What it means to have a small Holding

Here's the theory for July: It's cold or at least cool, it could be misty in the morning and even drizzly rain, the fireplace is ticking over with hot coals or a fresh piece of wood flaring, a bit of a wind gusting outside and the sky is grey. Time to spreadeagle on the lounge with a one of the many books backlogged in the pile and relax.

Now here is the reality: The sun is shining, the wind has gone for the moment, the grapes need pruning and weeding, tomato varieties need selection and potting under heat to be ready for a September planting, there is a pile of other fresh pruning's that need a run through the mulcher and there will be a need for lots of compost in spring so make use of all the green material you have.
 

The book goes back on the pile and work begins. All the grapes get pruned, a little layering or transplanting of last year's cuttings to fill a spare spot. Tying up any rogue shoots, a quick weed around the trunk and on goes a huge pile of cow rejected silage which stinks but the wind is blowing that scent across to the neighbours and away from us. Oh well, the smell will only last a few weeks. It is just part of nature in the country. Probably means moving a bottle or two of last vintage from our side of the cellar to the neighbours side of the cellar.

Table grapes pruned

Ready for chipping and mulching

A lot of work and tons of silage but will pay dividends

Using the freshly made compost to start seedlings

 

July can really be one of the busiest months of the year. At least in August it will only be the last week when the Tomato bed needs building that life will become a little hectic. Then of course with September becomes the planting out of the warm month vegetables. Always too many for two but there are always many happy recipients elsewhere in the village. There is the anticipation of the first fresh tomato and first young cucumber. Yes it is possible to use a hothouse and grow the most delicious produce all year round but then the mouth watering wait and abstinence is missing and life lacks those peaks and troughs that provide contrast and highs of long awaited pleasure.

As the weather warms up and if the rains come the following 6 months become a blur of weeding, watering, planting and harvesting until the blessed cool arrives with a sigh of relief tools go down and relation comes in the form of wine and cheese in the mildly warm garden.

The steady rhythm of seasonal demands and rewards. With each bringing the expectation and desire of the next stage. Maybe some find this repetitiveness boring. But there is a pleasure which can't be felt from any other form of activity. Contact with the soil, plants and animals seems to be a desire that comes from deep inside.

For some it's the travel, the sport, the toys for us it's being at home on our own plot, digging and weeding, having successes and having failures, plopping down in the evening with fresh home made produce and resting for tomorrow.

Silage: More Uses

It's no surprise that we have started to accumulate waste silage in quantities that beg for alternate uses.

Another Compost in Progress with Bill watching

Rather than leave piles of the waste silage around the farm across the river it is loaded on the ute and brought home. One compost bin has been compiled and another two are empty which will be filled gradually over the next few weeks.

This pile looks small but it is close to a ton of rejected silage collected last night

But there is still more than can be used in the current compost bins. Then an idea struck. Why not use some of it to mulch around the grape vines and then when this is done ditto for the fruit trees. And so a few ute loads have now been dumped in the vineyard.

One row of 12 done

There are now multiple parallel projects in progress. A NZ compost has been started using silage and fresh cow manure already collected. The green matter is coming from the vineyard. By mowing up and down the rows with a catcher green matter is collected and the ground prepared for mulching. Just before piling on the silage mulch there will be a bit of weeding and weed trimming around the vines.

This mornings collection

Life is a bit hectic keeping up with the tasks but it seems a real waste not to take advantage of this rare opportunity.

Making Compost - With Silage and Cow Manure

It can't be helped.  The cows across the river pull out mouthfuls from the silage feeder and always drop a bit on the ground. By the time the feeder is empty there is a solid ring of spoilt silage around the feeder. What a waste, but no it came home on the ute. Some years ago at a farm clearing sale a handful of tools were acquired which include three pitchforks in need of repair which was completed. It is now in use and it really makes loading easier.

An empty compost bin is an evil temptation and coupled with a ute load of spoilt silage and many bags of fresh manure it was all too much. It had to be built.

Two ute loads later it was all done in a few hours. The fastest compost in the east. Only one iffy bit is the uncertainty if fermented grass will heat up again. But if not at least the compost worms will digest the manure and grass. Can't lose.

NZ Compost Update, Mushrooms, Chicken Food

Got very close to finishing building the massive 4'6" cubed compost but things kept getting in the way of putting down the last few layers. The lawn is completely mown and the Elderflower, Buddleia and Mulberry are all pruned with pruning's mulched in the compost. Finally this morning the last layers were added.

Steam has been emanating from the central hole for days and too wispy to catch in a photograph but a probe dropped down the hole measured the temperature at 66.8 C. Now that should sterilize any wanton seed.

A few of the Mushroom containers appeared to produce spore and some time was spent sterilising batches of Lucerne to use as a bed. Before adding them to the hothouse.

Oyster Mushroom Spore - I think/hope

Lucerne Hay

And the day is not finished without unloading the ute which carried the 160 KG of mixed grain for the chickens and another 100 KG of Oat grain which will be sprouted for the cattle. Grass is getting scarce and they need to keep up their strength even after gorging themselves on Pumpkin.

Of the last 100 KG of Oats they only got through about half before the rains came and the Autumn grasses took off. The remaining grain went to the chickens.

We don't expect any luxurious growth now until well into September or later. Their diet will be a little sprouted Oats and a small biscuit of Lucerne in addition to what can be picked out of the paddocks.

NZ Compost Bin - Final Setup

At last the dual bay compost bin is finished. Fully erected and ready to be filled.

It's obvious why everyone loves an oiled timber finish. Eucalypts have an incredible diversity of colour and patina when oiled. Unfortunately these beautiful colours will not last outside. They will all turn to the common dull grey in a short time.

That is the issue with natural wood when it is used outside. Any finish applied needs to re-applied every year or two to maintain the colour. The Sun and rain are incredibly damaging to exposed clear timber finishes. I'm sure there is a fortune to be made by anyone able to come up with a simple clear external use paint that will last a decade without further maintenance.

The 3 way sliding panel block

Small Wine Press, NZ Compost Bins, Dogs at Work

In February while making some Tannat wine from our meagre harvest the screw thread on the baby press was stripped because of the significant pressure that was placed on it during winding.

After some research the only solution seemed to be a low torque Acme screw thread. Acme threads were easily available in 12 foot lengths. Getting a 300 mm piece of this with a nut seemed to be a real challenge until it was discovered that the scissor jacks used on most small cars use an Acme thread.

Finally, at the Dump Shop last week one was available. It was broken down to its component parts with the nut being welded to the top of the press and the thread had the handle attached. After welding, everything received a fresh coat of paint. The real test will be when we next use the device. This may not be until February next year.

Wine Press Base with Acme nut welded

Acme Screw Thread with handles attached

 

Further progress on the newly built NZ Compost Bins. With both of us working steadily all the timber was coated with used sump oil in a location close to where it will be finally assembled.

Loose planks coated with oil

The assembled sections painted. The sheets of iron protect the grass from the oil and allow any excess to flow to beneath the wall of the shed. This shed has experienced some Termite activity and any dripped oil will add a small future deterrent

Jean went across the river to work this morning and now that we have the dual cab work vehicle back with us she was able to take all the dogs with her as farm assistants. Nikki, the male had a serious neck problem a year ago and we only allow him to travel with a full body harness inside the vehicle. He loves being in the car and will sit there for hours without complaining.

The girls love being on the back and sticking their heads out from the sides to take in the smells as they travel back and forth.

Nikki isn't big on farm work and prefers to stay in the car and guard the farmhouse while the girls ride in the RTV while the cattle are moved and the paddocks harrowed.

The kids back from work. The girls on the back (Lisa the splotchy Cattle Dog Cross and Bill the Kelpie Cross) and the Alpha male inside

Ripe Near Me, NZ Compost Twin Bin, Parmesan

Accidently came across a useful web site Ripe Near Me which helps you find fresh produce in your locality. By clicking on the link you will see how easy it is to use. I suppose everybody else already knows about its existence and I'm just a bit slow. Jean got all excited when I showed her one entry for Black Australorp Fertilised eggs at a very good price and located not far away. Black Australorps are supposed to be very good egg layers bred for Australian conditions.

Finally getting a few backlog jobs out of the way. The wine press last used three months ago got its annual coat of paint. Just the base which is in contact with the acidic fruit juices needs to have a coat or two of non toxic paint otherwise the metal rusts and taints the juice (wine, Cider, Perry). It really doesn't take long just a quick rub with sandpaper to dislodge any loose old paint and a few brush strokes. But you know how it is, need to find a few spare minutes.

Basket Press Base

Getting very close to finishing the NZ twin compost bin. Today the dry assembly was completed to see if it all fitted together - which it did. The last steps are to relocated each section to the final resting place and apply a coat of oil for protection. The only part which hasn't been fully assembled is the rear panel. Because it is so large if all the boards were screwed on it was going to be too heavy to move. It will have the last five or six 9' boards screwed to it when in the final location. Once in situ and painted the various panels will be bolted together.  I'm busting to get started building the compost itself. This dual bin is a little larger at 4' 6" cubed rather than the usual 4'. Doesn't sound much but by my calculations that will be 50% more volume. Hope my expansion plans are not regrated when it comes to assembling the raw material.

The assembled Twin Bins

In the background the back panel has the middle section missing to reduce weight for transporting

And finally, made two more Parmesans using a slightly different recipe. Rather than make one large 3-4 kilogram cheese a smaller or in this case two smaller cheeses are moulded. The change in the recipe is quite minor. After cutting the curds there is 15 minutes of stirring, then stir for another 15 minutes while the temperature is raised to 42 C and finally another 15 minutes of stirring while the temperature goes to 51 C.

Small Parmesans

Because there were no small inserts for these moulds, two glass containers were used, Need to be gentle with the pressure though. The weight up top is to carry on with some pressure if the cheese compacts and the screw threads cease to apply pressure.

Building Another NZ Compost Bin(s) Part Two Material Preparation

The first step was to assemble the raw materials close to the workshop entrance for easy access.

This is the tool of choice with a ripping blade. The gap is set to rip 15 mm boards

After removing nails and other metal fragments from the recycled hardwood they are run through the rip saw. I'm using an old blade in the saw because no matter how careful you are there are always a few nails buried in the timber.

I'm ripping all different sized timbers down to 15 mm thickness. I've chosen 15 mm thickness to minimise the waste from the ripping operation. 15 mm is the minimum thickness for structural integrity with hardwood. You could go thicker but the thicker the boards the heavier the final structure.

The width of the board is not critical as the final product will have a rustic look using different width boards on the sides. The frame will be a mix of 50 x 50 and 75 x 50 timbers. These I've put aside already.

Ripped boards

The ripping process is a bit messy. I have an exhaust fan running and another fan to try and blow as much dust out of the workshop. But I also wear a dust mask.

After I've ripped a swag of boards I start loose assembly to see how much more ripping needs to be done. The ripped boards are cut to length.

I love the intense red and cream colours of the aged  hardwood. I wish I was making some furniture with it and was able to preserve the colour

Stacking the wall sections

The final compost bin will be two boxes with a common back wall. Just to confuse everyone I'll swing back to the old measurements. The common back wall will be 9 feet long while the sides will be 4 feet 6 inches.

The boards are screwed using Tek screws. You need at least two per board at each end to stop it rotating.

Each side is an independent panel bolded to its neighbour with two galvanised bolts. This provides for any future decision to move the compost bin. These hardwood bins are very heavy by being able to separate the sides they can be moved easily to a new location.

The front panel consists of loose boards so that as you fill the bin the front wall can be raised gradually. To make it easy there is a slot using the 50 x 50 timbers at the front end of the two side panels.

The boards used for the front panel have two screws on one edge to provide a 15-20 mm gap. These screws are all recycled old screws that were salvaged from various projects.

Because the boards forming the front panel are not fixed there could be a tendency for the U shaped bin to widen particularly at the top as the weight of the fill material increases. This simple sliding board with blocks screwed to the ends at the correct width provides support.

There will be one more post on this at a later stage when the final assembly takes place in situ. The entire double bin will also be painted with recycled sump oil for added protection at that time.

Building Another NZ Compost Bin(s) Part One Materials Sourcing

We have two wooden NZ Compost bins which have easily demountable front walls. Having two side by side allows us to make one compost and then 5 weeks later turn it easily and quickly into the second bin for the second heating process.

Because we make a lot of compost a third bin was made using concrete blocks. As it aged over the five weeks the compost material reduced in volume and the surplus blocks are used to assemble the second bin in advance of turning. There are some other projects in the pipeline where the concrete blocks are needed and in any spare time I've begun building a pair of bins out of hardwood.

The wood comes from two small chicken runs that we originally built nearly 20 years ago and have been gradually dismantling and wood stored. Over the last couple of days the dismantling has been finished and there is enough wood to complete the compost bins.

This is the third re-birthing for this hardwood as it all came from a Tennis Shed in Newcastle that was built back in the 1920s. In those days it wasn't unusual for large companies to build a Tennis Court and Shed for its management to use in the evenings and at weekends as a form of relaxation.

In the early 1990s the shed was dismantled to make way for a further car park expansion. The Tennis Court had disappeared a couple of years before to cater for the ever expanding car park. The Tennis shed had a few years reprieve as a document storage facility. I was working at the firm at that time and was lucky enough to have a chance to retrieve some of the timber before it was dumped. I remember bringing home several groaning trailer loads of this seasoned hardwood.

Our property has a number of completed projects which utilised the hardwood.

I'm always amazed when I see old buildings being demolished and the material being loaded into trucks by huge excavators to be taken to the dump and used as landfill. When I was growing up in Newcastle there were a number of recycling or demolition yards where all types of material was on offer. All these have closed. Just so disappointing.

Next: Building Another NZ Compost Bin(s) Part Two Material Preparation

Worm Farm and Compost

Jean needed some worm castings to add to a new bed she was preparing for some pretty shrubbery. She is building a sort of Hugelkulture bed for an Orange Blossom shrub which will provide protection from the Western Sun in our Provencal Garden where we have a table, chairs and umbrella. Just a pleasant spot to sit and enjoy a drink and look at the garden and the mountain behind us.

Well Protected from the Southern Winds

Soon to be Protected from The Western Sun

Looking North

She maintains the Worm Farm and tries to provide a healthy blend of material for them to consume. Lots of stuff from the kitchen and garden. The Farm has been in constant use for over 20 years.

The Worm Farm

There is a distinct difference between the output of the Worm Farm and that of a NZ Compost. The variation is not necessarily in the quality but almost entirely in the texture. The Worm Farm provides a thick putty like material which we mix with soil, potting mix and other compost when planting out new shrubs and trees.

The Worm's work

While the NZ compost is a coarser drier, crumbly compost.

NZ Composted material

I don't know if one is better than the other but it is handy to have more than one source of well broken down plant food.

Sometimes we forget we have the Worm Farm material which then provides us with a surprise backup of compost.