Everything is really growing at the moment- we have had a fair bit of rain but lately the days have been quite mild- perfect growing conditions! The orchard has really taken off in the last couple of years, we have had ample mandarins and it looks like a good crop of nectarines and plums again this year.

Bees pollinating the nectarine

After the bushfire a couple of years ago, the bush is growing back. Though many species have completely gone as they were burnt too severely, other plants really regenerate after a bushfire. Most of the balga (grass trees) have grown back and quite a few are now flowering, lots of gum trees have self sown, and the prickly moses (a type of acacia), has come back with a vengeance (they really are prickly).

Prickly Moses

Running postman (Kennedia prostrata)

Regeneration

The almost spring weather is also shown in the animals activity around! There are lots of birds around making nests, particularly the wild ducks.

You looking’ at me?

The turkeys are nesting in their nice ‘bush’ nest (though safely in their pen!) too, though two on the same nest!

Sharing a nest

After the continuous heat of a Perth summer, we are now enjoying ideal growing conditions! We have had a bit of rain, plenty of sunshine, and reasonable temperatures, so everything is growing well. The herb garden is looking great- partly due to the weather and partly due to attaching a sprinkler to the top of a windmill stand so they could be cooled down more easily.

Herb garden

Herb garden with sprinkler on top of the windmill stand!

This area has been so successful, our next ‘project’ (there is never nothing to do!) is to bring the pumpkin palace and two large raised beds to this area too. This is for a number of reasons-the raised beds are certainly successful; being near the back door is also beneficial; the area currently being used will revert to a ‘clucker tucker’ (poultry food) area for the poultry to get a good source of greens without damaging the paddocks too much; and concentrating the vegetable growing areas really just makes managing it all much easier!

Also growing particularly well are the bananas in the atrium! It will be interesting to see how they go over winter, as it does get quite chilly in there, but they have grown amazingly over summer!

Bananas in the atrium (glass roofed entrance)

How to grow LOTS of pumpkin in one remaining vegetable garden bed??? Construct ‘Pumpkin Palace’ to grow them UP instead of on the ground! So far, it is looking great, with pumpkin, okra, vegetable spaghetti, cucumber…..and probably more…..growing up the structure, with sweetcorn and beans growing underneath.

Pumpkin Palace

Well, as we have said before, there is never nothing to do!! As a further step towards sustainability we are setting up an aquaponics system near the pool. The aim is to continue to run Silver Perch in the pool, but in the aquaponics fish tank to run Barramundi in summer and Rainbow Trout in winter. We just need to prepare the ground…….

First step is to remove the existing pool fences

View to the west-where the system will be

The ground needs levelling

We will have two different levels because there is quite a slope!

The seed sowing was quite successful with most things growing in the new shade house! It won’t be long before they will all be able to be planted out into the veggie garden that the chooks have been scratching around in for the past few months, adding extra ‘fertiliser’ as they go through the scraps.

Seeds sprouted!

Fortunately, there are also a few natives we have managed to repot from other areas, so once the rains come we will be able to revegetate small areas that were burnt out in the fire.

We also have had a rush of field mushrooms come up in the paddock…a sign of the cooler weather!

Mushrooms grown in the paddock

We have had a few visiting heron over the years, but not many as photogenic as this one!! We had mixed feelings seeing it- on the one hand it is lovely seeing the wildlife visit, on the other we knew it would be after the Silver Perch we put in the pond!!

White-faced Heron searching for silver perch!

We have just finished planting out a native/bush-food garden at the front of the house. Previously there was a massive philodendron that was starting to look tatty, way too big, and was burnt by the sun every summer.

This was pulled out (no mean feat!!) with the poor, long suffering 4WD dragging the  boat anchor (many times) through its roots until all were removed. Then the area was landscaped with a truck load of soil and another of bark chips, and then planted out. We purchased three grass trees from Replants, then numerous other natives from Australian Native Nurseries (choosing bush foods as much as possible).

Some of the  philly still lives in pots, the rest ( like all our branches and cuttings) went down to help re-greening elsewhere by covering some bare sand in one of the back paddocks (the old horse arena)—there to act as a temporary sunshade and catchment for self-sowing native plants to  take hold and thrive in.

Newly planted bush foods garden

Now we just need it to grow!