#growitlocal

The #bigprune is on @ligayagarden! I usually prune at this time of the year but with food shortages and price hikes looking to be one of the continuing blessings of late stage capitalism, and the fact that I dont have any confidence in us meeting the IPCC recommendations for reducing the greenhouse has emissions, I'm pruning with the focus on food production. In the past, we've let the fruit trees grow unharvestably tall in order to shade the house but now that we have a handle on growing food and shelter producing vines closer to the house, we can reduce the tree's size a little. It'll take away a little from the super dense lushness that you've seen on the @adelaideediblegardentrail video and our stint on @gardeningaustralia but I reckon we'll still be in the running for Gawler South's densest garden. Today, I did what I call a crown prune. That means I cut down all of the thin, really tall stuff so that it doesn't fall on me when I get stuck into the bigger branches with my chainsaw. I'll have a rest tomorrow and then get the heavy work done. I've had to leave some branches though, so we get something from the trees that fruit on second year wood. If I don't do that, we'll have a year with a gap in the harvest. It'll be pruned next year when this year's growth becomes second year wood. You know that I like to make my life easy so instead of adding biochar and coffee grounds to the garden separately, when I mulch up all the pruning, I periodically drop handfuls into the mulcher so that they get spread into the mulch. It saves work and mess crushing the biochar too. This year's biochar came from Kim at @portadelaidefoodgardening. I got 30 litres of it to save me from making and activating my own. That's a messy job but I'm learning to weld this year and have a design idea for a compact, home garden size biochar kiln. Anyway, I'm buggered...time for a cuppa. _______________________________________________ #growitlocal #saurbanfood #permaculturesouthaustralia #urbanfarming #growyorownfood #pruning #frontyardfarm #productivegarden (at Gawler, South Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfTSF_fvwJP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I've been having a little problem with Mites in our Community hydroponics setup. It's interesting that there are very few in the open aquaponics system or rest of the garden where predatory insects can reach but not in thos section which is fed on artificial nutrient mixes and well netted, preventing access to many bugs, including predators. The second observation is that they started on the stumps of Pak Choy and Lettuce which I have regenerating leaves. By the looks of them (brown with orange legs) they are probably Bryobia, which are known to swarm after heavy rains. They're not usually a pest on leafy greens like this but the damaged plant tissue must have been too m7ch for them to resist. I've left it all for a week or so, hoping that predator wasps m8ght find them but no luck. As they're doing visible damage to seedlings, it's time to act. Bring on the White Oil! There's 2 kinds of White Oil, one is just another name for mineral oil, the other you can make at home using this recipe = 1 part dishwashing soap : 4 parts vegetable oil. Put it in a blender and go nuts mixing it until it's white. Put the result in a labelled bottle and use at a rate of 1 tbsp oil : 1 litre water in a spray bottle. Spray on the affected plant, making sure that you get both sides of the leaves and the area immediately around the plant. You may have to apply every 2 days as rhats how long many eggs take to hatch. The oil suffocates the pest insects/arthropods. The soap helps the oil spread and stick to the bugs. It also breaks down their exoskeletons. Deadly stuff if you're a pest. Free to you. _________________________________________________ #pestcontrol #organicpestcontrol #gardenpests #Mites #growitlocal #saurbanfood #permaculturesouthaustralia #urbanfarming #ourpatch #gardening (at Gawler, South Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CestZ4CvMEz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

A few folks have been asking why I haven't been posting many posts here on IG of late? I've been having a little end of Summer rest before the hard work of pruning, mulching, rain tank moving and trench digging starts in the cooler weather. I've been popping a story up on most days and am happy that just over 100 people see each of them. Our following is up to about 1600 and I'm really happy with that and don't really want to work to grow it any larger - it's at a nice size where if I scroll through the list, there are no strangers and I work to send everyone a like or a message from time to time to keep it all nice and personal. Much bigger and I'll start to forget people. For me, this journey has been about connecting with gardeners, food growers and activists through IG and becoming a part of their communities, as they become a part of ours. It's a journey that has reached a comfortable place and I'm not itching to move on along the path any further. I've also been writing a lot for a blogging site called Hive which pays reasonably in a cryptocurrency. Then there's the Adelaide Plains Library talk next week to get ready for, another Sunday chat with @agriadventures this weekend, a guest post for @sky_perma to be worked on too. Coming up are some workshops from here and a couple that I'm looking forward to at the Playford Community Garden with @missnatlily2015 and co. The garden is having some down time too. Only a twice weekly watering at the moment as the big harvests have finished and we all need a rest. Pretty soon I'll be giving it a very hard prune and a really big feed so that it can get itself ready for Winter. Oh yeah! While I remember if you visit @ligayagarden, you'll have to call Jelina 'Doctor Haines' now! Yes, it's all official and she's been conferred her PhD! _________________________________________________ #growitlocal #saurbanfood #ourpatch #permaculturesouthaustralia #ourgarden #frontyardfarm #urbanfarming #homesteading (at Gawler, South Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca5vtOsPnDB/?utm_medium=tumblr

The little Kratky hydro setup that was sponsored by @poeticjusticegawler is rocking along. There have been a couple if teething issues, mainly from those brief hot days we had. They made the water in the tubs get pretty warm. I've cut some construction Styrofoam and placed it along the exposed parts of the tubs to help reduce that problem. A reclaimed computer fan and a solar panel that was repurposed from a defunct fountain pump has also been installed to circulate the air a bit when the Sun's heat is an the area. So far, we've harvested and shared Baby Cos lettuces, Basil and Celery and I'm about to plant some Pak Choy this arvo. _________________________________________________ #hydroponics #growitlocal #saurbanfood #permaculturesouthaustralia #permaculturesoz #growyorownfood #hydroponicsgarden #community #growwhatyoueat (at Gawler, South Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CavdKsWPssi/?utm_medium=tumblr

What a waste! Someone pulled up and threw a Purslane plant onto the footpath! They probably didn't know that Purslane is a superfood that contains a whole bunch of nutrients includ8ng a superhigh level of Omega3 Fatty Acid. _________________________________________________ #herbs #herbalremedies #superfoods #growitlocal #saurbanfood #permaculturesa #growyorownfood #nutrients (at Gawler, South Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZa9KKwPr63/?utm_medium=tumblr

Once again Mamma Blackbird is doing her thing. Besides saving us from the ravages of earthworms, small seedlings and assorted ground dwelling bugs, Mamma Blackbird has a crucial role to play in the ecosystem of @ligayagarden. Out in the wilds of , unguardened, Nature (which I try to replicate small parts of here in our garden) her efforts redistribute organic material, as mulch, over bare, unprotected soil. In our little garden, she sees our pathways and paved areas as barren spots, damaged and in need of covering and protecting so that the ecology can start repair work. Ultimately, my need for clean paths and pavers shrinks in comparison to Mamma Blackbird's instinctive drives. We have a deal with her, one of several deals we have made with the critters who live in our garden. She can raise her babies in relative peace if she leaves the wicking beds alone. That seems to be working. A bit of disturbed mulch is really here nor there. Another deal we have is with rats. I often found a single half eaten Plum or Tomato on the ground, so I asked that, if they can have one of each, everyday while in season, the rats will leave the rest of the crop untouched. Striking a deal seems to be working so far! _________________________________________________ #saurbanfood #growitlocal #permaculturesa #organicpestcontrol #gardenpests #adelaidegardeners (at Gawler, South Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CY0CCFyP4e0/?utm_medium=tumblr

The Hops bine is trying its best to shade us this Summer. Really, though,, we must avoid the assumption that everything is here to benefit us, however homely the analogies of plant and human behaviour. Assumptions like that have taken us a long way down a very bad road. The Hops bine is just doing what a Hops bine does and is growing out into the sunlight. There is intent here though, my intent when I planted the Hops and put up the cables to harness the its intent to grow and reproduce. As I nurture the plant, so am I nurtured, fed and protectedt by the plant being there doing its thing. We are both part of the ecosystem and benefit. ________________________________________________ #permaculture #permacultureblogger #permacultureaustralia #growitlocal #ourgarden #summergardening #ecosystem #gardenecology #gardenthoughts (at Gawler, South Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWsbe0nPWCJ/?utm_medium=tumblr

Making a calcium rich vinegar extract from eggshells. Vinegar is a great way to extract minerals from many substances and the resulting liquid is shelf stable for a long while. That means you can store it in a cool dark place for use later. Here, I'm extracting (primarily) calcium from broken up, roasted eggshells. They get roasted at 150 degrees C for 20 mins or so to dry off the organic material. The ratio of vinegar to eggshells is pretty arbitrary and I've settled on one of 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 depending on how much vinegar i have. Make sure the vinegar reaches all of the eggshells and leave for a week, stirring occasionally until any bubbling stops. Strain out the eggshells and bottle and store the solution. Keep the remaining eggshells. Often you can add fresh vinegar to them and keep on extracting eggs goodness. I usually use home made Apple Cider Vinegar or fruit vinegars but at the moment, I don't have any around because my ACV mother got a bit sick and I'm starting a fresh one. I like these vinegars because they're practically free but you can always use white vinegar. You don't need to use much, I use 1 tablespoon in a watering can of water or 1 tap in my 2 litre sprayer for a foliar spray. Some sources, say that you can use less than this. Use as a spray on leaves or a drench for the roots of plants either as a regular part of your fertilising routine or as an emergency amendment for plant health problems. I usually add a couple of drops of Seasol to whichever vessel I'm using to make it a bit more potent and broad spectrum when using it to remedy plant health issues. There you go. Pretty easy ________________________________________________ #diy #diyfertilizer #applecidervinegar #saurbanfood #growitlocal #permacultureblogger #permaculture #organicgardening #greenthumb #groowyourownfood #growwhatyoueat #gardenharvest #ourgarden (at Gawler, South Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWb7LUQBLtN/?utm_medium=tumblr