Update, Dad has now fixed the dam
Email from Mum - 20th August 2004
Dad came back last night - he was too late Thurs night to hire that night so he had to go back to Ballarat in the morning for the back hoe or whatever it was he hired. They taught him how to use it and the guy teaching him did all the dams in the region, so told him how to fix it - how Dad was going to do it was not the right way. And he got it done. Said at one stage he sort of forgot how to drive the thing and pushed the wrong lever and it sort of went up - he did an action like a rearing horse - and as he was balanced on the top of the dam at the time, it could have been nasty. So he said he told himself he had better concentrate! The man said it should have a trench dug too (I think for the overflow), but no time for that, so he said put stonesand rocks on top., which Dad will do next trip - which will probably be when you folk are there. So that is something to be added - make like a rampart on top of the dam.
He said last night he will put the old firestove in my garage as he has taken the pot bellied stove up to Amherst for you and it will do the heating - and we can cook over the open fire which has a big BBQ hot plate over it. Fair enough I suppose. In all this we are talking open air, with eventually a roof like a carport and a side fenced in to break the wind. It might even get the two adjacent sides half fenced in to make an alcove. It would be horrible to be there and have no windbreak even if there was a roof! All of this will be removed of course when you get other things done - it will not be needed.
Friday, August 20, 2004
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
preparations for our visit continue
Mum has booked the motel for us to stay in when we're up at Amherst, yay! It's booked from 14th through to 19th October. And Dad has been busy apparently looking for places to hire a dingo tractor/ post hole digger thingy for digging the holes for the trees. He's also apparently heading up again soon to start working on the "surprise" whatever that may be and to repair the dam. I can't wait to be there and to see it again, plus this'll be the first time Dave sees it.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Toilet, frosts and Talbot market
Mum and Dad went up to Amherst this weekend. Here's Mum's account of the day. My favourite bit is where she extols the virtues of the composting toilet Dad made... I can see she loves it just as much as he does! The bad news is about the frosts of course, but who knows maybe we'll be lucky
Email from Mum - 15th Aug 2004
We went up yesterday and Dad dropped me at the Talbot market whilst he went and undid the car from trailer, unloaded car a bit at block and came back for me. I shopped for the usual leeks (missed out last time, big ones all sold) and unwaxed apples and this time a bunch = three of nice beetroots. Carrots and parsnips and even leeks used to be sold by bunches - this is the first time for ages I have seen it. Two flagons of grape juice - one black and one white - $7.50 each or two for $14. You can return the flagons. I looked for fruit trees but not many this time and I did not get any. Nothing much suitable, I thought.
Back to Amherst, and found the tanks installed (the second one was installed a week or so back by Dad and now is one third filled) and joined up, and the dunny building on a lean on the slope. I asked why not move it up to the old tank pad that he did not use - at least it was level. He agreed, had never thought of it himself! So it is a bit further away from house than he had it, but only by about 5yds. He had it about level with the tank you saw. The other tanks are downhill from that one, and actually look quite pleasing. So does the dunny.
That dunny has been built on the John Seymour principles, so that is one good thing to come out of that book you gave him. And the actual dunny has a story to tell. On the way up there, with it on the trailer, Dad said he had not had time to finish it at home so would finish it up there - by putting the roof on, and went on extolling the virtues of the thing. Then he said he hoped he had time to attach the door too - which cracked me up - I said so this fantastic dunny is really just three sides? - laughing like mad - he ended up laughing too, had never thought of it like that. But it is a very nice dunny, a shelf at back like in my loo - nice bench seat with a lid, and you have a hidden lid underneath to make the barrel used as the actual recepticle sealed from the inside of the loo so it does not smell. The sides of it were built out of two of those old fashioned doors - the wide sort - made of slats like floorboards and then nailed onto a frame of three horizontals and two diagonals making a sort of double z, sitting on top of each other. He put the shelf on the two middle cross pieces. And sadly, they are not at the same height, so the shelf has a delightful slope. It is obvious but does not mean it cannot be used and I think it is in keeping with the outdoor dunny. But Dad says he will fix it as it "lets the side down". The door he selected is also delightful - a six panelled door, the bottom two panels solid and the tope four flywire. I aksed why not solid, and he said ventilation and the view. The view I said fine, and no-one to see in, so OK, but imagine the ventilation at night when it is minus 10 like the local nurseryman said it gets to, windy and wet blowing straight in, and you have to get undressed to use it. Dad stared, said he had never bothered with that, but would look for some perspex to put in at least the next two panels up. Anyway he had to just rest the roof on and weight it down with four bluestone pitchers and then just nail the door on - it was dark by now. Faint glow in the sky to the south (over forest at back) showed where Ballarat was, and a much more spread out one down the long view along the vallyy we presume had to be Melbourne. Just light off the clouds we think but lovely. We had been going to go into Maryborough for a pub meal but it was well after 7pm when we left, so too late. We had not had the roast I wanted at Talbot as they only do Sunday lunch and nothing at night unless you are a guest at motel - and Dad said no time at lunchtime. Anyway they were almost totally booked out. So we got some takeaway in Ballarat again.....
Re the dunny, it needs a sort of veranda / pergola out the front which it will get, and a bit more overhang at the sides to protect it more. And as you are not meant to wee in this composting toilet, I suggest a lemon tree with a screen on a couple of sides next to it for the urinal. Women can squat if they will, no problem for men. Lemon trees thrive on urine. I think it will be lovely! and there is a very nice little window in the back wall above the shelf. It too is delightful. I will put a candlestick in there and cut some newspaper up for you to make it authentic. I suppose you will get nice soft loo paper too but try to hide it! And you need to put about half a can of sawdust on top when you finish. there is a pipe sticking up outside that goes up above the roof to take the smells away and you are supposed to plant things there to hide it. Maybe a passionfruit or choko if you want something useful, or jasmine or something if you want ornamental and perfumed.
The nurseryman who operates the nursey and old - hardly a museum - at the station in Talbot said olives would go well and I almost bought you 10 olive trees for $40 - small ones in about 5 inch pots. But will let you get them if you want them in October. He said the lemon gums you have will almost certainly not survive the fierce frosts - he has lost a lot finding that out. Says far worse than Ballarat where he used to operate from and thought there would be no difference - and the first year, lost so much stuff. He now experients with one of anything he is doubtful of, in his own experimental garden bed. I think he lives in the train carriage he has parked in the old carpark area - looked very nice! - well kept carriage of the Asutralian National Line - ie one from something like the Indian Pacific. Once of the trains with compartments opening off a corridor with loo and now kitchen at the end. Frosts down to minus 12 he says. If you can keep them warm for the first year or two, maybe the mature trees will stand it better he said but said he would be willing to bet $50 they will not make it.
so that is the down side of the weekend. However...
I did a little bit to help, getting the soil from where Dad had levelled the tank pads and putting it under and around the pipes connecting the tanks. It was above the gound so it 1. needed support and 2. needed protection from and for the sheep - so they did not deliberately break it, or accidentally trip over it and break their ankles. I ended up using hands to shove the last bits in and some of it got right under my thumbnail down deep. It is still quite sore - I have it now bandaged up with honey on it, and it does feel better.
Email from Mum - 15th Aug 2004
We went up yesterday and Dad dropped me at the Talbot market whilst he went and undid the car from trailer, unloaded car a bit at block and came back for me. I shopped for the usual leeks (missed out last time, big ones all sold) and unwaxed apples and this time a bunch = three of nice beetroots. Carrots and parsnips and even leeks used to be sold by bunches - this is the first time for ages I have seen it. Two flagons of grape juice - one black and one white - $7.50 each or two for $14. You can return the flagons. I looked for fruit trees but not many this time and I did not get any. Nothing much suitable, I thought.
Back to Amherst, and found the tanks installed (the second one was installed a week or so back by Dad and now is one third filled) and joined up, and the dunny building on a lean on the slope. I asked why not move it up to the old tank pad that he did not use - at least it was level. He agreed, had never thought of it himself! So it is a bit further away from house than he had it, but only by about 5yds. He had it about level with the tank you saw. The other tanks are downhill from that one, and actually look quite pleasing. So does the dunny.
That dunny has been built on the John Seymour principles, so that is one good thing to come out of that book you gave him. And the actual dunny has a story to tell. On the way up there, with it on the trailer, Dad said he had not had time to finish it at home so would finish it up there - by putting the roof on, and went on extolling the virtues of the thing. Then he said he hoped he had time to attach the door too - which cracked me up - I said so this fantastic dunny is really just three sides? - laughing like mad - he ended up laughing too, had never thought of it like that. But it is a very nice dunny, a shelf at back like in my loo - nice bench seat with a lid, and you have a hidden lid underneath to make the barrel used as the actual recepticle sealed from the inside of the loo so it does not smell. The sides of it were built out of two of those old fashioned doors - the wide sort - made of slats like floorboards and then nailed onto a frame of three horizontals and two diagonals making a sort of double z, sitting on top of each other. He put the shelf on the two middle cross pieces. And sadly, they are not at the same height, so the shelf has a delightful slope. It is obvious but does not mean it cannot be used and I think it is in keeping with the outdoor dunny. But Dad says he will fix it as it "lets the side down". The door he selected is also delightful - a six panelled door, the bottom two panels solid and the tope four flywire. I aksed why not solid, and he said ventilation and the view. The view I said fine, and no-one to see in, so OK, but imagine the ventilation at night when it is minus 10 like the local nurseryman said it gets to, windy and wet blowing straight in, and you have to get undressed to use it. Dad stared, said he had never bothered with that, but would look for some perspex to put in at least the next two panels up. Anyway he had to just rest the roof on and weight it down with four bluestone pitchers and then just nail the door on - it was dark by now. Faint glow in the sky to the south (over forest at back) showed where Ballarat was, and a much more spread out one down the long view along the vallyy we presume had to be Melbourne. Just light off the clouds we think but lovely. We had been going to go into Maryborough for a pub meal but it was well after 7pm when we left, so too late. We had not had the roast I wanted at Talbot as they only do Sunday lunch and nothing at night unless you are a guest at motel - and Dad said no time at lunchtime. Anyway they were almost totally booked out. So we got some takeaway in Ballarat again.....
Re the dunny, it needs a sort of veranda / pergola out the front which it will get, and a bit more overhang at the sides to protect it more. And as you are not meant to wee in this composting toilet, I suggest a lemon tree with a screen on a couple of sides next to it for the urinal. Women can squat if they will, no problem for men. Lemon trees thrive on urine. I think it will be lovely! and there is a very nice little window in the back wall above the shelf. It too is delightful. I will put a candlestick in there and cut some newspaper up for you to make it authentic. I suppose you will get nice soft loo paper too but try to hide it! And you need to put about half a can of sawdust on top when you finish. there is a pipe sticking up outside that goes up above the roof to take the smells away and you are supposed to plant things there to hide it. Maybe a passionfruit or choko if you want something useful, or jasmine or something if you want ornamental and perfumed.
The nurseryman who operates the nursey and old - hardly a museum - at the station in Talbot said olives would go well and I almost bought you 10 olive trees for $40 - small ones in about 5 inch pots. But will let you get them if you want them in October. He said the lemon gums you have will almost certainly not survive the fierce frosts - he has lost a lot finding that out. Says far worse than Ballarat where he used to operate from and thought there would be no difference - and the first year, lost so much stuff. He now experients with one of anything he is doubtful of, in his own experimental garden bed. I think he lives in the train carriage he has parked in the old carpark area - looked very nice! - well kept carriage of the Asutralian National Line - ie one from something like the Indian Pacific. Once of the trains with compartments opening off a corridor with loo and now kitchen at the end. Frosts down to minus 12 he says. If you can keep them warm for the first year or two, maybe the mature trees will stand it better he said but said he would be willing to bet $50 they will not make it.
so that is the down side of the weekend. However...
I did a little bit to help, getting the soil from where Dad had levelled the tank pads and putting it under and around the pipes connecting the tanks. It was above the gound so it 1. needed support and 2. needed protection from and for the sheep - so they did not deliberately break it, or accidentally trip over it and break their ankles. I ended up using hands to shove the last bits in and some of it got right under my thumbnail down deep. It is still quite sore - I have it now bandaged up with honey on it, and it does feel better.
Saturday, August 07, 2004
the trees have landed (at Mum's place)
Mum collected the trees from Prue. Then Mum and Dad along with Dave's parents potted them all up in a marathon potting session the next day.
Mum's email - 7th August 2004
All lemon gums now potted on. 80 as predicted. They look nice and
healthy.
5 persimons, two chestnuts (different varieties Spanish chestnut "Flemings Special"... and Chestnut, "Flemings Prolific".) and two Moorpark
apricots I think is about it. They are all now in 12 inch pots. All
looking good. We have masses of potting mix left over. And blood and
bone and Osmocote of various types.
Prue is looking out for quinces and apples and some other nuts right
now.
Mum's email - 7th August 2004
All lemon gums now potted on. 80 as predicted. They look nice and
healthy.
5 persimons, two chestnuts (different varieties Spanish chestnut "Flemings Special"... and Chestnut, "Flemings Prolific".) and two Moorpark
apricots I think is about it. They are all now in 12 inch pots. All
looking good. We have masses of potting mix left over. And blood and
bone and Osmocote of various types.
Prue is looking out for quinces and apples and some other nuts right
now.
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
adding more tanks at Amherst
Dad had already installed one tank at Amherst, but after we talked about the need to have lots of water for irrigation he decided to add some more.
Email from Dad - 2nd August 2004
I took the opportunity while free at work last night to surf the net briefly about the water tanks issue. I found several sites for you to visit and will include all sites websites at the end of this letter.
I looked at the big picture, as well as my availabilities shortterm and made some decisions. I must update you first on the fact I uncovered while surfing the net last night: namely that I was misled, or misremembered the size of the tank I installed. I remember I asked the shop person when I bought the first tank how big it was in gallons, and he told me 2000. This was wrong, as I discovered the 4500litre tanks equate to only 1000 gal. So at present you have only 1000 gal at Amherst. I looked at the 2000 gal tank and at least 2-3 men would be needed to move such a tank. Also delivery is free to some areas for tanks 9000 l and over, so site preparations and permanent positions must first be established. All the tanks can be buried to as least 1/2 their height, but that is another matter. Without good digging equipment, such an approach is not possible.
I decided we needed to get catchment started immediately, and using the 1000 gal tanks was the most practical, as I can manage them by myself. The cost of the tanks where I buy them is cheaper than any of the sites I looked-at last night, and for that I am pleased. Also, the connecting pipe and fittings are ready to hand for designing the plumbing. The cost of the 1000 gal tank is $765 and the 2000 gal is $1250. The difference between the 1530 and 1250 is $280, and this figure would easily be eatten up by costs of earthmoving equipment, and the need for more men and equipment to arrange the larger tank's installation. Moving it to it's proper future site would entail the same costs and bother, though getting help later would be easier of course. But getting water into tanks for the October deadline means one thing: haste. So I bought two 1000 gal tanks, and will go tonight to Amherst to deliver the first, and go on Friday to deliver the second and setup the two on site. I must return tonight for a commitment in the morning, but will have more time later this week. I hope you are okay with the decision I have made. Love Dad
The supplier of the tanks where I bought these is ARI Plastank www.ariplastank.com.au
The site to visit for underground tanks is resapps@yahoo.com
I compared with the Bushman tanks for the tanks I have bought, and the site of access for me is local so I favored this outlet.
My reply - 2nd August 2004
Thank you *so* much for doing this. I'm very happy with the decision you made. The small 1000 gallon tanks are really convenient, they will serve our purposes in the short term and also be very useful for the longer term. As you suggested, in the long term we will probably do best to have a huge tank installed semi-buried near the top of the hill and then pump water from the smaller collecting tanks up to it as
they get full. Don't forget, you must let me pay you for your time / hassle in doing
this, just buy things on my card to cover it.
Email from Dad - 3rd August 2004
I think you may consider the advantage of having two 2000 gal tanks delivered as delivery is free, I think. You could have Dennis excavate a flat area where one of the ponds or lawns is to be put on the downhill side of the house. These tanks can be moved later when you wish, but would give a place for overflow from the three uphill tanks and would still be place to develop the other areas of garden in the future. I believe with proper approach the 3000 gal you have now will see your trees through the summer without any trouble. Once they have wintered once, and when there is no drought, they will be untouchable except by roos and sheep, which you will be protecting against. The way it was raining last night you will have no trouble filling these two additional tanks.
If you opt for not getting anymore tanks for now well and good, as I was only putting out the idea for consideration. Any tanks bigger than 2000 gal should not be placed until the eventual placement can be done once and for all time.
I'm off today to take the other tank and install. I will take you up on the offer of some financial assistance because I spent all my money for the fortnight getting the dvd player and television so no money for food except bankcard. But I will allow just 1 1/2 days for payment of time if you don't mind as I feel bad about you needing to pay for all the little bit and pieces of my time. I am always happy to help when I can fit-in time. I don't get-on too well when exhausted because I am getting older and don't bounce back so quickly. I have caught a small cold and am hoping it doesn't get bigger.
I took Bonz for a walk at dusk and had another close look at the dam wall.
The damage is old, and the entire wall is breached. The dam will fill to
only 1/2 capacity, or perhaps a little more. Equipment will need to be used
as the breach must have the portion of wall above removed, and consolidation
of materials done from the base of the breach upwards. Tell me if we need
to get this fixed urgently, or use equipment there for soil preparation
later. I could contact Dennis and get him to look at it to give you an idea
of costs befrore proceeding. If we wait to October and hire a backhoe for
everything that may be better. The water level is a long way from the site
of the breach, and you aren't needing the water from the dam much right
now.
I got "hellooooed" by the neighbor, and took 15 min to talk to Charlie,
Tex's wife. They have lost a lot of geese and chicken and turkeys, and 20
lambs to foxes already.They are also going to build on the 20 acres adjoining you at the front. They gave that paddock to their daughter Donna. So you will have another
young neighbor. That's all the news for now. Love Dad
My reply - 3rd August 2004
Hi Dad, thanks again for arranging the tanks. I think you should
allow at least 2 days payment though because given you're making 2
trips, that's 10 hours + of time already. For now I think we will
stick with just the tanks we have as, as you say, that should give us
enough water to feed the trees. When we come back and Dave sees it,
we will work out what to do next. Thanks again and hope you had a
good time up there even though it was brief.
I agree there's no rush in repairing the dam but Dave suggested it
would be good to get a quote from Dennis, just so that we know the
extent of repairs needed and can plan for it.
Email from Dad - 2nd August 2004
I took the opportunity while free at work last night to surf the net briefly about the water tanks issue. I found several sites for you to visit and will include all sites websites at the end of this letter.
I looked at the big picture, as well as my availabilities shortterm and made some decisions. I must update you first on the fact I uncovered while surfing the net last night: namely that I was misled, or misremembered the size of the tank I installed. I remember I asked the shop person when I bought the first tank how big it was in gallons, and he told me 2000. This was wrong, as I discovered the 4500litre tanks equate to only 1000 gal. So at present you have only 1000 gal at Amherst. I looked at the 2000 gal tank and at least 2-3 men would be needed to move such a tank. Also delivery is free to some areas for tanks 9000 l and over, so site preparations and permanent positions must first be established. All the tanks can be buried to as least 1/2 their height, but that is another matter. Without good digging equipment, such an approach is not possible.
I decided we needed to get catchment started immediately, and using the 1000 gal tanks was the most practical, as I can manage them by myself. The cost of the tanks where I buy them is cheaper than any of the sites I looked-at last night, and for that I am pleased. Also, the connecting pipe and fittings are ready to hand for designing the plumbing. The cost of the 1000 gal tank is $765 and the 2000 gal is $1250. The difference between the 1530 and 1250 is $280, and this figure would easily be eatten up by costs of earthmoving equipment, and the need for more men and equipment to arrange the larger tank's installation. Moving it to it's proper future site would entail the same costs and bother, though getting help later would be easier of course. But getting water into tanks for the October deadline means one thing: haste. So I bought two 1000 gal tanks, and will go tonight to Amherst to deliver the first, and go on Friday to deliver the second and setup the two on site. I must return tonight for a commitment in the morning, but will have more time later this week. I hope you are okay with the decision I have made. Love Dad
The supplier of the tanks where I bought these is ARI Plastank www.ariplastank.com.au
The site to visit for underground tanks is resapps@yahoo.com
I compared with the Bushman tanks for the tanks I have bought, and the site of access for me is local so I favored this outlet.
My reply - 2nd August 2004
Thank you *so* much for doing this. I'm very happy with the decision you made. The small 1000 gallon tanks are really convenient, they will serve our purposes in the short term and also be very useful for the longer term. As you suggested, in the long term we will probably do best to have a huge tank installed semi-buried near the top of the hill and then pump water from the smaller collecting tanks up to it as
they get full. Don't forget, you must let me pay you for your time / hassle in doing
this, just buy things on my card to cover it.
Email from Dad - 3rd August 2004
I think you may consider the advantage of having two 2000 gal tanks delivered as delivery is free, I think. You could have Dennis excavate a flat area where one of the ponds or lawns is to be put on the downhill side of the house. These tanks can be moved later when you wish, but would give a place for overflow from the three uphill tanks and would still be place to develop the other areas of garden in the future. I believe with proper approach the 3000 gal you have now will see your trees through the summer without any trouble. Once they have wintered once, and when there is no drought, they will be untouchable except by roos and sheep, which you will be protecting against. The way it was raining last night you will have no trouble filling these two additional tanks.
If you opt for not getting anymore tanks for now well and good, as I was only putting out the idea for consideration. Any tanks bigger than 2000 gal should not be placed until the eventual placement can be done once and for all time.
I'm off today to take the other tank and install. I will take you up on the offer of some financial assistance because I spent all my money for the fortnight getting the dvd player and television so no money for food except bankcard. But I will allow just 1 1/2 days for payment of time if you don't mind as I feel bad about you needing to pay for all the little bit and pieces of my time. I am always happy to help when I can fit-in time. I don't get-on too well when exhausted because I am getting older and don't bounce back so quickly. I have caught a small cold and am hoping it doesn't get bigger.
I took Bonz for a walk at dusk and had another close look at the dam wall.
The damage is old, and the entire wall is breached. The dam will fill to
only 1/2 capacity, or perhaps a little more. Equipment will need to be used
as the breach must have the portion of wall above removed, and consolidation
of materials done from the base of the breach upwards. Tell me if we need
to get this fixed urgently, or use equipment there for soil preparation
later. I could contact Dennis and get him to look at it to give you an idea
of costs befrore proceeding. If we wait to October and hire a backhoe for
everything that may be better. The water level is a long way from the site
of the breach, and you aren't needing the water from the dam much right
now.
I got "hellooooed" by the neighbor, and took 15 min to talk to Charlie,
Tex's wife. They have lost a lot of geese and chicken and turkeys, and 20
lambs to foxes already.They are also going to build on the 20 acres adjoining you at the front. They gave that paddock to their daughter Donna. So you will have another
young neighbor. That's all the news for now. Love Dad
My reply - 3rd August 2004
Hi Dad, thanks again for arranging the tanks. I think you should
allow at least 2 days payment though because given you're making 2
trips, that's 10 hours + of time already. For now I think we will
stick with just the tanks we have as, as you say, that should give us
enough water to feed the trees. When we come back and Dave sees it,
we will work out what to do next. Thanks again and hope you had a
good time up there even though it was brief.
I agree there's no rush in repairing the dam but Dave suggested it
would be good to get a quote from Dennis, just so that we know the
extent of repairs needed and can plan for it.
Monday, July 12, 2004
The search for trees
We want to plant a lot of trees at Amherst when we're there and so need to organise suppliers well in advance. Here's a collection of emails relating to that:
Email from me to Prue - 4th July 2004
In terms of getting trees, I found a nursery that seems good and looks
reasonably close by: http://www.meredithnursery.com.au/about_us.htm
Have you heard of them? I've emailed to ask about getting hold of
tubes of lemon scented gums for when we're back, plus to ask if they
know of any local contractors etc to help with planting. I figure if
we can arrange for the lemon gums to be put in by someone else
(assuming it doesn't cost an exorbitant amount that is), it'll free us
up to work on other parts when we're back, like putting in other
specimen trees, marking out the terracing layouts etc.
It turned out Prue hadn't heard of them and after a couple of email exchanges and phone conversations with Meredith Nursery it turned out they weren't going to be able to help. (Their stock of lemon gums were too damaged, and they got a bit grumpy with email correspondance... didn't seem to realise that the alternative for us was to stay up really late to call them. So we decided to go elsewhere)
Prue's email about trees - 12th July 2004
I had actually started enquiring into the trees. I spoke with my dad to find
out through the man (Stuart) who planted his hardwood plantation where to
get trees and if there was anyone in the Amherst area that would plant
trees. He has given me a contact in Boort. So I will contact them. There are
a couple of growers of native trees in and around Melbourne that I will try
also for sourcing the trees. Stuart plants trees for Land Care, farmers,
govt and Greening Australia and to give you an idea how many trees he can
plant he said he and two others planted and put tree guards around 1500 in a
day!That was with good soil preparation. He strongly suggested to rip the
areas to be planted (with tractor and ripper or discs or plough) kill the
weeds with herbicide and deep water before planting. This will reduce the
mortality rate. He also suggested that they be watered as often as possible
(every couple of weeks) during the first summer. This may be a little
difficult but it will help the survival rate.Is it possible to get the
ground prepared prior to planting?
My reply - 13th July 2004
I'm sure it would be possible to arrange for soil preparation. I had
a look on the ballarat.com services guide to Talbot and there were a
couple of local people listed who seem like they might do that kind of
thing - e.g.,
Bruce Adams (backhoe, bobcat, soil, gravel, etc) - phone 5463 2344
Bond Cartage (backhoe, bobcat, soil, gravel, etc) - phone 5463 2295
Also, apparently one of our neighbours builds sheds, dams, etc. I can
get Dave to call the guy who owns the pub, as he'll know who it is.
The only slight hiccup would be that we haven't precisely marked out
where we want the driveway to go yet... but perhaps that is something
we could do when we're back rather than planting the driveway trees,
if your Boort contact comes through. I just want to make a start and
plant at least a few trees myself, that's all.
Email from me to Prue - 4th July 2004
In terms of getting trees, I found a nursery that seems good and looks
reasonably close by: http://www.meredithnursery.com.au/about_us.htm
Have you heard of them? I've emailed to ask about getting hold of
tubes of lemon scented gums for when we're back, plus to ask if they
know of any local contractors etc to help with planting. I figure if
we can arrange for the lemon gums to be put in by someone else
(assuming it doesn't cost an exorbitant amount that is), it'll free us
up to work on other parts when we're back, like putting in other
specimen trees, marking out the terracing layouts etc.
It turned out Prue hadn't heard of them and after a couple of email exchanges and phone conversations with Meredith Nursery it turned out they weren't going to be able to help. (Their stock of lemon gums were too damaged, and they got a bit grumpy with email correspondance... didn't seem to realise that the alternative for us was to stay up really late to call them. So we decided to go elsewhere)
Prue's email about trees - 12th July 2004
I had actually started enquiring into the trees. I spoke with my dad to find
out through the man (Stuart) who planted his hardwood plantation where to
get trees and if there was anyone in the Amherst area that would plant
trees. He has given me a contact in Boort. So I will contact them. There are
a couple of growers of native trees in and around Melbourne that I will try
also for sourcing the trees. Stuart plants trees for Land Care, farmers,
govt and Greening Australia and to give you an idea how many trees he can
plant he said he and two others planted and put tree guards around 1500 in a
day!That was with good soil preparation. He strongly suggested to rip the
areas to be planted (with tractor and ripper or discs or plough) kill the
weeds with herbicide and deep water before planting. This will reduce the
mortality rate. He also suggested that they be watered as often as possible
(every couple of weeks) during the first summer. This may be a little
difficult but it will help the survival rate.Is it possible to get the
ground prepared prior to planting?
My reply - 13th July 2004
I'm sure it would be possible to arrange for soil preparation. I had
a look on the ballarat.com services guide to Talbot and there were a
couple of local people listed who seem like they might do that kind of
thing - e.g.,
Bruce Adams (backhoe, bobcat, soil, gravel, etc) - phone 5463 2344
Bond Cartage (backhoe, bobcat, soil, gravel, etc) - phone 5463 2295
Also, apparently one of our neighbours builds sheds, dams, etc. I can
get Dave to call the guy who owns the pub, as he'll know who it is.
The only slight hiccup would be that we haven't precisely marked out
where we want the driveway to go yet... but perhaps that is something
we could do when we're back rather than planting the driveway trees,
if your Boort contact comes through. I just want to make a start and
plant at least a few trees myself, that's all.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
Practicing for Amherst life in London!
We are practicing for Amherst life. We are getting two
chickens! and a cute imac looking henhouse that they promised me is
foxproof and really easy to keep clean. The whole lot are coming from
http://www.omlet.co.uk, you can see pictures there plus it's a very
amusing site I think. Dave reckons they are henhouses for yuppies,
which is true, but at least it's a place to start. Besides, a normal
henhouse would stand no chance against the foxes here. There's an 8
week waiting list for them, they were just released here and
attracting lots of attention. I figure, I talk about wanting to have
lots of pet hens and ducks at Amherst, I may as well get started
learning about how to keep them on a small scale. They will give us
eggs, eat slugs and be nice pets too I hope.
Also, we signed up at the weekend for an allotment! It's a 17.5m x
10m plot, just as an English style allotment should be, with a railway
line at the back, and in the middle of lots of other plots with
falling down sheds, mixture of wildly overgrown and cultivated. It's
only 10 minutes walk away from us, through a park, so there'll be no
excuse not to go. It's even on the way home from Dave's work so he
can stop in to get the vegies for dinner. We were given a great book
called "Self Sufficiency - the classic guide for realists and
dreamers" http://makeashorterlink.com/?U10B5362A which among other things has instructions for doing practical things like clearing an allotment, planting vegetables, etc. With that book as a guide, I drew up a crop rotation plan and planting schedule on Sunday afternoon! :-) We don't get the allotment key officially for a few weeks yet, but then we will spend the first few months
clearing it properly, building a shed, seed beds with cold frames,
compost area, etc. Get it all set up so that it will be ready to go
with a vengence come Jan/Feb for the first lot of plantings.
chickens! and a cute imac looking henhouse that they promised me is
foxproof and really easy to keep clean. The whole lot are coming from
http://www.omlet.co.uk, you can see pictures there plus it's a very
amusing site I think. Dave reckons they are henhouses for yuppies,
which is true, but at least it's a place to start. Besides, a normal
henhouse would stand no chance against the foxes here. There's an 8
week waiting list for them, they were just released here and
attracting lots of attention. I figure, I talk about wanting to have
lots of pet hens and ducks at Amherst, I may as well get started
learning about how to keep them on a small scale. They will give us
eggs, eat slugs and be nice pets too I hope.
Also, we signed up at the weekend for an allotment! It's a 17.5m x
10m plot, just as an English style allotment should be, with a railway
line at the back, and in the middle of lots of other plots with
falling down sheds, mixture of wildly overgrown and cultivated. It's
only 10 minutes walk away from us, through a park, so there'll be no
excuse not to go. It's even on the way home from Dave's work so he
can stop in to get the vegies for dinner. We were given a great book
called "Self Sufficiency - the classic guide for realists and
dreamers" http://makeashorterlink.com/?U10B5362A which among other things has instructions for doing practical things like clearing an allotment, planting vegetables, etc. With that book as a guide, I drew up a crop rotation plan and planting schedule on Sunday afternoon! :-) We don't get the allotment key officially for a few weeks yet, but then we will spend the first few months
clearing it properly, building a shed, seed beds with cold frames,
compost area, etc. Get it all set up so that it will be ready to go
with a vengence come Jan/Feb for the first lot of plantings.
Monday, July 05, 2004
major reworking of garden plan
I made a flying visit to Australia at end June to see my Gran who was very ill, and while there I managed to go see Amherst. This was my first time at the property in person and to my relief it was wonderful. Really green, far more so than I'd expected, so I was very happy. However, it turned out I'd totally misunderstood where the gas pipeline was, so that Prue's plan for the garden doesn't work.
Email to Prue on my return home from Australia - 4th July 2004
While I was there I managed to get a few hours at Amherst, in the late
afternoon of my first day there. To my relief, it's wonderful. I
think it helped it had rained quite a bit so it was all very green,
but the slopes / layout of the land was better than I'd expected too.
There's only a very small part that's flat, and gentle rolling rising
to a slightly steep peak on one edge. But all is workable. Also,
there weren't that many rocks, I'd been envisaging it almost like
gravel, but it wasn't that at all. And the rocks there are, on the
quartz outcrop, are a lovely rose-pink colour. The house is a wreck,
which we knew, but it has good vibes so we can restore it. The dam is
huge and was filling up.
However, after having seen it in person, unfortunately we have to
change the design. For two reasons... first, parts of it won't work
with the lie of the land, eg the lake would look silly as it's not in
a natural spot for it. But more importantly, there is a natural gas
pipeline running under the land which is an easement - we can't build
anything, including planting trees for 20m around it (10m either
side). We knew the easement existed but for some reason had thought
it was way over the other side of the block. Turns out we'd got it
upside down and it runs almost right past the front door of the house!
Don't worry though, I don't think it will stop us having an amazing
garden, we just have to reorient it. When I was at the block we took
some more precise measurements (give or take a metre or two). So I've
now drawn up a map which has the positioning of the house, dam, and
existing trees near the house more accurately. Also, we've made a
start at reworking the plans, using your original design as
inspiration. There are still a lot of blanks, but I wanted to show
you where we'd got to so far, and to see if you had any ideas for how
to fill it in.
Here's some pictures of the plan:
Some of the things that I've changed - but obviously very flexible
still so if you think any of it wouldn't work, or you have better
ideas, let me know.
* Allowed space to extend the house. There is only the one direction
we can extend it, so even though we don't know yet exactly what it
will look like, we know roughly the area it will occupy
* Changed the layout of the driveway to match where the entrance is.
* Drawn in stables, hen house etc. The stables in particular need to
be in the area where they are on the map so that the roof will face
the right direction to catch the most sun (as we're going to put the
solar system on there), plus so that the roof is facing away from the
house - so the panels are largely out of sight. We figure too there
will probably be a garage between the stables and the house, but
haven't worked out precisely that bit yet.
* Added in a terraced planting section, around the part that gets
steepest to the back right of the house, because it just seemed like
it was crying out for it. Then building on that we totally rethought
the pool, so as to put it in a spot where it gets views with the
terraced section as a backdrop. It also means we can put the pool on
the other side of the easement, and have the easement area as grass /
etc (e.g., for cricket, boules, etc) between the pool and the house.
* I haven't drawn in the lake with jetty, as there is really only one
spot that it could go, which is in the distance to the far side of the
property. It would give a great outlook and I'd still like to do it
but I suspect it will be one of the last things we do because of the
cost, plus because it will cover the best grazing pasture on the
block. (Speaking of grazing, there were about 30 sheep on it, and
there was loads of sheep / cow / roo poo everywhere that I'm sure
would help to improve the soil if we ploughed it in). Instead, to
satisfy my water craving, I've allowed for two mid-sized ponds in the
main part of the garden which cycles water from the dam. I even
planned in for a little pump house next to the dam, as I figure it
will need a bit of machinery to make it happen!
* I've combined the meditation pond / gazebo thing with the summer
house / reading room, with the idea of having a cabin thing that is
partly on land and partly on stilts protruding into the bottom pond.
I saw this done once on a DIY show and it was gorgeous. It seems like
it would combine my desire for a jetty (where I could dangle my feet
in the water) with all the other things.
* Planned in a vegetable garden with 3 brick walls and the other with
a wire or wrought iron-like fence facing the driveway, positioned so
as to get the maximum amount of sun. The other reason for having the
3 brick walls is that it will allow us to put a shadecloth or netting
roof over it if need be. Then I drew in the orchard in the section
leading down to the summerhouse just because it felt like it suited.
* We've scrapped the idea of the tower. We might build a treehouse or
little cabin instead, on top of the quartz outcrop, but that will be a
later stage thing. Given the land is so sloped anyway we won't need
a tower to get a view of the whole garden, we'll just go to the top of
the terraced section.
Email to Prue on my return home from Australia - 4th July 2004
While I was there I managed to get a few hours at Amherst, in the late
afternoon of my first day there. To my relief, it's wonderful. I
think it helped it had rained quite a bit so it was all very green,
but the slopes / layout of the land was better than I'd expected too.
There's only a very small part that's flat, and gentle rolling rising
to a slightly steep peak on one edge. But all is workable. Also,
there weren't that many rocks, I'd been envisaging it almost like
gravel, but it wasn't that at all. And the rocks there are, on the
quartz outcrop, are a lovely rose-pink colour. The house is a wreck,
which we knew, but it has good vibes so we can restore it. The dam is
huge and was filling up.
However, after having seen it in person, unfortunately we have to
change the design. For two reasons... first, parts of it won't work
with the lie of the land, eg the lake would look silly as it's not in
a natural spot for it. But more importantly, there is a natural gas
pipeline running under the land which is an easement - we can't build
anything, including planting trees for 20m around it (10m either
side). We knew the easement existed but for some reason had thought
it was way over the other side of the block. Turns out we'd got it
upside down and it runs almost right past the front door of the house!
Don't worry though, I don't think it will stop us having an amazing
garden, we just have to reorient it. When I was at the block we took
some more precise measurements (give or take a metre or two). So I've
now drawn up a map which has the positioning of the house, dam, and
existing trees near the house more accurately. Also, we've made a
start at reworking the plans, using your original design as
inspiration. There are still a lot of blanks, but I wanted to show
you where we'd got to so far, and to see if you had any ideas for how
to fill it in.
Here's some pictures of the plan:
Some of the things that I've changed - but obviously very flexible
still so if you think any of it wouldn't work, or you have better
ideas, let me know.
* Allowed space to extend the house. There is only the one direction
we can extend it, so even though we don't know yet exactly what it
will look like, we know roughly the area it will occupy
* Changed the layout of the driveway to match where the entrance is.
* Drawn in stables, hen house etc. The stables in particular need to
be in the area where they are on the map so that the roof will face
the right direction to catch the most sun (as we're going to put the
solar system on there), plus so that the roof is facing away from the
house - so the panels are largely out of sight. We figure too there
will probably be a garage between the stables and the house, but
haven't worked out precisely that bit yet.
* Added in a terraced planting section, around the part that gets
steepest to the back right of the house, because it just seemed like
it was crying out for it. Then building on that we totally rethought
the pool, so as to put it in a spot where it gets views with the
terraced section as a backdrop. It also means we can put the pool on
the other side of the easement, and have the easement area as grass /
etc (e.g., for cricket, boules, etc) between the pool and the house.
* I haven't drawn in the lake with jetty, as there is really only one
spot that it could go, which is in the distance to the far side of the
property. It would give a great outlook and I'd still like to do it
but I suspect it will be one of the last things we do because of the
cost, plus because it will cover the best grazing pasture on the
block. (Speaking of grazing, there were about 30 sheep on it, and
there was loads of sheep / cow / roo poo everywhere that I'm sure
would help to improve the soil if we ploughed it in). Instead, to
satisfy my water craving, I've allowed for two mid-sized ponds in the
main part of the garden which cycles water from the dam. I even
planned in for a little pump house next to the dam, as I figure it
will need a bit of machinery to make it happen!
* I've combined the meditation pond / gazebo thing with the summer
house / reading room, with the idea of having a cabin thing that is
partly on land and partly on stilts protruding into the bottom pond.
I saw this done once on a DIY show and it was gorgeous. It seems like
it would combine my desire for a jetty (where I could dangle my feet
in the water) with all the other things.
* Planned in a vegetable garden with 3 brick walls and the other with
a wire or wrought iron-like fence facing the driveway, positioned so
as to get the maximum amount of sun. The other reason for having the
3 brick walls is that it will allow us to put a shadecloth or netting
roof over it if need be. Then I drew in the orchard in the section
leading down to the summerhouse just because it felt like it suited.
* We've scrapped the idea of the tower. We might build a treehouse or
little cabin instead, on top of the quartz outcrop, but that will be a
later stage thing. Given the land is so sloped anyway we won't need
a tower to get a view of the whole garden, we'll just go to the top of
the terraced section.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)