Energy efficient bulbs
Available in either Edison thread or bayonet they fit into a standard light socket. Being LED they do not contain any mercury.
Unfortunately I have already had one cut out for some reason.
In addition to the hens and their loyal rooster we keep 3 Kune kune pigs. This is a small breed, hairy and very affectionate. Their roles are as lawn mowers, soil cultivators and manure makers. Kune kune pigs are unique in that they can survive on a diet of grass and need very little supplementary food unless raising babies.
Over the last few years we have been impressed with how the chooks, young chickens, rooster and pigs all get along in the slowly emerging food forest they call home. They range freely together and at feeding time jostle with each other for access to kitchen scraps and grain.
Our chooks and ducks get fed supplementary grain that has been soaked in water. This makes it softer, easier to digest and because it swells up means they don't eat as much.
One unintentional positive side effect of feeding grain to the chickens while the pigs are present is they inevitably end up eating some of it. Being greedy, they swallow most of it whole and it passes straight through and ends up spread around their territory in the manure. The chickens have discovered this and are very eager to get at the grains embedded in the poo. This results in frantic scratching and disintegration of the pig turds resulting in faster breakdown and absorption into the surrounding landscape.
Stem cuttings from mature plants growing under cover in North Canterbury
Propagate and grow your own babaco plants quick and easy with stem cuttings. Simply place the cutting 1 third into the soil (right way up) and keep damp in a sunny, sheltered, warm location. Roots will form around the bottom cut surface.
Plants are self fertile, so only one plant is required to set fruit.
High success rate and should produce fruit in 12 – 18 months.
Length: 150 – 170mm with 3 - 4 buds
Diameter: 5 – 12mm
Collection
Scion wood is collected during the dormant season from shoots that grew the previous year. In North Canterbury that is June - July. Vigorous growth of at least a 30 centimetres make the best scions. Water sprouts from up in the tree usually make good straight scions. Do not collect scion wood while it is frozen, and avoid wood that has been damaged by cold.
Storage
After cutting, scions should be tied in bundles, labelled, and stored under moist conditions in a temperature range of 4 to 7c. Bundles wrapped with damp paper towelling, sealed in plastic bags, and placed in a refrigerator store well providing it does not contain apples, pears, or other ethylene gas-generating fruit, as this is reputed to ruin the scion wood. However, wood sealed in plastic bags may not be affected?
Grafting time
Choosing when to graft can be tricky. What you want to be doing is performing the graft when the host tree or rootstock is waking up in the spring and the sap is rising and buds starting to swell, prior to blossom or leaf burst. Generally the grafting proceeds in the same order the trees flower and fruit, but earlier. Starting in mid to late august with almond followed by cherry, plum, peach & nectarine, nashi, pear and finally apple in late September.
At grafting time, cut off and discard the tip and base of the scion. Buds near the tip are often flower buds, and those near the base are often weak buds. The remaining portion of the stem is used to make scions each containing three to five buds.
This excel file has multiple worksheets with numeric values and charts of sunshine hours, rainfall, monthly frost count and temperature for several South Island locations, including:
Data sourced from NIWA (http://www.niwascience.co.nz/edu/resources/climate).
Rainfall (mm) | |
Catchment Area (hectares) | |
Cubic meters | ? |
Litres | ? |
It's one of the cornerstone plants in permaculture and forest gardening. Comfrey is a deep rooted leafy perennial that provides a range of benefits and uses.
There are a number of other plants that have a similar appearance and look a bit like comfrey.