Glenn Darman

We moved out bush to get away from the ratrace...downsides,no I can't think of any.I work a casual job and only travel an hour to get there but it's a 45 mile trip and I know people that travel that long for less distance in the cities.The only problem I had when we first got out here was sleeping...it was so quiet I couldn't get to sleep.LOL

Jon Snow wrote:

Glenn Darman wrote:Jon what exactly would you be trying to achieve with the fence if you aren't fencing the rest of your block? I have no experience of setting up shop in the desert or desert like areas...round here all the farmers use star pickets they tension 3 wires and just wrap it with strong grade chicken wire so I guess that may be the cheapest option.

 For now I am only going to fence 1 sq acre around my cabin mainly to keep out jackrabbits and other pests (human pests too). Im going to plant Mesquite trees and prickly pear cactus.  Jackrabbits around these part are demons and will eat almost anything. In the future I will plant other trees and plants. I don't live at this property yet.

Not sure if your Jackrabbits are the same as our wabbits /Hares here in Oz but I've never heard of 'em jumping over 4' fencing only burrowing under.I'm kinda lucky the wabbits round our block never eat anything in our veggie patch.Sounds like a harsh area you live in.

Jon what exactly would you be trying to achieve with the fence if you aren't fencing the rest of your block? I have no experience of setting up shop in the desert or desert like areas...round here all the farmers use star pickets they tension 3 wires and just wrap it with strong grade chicken wire so I guess that may be the cheapest option.

I made several beds around January (Australia temperate zone) under a shaded area with cardboard underneath and woodchip on top followed by a generous layer of moist horse manure and it's September now and so full of worms it aint funny.Different horse's for different course's I would suspect but the woodchip was a very finely ground up and almost fluffy like without huge "Chunks" of wood in it.We have had heaps of rain this year and the chip is full of organisims.....if that's the right term,I'm so happy I'm planting veggies in it already but I do believe the fresh edible  vegetable matter is what attracts the worms regardless of the medium it is mixed with.

Just my own experience...YMMV.

I digress Travis as we only have 250sqm of veggie's.Where we live now they aren't a problem and we hardly see any(Lucky I guess) I sheet mulched our original no-digs but have done away with them as they didn't perform well here.One thing we do have in abundance is "Slaters" tiny silver grey things that look like they belong in Jurassic park but they don't seem to harm any veggies that I've noticed.

Hope ya didn't take offence with what I said above I really am a lovable character and just couldn't stop the comical side.

I know some wont plant veggies in humanure but I've also seen articles that state after awhile it's alright.What's the general consensus ? it looks great to me and even if I'd have to let this break down before I plant veggie's in it then it wouldn't be a problem.All I could think of from seeing those pictures was WOW.I do realize it's for the fruit trees but there are edible greens in there as well so was just curious.

Love what you did with those cabinet doors James...and the skins from washing machines.I've got heaps of 'em and use them for everything tin related. Now maybe you could use the wood burning stove to help with the hot water situation in the other thread.

Travis I have the #1 system for you with out a doubt...at least for the slugs.Flat Beer ,just get a plastic ice cream container cut off 1/2 of the height and bury it up to the rim height that's left(About 3") and just pour in enough beer to fill 1/2 of that.WE did it 1 year and by the morning they were filled with slugs of all description.Don't just believe what I say...experiment with it.You could put several out randomly seeing you have a big size to deal with.,oh and don't forget to refill with beer.

Well Jason not many people could look out and say "I shat that"...wicked.LOL