Dam report 2023

 Greetings from the waterside this summer.

The dam is continuing to improve, after filling to capacity and beyond during Spring, we wanted to hold as much of the water as possible. Marty talked to a previous owner of our property who had the dam built. He explained that the dam had never successfully held water above the natural soil line despite it being re-lined with clay shortly after it was made. We decided to try adding bentonite clay, just one bag, around the edges where the leak might be. We waited a week, and as the water level dropped, we checked the back of the dam wall for moisture and targeted the opposite side of the wall for another bag of bentonite. Repeating this over the span of a couple of months, we have narrowed down the problem area to just the south east corner, and concentrated spreading the clay to that area. We're happy to say that the water level has never been this high at this time of year before!

See-through water, can you see fish?

I have read that the sealing of a dam is mostly attributed to an anaerobic layer of muck at the bottom, and the trick is to encourage that condition. It is said that fish poo and organic matter helps in this regard, so here's hoping the abundance of little fish are helping. The clarity of the water is helping the plants grow, as is the addition of a few buckets of shell grit (usually for chickens!) for calcium and pH buffering. The first bucket of shell grit went into the floating island, and the plants responded by growing like crazy!

This year a pair of diver ducks hatched 6 little ducklings, we've seen turtles, lots of little fish (of course) and dragonflies galore. The dragonflies have to be my favourite critters for their work eating the mozzies that were in crazy numbers after the wet spring. It was certainly a sight at dusk to see the dragonflies en mass, especially over the sheep!

We have lots more projects on the go, I'll be sure to update when I can.

Until next time!

November garden in photos

I walked out the back door (our only door to the outside at the moment), and I'm so glad the first thing to be seen is the garden. There's the classic strawberry in a hanging basket, some timeless herbs like calendula, thyme, gotu kola and there's a small comfrey* plant amongst that mess.

The Water garden was started a little late this year, but the plants don't seem to mind. The Kang Kong only just survived the winter being brought inside to take root in a jar in the North facing window. I lost all but 2 plants, and I realise now that I should have taken cuttings much earlier and brought them inside once they had established roots. I think I'll have a bigger plants than this by this time next year.

The Chinese water chestnuts are amazing! I put about 8 in a paper bag, into a plastic container, into the fridge (an esky with variable temps) and left them there all winter. I opened the container a couple of weeks ago, and they looked ready to go, so I planted 4 of them into pots. A few days later, something hungry came along and ate 3 of them! Looking at the ones I'd left behind, looking dry and done, I popped them in anyway and covered the pots to keep (choughs I reckon) hungry beaks at bay, and wouldn't you know they're sprouting now? The original one is doing great, so it's a small set back for the others, but considering how quickly these plants grow, I'm guessing we'll have too many again next year - and only from the two pots like this..

I took a walk around to inspect the trees, which is dangerous around here, and although I could be talking about brown snakes, I'm actually referring to the grass seeds that get stuck in your socks as you walk around. They burrow and get into everything, and it can get to the point when you feel like if you take another step, you'll break skin! I know, I know, that's why I should be wearing sock protectors.. and tracksuit pants are a definite no-no!!

Anyway, we have moved the chicks away from under the apricot tree, and it's really responding to having the extra fertilizer. New growth, green all around. Amazing what chooks can do.

The hugel bed is more green than the surrounding area. We've had a little rain, and it responded right away. Many of the dead asparagus plants are suddenly putting up new shoots, and the green manure is green again. Amazing what a difference a little earth works can make!

We finally got around to the major task of moving the chooks the other day. It normally would take us about 30-45 minutes these days, but we had moved them all the way down to the end of the property. Well and truly zone 5 stuff! The weather warmed up quickly, and we didn't want them to suffer the slow hops back toward the orchard area, since there are NO trees in between. So, we boxed them up at night, secured them in with the chicks, then used the tractor to drag the houses up to where they are now. We came back the next morning to set up the fence and let them out into it.

It's been almost a year since they were last on this ground, and even so, the fruit trees seem to be better off for it. Little pears are getting bigger, the quince is giving me hope (although, it did look hopeful last year as well, but the fruit turned black and died well before ripening). All the plants are looking happier this year. It could be the pruning our Permie friends did, the extra water we've had this year, the extra manure or all of those things combined.

I think we've both decided that the orchard area is where we'll make the chooks permanent run, and move them around within it (or exclude them from certain areas where needed). It makes so much sense them being close to the house (especially the front door when we re-instate it), we can protect them and the fruit at the same time (from foxes, possums and wallabies/kangaroos), and they will keep fertilizing the trees and keep pests like fruit fly at bay, and gain the benefit of the shade in summer.

Now we just need to build it..

Add it to the list!


* Seems hiding the comfrey from the pests is working for now. The new Paterson's Curse Crown Boring Weevil is very effective at reducing comfrey numbers to nothing around here - but there's still a good amount of Paterson's Curse around, since the weevils are only just starting to do their thing, and the weed it's suppose to control has done finished flowering by now..

Water gardening

Sometimes we need a kick in the *you know where* to get moving on a project. There are so many projects to choose from around here - occasionally a deadline really helps. The deadline for this project was that I ordered the water plants online, they arrived 3 days later, and now we've got to deal with them!

The concrete water troughs are a new use for an old item. They originally belong in a laundry, but one was outside next to the old kero fridge when we moved here, and the other was a bargain at a clearing sale.

Marty and I had recently been to a workshop hosted by the Albury seed savers group, which inspired us (in a roundabout way, since they were talking about wicking worm beds) to connect the tubs together with plumbing. The first two tubs overflow into the second two tubs, which will (eventually) overflow into a nearby swale.

The end result is a home for the three water plants. Ferny Azolla, Kang Kong (water spinach) and Chinese Water Chestnut. The Azolla was suppose to be for the dam (to help reduce evaporation), but I wanted to start it in here before moving some out onto the dam.. just in case something might like to eat it. Especially since there is no other water plants in there yet.

Behind the water garden is a small cut in half water tank that is keeping some garden straw and a bicycle dry, and one day will be raised-up a bit higher so we can walk in there. I want to attach some old gutters to the sides and collect the rain and channel it directly into the water garden - topping it up automatically.

These things take time, and since our rainfall isn't very regular, and the water situation isn't great just yet, I thought it only appropriate to start small.