May 14th Working Bee

Amazing work from a small group saw

the new trees mulched,
shades up on the new beds
and weeds trimmed down.
Well Done All!

Thanks to Spudnip for the photos

May 6 & 7 Working Bees

Planting began on Friday 6th June with more Old Man Saltbush (Atriplex nummularia) along the rocky eastern 'top' of the garden. Each hole was dug with a motorised posthole digger as the ground is far too hard and rocky to dig by hand.

Each hole was filled with water then the plants were laid out and later planted.
Along the southern and Northern boundary fences a selection of Eremophilas, Acaias, Melaleucas, Eucalyptus and Callistemon trees/shrubs were planted.

Saturday's Working Bee crew got to work adding the irrigation hoses, covering each young plant with a protective 'hat' (see here) and adding a dripper to each plant! Phew there were a lot of plants. Now the are windbreak plantings on each of the fencelines.

The sleeper lined edge of the top layer of the garden has been planted with some tough flowering plants. Rosemary, Lavenders, Pigface, Silverbush (Convolvulus cneorum), Melaleuca and Acacia. These too have drippers attached. As these plants grow they will provide shelter for other herbs and flowers to be planted for beneficial insect/bird attraction.

The other low children's bed has been planted with some leftover Brassica and Parcel seedlings along with some Tree Onions (Walking/Egyptian Onions) which should provide some interest later in the season when these plants flower with their tiny onions instead of petals!!

There will be a quick Working Bee
on Saturday 14th May
to spread mulch around the new windbreak plants.

March 12th Working Bee.

A great attendance at the working bees meant much was achieved!

We didn't really need this fellow's help though,
so he stayed in the shed!

That windbreak bed was weeded and mulched,
more of the plants had outgrown their protectors so these were removed.
Some of the Saltbush needed to be pruned/tidied
to allow the smaller tree seedlings some light!

The sharp edges of the cut-down tanks
were made safe by the addition of hose.

Sleepers were dug in to the edge of the roadway.
Then manure and soil mixed ready for planting.

After all that work we enjoyed some food
and coffee of course!
By lunchtime it was too hot to continue
so we called it a day!

Thank you everyone for your help!

Busy November

A busy week began on Sunday when the garden become a Trees For Life Distribution Depot. Volunteer growers came to pick up their supplies for this seasons growing. 150 Boxes were filled with the special potting mix from the bales, their bags of gravel, fertilizer, planting tubes were sorted together with the growers seeds and paperwork. All ran smoothly.

Tuesday the Project Manager was allowed to borrow the hospital's little tractor and moved most of the manure in position next to each of the growing tank beds and filled the tank beds which are not going to be made into wicking beds.

On Friday a very pleasant day was spent weeding the windbreak, whipper snipping (brushcutting) the edges, collecting rocks, flattening the ramps to the shed and shadehouse and fixing a few other jobs before we shared a couple of homemade pizzas and coffee.

Manure, Tanks and a Dragon!!!

During the week 3 truckloads of well rotted horse manure
was collected from the meatworks and delivered to the site.

The 5 new growing bed tanks were picked up from Jamestown.
These were put in place with the other 6
that had been stored in a garage near the garden
(thank you).

Our rainwater tank for the shed was collected
from the supplier in town
and positioned near the shed
ready for the ground to be prepared for it's resting spot.

All our gear that has been stored in the shed
up the top of the hill
was brought down on the ute
to be stored in OUR shed!!!!

This Bearded Dragon kept a close eye on our activities.

June 26th 2010 Working Bee

The students were back on Thursday straining the wires on part of the fence.

Next day it was our turn to do some fencing.

A very cold, drizzly day greeted us.

Jobs on the list included:
- mulching the windbreak trees
- attaching the rabbit-proof fencing mesh
- attending to morning tea and lunch (most important)

Tools were gathered for each job and loaded into the ute for the trip down the hill.

The Mulchers quickly got to work hoeing the ground around the young trees.
It was amazing to note that the soil was beginning to crack as it dried out. This is a sign of what will happen in summer if plantings don't have a significant mulch cover.
Soon it was all mulched then the drippers were turned on and checked to ensure all were clear of mulch and working properly!

The rabbit-proof mesh was rolled out ready to attach.
After a lengthy debate about just how to attach it was a matter of tying about half a million pieces of wire to attach the mesh to the fence wires.
The bottom of the mesh was fed under the bottom wire out along the ground to keep those rabbits out!

We found that placing the camping gas stove inside one of the tank rings that was cut at an earlier Working Bee meant that the billy could be boiled without the breeze blowing the flame out!

Lunch was pizzas on a scone base and biccies and muffins with hot coffee!

No coffee no workee!

June 11th 2010 - Working Bee

March 5th 2010 - Working Bee

The call went out for a Working Bee.
The hardwood logs/posts were loaded onto a trailer for the journey from the storage shed. That was better than carrying each one and walking down the hill.

Each of the holes needed to be dug out by hand after previously being dug by the Bobcat in January. Despite a lack of rain the soil was relatively easy to remove.

Only one hole needed to be moved over slightly to allow one of the gates to fit!
Fortunately we had a couple of new helpers on this working bee...even a visitor was roped in to help out for a while!!
With all the hard work a coffee/food break was much appreciated with water boiled on a camp stove and scones and pizzas from home. Yum!

Back to work after the break and the donated tank was cut to make 3 good sized raised bed edges. Power for the grinder and 'nibbler' came from a petrol generator.

As a surprise when the first ring was removed we found a load of plant pots waiting. They had been donated by a kind member of the public who thought they would come in useful in the Community Garden. Thank you very much!

A Great Start to the New Year

After the Christmas break Mr Councilworker was back at the site on Monday 4 Jan and this time brought a friend with him in a Bobcat.

A few hours later and we had the block earthworks completed.

With the trench digger attachment on the Bobcat the trench for the mains water piping was dug much more easily than by hand.

The trencher was traded for the post hole attachment and the holes were dug for the fence posts... ...he'd finished in the time it would have taken to dig one hole by hand (with a crowbar).

Our group of five helpers proceeded to lay the pipe and backfill the trench.

Later in the week one of the Heath Team organisers managed to get these two huge bales of Pea Straw from a farmer for FREE!!!

Marking Out 6 Oct 09

Members of the Steering Committee met

to mark out the block.

The view from the North Eastern corner marker

Our clump of shade trees in the North West corner.

These are staying...even if some committee members have to chain themselves to them!

It is hoped this area will become the Communal Meeting area.

Looking from the South West corner.

This area is earmarked for Compost Making and bulk storage.

Two vehicular gates will give access on both sides.

Meet the neighbours

9 Oct 09

The hot pink marker ribbons were later added to each of the markings.

The points for the Fence post holes and Car Park area
are now ready for the Council boys to do the earthworks!