Visit Serena and Richard 21Oct18

On a glorious warm spring day our group visited Serena and Richard's property at Lauderdale.

Serena (middle of photo, with hat) welcomed us and explained what she and Richard have done on their property in recent years.  She told us that their garden is very much a work in progress and that she was keen to receive advice from people.  

Our food garden visits are not like and open garden scheme.  These visits are not about showing food gardens at their best.  They are about sharing what the hosts are doing, and learning from each other.  Problems are opportunities to learn, and the aim of the visits is to solve them with the wealth of collective knowledge of the people who come.

Serena and Richard's fruit and vegetable area is now surrounded by an impressive netting structure.

And, after years of trying to improve their clay soil, new raised beds with good garden soil have made it a lot easier to grow good produce.

Serena asked people what mulch they use.  We talked about sugar cane mulch, sea grass (and where to get it) and spoiled hay (someone offered to get Serena some).  Serena uses whatever she can lay her hands on, including old newspapers and not-good-enough-for-anything-else wool off-cuts from her alpacas.

The garden area is on a slope, downhill from the top of the hill, and Serena has made garden paths (see photo below) that run horizontally across the hill.  These are in fact shallow trenches filled with wood chips, called swales, that collect rainwater when it flows down the hill, through and on the ground.  The water then keeps the surrounding soil moist longer and better than if it had flown straight down the hill. 

In the photo above, on the left, you see one of their fruit trees that don't have many leaves.  Local wildlife has been getting in - or may be living in the enclosure - and eats the leaves.

What happened next shows why these food garden visits are so worthwhile for both hosts and visitors.  Forty odd people looked at the situation, discussed it, came up with suggestions and found solutions, so our hosts now have valuable new info and suggestions for ways to solve the problem.

People concluded that the mesh around the bottom of the netted area has holes, and is best replaced by a finer mesh that goes into the ground, and then horizontally out, so animals that dig on the outside, will be stopped before they even reach the fence line.

Someone offered that Serena could borrow their non-violent traps.  It was suggested that a dog be kept within the netted area at night to catch or deter intruders.  Serena had previously been told that the intruders are rats.  Someone who has seen wildlife damage over decades suggested that snapped-off branches, such as shown in the photo above, were typically the work of possums.

One person found an actual hole where, through high grass, an animal had entered.  Someone suggested that it would be best if the high grass around the periphery was removed, and replaced by a weed-free path right around the netted area, so animals can no longer approach unseen and dig, without the digging being obvious.

All these were very good and valuable suggestions.  Thank you all! Keeping the critters at bay adds a lot of work!

Not all trees and berry bushes are being eaten, and with new measures in place, hopefully the affected trees will recover, after some pruning, and will produce fruit in coming years.

Serena and Richard's property is on top of a hill, with water views on three sides of the property, truly spectacular.   In one paddock were goats, and with them alpacas.  On a previous occasion Serena explained that the alpacas guard the goats against dog attacks!

Serena showed us two beehives, and explained that an expert looks after the hives for them.  They are learning beekeeping skills from him.

The offerings on the trade table were many and varied, in spite of the early season.

And morning tea is always something to very much look forward to, along with lively, friendly conversations.

Thanks everyone for making such a great group, so happy to share, and help.  So generous!

And thank you to our hosts, Serena and Richard, for hosting this really worthwhile food garden visit.