Visit Dirk and Pauline 19 April 2015

On Sunday 19 April the Food Garden Group visited Dirk and Pauline's property at Howden.
The first thing everyone noticed on arrival was how green and lush Dirk and Pauline's property is. I am familiar with Howden further to the East along the river and it is a very dry place, so it was amazing to see a Howden property (admittedly further to the west) that was lush and green. Dirk and Pauline explained that their property is at the bottom of a gradual hill and that it gets all the water from surrounding areas. Look at the full dam (and this is the driest part of the year)! Everyone was impressed and a little bit jealous.

The previous owners made good use of the abundance of water and good soil and created a large ornamental garden that really stands out. When Dirk and Pauline saw the property a bit over a year ago, they needed little persuasion before buying it.

Here Dirk and Pauline welcome us and explain that in the last year they have begun a conversion to a more productive property.

Dirk told us what they have learned about their property so far and what further changes they are contemplating.

One of the first things they did after arriving was to put the orchard in a protective cage because the wildlife was really devastating this area.

The bottom of the netting is re-inforced with fine metal wire. In the background on the left the chook shed that is also in the netted area.

For those who are contemplating making a similar enclosure for their food production area, the netting Dirk and Pauline bought is re-inforced with thin metal wire. It was purchased via the internet from Haverford (see http://www.haverford.com.au/ ). They paid $1300 for their 25 metre x 25 metre net. That is not cheap, but it is really good quality netting.

Dirk was so eager to start a veggie patch that he started one with floppy fences outside the netted orchard, but the plan is for their veggie patch to be a number of built-up beds within the netted cage.

Here is one of their apple trees within the netted area. With the protection of a net and the moist soil the trees are now very happy.

Here are the two Huon-Blue hens (also within the netted area) that will become the foster mothers of some Barnevelders.

Here Max K shows an auger-bit with handle that can be used to easily determine what the soil moisture is in an orchard.

Dirk and Pauline very generously offered that those who brought plastic bags and shovels could take home some Alpaca poo, which comes from neighbour Terry. Terry now offers to members of our group the opportunity to get more of this wonderful stuff (see May 2015 newsletter for details).

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the produce table.  There was a varied and plentiful bounty.

Morning tea was delicious. One person admitted that he comes to every visit just for this. We have many great cooks in our group.

Last but not least many thanks to Dirk and Pauline who really only just have started making this property their own, but who did not hesitate to have us over for a visit. They suggested we come back for another visit in a few years time when some of their other plans for the property have hopefully come to fruition. Looking forward to it!

This text was previously published on the Food Garden Group blog. It was written by Max Bee.