Lift, Train, Fitness
- Thread starter Trusylver
- Start date
Lot of stuff happening in the garden today. Transferred Wormwood seedling to a bigger pot, Planted Chamomile seeds in large tub, hubby has started dismantling some raised beds so he can build an improved path which will allow me to revitalise a long flower bed next to the house and build some new raised veg beds which are a better shape and size for my needs. Tested PH in a planter where I will sow wormwood seeds next month and I have a seedling box ready for when hubby brings home some seed raising mix for my Valerian seeds which will need to be kept inside till they are big enough to transfer outside next month.
I need lots of Wormwood to grow to a good size before it can be planted along one side of the peafowl enclosure. The last lot hubby replanted in their enclosure was ripped up and eaten within a day, but of we put it alongside their area the should be able to reach bit of it that will grow through the fence without destroying the plants.
With the amount of space we have here, I should be looking to be more self sufficient, hence the push to get my herb garden back in shape and redo the vegetable garden beds in a way I will be able to protect the plants when it gets too dry and hot in summer. If I get super enthusiastic lol I can fire up the rotary hoe to re-dig the areas we earmarked for corn and sunflowers.
I need lots of Wormwood to grow to a good size before it can be planted along one side of the peafowl enclosure. The last lot hubby replanted in their enclosure was ripped up and eaten within a day, but of we put it alongside their area the should be able to reach bit of it that will grow through the fence without destroying the plants.
With the amount of space we have here, I should be looking to be more self sufficient, hence the push to get my herb garden back in shape and redo the vegetable garden beds in a way I will be able to protect the plants when it gets too dry and hot in summer. If I get super enthusiastic lol I can fire up the rotary hoe to re-dig the areas we earmarked for corn and sunflowers.
I think something today was contaminated with wheat, the Antihistamine wiped me out for the day however it was nice to see the progress hubby has made on flattening out the area for the first of the new garden beds and the new paths.
I am building raised wicking garden beds, firstly to prevent the eucalyptus trees sucking all of the moisture from the garden soil and to make the bed itself far more water efficient and more efficient with its nutrient use so in the long run will require less nutrients added to the soil due to being a closed system.
my problems growing stuff in the past has been the super hot summers and drought making the soil super dry and having the trees suck any available moisture before my veg could benefit from watering.
I am building raised wicking garden beds, firstly to prevent the eucalyptus trees sucking all of the moisture from the garden soil and to make the bed itself far more water efficient and more efficient with its nutrient use so in the long run will require less nutrients added to the soil due to being a closed system.
my problems growing stuff in the past has been the super hot summers and drought making the soil super dry and having the trees suck any available moisture before my veg could benefit from watering.
alligatorob
Respected Member
Sounds like a great garden plan! Are your winters mild enough to grow winter vegetables?
When I lived in Florida I really liked growing lettuce, broccoli, and greens in winter. And it was nice to always have something fresh to pick any time of the year. Now in Utah we have very cold winters, and in summer need to water every day, but still get good seasonal crops. Yesterday I ate eggplant, squash, and tomatoes fresh from the garden.
When I lived in Florida I really liked growing lettuce, broccoli, and greens in winter. And it was nice to always have something fresh to pick any time of the year. Now in Utah we have very cold winters, and in summer need to water every day, but still get good seasonal crops. Yesterday I ate eggplant, squash, and tomatoes fresh from the garden.
I am in the sub tropics, so similar to Florida
Seasonal vegetable growing in the humid subtropics | Northey Street City Farm
this site splits our area into 3 seasons for growing, we don't have a winter as such, in theory it should be mid winter now but temps are sitting at a comfortable mid 20s during the day, that is around 77 F for those that don't work in Centigrade.
Wicking Bed Construction, How to Build a Self-Watering Wicking Bed
this is the DIY wicking garden beds, we need to be very water efficient here, in summer, I cannot afford to use our tank water for extensive daily watering.
I tried growing lettuce etc last winter, but the combination of poor soil, poor rainfall and hot weather even in winter put an end to the garden, and the eucalyptus trees are super efficient at sucking all of the moisture out of the ground.
At the moment it is 15 C (59F) outside tonight, not exactly what I would call winter weather lol
Space Is not a problem but would take more time and effort to put most of our property under cultivation than the time I actually have. But if I can get these low maintenance beds working properly the I will expand into the available space over time.
it has been a busy and expensive week getting text books and other learning materials for the upcoming semester.
Brendan Burkett - Wikipedia this is my lecturer and tutor for sports psychology this semester, he is also my course coordinator.
Brendan Burkett - Wikipedia this is my lecturer and tutor for sports psychology this semester, he is also my course coordinator.
Building the underlying structure of the wicking garden bed. hubby is in town getting some more scoria to finish the layer before the shade cloth layer goes on, then I can finish filling the bed with soil, manure, and compost. The bed will also have a built in worm farm and I will be screwing on anchors for attaching tunnel netting to protect the veg from animals and getting to hot when summer arrives.
I read that as attacking tunnel and I was very excited to learn what those worms would be doing
Attack worms
alligatorob
Respected Member
Thanks for all the information, and pictures.
I have been studying your wicking beds and have a question. It appears that the overflow pipe is set at the elevation of the top of the scoria. It would seem to me that this would not allow for much wicking, doesn't there need to be a connection between the water reservoir in the socria and the soil for this to work? Water does not wick very well in course material.
My raised beds are already built, but I am thinking about some modification that might make them work more like yours. I used ~1,000 liter fiberglass tubs, cattle watering tanks. I put a layer of about 6 inches of gravel in the bottom, covered it with geotextile and then put the soil in. There is a drain at the gravel layer to prevent water logging. I could put a riser on the drain to allow the gravel to become a reservoir to have a similar effect. But need to figure out the right elevations.
You are right, your climate looks similar to Florida, south Florida more so than the north where I lived. In the north we had no dry season.
Beware the attach worms!
I have been studying your wicking beds and have a question. It appears that the overflow pipe is set at the elevation of the top of the scoria. It would seem to me that this would not allow for much wicking, doesn't there need to be a connection between the water reservoir in the socria and the soil for this to work? Water does not wick very well in course material.
My raised beds are already built, but I am thinking about some modification that might make them work more like yours. I used ~1,000 liter fiberglass tubs, cattle watering tanks. I put a layer of about 6 inches of gravel in the bottom, covered it with geotextile and then put the soil in. There is a drain at the gravel layer to prevent water logging. I could put a riser on the drain to allow the gravel to become a reservoir to have a similar effect. But need to figure out the right elevations.
You are right, your climate looks similar to Florida, south Florida more so than the north where I lived. In the north we had no dry season.
Beware the attach worms!
The Scoria level is the reservoir, basically raising the perched water table, the drain is as you said to stop the whole thing being waterlogged when we do get rain. The plans I am using is assuming a 20 cm scoria reservoir for a 70 cm bed.
the place I got the plans explains the science in a different post Should You Put Gravel or Rocks at the Bottom of Plant Pots for Drainage?
Most vegetables are shallow rooted so this should not make the roots too wet.
One of the problems I have is that we have a lot of eucalyptus trees with large root structures that suck all of the available nutrients and moisture out of the earth during summer, killing any garden planted so sealing the beds away from the trees and making them as water efficient as possible will be worth the extra work in the long run.
On a side note. I live on the edge of the Great Sandy national park and Fraser island, both of which have perched freshwater lakes sitting on the sand layers.
Lakes - fraserisland.net
the place I got the plans explains the science in a different post Should You Put Gravel or Rocks at the Bottom of Plant Pots for Drainage?
Most vegetables are shallow rooted so this should not make the roots too wet.
One of the problems I have is that we have a lot of eucalyptus trees with large root structures that suck all of the available nutrients and moisture out of the earth during summer, killing any garden planted so sealing the beds away from the trees and making them as water efficient as possible will be worth the extra work in the long run.
On a side note. I live on the edge of the Great Sandy national park and Fraser island, both of which have perched freshwater lakes sitting on the sand layers.
Lakes - fraserisland.net
alligatorob
Respected Member
Thanks for the info, and it sounds like I may have made the gravel in the bottom mistake. So in your case you water from the bottom rather than on top to avoid the perched water problem? Now I have to think about what to do with my pots, removing the gravel from the bottom would be no easy matter. And to make mine work like those described in the paper I would need to drill more holes, right now there is only one drain plug. That is part of why I put the gravel in, without it the pots did not drain well with the single hole. Here is one of my pots, the tomatoes seem to like it.
Thanks for the link to the Fraser Island lakes, very interesting. And all quite exotic looking to me.
We had that problem in Florida as well, what we called the Australian Pine (Casuarina) was the worst. Their roots will often find the drain holes on a pot, had to either put the pots on some kind of pedestal or move them regularly. Australian pines are considered invasive in Florida, given the name I am guessing they are native to you?
Thanks for the link to the Fraser Island lakes, very interesting. And all quite exotic looking to me.
looks like your tomato likes the conditions
I have mostly Gympie Messmates Eucalyptus cloeziana - Wikipedia
and Blue Gums Eucalyptus tereticornis - Wikipedia
as the troublesome trees
Finished making the bed and it is ready for planting but finishing touches including the worm farm still need to be added.
Survived the first lecture back at uni for the semester.