Steven Joel

Looking good Nicanor!

Inspires me to get the paints out. I will put up a pic if anything interesting emerges

Hi Paul,

Thanks for saying Hi.

I must confess though... Im not a tru blu Aussie! I am originally from the mainland (nz), though we well and truley call Aussie home.... and the kids all speak like Aussies much to their grandparents horror!

What do you think of the farm/camping idea?

Hi Craig,

Full disclosure: I am a decking contractor. I also have zero experiance with hemlock as it is not a species available where I live.

That said, hemlock is rated low for durability and susceptible to insect attack http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/softwoods/eastern-hemlock/

Consider the difficulty in replacing one of these members if it were to fail. Low level decks are already high risk as far as decay and insect damage goes and In those situations I always specify the best quality product available. Reason being, if one of the decking boards fails it is an easy repair to remove the offending board and replace it. But if any part of the sub floor frame fails it means demolishing the deck to get to it. Especially if there is zero crawl space.

I'd suggest that the wisest place to spend your money is in the framing.

With regard to low decks in general.... Drainage, drainage, drainage. Consider areas where water will pool and allow for drainage to reduce the likely hood of your foundations sitting in permanent puddles.

Hope this is of some help to you

Hi All, This news article led me to look into raw milk and I ended up here reading this thread.....

I thought I would add it to the conversation.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-11/raw-milk-company-defends-product-after-3yos-death/5959246

As a result of the death of this child it is now law in Victoria, Australia that a bittering agent is added to raw milk to make it unpalatable.
This law was rushed through in a very short time with apparently very little study being done.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-31/melbourne-protesters-angry-about-new-laws-on-raw-milk/6059490

Hahahah! I almost soiled myself laughing at "Your potty is a wonderland"

Glad you swapped out "use my hands" for "feed my land"

Thanks David,

I appreciate your detailed reply! Lots of information there for me to process. Thanks for the Landcare tip, I had not heard of that group before (I'm not a native victorian) and will be sure to join my local group once we settle on a block. The focus for us will be on yield producing trees. I am not stuck on a native only approach but will use local species as a preference wherever they fit best. Once we have sorted the block out we can start narrowing down a list of tree types that will suit the site and microclimates. It's an exciting process and I am enjoying the planning, but can't wait to get my hands dirty

What are your goals for planting trees on your property?

Hi David,

The wife and I are currently looking for a block in Gippsland and plan to plant a lot of trees. Thanks for posting this list of what's working for you. Can I ask where you are buying the tube stock from? What's the pricing like?

Thanks!
Steve

Hiya Steve and Michelle,

There is a lot of great information on this site and even more fantastic people. I am always impressed by the quality of information that is given whenever questions are asked. I love learning and this place is full of knowledge!

Great to have you with us!

Kind regards
Steven

I love Dales suggestion on going vertical!

If you wanted to incorporate fruit trees without shading out all your other plantings you could look into espalier? You could train the tree along wires on one of those walls, remove lower branches below the flood line and even use the espaliered tree as a climbing frame for other annual climbers out of season. Stacking function

Hiya luke,

Another Melbournite!

Re: Duplicating your comfrey. Comfrey will grow readily from pieces of root. I have seen people suggest running a rota tiller through patches of comfrey to chop the roots up and make it spread. On a smaller scale you could just pull a few plants and chop them by hand to re plant.

I am also really enjoying this community, so many people willing to share their knowledge and time.