With soaking rain falling over much of the eastern sea-board, I have enjoyed the opportunity to sit back and reflect on some of the little projects that have been happening on the Rock Farm over the past few weeks. Each little project in isolation doesn’t make a big difference, but when we do step back from our immediate tasks, we can see progress, which is incredibly rewarding.
One thing any gardener or farmer knows is that like rust, weeds never sleep. I try to get out every few days with the chipper and spend an hour or so enjoying the great outdoors. I tend to work on the isolated thistles or tussocks, as I figure the big patches are easier to come back to.
Occasionally I think that it would be far easier to spot spray the weeds, however when I find healthy earth worms under the sods, I quickly regain my motivation to use the manual chipper. Lately nearly every sod I turn over has an earthworm scurrying for cover. Earthworms are especially susceptible to chemicals, like the canary in the coal mine, and to find so many in the paddocks is heartening.
In other areas around the place we have been busy too. We finally got around to putting some blue metal under our carport. Later Jo put in a nice brick edge, which makes the whole area far more attractive, and I will take a photo of it soon. The worksite supervisor approved of the tractor relocating the gravel, making the whole job a lot easier than I planned.
Not all the gravel went to the carport. We decided it was better to get another rain water tank to better mitigate our water risk next drought by increasing our storage capacity to around 90 000 litres. The tank needs to sit on a bed of gravel. Thankfully the family were able to help me move the 22 500 litre tank into the perfect position and we soon connected the tank, increasing our capacity by 25%. My favourite addition was a little tap, allowing me to get some potable water up at the shed when I need!
Another job on the list since we moved in was to replace the gates at the hay-shed. Or at the very least make the gates swing open and closed. Our local rural supplier had a pair of 16ft (4.8 metre) gates in stock – and they looked a whole heap smarter than the existing bent and wired together gates. I put in a new post, and swung the new gates in position. We used a bit of left over roofing iron to clad the remaining gap to fit the rest of the shed, and we now have a much smarter and more functional hay shed.
Our quest to harvest food from our land also continues in our garden. For the past few months, Jo has been steadily plugging away at her vegetable garden. Keen to recycle as much material as possible, we have been using old heavy gauge steel from our roof. Our first garden beds have healthy rows of garlic and peas growing, with cauliflowers and broccoli coming along nicely. The latest beds will be ready in time for spring planting, and we hope to increase our production once the threat of frosts reduce. I must admit I was sceptical about how the garden would look when Jo first proposed using the old roofing iron, but I am converted. I can’t wait to get the new beds full of vegetables and see what we can do with it now.
None of these projects have been particularly large, but they have all taken a bit of time to come together. And when they do come together, they combine to make our little patch more useful and enjoyable for us.
In amongst it all, we have still found time to go and check on the girls. They are all in excellent condition, and I cannot believe I haven’t had to start hand feeding them yet. The paddock rotation system I have in place is working really well, and they follow me from one paddock to the next now. Whilst not quiet enough to pat, they are inquisitive and will come right up to you if you’re quiet and move slowly.
Whilst we might have got some of these little jobs finished, there are still plenty more ideas we have for the Rock Farm. The best part of a rainy weekend is being able to sit and dream and keep putting new ones on the list….
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