Update - Garden 2

Today, New Year's Day 2017, we checked the gardens as is our routine and found that the beans and corn we planted on 27 December 2016 had sprouted.

Day old bean sprout

Sweet corn sprout

Meanwhile, the original garden (Garden 1) is still producing beans, basil, silver beet, squash, tomatoes, rocket, carrots and a few other items.

Rock melon and a Roma Tomato

We have been getting a few rock melons, these are very sweet and we have been having them Spanish style, a slice of rock melon topped with a slice of the locally smoked ham as an entree.

We found a "before" photo of the area where garden 2 is now located, compare it with the recent photo.

July 2016

January 2017

The introduced exotic plants (rhododendron and morning glory), an obsolete above ground pool and several steel poles (to be recycled as fence posts) were removed.

Jen and Rog

Email: honeydaleqld@gmail.com

Photos by Roger and Jennifer Holt

First Planting of Garden 2

We arrived at Honeydale a few days before Christmas to the sight of several trees that had fallen during a storm the previous night.  That night we had another storm so the following morning the chainsaw and the woodchiper came out.  

Removing fallen trees was not included in the plan but it had to be done.  We returned to the main task of completing the garden fence which was duly completed.  The tractor came out and we ripped the new garden, given the boring name of “Garden 2.”  The soil pH was tested and dolomite applied as the soil was acidic.  Compost was then spread over the two garden beds that will be planted out.  The ripper was exchanged for the rotary hoe and the compost mixed in with the soil.

Two garden beds were marked out and prepared, slightly raised for better drainage and the reticulation installed.  The new reticulation valve station was completed and the reticulation for Garden 1, the original vegetable garden, was tidied up.  Having prepared the garden beds and a working reticulation system it was time to plant out the two garden beds.

Jenny watering the seeds

In Bed 2.1 we planted four different types of beans and sweet corn.  In Bed 2.4 we planted pumpkins, zucchini, melons and cucumbers.  All these plants can tolerate the heat that we expect to get in January and February.  If things go well we should be harvesting in March and April.

Beds 2.2 and 2.3 have been left fallow so the vines from the pumpkins and melons can ramble without overrunning other plants.

Jen and Rog

Email: honeydaleqld@gmail.com

Photos by Roger and Jennifer Holt

Fencing the Veggie Garden

We spent a weekend making fence posts from some salvaged steel section.  This involved cutting the steel to length, welding caps both ends of the steel section, drilling then painting.  The next weekend we dug 11 holes for the posts and last weekend we put the poles in, hung the gates then strung the wire.

The fence is 1.2 meters high with vermin resistant netting.  The old fence, which was in place when we purchased Honeydale was constructed from chicken wire and a few star pickets.  It did keep out wildlife but was not very secure and the gate was of an old bush design.

View of existing garden from the south.

We have three gates, one for general access and two, one at either end, wide enough for our tractor and its implements.   The new fence includes an additional 250 square meters of garden beds plus access paths and turning areas for the tractor.  We anticipate after the beds have been tilted we will use the access paths and turning areas for pumpkins, cucumbers, melons and other spreading plants.

Person gate and northern tractor gate

While we had the old fence down we did have to keep an eye open as one of the wild bush turkeys made several attempt to get past us to have a scratch around in the garden.  Eventually it got the hint and went to the new garden beds, which are not yet fenced, to scratch around.  We were closely monitored by Bella koala from one of her favoured trees overlooking the garden.

We had to leave a section of the old fence behind as the vines from the Queensland Blue pumpkins are tangled up in the netting.

The Supervisor

 Next weekend we will trench in the water supply pipe from the bore, put in the manifolds and cabling for the reticulation then complete the remaining 30 meters of fencing.  We need to get the trenching and part of the reticulation done as it will run along the fence line.

Then we can start preparing garden beds for our autumn planting, beans, peas, potatoes and onions.  We will also be planting more rhubarb and asparagus crowns.   The aim is to grow enough vegetables to be totally self sufficient by the end of 2017.

Jen and Rog

Email: honeydaleqld@gmail.com

Photos by Roger and Jennifer Holt

Wild Koala's

We now have three koala's who regularly rest in the trees on Honeydale.  We are hoping that a few more move in.  The only downside is that they grunt like pigs at night.

Two are female, Bella and Brownie, both tend to use home trees near our garden and shed.

Brownie trying to cool down

Bella

Bella has a mainly white behind and Brownie is predominantly brown.  The third koala's favoured home tree is near the main gate and we have not been able to get a good look to determine if it is male or female but it is a good sleeper.

Jen and Rog

Email: honeydaleqld@gmail.com

Photos by Roger and Jennifer Holt

Paddle to Logan Creek

Patrick Logan explored the area that is now known as Ipswich and Somerset.  Logan City, the Logan Motorway, the Logan River, Loganholme and Logan Creek are some of the other geographical features named after Patrick Logan.

The bridge near Cooracook station on the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail crosses Logan Creek.  The creek continues to to the north and eventually flows into Whivenhoe dam.

Last Friday we decided to paddle from Logan's Landing to the mouth of Logan Creek.  It was a seven kilometre paddle but it was a cool morning with hardly a breath of wind.

Along the way we saw many pelicans and other wild life taking advantage of the cool conditions.

Jen and Rog

Email: honeydaleqld@gmail.com

Photos by Roger and Jennifer Holt

The garden is productive

It has been a very dry spring at Honeydale as we have had less than half of the average rainfall for November leaving the bush dry and distressed, even the lantana is starting to dry out.

We have rainwater tanks to catch and store water for drinking and cooking but not enough to keep the garden alive.  Fortunately we have a bore that provides good water for our garden and orchard so we have an abundance of vegetables.

We have been harvesting and eating silver beet, strawberries, peas, lettuce and rocket for some weeks now.  We have also been picking and pickling cornichons for a month now and have several bottles aging for the Christmas pate'.

This morning we picked lettuce, radishes, crystal apple cucumbers, beans, dutch carrots, zucchini (including some with flowers) a few tomatoes and chillies to tide us over in Brisbane.  Some of the vegetables we will give to our friends and neighbours.

We are keeping the zucchini with flowers to make zucchini flower pasta for our dinner tonight.

We have several varieties of tomatoes and pumpkins that are almost ready for harvest along with sweet corn.  Hopefully we will soon have steady supply of vegetables to be self sufficient wiht the exception of potatoes and onions.  

In the next few weeks we start preparing a new garden where we plan to plant potatoes, onions and winter vegetables in the new year.

Jen and Rog

Email: honeydaleqld@gmail.com

Photos by Roger and Jennifer Holt

A Sunday Ride to Esk and Return

We got out of bed just after 5:00 am and had a strong cup of tea before filling our camelbacks with water and checking we had food and gels in our jersey pockets.  As usual, the single track from the house to the rail trail was the first challenge.  The single track gets a little easier each time we ride it, our skills are improving and the track is becoming more defined.

We have ridden to the Logan Creek or Cooracook Bridge several times so we made good progress to this deep and steep sided creek crossing. We then continued on to the old Cooracook Station just a few hundred meters past the bridge.  Maintaining a steady climb, we continued on in the shade of Mount Hallen.  Just before the Rail Trail crosses the Gatton - Esk Road, we arrived at the abandoned Mount Hallen station.  This being the high point of the sector between Honeydale and Esk it was a 10 km downhill to Esk.

While it was a net downhill it was not downhill all the way.  We had to stop several times to open and close gates which got more frequent as we approached the outskirts of Esk.  We also had some creek crossings.  While not as deep or steep as Lockyer Creek (between Coominya and Lowood) or the Cooracook Bridge we had to stop and push our unsuspended single speed bikes up the track.  These are the times when you appreciate riding a hardtail with 2 x 11 gearing.

About five kilometres from Esk we encountered a solo rider heading to Coominya and soon after we meet several groups of riders also heading towards Coominya.  It was a very busy morning on the rail trail.

We continued to make good progress and we arrived in Esk taking one hour and sixteen minutes to ride the eighteen kilometres from Honeydale.  The bakery and one café was open so we brought some coffee and pastries from the bakery to consume before commencing the return journey.

We got to Mount Hallen station in good time and we paused to have some gels before progressing on.  A few hundred meters on I felt the rear rim running on a flat tyre so we had no option but to stop and change out the tube.  It was starting to get hot but this made the tyre softer and easier to handle.  The replacement tube fitted, inflated and we were soon on our way.  Including the tube replacement, we were back at Honeydale one hour and twenty-eight minutes after leaving Esk.

Jen and Rog

Email: honeydaleqld@gmail.com

Photos by Roger and Jennifer Holt