Hi from downunder Brisbane Australia

Discussion in 'Introduce Yourself Here' started by KangaBanga, Jan 7, 2018.

  1. KangaBanga

    KangaBanga New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2018
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Climate:
    Subtropical
    Hi all, I am a dad with two kids 4 and 2 yo and wifey who loves fresh produce but not the work that goes with producing it. We live on a typical suburban lot in the suburbs and so far i have converted part of the backyard to house 4 hens which are now producing fantastic eggs. :D Have been watching lotsa youtube vids on permaculture and raising chickens.

    Big fan of the "Back to Eden" gardening method and hope to slowly convert the lawn into a permaculture food forest of sorts so we can grow plenty of fruits and veges with minimal input.

    Hope to connect with local fans of permaculture and learn more!
     
    Grace Pignatello likes this.
  2. 9anda1f

    9anda1f Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2006
    Messages:
    3,046
    Likes Received:
    200
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    E Washington, USA
    Climate:
    Semi-Arid Shrub Steppe (BsK)
    Welcome Kangabanga! Those chickens will be a great help in converting your lawn to garden, plus they'll fertilize it for you.
     
    Grace Pignatello likes this.
  3. Cornonthecob

    Cornonthecob Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2005
    Messages:
    927
    Likes Received:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Chickens are the engine that makes a food garden grow and run :)
     
    Grace Pignatello likes this.
  4. KangaBanga

    KangaBanga New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2018
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Climate:
    Subtropical
    Mountain woodchips.jpg
    Hi guys, my first delivery, a double truckload of around 36 cubic meters(47 cubic yards) of mixed gum tree and palm tree mulch, smells divine! :D Time to lay a foot of this all over my suburban lawn and a pile in the chook run a.k.a soil manufacturing facility ;)
     
    Grace Pignatello likes this.
  5. Wild Apple Farm

    Wild Apple Farm New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 24, 2018
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Gender:
    Male
    Climate:
    Warm temperate in Box Gum Grassy Woodlands country
    Hope you've got some extra hands to help move that pile.. thankfully the heat has passed!
     
    Grace Pignatello likes this.
  6. KangaBanga

    KangaBanga New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2018
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Climate:
    Subtropical
    nah its just me, wonder how long its gonna take me.The pile will probably lose a third of its volume by the time i am done with it. It was really hot inside and steam came out as I was digging into the side today(day 5 of compost pile sitting there with some light rains this month.)
     
    Grace Pignatello likes this.
  7. Liss_polytelis

    Liss_polytelis New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2018
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Gender:
    Female
    Climate:
    Subtropical, coastal
    Hi kangabanga!

    I too am from Brisbane and am working on transforming part of our backyard from lawn into food forest. This recent rain has been wonderful for our poor parched soil and I'm off today to pick up a load of council provided mulch and a couple bags of horse poo from the stables. The sun is out so I will be too!

    Looking forward to hearing more about your garden development :D
     
    Grace Pignatello and 9anda1f like this.
  8. KangaBanga

    KangaBanga New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2018
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Climate:
    Subtropical
    Hi Liss, which suburb are you at? I am at Gumdale.

    Almost done with the wood chip moving, took me a whole weekend to remove the bulk of it and every evening I have been just moving a few wheelbarrows. It's almost gone now, below knee height and in two smaller piles now. To note the woodchips have killed off most of the underlying grass having just sat there for a couple weeks. Only the roots left.

    You will need 4-6inches of mulch for vege areas and a foot for fruit trees. I am doing 2 feet round my trees and 1 foot on the future vege areas as I have a lot of wood chips and hopefully after 6 months they will be half that height.

    The effect of wood chips have been really amazing, locking all that moisture in. Both my small lime tree and bigger lemon tree are loving it and have started shooting new shoots and flowering!

    One trick I learnt from youtube videos is when first starting using the wood chips, put an inch or 2 of compost around the fruit tree or plants. this prevents the woodchips from removing too much nitrogen from the soil as they decompose.

    What I am also doing is chucking wood chips into my chicken coop/run, then after a month just sifting through wire mesh and applying straight to a raised bed beside my pool which I have converted into an interim vege bed :D this is working really superbly, getting some monster sized veges!

    Which council are you getting your mulch from? where i am at brisbane city council doesnt give out mulch :( I had to get it from a tree lopper.
     
  9. Liss_polytelis

    Liss_polytelis New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2018
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Gender:
    Female
    Climate:
    Subtropical, coastal
    Hey!
    I'm over the bridge in Redcliffe so under a different council. We've had so many recent storms that the mulch piles at council depots are huge, they had to cut up heaps of fallen trees. I don't have a trailer so load it by hand into our horse manure bags.

    I put down a pretty decent layer of composted horse manure under the mulch, the lemon myrtle and figs are very happy! I've still got a couple of citrus trees to put in once the rain eases a little, hopefully tomorrow. I've also been using old cardboard boxes that I get from the local hospital under mulch in particularly weedy areas.

    I'm glad your veggies are doing well! My veg are a little lacklustre, but I'm hoping next season will be better when the soils a little less compacted and protected. Can't expect miracles overnight!
     

Share This Page

-->