Princess Castle Update

Things were warm and pottery today. I put in some cabbage seedlings

And started tidying up the veggie bed. I am thinking snow-peas next.

This straw was carefully pre treated by the ducks while it was in their house, and is now being used to mulch the raspberries.

And here is another update on Mr Bacon Avocado. As you can see, he is going very very well in his little hessian house.

Mr Bacon Avocado reins supreme!

So we had a couple of -5 nights here last weekend. Not that we'd know. Mr Duck Herder and I were languishing on a beach up at Port Douglas for a week. For those of you who are unAustralian, think climate of Tahiti. No complaints there I can tell you.

Anyhoo, Mr Bacon has really hit his stride this autumn, putting on a spurt of growth 'n all. As you can see, he is feeling PRETTY SMUG about his wintering capabilities so far. (so far so good)

This will be his SECOND winter here in the ONC and who knows, another few and we might even get some fruit one day.

I like to defy the odds.

Spring

Hello internets. heeellloooooo....

Sbinawhile. Sbinawhile. Whats happening?

Well, look at my beautiful pressie from Jacqui and Marjorie.

Have you ever seen a cuter little bundle. How cute are those salt'n'peppa shakers? And that little Christmas Doily? I am in cute heaven. And borrage for courage - I was gonig to have to buy some more borrage seeds - how did she know?

Thank you Miss Life in the Dome.

And meet Bitie (you know, from The Simpsons, when Homer has possums in the cupboard and says to Bart "I call the big one Bitie"...._

Here is Bitie eating his banana at a safer distance. He looks so soft. I can hardly resist the urge to pat him, cuddle him and rub my face in his fur. But I know that all his ends are very pointy and sharp.

Now, this is VERY SPECIAL.....could it be? YES. Mr Bacon the Avocado the BRAVE is actually about to flower. One step closer to growing avocados in the ONC my friends.

And for a closer look......

This is the rather ragged but brave Mr Bacon who made it though his first torrid ONC winter. HOORAY for Mr Bacon.

And could this possibly be baby Apricots?
Why yes, I think they are.

And surely these must be baby Angel peaches?

Indeed!

And other news? Well, Queen Atalia has a new box. She is no longer humble. She is CRANKY. I have been stung twice. She has an ARMY of front line soldiers who are very well briefed. But really she is very busy. It is still a bit cold. Eric says when the temperature climbs another few degrees and the nectar starts to flow properly she will be happier. They are FRANTIC - trying to build new comb and feeding all the babies and search for nectar to feed themselves.

To date I have been stung on my cheek, head and neck. Perhaps I should start wearing my veil.

Happy SPRING everyone.

winter gardening

Long week this week. Spent three days in Condobolin for work. It is a LONG drive. Condo is like a different planet this winter - GREEN and lush and soggy. Clover and grass and fat cows. Red dust is replaced with red mud. Going for a run along the river bank my shoes fill up with mud until they are heavy and clumpy. This winter (only) I am seduced by the hidden fertility of the central west. I know it will evaporate in a puff of hot dust by the end of the year. That beautiful red soil. All you need is water. Just add water. Pity there is no water.

Anyhoo, I was late getting off to Condo on Tuesday because my FRUIT TREES arrived from Woodbridge. Yay! Regular viewers will remember I ordered a Coe's Golden Drop to be friends with the Greengage plum. This was promptly planted in the waiting hole out the front.

And joy joy joy, welcome little Beurre D'Anjou, Beurre Hardy and Beurre Bosc pears. These are in a trio planting.

I must admit, pre-preparing fruit tree holes makes planting a BREEZE! These holes have been waiting since autumn when they were dug and filled with compost, manure and all sorts of other nice things.

In other news, here is a peak at the onion seedlings jostling for space with the salad seedlings in the glass house. I have more to squeeze in very soon - there are all sorts of things ready to move from the heatpad inside to the glass house. If I get organised soon, I will have a sheltered space down at the community garden to start shifting onions into........if I get organised that is.

OH, and here is photographic evidence that Mr Bacon has survived well into July! Crumpled, a bit ragged but DEFINITELY alive.

That is all.

Avocado Shanty is BACK

I haven't quite let go off the possibility/desire/interest/obsession with growing avocados in ONC. Regular viewers may recall the previous aborted attempts a growing an avocado hedge in what is now the orchard. Neighbours lovingly described my elaborate polystyrene sheeting and shade cloth frost protection and shade arrangements as "looking like a shanty town" which is where the whole avocado shanty thing came from. Anyhoo, here we go again with a pared down version.

Avocados do not like wet feet. The ONC has an abundance of nice thick wet clay subsoil and while most of my efforts were focused on stopping my babies from drying out, it only took an unusually wet couple of days in winter to invite a nice rooty fungus and thus avocado disaster.

So, this next attempt involves growing my beloved avocado in a large half wine barrel. This my friends will hopefully achieve a number of benefits. Firstly, Miss Bacon's roots are well out of the clay, secondly, the extra height should give me perhaps another one or two degrees warmth in winter, thirdly, I can fill the wine barrel with loads of excellent soil, fourthly, by drilling lots of holes in the bottom of the barrel, there is no chance of water logging and once (if) she gets big, her roots can get down into the soil as well.

Other site design elements include a strategic location along site the water tanks which should further insulate my darling from the cold and make daily watering in summer a breeze. I haven't completely ruled out the possibility of using my chick brooder heat lamp overnight in winter.........

So far so good. These photos are from when she first went in and since then, she had put on loads of growth including lots of all important side shoots. You see, avocados are a bit special in that their trunks photosynthesis which makes them susceptible to direct sunlight and frost until they grow up a bit and bush out. This explains the hessian cover to protect her leaves and stem from the sun.

Fingers crossed. Will keep you posted.

For the most EXCELLENT Gardening Australia article on growing avocados including the avocados in a pot idea, see here.

For avocado trees, you might like to try sunraysia nursery - I have had great service from these friendly folks. They also have an excellent range of kiwi vines.

red shine to you too

While on the one hand I have been a very bad blogger of late, I have actually, been a much improved and highly committed tenderer of the duck herder estate. We have been blessed with RAIN and cool weather which has made such potterings a joy. Everything is JUMPING. And BEHOLD, the Red Shine onions are ready. HFS they are HUGE, and sweet and divine. The largest was 330gms!!!!!!

The Hunter River Browns and Sweet Reds are not far behind, but as their little tops are still going strong, I will leave them a little longer.

These were all planted in later winter. I popped another lot in just a few weeks ago - I found some gladalan seeds lurking in the seed box and thought we just might be lucky enough to get at least a small second crop this season.

Well, I am back to the garden. Today is a happy day - a peachcot, china flat peach and angel peach arrived today from Daley's Nursery, and I must go out and nudge a few thousand wriggly worms aside and pop them into the earth. (That would involve using my NEW PITCHFORK now wouldnt it? OH what joy)

Long time readers will remember the avocado shanty? Well, it is now a food forest orchard wolfberry patch. AND, I haven't completely given up on the avocados - I am thinking of trying a couple in a wine barrel shuggled up next to the water tanks where they can be warm, sheltered and have their delicate little roots safely out of the clay.

Happy new year to you all. Mr Duck Herder and I are planning on taking a few beers up onto Mt Stromlo to watch the fireworks. What ever you do if you can't be good be careful. ;-)

greens, Byron and those avocados

Well, another cold day here is ONC – but finally the sun peeked out this afternoon. Here is a little look at where the duck herder can be found on a sunny winter day. We will never get scurvy over winter while we can grow lettuces, baby spinach and tatsoi in my little glass house. It is also a good place to put Byron in his little rooster box over night when he is visiting, so that we can only just hear him yodeling at 4.30am. Speaking of Byron, he has gone home to Jugiong, and we MISS him. I miss his crowing. I really do!

In other news, here is an avocado update. Definitely not thriving in our frosty winter, even with the avocado shanty but if you look REALLY closely, you will see a few surviving leaves on the Bacons. I am too upset to show any pictures of the Gwens. (you can see one very sorry sample in the background) Very sad indeed. Oooh well. I will be patient and hang in there - even if they die back a little each winter, hopefully when they are bigger they will cop it sweet!

Random Fungus Flat Rooster Sunday

Well. Another bone crunchingly cold night followed by a crystal clear sunny day. The poor old avocados are taking a beating. They have spots and splotches and crunchy leaves. None of this is good! The Bacons seem to be doing a bit better. The Gwens – well, they look like crap! I am not sure what the specific problem is – is it the cold? Is it the “green with envy” spray? Did they get wet feet? Have they caught a fungus? Will they die? Sigh…. there are many avocados questions.

In other random news, I got two flat tires riding to mum and dad’s this morning. I changed one tube, and then the replacement tube went flat as well. I think my tire is worn out – all those 25km commutes to and from struggle town for work! In the end I had to walk home with the bike.

I am not sure if it is bad blog etiquette to talk about pre-blog experiences, but I wanted to show you the slippery jacks and saffron ladies my friend from the community garden gave me. He found them just up the road in the pine forest a few weeks ago, a few weeks after some rain. I have always wanted to find out which of the mushrooms growing in the pine forests are edible, but have never been able to find anyone who knew before! So here they are:

Both are quite distinctive, and I think I will be able to find them again in the wild next spring - the safron ladies especially

There is some more information about them here.

I fried them up in some butter and home grown garlic – DELICIOUS!!! The saffron ladies especially! Mr Duck Herder refused to eat them, but I thought they were wonderful.

And finally, true to my word – here is a picture of Nefley and her boyfriend Byron. Byron is a regular visitor to the princess castle and he is very sweetly in love with Nefley, and Nefley is very sweetly in love with him too. Jenni however, hates him with a passion. Thats half of Jenni there on the right.

Avocado Confessions

It is probably best to start my blog off with a confession. The confession is that yes, I AM trying to grow avocados in Canberra. It is a medium scale obsession that creates much mirth amongst my friends, and the Avocado Man at the Canberra Farmers Market thinks it is hilARIOUS.

Now I wouldn’t want any of you to think I had gone down this path of fancy sans research and preparation. I have read EVERYTHING I can get my hands on about growing the things in extreme climactic conditions. You may, for instance, be interested to know that according to Louise Glowinski, the latitudinal range of avocados is between 40 degrees north and 40 degrees south. That 40 Degree southern latitude is right through the Bass Strait, and that my friends is WAY south of ONC*.

Yes, I know, there is that whole mountainous 600 meters above sea level thing....and the relentless frosts.....the -8 frosts that is...the odd snowfall.........and the heat......the 40 degree days......and that particularly parching west/north-westerly wind in summer.....I could go on listing all the things Avocadoes hate and that Duck Herders have in abundance....but I wont.
Instead, we will talk about variety selection and micro-climates.

The varieties I selected are Bacon and Gwen. There are two of each. The Bacons are generally recognised as being very cold hardy (up to -4 once established). In a temperate climate, the protogynous diurnally synchronous dichogomyness is knocked around a bit so they are also self fertile.

The Gwen is a new variety which is also meant to be cold hardy, but needs an appropriate pollinator friend (such as Bacon). All my little avocado friends came from Sunraysia Nursury. Here is a little picture of Bacon #2 on the left, and Gwen #1 on the right.

You might notice the swathes of shadecloth, the polystyrene panels, the 2.4m star pickets and mountains of mulch. You may not notice the shadecloth roof. Combined, all these bits and pieces constitute what is known locally as "The Avocado Shanty".

Here is a view from a distance. The Avocado Shanty faces almost north, is sheltered from the west wind by our house, and the east wind by a huge box alder. The curtain along the front of the Avocado Shanty can be adjusted or dropped down so they are totally enclosed. The avocadoes are protected from cold air coming off the metal fence behind by panels of polystyrene (free from car battery outlets).

The water tanks to the right will hopefully function as a heat sink. The house behind hopefully radiates additional warmth in the winter. The row of lomandras stops cold air and frosts from getting into the shanty as well. You can't see if from the photo, but there is a path behind the lomandras. Eventually, I hope my avocados form a wonderful, abundant, productive, thick hedge between us and the neighbours. They have been in there for almost 9 months, have grown well and already survived a very hot summer and some -3 frosts. I have sprayed them with a product called "green with envy" to provide additional frost protection - and it certainly hasn’t done them any harm. Oh, and our ducki friends are Amelia and Miriam.

Well, that’s it really. If I can just keep them alive for another 2 summers and 2 winters, we should be right. There might even be avocados one day.

*"our nation's capital"