tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86655713101682570662024-03-14T17:40:38.114+10:00Barefoot BountyThis is our first step out of the suburban backyard garden into something a little larger and hopefully even more productive.Mr Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03953694805017745900noreply@blogger.comBlogger171125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-1911253441536467002014-06-01T12:02:00.002+10:002014-06-01T12:02:46.912+10:00Its time to bring the honey inWe were given a hive and a swarm by our wonderful friend Hans, who for many years now has been building up his knowledge on natural bee keeping. He has about 18 hives on his 12 acres and sells his excess honey (which as you could imagine is quite a lot). He gave us a top bar hive which consists of a box with just the wooden bar sitting in the top of the frame (inside the lid of course).
Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-7290759022997579472014-05-24T10:28:00.003+10:002014-05-24T10:28:47.521+10:00How things have grownI've been very focused on fencing and sheep for a while now and its amazing to see how fast thing grow when you don't watch them. Below is the swale that I cleaned up and planted out in February.
And here is the one I did in December and January. The bok choy seeds I threw around have gone gang busters adn the pidgeon pea has shot up. The lone little banana that I put there for fun is Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-19258882626408299152014-05-20T09:11:00.003+10:002014-05-20T09:11:50.738+10:00New additionsSo after a little fence teasing in my last post, here are some pics of our newest additions
We bought four breeding ewes from a wonderful local breeder called Paula. She loves her animals and keep them in amazing health and ensures they are easy to handle. We have two dorper ewes both of whom were bred with a dorper cross damara ram. The one ewe gave birth to twins before Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-88412076778650413552014-04-25T10:38:00.000+10:002014-04-25T10:38:10.303+10:00I know, I know, its been a whileIts been a very busy first quarter now that I'm back at work. Having said that, there is still some movement on the property. Big things are afoot.
We've finally finished the fencing and have not one but two paddocks ready for some new additions. The paddock in the pictures captures about and acre and a half to the side of and above the house, with a small holding pen nextEnergiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-48828875207406986432014-02-15T12:12:00.001+10:002014-02-25T17:24:36.845+10:00What's coming to a table near meWhilst most of my attention has been gonig to clearing new areas of the food forest, other plants have still been busy doing what they do. So here's a glimpse of what's on the way. We've got five banana circles now with four hands of bananas busy ripening and getting fat. Three are in the first circle I put in - can you spot them in the first photo below?
This last photo is Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-41440653316038120612014-01-27T09:31:00.001+10:002014-01-27T09:31:18.101+10:00A la carte diningThe more we put food plants onto our property, the more visitors we have that come and enjoy what's on offer. But this one is just for the birds
Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-62588092482912743372014-01-26T12:31:00.001+10:002014-01-26T12:31:14.562+10:00Little by LittleAs I go back to work next week, its been full steam ahead in the garden. Thankfully we've had rain and cooler temperatures, but still, its dirty,sweaty work. And the other gift is the help I've had from Beau and Greg, who are taking it in turns (wise men). So the top swale where the apple and macadamia trees are was next on the list. The grass was as high as your shoulders and needed Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-82185841058735186472014-01-15T18:24:00.000+10:002014-01-15T18:24:15.724+10:00What's pottingI was out removing more grass today (surprise, surprise but more on that in the next post) and low and behold - apples
The grass was so long and I wasn't looking at this swale until I was ready to remove the grass, so I completely missed them. How exciting! But I'm thinking the birds may be as excited as I am. So I'm improvising with this (and I wasn't wearing those Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-78204477914373870302014-01-11T12:56:00.001+10:002014-01-11T12:56:33.533+10:00My new forest sprung a leakI'm so pleased with the expansion of the food forest, but with the first rain came the first problem. We'd taken so much grass away, which was great, but it left loose soil along the swale and especially where one swale drops into the one below, not so great. So there was only one thing to do - slow the water down through the little gully so I didn't lose all the soil and mulch with Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-48198559571954645642014-01-08T07:30:00.000+10:002014-01-08T07:30:35.901+10:00Creating more forestMad I know, but as I was taking some time off, the thing to do was obviously to work on my food forest in the height of summer. Thankfully, I had help from my friend Beau and together over a few days, we cleared the next area of the food forest and since then, I've been busy planting and weeding as the area starts to establish itself. The first thing we had to do was to remove all of Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-67721160702613732282013-12-09T10:58:00.000+10:002013-12-09T10:58:35.827+10:00updatesWhen you're on five acres and fairly ambitious, you keep starting new areas of productivity and then realise you have to maintain them to keep them working for you. So when I'm not watering (which is a lot as its still very dry here), I'm walking around all the newer areas I've given a make-over to and doing a it of maintenance on the weeds etc. Eventually I hope the weeds will be Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-43889268855298304962013-10-22T15:39:00.002+10:002013-10-22T15:39:41.115+10:00New entrantsA few things have aligned in recent weeks to allow some new entrants into our food chain here at Barefoot Cottage. We've been working hard to clear and new areas of the food forest and we've been to two markets, one being the local market where they are a few store holders who breed local natives and the other being the Brisbane Organic Growers Inc (or BOGI) fair. So we've been able Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-58660708326953065772013-10-20T15:49:00.001+10:002013-10-20T15:49:45.754+10:00View from the verandahFor something a little different, I've taken some shots from the verandah. As we live in a valley, the verandah gives us a wonderful aspect through the trees and out onto the property. As I'm mostly in the garden, I don't spend as much time enjoying those views as I'd like, but I live under the fantasy that once the food forest is more established, I'll have more time to park off. &Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-82198922653869990342013-10-06T11:50:00.002+10:002013-10-06T11:50:55.812+10:00Planting outA few weeks ago I took some pics of the nursery. Everything was thriving and so I've done a bit of planting out. I also wanted more space to plant other seeds, so it was time, ready or not. Firstly, the tomatoes went in. They are a heritage breed called money maker.
They are all going gang-busters so we should be drowning in tomatoes in the not too distant future.  Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-88597665527266359602013-09-30T15:57:00.000+10:002013-09-30T15:57:08.878+10:00A few surprisesIn my last post I was talking about my cardamon and how much I love it. I had heard, probably from the wonderful Jerry Coleby Williams, that we are too far south here in Brissie for the cardamon to ever flower and give us seeds. But guess what??
I couldn't believe it this morning when I was giving the hedge a bit of water. It was tucked away and the cardamon is now head heightEnergiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-3506415858403118422013-09-26T14:34:00.001+10:002013-09-26T14:34:09.511+10:00Slow growing treesI had some friends over yesterday that I knew when I was in Sydney. They had been looking at my posts on facebook and when they were in Brisbane, wanted to come out and see what I've been up to. As we walked around the property, we chatted about what I was trying to do and how much our food bill had gone down already. When we got to the food forest, more for the mulberries than Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-55868391232269412882013-09-22T14:13:00.000+10:002013-09-22T14:13:03.701+10:00The nurseryFor my birthday last month, my sister-in-law and mother-in-law gave me a box of goodies from Green Harvest (the perfect present for me). In the box where many packets of warm season seeds and sub-tropical seeds, so I ramped up the nursery and added a few more seeds that I'd saved from last season and got to it. Three or four weeks later, its looking fabulous
The furthest two boxes Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-66290320224094591892013-09-04T11:04:00.002+10:002013-09-04T21:28:58.610+10:00Spring in the patchI was made redundant a few weeks ago and so that has meant more time in the garden, which I'm really enjoying. And now that we are in the dry season, its a good thing too, as the patch needs plenty of water. Our soil is on the clay side of things and when it dries out, its not pretty. But if you keep the water up to it, its beautiful. So I've just come back up to the houseEnergiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-602956002575935842013-08-12T19:12:00.002+10:002013-08-12T19:12:45.416+10:00A big weekend - part 2So here are the results of the second day of back breaking work
So another massive load of grass and then off to pick up some mulch and spread that around and viola! The planting doesn't look like much in these pictures, but I've planted two mulberries that I grew from cuttings from a friend's profilic tree, a davidson plum, a tropical peach, two strawberry guavas, some salvias for Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-55695740244314900172013-08-11T19:58:00.001+10:002013-08-11T19:58:06.982+10:00A big weekendWe have a section of the food forest that the swales didn't extend to, as there was a large old wattle that needed to be taken down before it fell on someone. So Shaun took care of it, cut up most of the trunk and branches but we didn't get around to taking them all away before summer and the dreaded plague - triffid grass. Apparently the CSIRO did some research on a variety of Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-19729770266115674582013-08-09T21:21:00.002+10:002013-08-09T21:21:22.357+10:00End of the seasonIt feels like spring is already here. With the shortest day long past and the weather here in Queensland starting to really warm up, all our plants are springing and sprouting. We've had 24 degree days all week and its predicted to be 26 degrees tomorrow. Wouldn't you be fooled? So I took a little walk around to show you whats blooming.
This is the first time I've grown loofas Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-55199034422419661162013-06-30T11:20:00.000+10:002013-06-30T11:20:11.854+10:00Fence it Baby!We've been talking for a long time about fencing off the top 1.5 acres above and to the side of the house. Its quite steep and really just suited for livestock who don't mind a bit of exercise. Goats would love it but I don't think we'd love dragging goats out of our veggie patch once they'd climbed over the new fence, so we've decided to go for sheep instead. There are at leastEnergiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-79507622656522496552013-06-22T09:22:00.001+10:002013-06-30T11:45:24.817+10:00Feeding the soulThe parts so the garden that don't feed the body feed the soul. Having said that, I probably don't give as much attention to these corners as I could. But they are certainly coming along. My dear friend Linda let me rummage through her rain forest garden with her to harvest a massive car load of bromeliads for my own little tropical haven. They've made themselves at home Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-89990083814158917602013-06-21T07:55:00.000+10:002013-06-21T07:55:04.192+10:00Another garden altogetherI recently went to Singapore to speak at the global Impact Investment Forum and added a day to the trip to go and see the amazing Gardens by the Bay. Its relatively new and so will only get better with time, but I have to say I couldn't have been more impressed. There are a series of gardens that represent all the cultures that make up Singapore, including the cultural, culinary and Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665571310168257066.post-54449877526549105452013-06-09T20:08:00.002+10:002013-06-09T20:08:53.715+10:00what else is growing at oursI started a walk around the garden on a previous post so I'll take you from the veggie patch up to the swales. On the way though, we should really pop in and see how well the bananas are doing. We now have four circles going on either side of the driveway. And after losing a few bunches with the February cyclone, we now have three gorgeous bunches remaining and picked our first Energiser Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11017705741027153101noreply@blogger.com0