We hadn't been long after the last update when we accidentally acquired more stuff. We had returned to Bunnings much sooner than anticipated as we had forgotten to buy replacement heat lamps during the last trip and I decided that I really wanted that Elkhorn fern.
And of course a couple more things we "needed".
The creeping thyme seeds in the picture is actually the result of another gardening argument. There was some really nice grass when we moved in (after we got it under control as everything was massively overgrown, the house had been unoccupied for many months prior). J was always adamant that he would not under any circumstances ever bother wasting any effort on things that didn't feed us specifically and it didn't really matter because the grass didn't care.
Then came a period of time where we had too many chickens due to a very active "breeding program" (we had no idea what we were doing) and they ate literally everything and turned the place into a dustbowl.
After putting up with that nonsense for way too long (mostly because I did not have the time and energy to deal with it and the garden was supposed to be J's thing) I spelled out why we needed ground cover and we agreed to try the creeping thyme as it apparently smells nice and is tough enough to deal with some foot traffic.
We planted that one a few weeks ago and some of it is coming up now, a lot of it was not in the furrow J traced for it as the seeds are microscopic and it was a bit windy when he was trying to plant them and then who knows where they ended up when he tried watering them in but near enough was good enough. We might try sprouting the next lot first and then transplanting it out.
or we might yolo again
We also finally got the white paint that we needed to repaint over the stupid asbestos and some lavender because it smells nice and bees like lavender.
then some idiot forgot PPE was a thing when hyperfocusing on "gently hose flaky paint off with garden hose" as advised by the parent who works in OHS, hopefully I don't get mesothelioma x_x
I "found" a box of seeds on top of a cupboard in the laundry (ie I knew it was there but didn't really register) and went through it. As suspected, J has kind of been semi-impulse buying seeds on most Bunnings trips over the years without checking to see what he had first. I did a seed inventory in the bag notebook and then pulled out everything that could be planted in autumn and ordered them by when the seeds "expired" (the two rightmost piles are sow by/before late 2026 and 2027 but had different stuff from the earlier piles).
The fluffy orange asisstant "helped" afterwards by flattening the piles.
We had a chicken fence in the backyard at one stage to try to keep them contained in one side of their current area so we could have vege patches on the other side, apparently it collapsed one day and the chickens were then just hopping over it (according to Eldest as I don't remember this) so J eventually took the chicken wire down but left the "gate" post up (probably because it's cemented in). I suggested (and by that I mean said this is what's happening) that we rebuild the fence again and try to keep them out of that area for a bit while we start the bee and chicken garden which involves planting the lavender that's currently still in the pot we bought it in nicely and following @beelzael's suggestion (which quite frankly we were going to do anyway out of sheer laziness XD) for the chicken forage and beneficial insect mixes and quite possibly the "expired" seeds depending on how much faith we have in them and whether or not the seeds have been treated.
Then we commence a frantic race against chickens as after the mixes look big enough we'll buy more packets, let the chickens back into the area and we'll keep throwing seeds around until we have to do it less or enough flowers or seeds passing through chicken digestive tracts somehow survive to self reseed.
I have been telling J that the beehive needs to be moved to a tree stump in another part of the yard before it collapses as it has been slowly tilting for the last few years. He went from insisting it was fine and would never fall over to suggesting we just make a little concrete bed for it (I kerbstomped that idea hard) and him realising when we were showing his parents all the new stuff in the garden when they visited recently that the top boxes are starting to slide off.
The tree stump is going to be the new base for the beehive. The lavender plant is going in the corner and the chicken and insect garden will start immediately around it.
Youngest helped position and straighten out the sleeper bed and that's currently glacially getting filled with larger sticks and leaves and things whenever we get around to doing garden cleanup. It still needs to be star picketed in.
More recently I came up with the "brilliant" idea to do a pvc pipe hydroponics on that fence and found this website with this manageable looking design which should theoretically suit better than what I had in mind.
The more hare-brained development that followed from that is to see if I can run it off this aquaponics pod starting with 2 male and 6 female guppies.
it may also end up being a straight small pond
At some point I thought it would be a fantastic idea to excavate the back path as it hasn't been maintained in a year or so. It required shovel, rake and broom in that order. I did not think to take a before pic when I started and only took these ones because I was so upset about doing it that I told my friends I needed someone to appreciate it and they appreciated it for me XD One of them was even kind enough to say that it was motivating her to continue uncovering her back path.
that handy dandy bathtub is not getting converted into an aquaponics because even though it's been sitting there for years now I still want to renovate the utility bathroom and put it in there, I'm still dirty that it didn't get put back in the main bathroom which is what I specifically requested and basically got told no becuase the people doing the work who don't even live here were too old to climb in and out of it?! And I'm not allowed to complain because most of it was done relatively cheaply with the help of family friends with the correct qualifications
The house painting eventually got finished (J and Eldest completed the last coat on the last two walls as I woke up with a killer headache that annoyingly persisted all day and a chunk of the night) and the Easter lilies came back.
They were here when we got here and we joke about how they thrive on neglect as we have done absolutely nothing at all for them and they have persisted where everything else in their garden bed died. I don't know if a lot of the soil has eroded or if the bulbs just got bigger but I suddenly became aware of the megabulb there (there's a lot of large bulbs squished together) so when it stops being a surface level plant I might have a go at separating them out and giving them all a bit more space and hopefully won't kill them with the attempt at helping.
Especially seeing as at least one of them has ended up over here and is definitely getting moved back into the garden bed.
Most of the plants from floral experiment #1 have survived and grown bigger. Two of the colourful leaved ones that I think are Coleus (the label disappeared into the aether) haven't, one I'm not sure why and the other one I'm genuinely surprised is still alive along with all the other survivors in the patio bed which was frequently overturned by a chicken we nicknamed "Satan" because long after the two other hens that were also jailbreaking had gotten the memo and wisely stayed on their side of the fence, she persisted in hopping basically over the house (sometimes she'd jump the fence but most of the time she was going up the currently defunct aquaponics onto the shed roof onto the tree onto the house roof and jumping off the other side).
Satan had worked out the Alyssums are tasty chicken treats and eaten them all, then had a go at some of the other plants in the patio bed including one of the Impatiens which is now literally hanging on by a leaf.
The silver lining of that is that Aeris the Puppy learned how to herd chickens.
The tree bed (right next to the patio bed) is also a good flower garden apparently as everything in there is doing well (except for that one Coleus which isn't growing for some reason but also isn't dying and the three Alyssums that got eaten by the chicken).
I'm currently trying to nurse the patio bed along but may end up having to replant it which will set back the plans for the driveway liner.
Speaking of plans, I'm dropping the hare-brained schemes into a list and seeing if I can get any done before next update.
plans
- rebuild chicken divider fence
- plant bee garden (lavender bush, first round of chicken foraging mix and beneficial insect mix)
- move beehive and birdbath (which is primarily easy water source for the bees) into bee garden
- replant birdbath pockets
- try to let everything grow out a little bit before allowing chickens back in there (may be a struggle with Satan)
- build vertical garden on chicken divider fence
- small pond or aquaponics pod
- pvc pipes
- guppies
- continue reseeding chicken foraging mix and beneficial insect mix over the entirety of the chicken area every few weeks indefinitely or until it looks like it's able to reseed and regrow itself before getting completely destroyed
- relocate and set up aquaponics properly
- climbing frame?
- butterfly koi
- shubunkin
- may have to replace one of the ponds
- dig out tree stumps
- mark out where the granny flat is going so we don't plant anything there
- attempt to transplant the apparently immortal Crapemyrtle to where the bigger tree stump was
- sprout creeping thyme and try transplanting when big enough to be visible to the naked eye
- separate Easter lilies
side quests
- desktop aquaponics
- Youngest's old fish tank setup
- really small dwc raft or materials to make one
- betta
- see where neighbour got shrimp and snails from or if they have a population excess to rehome
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That was an absolutely entertaining read. I'm breathless. You do make me laugh, although I'm not sure it was your intention!
It sounds like the main problem is the chooks. Forget EVERYTHING and get them under control first! I love that meme that says 'even the most patient gardener loses their shit when the chickens get out' (I'm paraphrasing here).
Also, have you seen that you can make a frame and put some hard chook wire across top, and that way the (expired but maybe still valid) plants can poke up through for the chooks but they don't get utterly decimated and can grow up again for said chooks?
Oh dear with the asbestos. That's what Dad died off but I'm pretty sure you'd have to inhale a heap of it for it to be a massive concern so don't worry. Besides it doesn't appear til you're way older and you have to die of something. Oh dear that doesn't help either. I should stop talking. But damn you asbestos and the company that made it.
I really want to do creeping thyme too. I lack the patience however.
You could make a worm farm out of the bath? We did.. it's on Hive somewhere....
There is an intention to be entertaining, laughter is a bonus! :D
LoL! The chookies are the entire reason the garden is an ugly dustbowl! J just didn't help.
I think we did that frame idea with some planter boxes ages ago and might do the same again to get the cat plants established before the cats get into them. Not smart enough to figure out how to make it work over a larger awkwardly shaped area with a lot of obstacles in the way ^_^;
not entirely true I have worked out one way involving basically planting in a grid but I also know I'm probably much too lazy for that x_x
LoL! XD I'm not that worried as it's fibro concrete not the loose stuff but I still want it gone. Told J it is going in much less than the 20 years he reckoned as it absolutely will not last that long. Especially as we thought it was just the outside cladding but apparently the inside part of the external walls are also asbestos which is the kids' rooms >_< Eldest's room is the next one to need repainting but we're currently all up in the air as he and Middle might swap rooms again (they swapped ages ago but now that Middle's boyfriend also lives part time with us
The bath is going to go back to being a bathtub whenever I can force J into doing the other bathroom renos (he knows it needs to be done along with the kitchen but is actively resisting because he never likes spending any money on anything at all and it's expensive). I'm still really dirty that it didn't get put back in when I specifically told everyone I wanted it back in and it's been years, but I could hold a grudge for the planet.
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Still can't get over the chicken herding dog. It just makes me smile and laugh when I see it. That is a smart pooch. I think hydrophonics is really cool. Have thought about trying something like that myself. You really have a lot going on. Looking forward to seeing more as you work down the list.
I'm glad it's bringing such delight XD She has her moments :)
My first exposure to hydroponics was a million years ago when my dad used it to grow some vegetables and orchids (and other ornamental plants but the orchids are most of what I remember as they were my mum's thing and she loves them), and later on J and I were trying to help him set up another system but shenanigans continued happening and basically we've beeen trying to help him put this system together every time we visit them for the holidays (which is every couple of years as they live a way away) and it's been over a decade and it's still not done x_x
We haven't done any ourselves here, only aquaponics which is...entirely why I mentally converted that hydroponics system ^_^;
What's stopping you from trying out the hydroponics? :D
Not sure what stops me. Other than my own procrastination. I already have several unfinished projects. LOL
Wow that's awesome! Very ambitious... I hope it all works out! Keep us updated. I'm eyeing at hydro gardens for a while now, but with everything else going on, I absolutely neglected any kind of gardening...
Thanks! ^_^ Most of it is theoretically achievable (I eventually learned how to break things down into microscopic components so it has a prayer of getting done XD), most of what will be stopping us is laziness -_-; closely followed by money and fuel >_<
Hobbies (assuming you don't rely on the garden for food) are always the first to fall by the wayside when everything else starts going on, even if they're kind of essential for mental health :< Is everything else going okay?
We have plenty of cheap veggies around, Cotacachi is quite rural and everybody else has gardens and sell leftovers on a little, but beautiful indigenous market on Sundays. Basically everything one needs to live well (as a vegan that is) is grown right around town, so I don't rely on my garden. Except for the weird stuff, like dill.
Things are a bit rough these days, as my daughter was taken away by her mom again and I have no clue where they are. It's a battle that's going on for 8 years now, and hopefully a last hurrah by the mother. This time I hope that I'll finally have enough legal argument to force her to take therapy, and in the meantime have custody of our daughter. Before they went, it was one attack after the other coming from that side, and it took a lot of energy not to fall into battle mode, but to stay calm and react only rationally. Everything else would've made it worse for the little one.
Besides that, it's okay. Surprisingly well, here's a post about that if you care to read.
Looking forward to reading more about all the nitty gritty on how you manage all the components :-D
Nice :)
I call a lot of things the worst but situations like that are the absolute worst. Glad you're handling it as well as one can handle that kind of thing.
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