soil to add a host of friendly bacteria.

The bedding material should absorb moisture, create pockets of air, contains elements high in carbon so it is slow to breakdown. The worms will be able to snack on this as they settle in, but will prefer the veg scraps when added.

step 7

Water this in and test to see the farm drains properly before adding the worms. If you have bought warms they will have come with their own bedding, but we just took a yogurt container full from an older worm farm.

step 8

Add damp carboard or hessein on top to keep the bedding moist and dark, thes worms are very UV sensitive.

step 9

Add lid and leave for two weeks.

step 10

After 2 weeks add finely chopped food scraps. No acidic citrus or onion,they won’t eat it. The finer, the quicker they will digest it. A worm will eat half its body weight in food a day. They will double their population every 90 days so over time you can add more scraps without worrying about them going mouldy. Ground up eggshells will prevent the farm from getting to acidic and smelling, it will also help the worms digest their food by grinding it up in their stomach. Just feed them small amounts at first, don’t add more until most of the last scraps are gone.

Dilute the worm juice with water to 1:10.

Don’t worry if you go away, the worms will eat the bedding and carboard. Just don’t let it dry out!

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HIGH SUMMER 2012 HARVEST

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HIGH SUMMER HARVEST

what grew November-January 2012


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Hot weather has sent carrot flowers shooting towards blue skies and purple chive flowers lend colour to a lush green garden. Tomatoes tease, slowly swelling, but too green to eat.

THE HARVEST

COMPANIONS

lettuce
silverbeet/chard
rosemary
lime balm
lemon balm
mints – peppermint, orange, spearmint, common, basil mint
nasturtiums
marjoram – golden
oregano
calendula
bay leaves
strawberries
raspberries
thyme – common, lemon
spinach
sow thistle
artichokes
amaranth
violas

OTHER

eggs

BRASSICACEAE

roquette
tatsoi

UMBELLIFERAE

carrots
parsley
coriander

AMARYLLIDACEAE (ALLIUMS)

spring onions
chives
garlic
red onion

LEGUMIONOSAE

Bean –purple climbing, rattlesnake, blue lake

INEDIBLE CUT FLOWERS

californian poppies
nigella


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green-bean-tomato-stakes

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PLANTING OUT TOMATOES

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transplanting solanaceae and other warm weather crops
growing tomatoes in a temperate climate


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After months of waiting, it’s finally here, that tiny window where you can plant out your hot weather crops! Blink and it’s gone, a month before it was too cool and a month later too hot, without enough time for the fruit to mature before autumns chill prevents fruit ripening. In Melbourne this magical month is November, when the minimum temperature doesn’t dip below 10C, but the rain has not yet dried up and those scorching 30C plus days are few and far between. In the Northern Hemisphere this would be May.

Spring’s warm weather companions have been flourishing, beans twisting around stakes and lettuces feathering over the earth to protect your delicate young seedlings from the worst of sun and wind. The rest of your hot weather lovers such as basil can go in now with your tomatoes, capsicums, chillis and eggplants. There was room for a cucumber too in the corner of my garden bed, to twirl up and over an arbour.

A month of work paves the way for two months of rest

 After you slog this month out you will have earned that beach vacation and the garden should be fairly self sufficient. Remember don’t spoil your plants and they won’t throw a tantrum when you’re not there.


My garden bed plan for the warmer months. Tomatoes in the centre of each triangle, supported by string thread around stakes. Lettuces suceeded by basil, marigolds, amaranth
Stage 1: September – November
Stage 2: December – March


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Grow plants densely in hot weather to protect them form sunburn, otherwise put up a shadecloth.

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Tips for planting out tomatoes

In warmer months plant in the evening to allow transplants to recover overnight. The opposite is true in cold weather, where the plants need the warm day to prepare for the cold night, to reduce the likelihood of rot.
Tomatoes are nutrient hungry, but if your soil is too rich they will produce a lot of leaves an no fruit. Dig a hole twice as deep as your seedling’s pot and place poultry manure in the bottom, cover this with soil and plant seedling on top. The plant will grow deeps roots, and reach the manure when it need the extra boost, when covered in fruit.
Avoid overhead watering as this can contribute to sun spot and fungal spores can be splashed onto foliage from other plants.
Plant hot weather crops when the minimum temperature is consistently over 10C
Plant tomato seedlings deeper than they were in their pot so the roots are nice and deep to protect them from drying out. Like cucurbits and some herbs, tomatoes form roots on their stems when in contact with soil.
There is no need to prune. Studies have shown yield is actually reduced when plants are pruned.Wounds on plants increase their risk of disease. If you need to cut them, use secateurs disinfected with mentholated spirits.
Plants can get stressed because they don’t get enough moisture. Water your seedling thoroughly an hour before transplanting and for added benefit use seaweed tea. This helps soil cling to the roots and minimises shock. If it is really dry fill the hole with water and wait for it to drain into the soil before planting.
Mulch thickly around plant to keep soil damp.


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Tomatoes have delicate stems, be careful when handling not to bruise of bend them. The same goes for the roots, be gentle!
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Add mycorrhiza fungi to the roots of the seedling before transplant. Whilst natural ecosystem such as the forest floor have millions of fungi in the soil, garden beds often require the addition of beneficial fungi to act as agents for nutrient exchange, making nutrients otherwise locked up available.
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Water deeply to saturate the soil and make sure it stays moist for the first few days after transplant. Try a chamomile herb tea After that water only once a week, but very deeply. This encourages deep roots, watering too often, and too shallowly causes roots to form near the surface and these are vulnerable to drying out on a hot day. Plants watered too become soft and delicate.
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PASCOE VALE FOOD FOREST GARDEN PERMABLITZ DESIGN

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pascoe vale
permablitz design

design for food forest garden


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Following a near death experience Fuchsia realised that life’s too short to be stuck in the office, a slave to money. You work all day to earn an income, because you work all day you don’t have anytime so you spend that income on things you could otherwise do yourself and collapse exhausted in front of the TV. So she cut down her work hours to spend her time on what she was truly passionate about: gardening and her radio show.

When she approached us for a design we thought, this is what Permablitz is all about: helping people become more self-sufficent because they need to in order to survive. One day it might not just be those on a shoestring budget who find there is no other alternative but to grow their on food…

…until then people like Fuchsia will be the trail blazers who light the way in darker times.

So please join us on August 31st 2013 in Pascoe Vale for this exciting Blitz. Check out the Permablitz website for more details and email Fuchsia to let her know you’re coming! Like it on facebook to spread the word!

Pascoe Vale Permablitz Summary

Mandala, keyhole gardens for large crops, compost and chicken rotation to improve soil e.g. corn, potatoes, cucurbits, companion herbs surround
Bananas in mulch pit irrigated with grey water piped from house. Plants like banana and bamboo don’t mind wet feet.


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Fuchsia has already done a lot of hard work in the garden, creating a beautiful pond which is the central element in our new design

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Pascoe Vale Permablitz Summary Continued

Subtropical plants around mulch pit e.g. cardamom, galangal, curry leaf, tamarillo
Swale mulch path for pond overflow and natural site runoff collection to replenish ground water
Relaxation area/fairy garden
Understorey of forest garden – perennials, self-seeders, nitrogen fixers, bird and insect attractors, shade tolerant, ground covers, non-compacting root systems, fast growing
Support shrubs interplanting – nitrogen fixers to support nutrient hungry fruit trees e.g. acacia, tagasaste
Mulch paths for drainage and inhibits weeds, will breakdown after a year to form compost for fruit trees
Deciduous trees, pruned to be open allowing light to plants below
Propagation area & greenhouse/shade house on concrete north facing and close to house
Additional no-dig raised garden beds for intensive vegetable production close to house
Fox proof chicken house and straw yard 1m off boundary fence to comply with council requirements
Chook run 1m wide along boundary fence, planted with chicken fodder e.g. comfrey, nasturtiums, mugwort, wormwood
Forest garden incorporating existing trees, when garden is established selected trees will be removed
Berried and vines to grow on chook run fence and boundary fences e.g. raspberries, grape, kiwi, passionfruit


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