Terras Patch

Discussion in 'Members' Systems' started by Terra, Aug 23, 2012.

  1. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    Put in some new pipes had to dig a serious trench , a new supply line to the rainwater pressure pump , a new supply line to the borewater pressure pump , a return pressure line to various taps and a new pipe from the dam up the back of the farm to taps . So now I have plenty of taps in ideal spots my previous water system was less than ideal .



    https://i1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh596/Terrapina/NewPipes_zps11431af8.jpg
     
  2. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    Ive often moaned about my soil , the house is built right on the top of a small hill so is well drained hmmmmm , found this photo on one of the cameras this is best described as my subsoil anywhere around the house if you scrape the precious top soil back I have this gravel for the next 500mm to 700mm before the clay starts which of course is why watering is a pain in the summer in the ground garden .

    In the chook dome its amazing how much material disappears I can keep shovelling it in , there is so many gaps to fill between the rocks must be starting to make a difference .


    https://i1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh596/Terrapina/Subsoil_zpsc2e9304d.jpg
     
  3. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    I hope you didn't have to dig that by hand. (Did I mention I hate digging?)
     
  4. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    That's about half the length of the trench , I have a small tractor (pic in previous post with compost heap) it has great attachments . I cleared the line and went through with the rotary hoe on the tractor that made the first bit easy to shovel then I have a ripper that goes on the little tractor so went through multiple times with my sister standing on the ripper for extra weight , OH@S approved of course .

    Topsoil and dreadfull rocks went in separate piles , put the pipes in and any joins / taps were back filled with sand in case of trouble (Leaks) rocks went to a better place and trench filled with sand and "topsoil" .

    Digging is not my favourite pastime either but couldn't work out how to get the chooks to dig a deep trench .
     
  5. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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  6. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    The Photo Ting may be beaten :clap: Another shot of my new waterpipe system

    View attachment 1877
     

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  7. helenlee

    helenlee Junior Member

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    Awesome effort & fantastic result :)
     
  8. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    View attachment 1881

    At a local Show they had a sheep to shawl spinning and knitting demo where a sheep was shorn in the shearing competition the wool was spun an knitted into a shawl and raffled off as a fund raiser for something . I mentioned I used to spin wool many years ago mum used to knit homespun wool socks they were divine , so yes I was bullied into having a go , took me ten seconds and it all came back its incredible how we can store info like that in the back blocks of our brain and pull it out , in my case at least 30 yrs since I have spun any . There were six spinning wheels there of various types one very nice machine with a double crank with each foot working a crank , it ran very smooth . Turns out there are a couple of groups that meet and spin together nice to see a art like this is still going in these fast high tech days .
     

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  9. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    And no im not taking up knitting :p
     
  10. helenlee

    helenlee Junior Member

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    Is that you spinning????
     
  11. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Why not? Perfect thing for long winter evenings in front of the fire...
     
  12. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    Picked up a Horse Float choc full of old musty bales from a mates hay shed when he did a cleanout for the new season hay , so my fruit tree enclosure is well mulched again , last years deep straw is long gone .

    Had a good look around and found not much fruit set , we were swamped last year , plenty of grapes though . Wondering about the bee situation lots of bees at flowering in there last year didn't notice them this time around .

    Of course I cant remember details an timing , we had a dreadfull cold stretch which may have kept the bees at home , also thinking the nearby canola was sown earlier and was flowering from early on may have drawn them away , or of course it may just be seasonal for other reasons . Disappointing of course however we preserved lots of last years crop . Might need to have a hive tucked away in the native garden on the north side , most of the wild bee hives are on the south side and could be drawn away from the house area by flowering crops .

    This is one part of food production that can and does create problems if we have a crop failure for reasons out of our control we can easily have a lean stretch .
    Must always have a few different crops growing in the same timeslot , the forward planning is a huge part , mine is done on auto pilot so I get heaps of gaps in my harvest .
     
  13. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    I read in my current night time reading (Jared Diamond The world until yesterday) that when you are living off the land the aim is not to achieve the highest yield, it is to avoid spells of no yield. If you get 3 times as much food as everyone else but then nothing for 6 months you are deader than if you get a little bit spread out across the year. Made me reflect on how lucky I am to be able to knick off to the shops if something fails in my garden. It's gonna be tough when that fails.
     
  14. songbird

    songbird Senior Member

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    Occupation:
    gardening, reading, etc
    Location:
    near St. Charles, MI, USoA
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    Climate:
    -15C-35C, 10cm rain/mo, clay, full sun, K-G Dfa=x=Dfb
    which works great if you live in tropical areas... :) outside of those areas the challenge is to grow enough that you have extra to put up (canning, drying, freezing, fermenting) to get through the lean times. here we have four months of frozen enough that i would not count on the gardens for much other than what i've left out there as animal feed or emergency food reserves (turnips, beets and garlic i can get to pretty much year round). if i were geared towards being fully dependent upon the gardens for food i'd certainly shift what i'm growing even more than i am already. i'd also have a cellar and a much larger pantry.
     
  15. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Can you go the greenhouse option and grow through the winter season? Perhaps heated with a rocket mass heater? Or is there not enough day light?
     
  16. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    Its not all working against you songbird pretty cheap to run your freezer through those months .
     
  17. songbird

    songbird Senior Member

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    Occupation:
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    -15C-35C, 10cm rain/mo, clay, full sun, K-G Dfa=x=Dfb
    it depends upon the freezer, some are not designed to be run in extremely low temperatures. ours is a part of the refrigerator in the house and the house is either heated or cooled. the cost of running the freezer doesn't vary much through the seasons. longer term, i don't even want a freezer.
     
  18. Terra

    Terra Moderator

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    Getting a nice pick like this every week , with constant thinning every day to ensure plants don't slack off :p . About Half from the Aquaponics and the rest from raised beds I do have 3 plants in the ground and surprised to get fruit off them as well (millipedes and other horrers usually ruin them) they are close to the frog habitat which I hope is the reason . The center circle in the mandala might be the best place to grow them .

    View attachment 2035
     

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  19. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Nice!
     
  20. helenlee

    helenlee Junior Member

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    Oh yum! How awesome they must be with whipped cream or ice cream :)
    I've only had a handful this year ... but they were DIVINE! :)
     

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