the good earth

One of my secret loves, well, maybe it is not so secret as I discuss it with great enthusiasm, is compost. To be more exact, I adore making compost and using the compost that I make to grow my plants. Cheap thrills, and so satisfying!

My Dad used to declare that his compost was "good enough to eat" and I would laugh, thinking what a strange man he was. Now that I am older, and understand the process and the sense of achievement involved, I know exactly what he meant and how he felt as he worked with the fresh earthy soil. To think that nothing but kitchen and garden waste, paper, lawn clippings and cardboard can make rich dark soil that make plants grow brilliantly! Garden magic!

We have only ever had one of those dark plastic containers with a lid. At the moment we have three, so you can understand my enthusiasm for composting.

We anchor all the lids with a brick so that they don't go flying and become projectiles in storms or high winds. I like the little trap door at the bottom that allows me to access some of the older compost at the bottom. They are also easy to move around the yard if you are starting a new garden, or find carrying any weight of soil difficult.

However, they do have limitations. After a while they weather and the plastic cracks, and so after a time they require replacement. A little explanation as to how we ended up with three bin, also - never one to throw anything out when it still has a use, we use the old bins for things like lawn clippings and leaves and use the new, intact bins for mixes that include kitchen scraps.

This reasoning explains the second, draw back with the plastic bins. As they are open at the bottom rodents and toads can access them. Plastic bins also make a wetter mix than open bins made with wood, or chicken wire and so need more frequent aerating and balancing of dry or carbon based materials. We have also had rats gnaw through the plastic to access the yummy kitchen scraps (never put dairy or meat products in the bin as that is like an open invitation to vermin). I am sure that the same thing happens with open wood or wire bins also.  No one wants their neighbours to know that they have unintentionally opened a rat cafe in their back yard!

So, I am saving up for a deluxe metal compost bins. One of those rolls royce horizontal, tumbler models. I am not sure if it will be metal, or plastic as yet, though I am yielding to a metal one. I like the idea of it lasting a long time, and I love the idea of being able to give it a tumble whenever I add something to it. At the moment, I need The Agronomist to aerate and turn our compost, and I would rather have more independence in my composting! I believe the tumbling speeds up the composting process as well. More compost for the garden!

If anyone has an opinion for or against a particular compost bin please let me know. We have the average Australian backyard, so don't have room for one of those large custom made wooden structures with various sections such as one might find at the Botanical Gardens!

Back to my cheap thrills - I have potato peelings to take out to the compost bin!

Cleaning an Old Iron Tool

I decided that on this last day of the long Easter break that I should actually do something rather than sleep and socialise. I know, but actually doing something that makes my every day life easier is always a bonus for me. I also get to feel superior for a day or two (until I mess it up, again) and to gaze proudly upon my handiwork. I am sure that you have experienced that emotion from feeling like a superior person because of your efforts. Intrinsic reward some might call it!

So, I set to cleaning the "production" desk. It is the desk where I like to sit and play with my digital photographs and print various photographs that catch my fancy. Now, that we are running our own business, it is becoming more of a "work area" and less for play, so wiping away the dust of the last few months (years?) seemed like a positive step.

Digging through the forests of paper I came across an article by Rosalie Baker, that I printed out sometime in 2008! Let us not think about why it was sitting on the desk for almost three years, but let us focus on the content of the article, shall we?

The subject, as you have  no doubt guessed from the title of my post, is the cleaning of old iron tools. I doubt that many people have iron tools in their garden shed, these days, but there are some handy hints and I thought that you might find them interesting, if not helpful!

image 

Baker starts with a warning that "no object can ever be brought back to its original form, since cleaning a surface always removes something. And, improper cleaning can even damage an object..."

We need:
A well ventilated area
plastic gloves
the tool (no jokes, please!)
pieces of 600-grit sandpaper
3 clean, soft cloths - not paper towels as they can scratch!
old rag
old toothbrush
toothpicks.

Paint thinner
Paste wax

Directions:
1.Use gloves as the acids, oils and salts on your hands can cause metal to rust.You will also be using chemicals.
2. Remember that cleaning is actually uniform scratching. Study the tool to see which way you want the scratches to go, as you want them as unnoticeable as possible.
3. Wet the surface of the tool with some paint thinner, and sand in an inconspicuous spot. If you like the look, continue. If the scratches seem to go the wrong way, try again.
4. Sand the entire object carefully. Do not oversand. Check your work as you go by wiping off the surface with the rag.
5. When you have finished sanding, pour a little paint thinner on a piece of cloth and clean the entire tool. Wipe with another clean cloth.
6. Let the tool dry overnight in a ventilated indoor area so that any moisture on the surface will evaporate.

7. Next day, use a brush or clean rag to apply a thin layer of paste wax. A thick layer will cause the tool to have a cloudy look. Let it dry to the touch. Do not pack it into holes or cracks. If you do, clean it out with the toothbrush or toothpicks.
8. Polish the surface to a shine with a clean cloth.
9. Apply a second layer of thin wax. Let it dry. Polish the tool again with the cloth. A third layer makes certain that no spots have been missed.

10. Repeat from step 5 if spots that appear to need more cleaning still remain, in those spots only.




Baker, Rosalie F. 2008. "Cleaning an Old Iron Tool", Calliope, Peterborough. 18:8: pg 41.

chirpie chirpie, cheep, cheep

I woke to the sound of bird song coming through my open window. Now that the heat has dropped we can once again sleep with our windows open and with no constant hum of the air conditioner. Hundreds of birds overnight in the bushland across the street from us, and we have our own selection of parrots and other native birds that visit our garden. It is a joy to lie in bed and listen to their various songs.

In fact, I woke feeling so great that after I had finished a few kitchen chores I actually went outside and started the long overdue pruning. We have a semi tropical back garden, but the front garden is more formal, with lots of plants that need pruning. Luckily I love to prune.

A love of pruning is something I inherited from my Dad. He was never happier than if he had a pair of pruners in his hands and was trimming back trees. My Mum has never understood the joy that it creates, that sense of satisfaction of taming a wild thing and bringing it back into shape, knowing that in weeks it will thank you with lush new growth and  an abundance of flowers. All my mother could see was that Dad was cutting her trees!

Seriously, it is one of the greatest enjoyments I find. I love to train unruly shrubs, lop tree branches, prune fruit trees. The sense of satisfaction I experience cannot be described in words, as it is an emotion more than feeling that a job is well done.

Possibly, it is being outside, working with nature, and bringing back beauty into the garden. I know that the plants are happy that I prune as well. No one, not even a plant, wants to look less than glamorous, right.

And when I have completed, I brew a great cup of tea and sit in a quiet corner where I can view my handy work, and prolong that warm sense of satisfaction, and anticipation of what is to come from my efforts.

making a mark

Aren't these labels just wonderful? I have been searching for some labels to place on my jams and marmalades and these just seem perfect.
The lovely husband and wife duo (Jan and Earl) from  Poppytalk has created them and the link is here

happiness is....

To a gardener, happiness is an effective nail brush and a good hand cream!

I am not a person who uses gardening gloves, unless it is a "prickly job" or a plant with a milky sap, so my hands get very dirty and the humus does build under under my nails. However, I am also vain about my hands and while the rest of me may age with wild abandon I do work to keep my hands soft (nothing shows age like one's hands and someone should let all those women addicted to plastic surgery know that!)

So joy for me is an effective nail brush and a good hand cream that allows my hands to forgive my abuse. Once again, I am reminded that it is the little things in life that often do mean the most.

oh baby, baby - salad greens in my garden!

I planted some baby spinach in a container today. First I soaked  the punnet of seedlings in a seaweed solution overnight to help them get through transplantation shock, and then I planted them into a container filled with out lovely compost. The best of all starts any seedling could hope for, in my opinion!

For baby spinach,  I will harvest a few leaves from each plant by pinching off the bigger leaves right at the base of the plant, leaving the smallest leaves to grow a little longer. I adore spinach in a mixed green leaf salad and have wanted to plant some for awhile now, but the weather has been too hot and if I had planted it, no doubt the plants would have bolted and not grown the lovely lush leaves I craved.


Now it is just wait and grow...